I will try to make a Russian military fire support vehicle, Terminator. I was wondering what the official name is, but it doesn’t make sense. According to the Wiki, BMP-T is better for the original notation. It’s with Boyevaya Mashina Podderzhki Tankov and a Tank Support Fighting Vehicle in English. The chassis looks like a T-90 at first glance. The turret has a very unusual shape.
This kit has an awful lot of parts. It’s been many years since I bought it, but I checked before assembly to see if it has all components, and it probably looks OK. There are a few objects I don’t yet know what I’m using for. The impression is that ancient kits used to have at most five or six runners and a few small parts, but relatively recent kits have so many that when opened the box, they overflow. I’m sure there are quite a few modelers who are discouraged by the number of parts.
MENG kits are expensive, but I think they are a reliable manufacturer, including many details such as the quality of the kit. There were 30 pages of assembly instructions and a brief vehicle description in multiple languages. It looks like a lot of work to make each kit large-scale. In time, the assembly will become more accessible, and we’ll be able to do simple modeling where every few modules are printed out on a 3D printer and combined. Then it would be Lego bricks.
The rolling wheel has a relatively fine mold on the grounding surface, so it would be better not to file it too much when it is carefully separated with a nipper. I don’t think I need to be so nervous anyway because if I had a cutting edge on the track, the side armor would hide it in the top cutting edge.
BMPT seems to have been deployed in this Ukraine war, either. At least several Russian Army BMPTs have been spotted moving through Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk province. It is said that this vehicle is only deployed in the 90th Armored Division of the Central Military District of the Russian Army. Still, I wonder if it will be ready for actual combat as soon as it is reorganized. It won’t be time to get the new troops to learn how to operate from the beginning.
This vehicle will also be fitted with a dozer blade.
Axle installation is tricky. I looked in the closet and saw a T-90 A in the corner. This is my first time making a MENG T-90 series, so I guess this is what other MENG T-90 kits look like.
Talk about PC gaming. There was a PC game called Persona 4 The Golden, so I was surprised when I bought it. It seems like a good PC version with many improvements. The pictures are much better than when I played Persona 4 on the PS2 a long time ago, and I wonder if there are a lot of changes as there are a lot of anime scenes I’ve never seen before. I thought so only in the beginning, but with the Radeon RX 6600 XT video card, the game is unplayable due to constant crashes. I can’t do it anymore, Atlas; get me a patch to fix it.
(2022/11/28)
When I’m checking parts, what on earth is this clear part? I thought it might be a new type of composite armor, but it was a jig that fixed the axles in a straight line parallel to the chassis. It’s pretty well-made and convenient. I mean, I feel a little overprotective and embarrassed.
The other side is also easily fixed. Come to think of it, it’s about actual vehicles, but no matter how expensive the weapons are, if Javelin anti-tank missiles target them, they will lose out in terms of cost performance. An article said that even a soldier who fired Javelin right after a short course had a 94% accuracy rate. If I say that, I lose the motivation to build this fighting vehicle, so I’ll leave it at that.
So far, the work has progressed smoothly. The Soviet tanks in service seem to have pretty wide tracks. The underbody of the tank was also well molded.
Now, the assembly of the connecting track. Seven runners and a large number of rubber parts are prepared.
There are three types of plastic parts and one type of rubber side pin. The assembly instructions suggest a fairly systematic assembly process with lots of jigs. If this works, the assembly process looks interesting, but I don’t know what will happen.
(2022/11/30)
There are as many as three jigs for connecting track assembly. It’s scary how complicated the assembly process is, but it’s pretty professional.
The center guide is attached to the body part of the track by putting the top and bottom together rather than separating it. Considering the time and effort involved in the process, deciding when to separate from the runner is essential. Especially when there are hundreds of the same parts like this, it can’t be helped that it’s hard because there are so many parts, but I like how MENG tries to provide realistic kits while reducing the burden on modelers. Well, I think I complimented it a little too much.
The extra runners have been removed after the center parts have been installed. Since the jig is assembled in six frames, the track number seems to be built in six units. Since the accuracy of the parts is relatively high and the fit of the components is moderate, the damage risk is negligible.
