An-Bri-RC SU-85

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Raminator
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An-Bri-RC SU-85

Post by Raminator »

Long time no see, lads. I think it's been about eighteen months? We've had to move house another two times, work's been busy because of COVID-related staff cuts, there have been loads of things to sort out with the new home build and I've had periods where I've been unwell again. Thank you again to those who asked after me while I was gone, it's genuinely touching.

I wanted to ease myself back into things, so I thought I'd start with a fairly straightforward project. I had a resin SU-85 kit that I bought from Andreas Brinker before he sadly passed away, and I didn't want it to go to waste. I came up with a few basic goals for the project:
  • - Make something along the lines of a stock Heng Long setup to prevent feature creep and stop me getting bogged down; HL electronics, airsoft, elevation, etc.
    - Use as much of the original kit as possible so that nothing went to waste; although the design is not super-accurate, the parts are all well made.
    - Sell the tank when it was done, so that there would be a definite end point; I still haven't finished my T-34/76 I started more than five years ago!
Here's where it started late last year, the original kit and donor T-34/85.
IMG20200821151709.jpg
A few days of butchery reduced the Heng Long upper to this:
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And a truly heroic amount of sanding got the resin fighting compartment down to size.
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I suspect the kit was designed with the intent that you'd remove basically the entire T-34 glacis and superstructure sides, but I'd learned from a previous Juckenburg kit that that's asking for trouble. I wanted to retain as much of the ABS hull as possible for rigidity. To help with that, I decided to use M3 bolts to pin the resin kit in place in addition to generous amounts of the gel super glue recommended by Herman, Painless and others.
IMG20200907155101.jpg
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Starting to look like something!
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Sitting the combined upper hull over the airsoft gun, you can see the distinctive low silhouette forming:
IMG20200912120045.jpg
This is about as far as I got before I became unwell again. Since then, progress has been fairly slow and inconsistent until recently.
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Raminator
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Re: An-Bri-RC SU-85

Post by Raminator »

I've been making a bit of a concerted push lately, but I don't have any in-progress photos. Here's where we are this morning after a few thin coats of automotive primer:
IMG20210502100633.jpg
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You might have noticed that the mantlet housing is an almost completely different shape. I'd estimate that I probably removed about two thirds of its mass hollowing it out and reshaping the front to fit a workable elevation arc. It's been reinforced with styrene internally and detailed with Tamiya putty and Meng bolts externally. The amount of dust this kind of work generates is tremendous, I'm glad we don't have carpet!

Mounting the airsoft gun and allowing elevation was tricky and required a little bit of maths, a lot of plastic cement and even more luck. From left to right, these three pieces mount the mantlet to the airsoft gun, mount the airsoft gun to the hull and act as a hopper for BBs.
IMG20210502101037.jpg
Everything mounted and removable in case of repairs or upgrades. Note the upside-down hook on the back of the airsoft gun to make up for the low ceiling height.
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A view into the gunner's hatch showing the chute that feeds into the mantlet housing. I've test-fired the gun a few times and everything works.
IMG20210502102046.jpg
Next up is going to be the lower hull, making room for the big airsoft gun hanging down into the belly and adjusting the ride height (the tracks suspended in mid-air really bugs me on the HL T-34). I've got a metal driver's hatch and headlight on the way from Dioramaparts in Germany, plus the kit's metal hatches for the gunner and loader's positions. Hopefully should be ready to share some more progress soon!
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tankme
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Re: An-Bri-RC SU-85

Post by tankme »

It's a good start. I really wish I had seen this build before I ripped into my T-34 upper on my SU-122 build. I cut the whole front off like it said and now trying to figure out the best way to add stability back into the upper.
Derek
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HERMAN BIX
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Re: An-Bri-RC SU-85

Post by HERMAN BIX »

So great to have you back Mr Ram, and put me down as first offer on the finished article !! ;)
One thing too is to use scrap H/l plastic melted to (pick your plastic) with a heated screwdriver to add strength and surface area to the bits you are joining. T34 mudguards are prime material !!

Charge on with the build mate, cant wait :thumbup:
HL JAGDPANTHER,HL TIGER 1,HL PzIII MUNITIONSCHLEPPER, HL KT OCTOPUS,HL PANTHER ZU-FUSS,HL STuG III,HL T34/85 BEDSPRING,
HL PZIV MALTA,MATORRO JAGDTIGER,HL F05 TIGER,TAMIYA KT,HL PANTHERDOZER,HL EARLY PANTHER G,TAIGEN/RAMINATOR T34/76,
HL AN-BRI-RAM SU-85
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tankme
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Re: An-Bri-RC SU-85

Post by tankme »

Good idea Herman. I actually have tons of model sprues I keep for projects. I'll have to try it.
Derek
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Estnische
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Re: An-Bri-RC SU-85

Post by Estnische »

Welcome back Ram! Good to see you around, I've struggled to find time myself lately.
Tubby
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Re: An-Bri-RC SU-85

Post by Tubby »

This looks fantastic
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jee
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Re: An-Bri-RC SU-85

Post by jee »

looks great, awesome job
Regards,
Jaap :wave:
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maxmekker
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Re: An-Bri-RC SU-85

Post by maxmekker »

Exelent step by step. Thanks :thumbup:
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General Jumbo01
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Re: An-Bri-RC SU-85

Post by General Jumbo01 »

You've spurred me to do some more work on my SU-100! Nice looking model

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