The fit and finish of everything on and around the turret was superb. They ended up looking fine – crisis averted. I made sure to line everything up properly. The stanchions (see Step 5, above) did not line up with their female receptacles so I sanded the stanchions to a consistent surface and slapped on the skirts with a lot of glue. I attached them at the very end of the build. I left them off and painted/decaled/weathered them separately to assist in painting. ![]() ![]() The two side skirts are beautifully rendered and fit very well. Fortunately, the gap is symmetrical and straight, so it was easy to fill with some sheet styrene. When I assembled them there was a significant gap in the front, where the upper hull is supposed to meet the lower hull (see image). The instructions never show the upper and lower hulls coming together. I would replace the string with a thinner kind because you have very little leeway for opening the holes in the cable ends. The cables for the front of the hull were a total loss and I left them off. I was able to use only two of the four cables, and these were slightly too long for where they went (along the rear of the turret). Their openings are too small to accept the string. These work fine if cut precisely and if you can find a way to attach the string to the cable ends. Academy always provides thick, twisted cotton string in their AFV kits to represent steel tow cables. You attach the first two of four tow cables in Step 6. I later would sand the parts flush, so the side skirts would have a nice even set of connecting points when attached, even if the points didn't line up with where they were supposed to go on the inside of the skirts. I decided to extend all the stanchions out just a little past the edge of the hull. I found it difficult to figure out the placement of the side skirt stanchions and the optional part (M12/M13) without the side skirts they support in place, and the stanchions locations (Parts 元5/元6, L14/L15, and L40/L41) are critical in order to make the side skirts fit correctly. I had problems in Step 5 deciphering where parts went. I suggest using a slow drying adhesive (like Testors 'black bottle' liquid cement) so that you can move things around to fit once attached. I installed the various plates and such in order. I attached parts M16/M17 first, and then I worked my way front to back. In Step 4 there is a multi-part assembly of what looks like extra armor that runs down the front of the hull and along the bottom back to the rear. I like the way Academy engineered the three-part return rollers the long posts allow you to secure them tightly. Some of the parts do not seat firmly and must be coaxed to remain lined up and in place while drying. Fortunately, a quick check online will produce the same images in color.Ĭonstruction starts with the hull and suspension, and the fit is good like the rest of the kit. ![]() I applaud Academy for including the photographs but I don't understand why they were printed in black and white. Color Lacquer, Life Color, Testor/Model Master Acrylic and Enamel, Revell Acrylic and Enamel, and Vallejo Model Color and Model Aire lines. These include Humbrol (Enamel and Acryl), GSI Creos Acrylic, GSI Mr. No less than eleven paint product callouts are included in the instructions. Not only are these photographs crucial in understanding the placement of some of the parts, they are annotated with decal placement as well. One (un-named) color scheme is represented by a very handy black and white, 8 ½ x 11, double sided sheet with seven photographs of the finished model. The decals are printed by a Korean company and are slightly thick but in register. Separate, turret, upper and lower hulls, individually wrappedįolded 8-page Instruction Sheet with 12 steps, printed in black and white ink 2 lengths of black, one-piece 'rubber-band' trackġ sprue of tan-yellow polyurethane wheel capsġ 2-foot long piece of white twisted cotton string
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