MENG has a good jig for connecting track assembly. Other kits from MENG had some jigs that were useless or difficult to assemble. I think this is quite useful. A factor may be that the trim parts on the side were made of rubber to give flexibility. Not only this manufacturer, but I’ve made a lot of kit connecting tracks, and some of them have had an awful lot of trouble. I’m having a lot of fun this time. Or maybe my tolerance for fine work has improved.
It doesn’t look much different after the side connector is fitted with a jig. I still have to build in one more component. It’s hard work, after all, assembling the connecting tracks. I want to get into the upper body and turret assembly quickly.
World Cup Soccer, I’m glad Japan made it to the final tournament! But, you know, Spain seemed to lose on purpose. It’s a makeup drama.
Did Spain get some time along the way? I guess they were getting information about Germany and Costa Rica because they were passing the ball around and not even trying to score in a hurry as time passed. Spain got seven points from Costa Rica, and Japan got no points from Costa Rica. Is it realistic to thank Spain for allowing us to buy time? I won’t say it was intentional, but from Spain’s point of view, Germany could be removed at the end, and they could go to a place where Brazil wasn’t there, so they were realistically ranked second and better. Anyway, I hope Samurai Japan will do well again next time.
(2022/12/02)
It was only after another part was glued together that it became the final form of the track. I think one of the reasons why the assembly was so smooth, even with so many parts, is that each frame is well connected.
It took quite a lot of process before I could wind one side of the track around the roller. After winding the other side, if I have extra energy, I will try to stick the invisible part on the upper side.
The other was also able to wear the track safely. The other side, which I had finished by halves because it was a good chance for me, also put on my footwear correctly. The number of parts for the track is pretty tight. If I break about four parts, I might run out.
By the way, the connecting track I am currently making is a T-72 and T-90 series general purpose double pin type track commonly used for these series tanks. The parts that fit in from the side are made of rubber, and the rest are made of plastic, so for the most part, standard glue was enough. As for the rubber parts, I might pour some super glue at the end to keep all the parts firmly in place.
I started to build the upper surface of the vehicle body. Delicate parts of the front of the vehicle, such as headlights and light guards, were also glued together.
(2022/12/05)
Concentrate on using etched parts on the rear of the tank. There are many mesh nets on the engine grille.
The long and narrow parts left and right, were glued to the body. These parts have a lot of fine molds and a sense of precision.
The hatch built into the front has a rather complex shape. It has an unusual structure with etched parts and separate moving components.
The tow rope was made of metal wire and attached. The rope included in this kit is soft and easy to work with.
Even though it’s December, it’s still not that cold, so I took a walk to Kamakura with my wife. It takes less than 30 minutes by train, so it’s easy. This time we will visit the Zen temples Enkakuji and Kenchoji, then Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, the giant statue of Buddha and Hasedera. There are so many majors. I was tired from walking around a lot. I was lucky to draw a fortune at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine because it was a huge blessing! I thought so, and it turned out to be a matchmaking fortune. No, I wanted to draw fortune in general. Well, it was good luck, so no problem. I don’t mind the details.
It is the famous giant statue of Buddha in Kamakura.
The statue of Jizo (the guardian deity of children) of Hase-Dera Temple. I would love to come back in hydrangea season next time.
This is the Jizo of Hasedera, but is this like a mascot character?
Mount Fuji, taken near my house, is also filled with snow. If the snow around the summit had melted, it would have been a bit of a disaster, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
(2022/12/09)
I still have a few more pieces that need to be attached to the chassis, but now I’m going to shift to the turret building.
As always, the MENG clear parts quality is good. Very transparent and beautiful.
The turret base assembly is finished. It looks simple at first glance but still glues together many parts.
This Terminator is a combat vehicle specialized for urban combat and carries a variety of weapons. The name “Terminator” always reminds me of Arnold Schwarzenegger, my generation. I think the Russian-style names “Cherminator” and “Therminator” are more likely. The tone is strong.
