Trumpeter STRV 103 MBT

[DRUMS01]

I had this kit for a long time (years), but never made the commitment to build it. Here is the box top and sum of the parts:



The detail is very good, but the mold ejection pin marks on the back side of the parts are pretty bad; mold separation lines are fine / minimal; and there is very little flash. The kit comes with a single piece rubber track. Since much of it will be hidden when built, I decided not to get the after-market individual track links. There are also various photo-etch detail kits, a metal turned barrel, splinter masks, and other items available. I am going to guild this OOB with no extra arts from other suppliers.









The roadwheels, sprokets, and lower hull pieces have been built. I've also started building some of the sub-assemblies: the commanders coupla; loaders hatch; exhaust, etc. One thing I have noticed is the very small parts that in some cases could've been molded together, but instead are molded separately. It's not a real problem, just more time consuming and care needs to be taken when removing them from spue trees or cleaning them up.

This one shows the basic sub-assembly of the road wheels and sprokets. There are some rather large mold ejection pin marks on the back side of the parts but they will not be visible on the assembled model.



The next photo is actually top side down. This is step 3 in the instructions and shows the hydraulic actuators that are used when adjusting the main-gun elevation.



This shows the lower half of the kit completed (road wheels, drive sprocket, return rollers, track, etc.) I have already applied some of the light "wear" weathering with dry brushing and pastels. I have not decided how dirty or rusty the end result will be just yet.



I noticed that the track on the "C" variant has track pads (black squares) and the earlier versions did not. The "C" also had modifications to add the grenade launchers and side armor (cans), splinter camouflage, etc.



Here is the base assembly prior to priming and painting (the colors shown were not all used for the camouflage). The splinter scheme was sourced from on the web.



And this is where I am now, the base application of the splinter scheme. Still much to do on weathering and use. If you look close you can see the coaxed MG and the water foraging kit are not on the vehicle. I will add them during detailing, along with decals and painting of the lights, periscopes, etc.







Thanks for looking, and as always... your comments are encouraged.

v/r,

Ben

[DoubleDigit12]

Very cool.

[krusty69]

real nice work on the camo
what was your technique
bob

[DRUMS01]

My technique could not have been simpler, it was hand painted while looking at the print out.

I used both Model Master and Vallego acrylic paints. The paints were not exact colors, only close to accurate based on web resources. Three brushes were used; 1/2 flat, 1/4 flat, and fine point detail brushes. The splinter scheme took around 10 hours to complete over three days as care was taken not to leave brush marks while keeping the lines straight, sharp points, and not obscuring any details.

I suppose I could've bought the after-market masks and air brushed it, but to me that would've been cheating. Plus I wanted to see if I could pull off the four color scheme doing it by hand. Overall I am happy with the results...

Final photos after completion...

v/r,

Ben

[schweinhund227]

you Hand Painted ??? this ! WOW ! awesome job mate !

[aur0ra145]

Super cool tank!

[Kevthemodeller]

Hand painted that brings back some memories, the days before I could afford an airbrush

[Quax]

it is, in the words of a man with proven loquacity ie Will.i.am, dope! (at least thats what my 22 yr old daughter tells me is correct terminology)

[DRUMS01]

Well I think I am going to call this one D-O-N-E.

I followed the suggestion from one of my peers by applying a dark wash followed by some detailing with Tamiya rubs, oils, and pastels. The finish in some of the photos looks a little shiny but in person it is a flat finish. Thanks to those of you who provided feedback as it helped me in the build and detail of the kit. As always, your comments are encouraged....






v/r,

Ben

[Gregovit]

Nice build and paint job!

[amsvkng]

Very nice work and I just added this to my stash, so nice to see the potential of this model

[TommyKillander]

Well done!

That's a beautiful Stridsvagn 103C.


Tommy

[DRUMS01]

Thanks everyone... it was not the easiest build, but very rewarding. The fitment of parts was good, but the amount of small pieces seemed silly. The cam was the fun part.

Thanks again everyone...

Ben