An anti-tank missile launcher is challenging to assemble because of its small adhesive area. There were also finely etched parts.
Since this is one of the accents of this kit, I think it would look nice if the launchers were positioned as evenly as possible with the launchers parallel to each other.
The news said Japan would develop the next fighter jet jointly with Britain and Italy. Italy has a sophisticated design for everything, so I expect them to make excellent fighters. The cockpit seats and meter panels have leather interiors. Or it could be postponed for a significant period before completion, causing development costs to rise several times over the projected amount. A combat deployment by 2035 is the target… I wish Japan had existed until then, but… I’m not half-joking; I’m afraid of the current situation.
(2022/12/12)
We can install a demining device on the front of the vehicle. I made it because it was prepared. This isn’t very clear to build. I’m not sure if this is the correct assembly. When I matched it to the vehicle, it fits properly, so I think it should be alright.
When I installed the antenna, the whole body got relatively high.
The assembly is almost complete. Install a rearview mirror, and that’s all.
Now that the assembly is complete, I feel accomplished. I’m getting lazy to start the painting process. Once I get the camouflage color ready, I think I should paint it all at once.
(2022/12/15)
Heavily armed vehicles with rocket launchers and machine guns look pretty cool.
After using black as a primer, blow on the panel with a slightly lighter color and prepare to make a gradation in the later process. But since it’s camouflage painted, it may not work very well.
First, the first color was blown from a bright duck egg green.
This time, it’s a three-color camouflage paint: dark green, duck egg green, and flat black. Dark green in camouflage paint is a standard in any era. What I found unusual was that duck egg green was selected. The Creos duck egg green seemed bright, so I should tone it down and blow. Or if the base is black and the color is settled by washing etc. The adjustment may be possible even if it is bright at first. However, sometimes I can’t get what I want when I paint. The Minesweeper is of the Olive Drab, or rather, I didn’t have it on hand, so this time I made a suitable blend of the inner color of a Japanese warplane and the WWII camouflage dark green of a British Air Force plane.
(2022/12/18)
By the way, I didn’t care what this round metal thing was used for until I finished this kit. I thought this was probably a masking part when painting the roller wheel. I didn’t think of this because I don’t usually use this kind of thing in tank models. I don’t think there was anything written in the instructions. I guess this is for modelers who build and paint at the same time. It’s an interesting part.
The Therminator is finally complete. This vehicle was developed as a vehicle to protect tanks from anti-tank attacks by enemy infantry due to the experience of the first Chechen conflict. It goes with the tank. Based on the body of the T-90, it is equipped with an unmanned turret and is armed against infantry.
Although it is an unmanned turret, the vehicle seems to be operated by five people. Most weapons are supposed to be automatic, but there may be a lot of different roles, such as observation and fire control.
The antenna included in the kit is quite long. I installed it as is. I needed a little height when decorating.
Even though the primary mission is anti-infantry combat, there are two 30 mm machine guns, four anti-tank missile launchers, two grenade launchers, and, I think, one machine gun, so they have quite a variety of weapons. The large-caliber machine gun has high penetrating power, so it is said that it can neutralize an enemy hidden behind an object or a building by penetrating the whole wall.
This kit did not include decals. This coloring is from Russian Expo Arms 2009.
Strong or effective, I love these futuristic-looking items. The fact that it carries so many of these weapons is exciting to military fans. It seems to shoot even thermobaric bullets, so it’s an anti-infantry-specific machine. I thought this might be called the new generation tank one day, but the production cost seems quite high. Isn’t it difficult to standardize?
The turret was compact in this way, and the crew was unlikely to fit in it. Since all the crew is positioned in the chassis, the survival rate from the top attack may be slightly better.
I’m impressed that it looks like a mirror because I put a mirror seal on the rearview mirror. I don’t usually see these items in AFV models.
Because the MENG kit was well made, assembly was fun, even with many parts. When it was completed, it was a pretty stylish vehicle. I also have Zvezda Terminator 2 in stock, so if I feel like it, I’d like to work on it again.
(2022/12/20)
