Hi all
I’m nearly ready to begin my new project in the forme of the Zvezda Pantsir S1 air defense system.
Among the painting options there is a tan one which is attractive and a bit more original than the Russian green or the Artic camo which are often modeled.
However I have not seen Russian vehicles in this camo yet. I have browsed the internet and found some Syrian and UAE tan vehicles but nothing clearly captioned as Russian.
So I have two questions. The first is did the Russians really painted their vehicles tan suring the campaign in Syria ? The second is would the missiles have been repainted too. Many pictures show tan vehicles with tan missiles containers however no clear indications prove the vehicles are Russian.
Now it’s time to present the model. It comes in the usual light grey plastic with a high quality cast and a great level of details. Zvezda give rubber tires which are quite sturdy and some clear parts. The vehicle can be presented in the transport mode or the firing mode with the stabilizers down.
The camo schemes includes the plain green, the tan and the artic ones. As usual Zvezda do not provide you with a complete scheme of 5 views for the artic scheme.
Looking forward to this one Olivier. I had the same issue when I built mine about the paint … I just went for tan in the end, but I couldn’t find a clear image of a Russian one painted in tan. But, from a common sense point of view, it would be sensible to deploy the vehicles with a colour scheme that would blend in, which green wouldnt do ??
Anyway, mine was a nice easy build, goes together well and the detailing is very nice. Only one issue I had were the wheels and the connections onto the axle hubs… it wasnt the nicest fit, and not particularly strong … be careful with them !!
Thank you H.P.
As usual you’re the one who always comes at our rescue
I’m still wondering whether the tan missiles are exhibition missiles or live rounds. Would it make sense to paint live round containers for a specific theater of operations ?
Olivier,
In Russian sales demonstration photos, there is a very attractive and interesting desert splinter scheme that they are painting their demo vehicles. The Tigr next to the Pantsir in the above photos is painted in it and there are more photos out there of the Tigr, T90MS, and Pantsir painted in this desert splinter camouflage for demonstration purposes. Photos are hard to find, though. I couldn’t locate them just now. I have seen them though.
If Frenchy @Frenchy could work his magic and dig up some of these photos to give you something to go on, that would be spectacular. It is a really dynamic, very cool camo pattern and not too difficult to mask off. It does look stunning.
I agree that live rounds would be delivered in Modern Russian Green. Munitions are never repainted for theater.
I also have this kit, purchased from the Russian hobby shop i-modelist before the war. It is an absolutely stunning kit. Of course, it is huge, but the molding is exquisite and the details are crisp and plentiful. New Zvezda produce spectacular, Tamiya quality kits that have superior fit and finish. They are also very bargain priced. I went all out on this kit, planning it for a deep winter build. I have the gun barrels, the wheels, and 5 Microdesign photoetch sets for it. Mine will be portrayed set up for firing, hopefully in the desert splinter camouflage sceme.
Here are the first pictures of the build. After 4 steps out of 88 the engine is complete.
I just need to paint it before I can install it onto the undercarriage which will be the next large sub-assembly.
I have worked on the chassis and installed the engine. Beforehand I had to paint the engine and the chassis parts around it. A black wash will be applied to the engine.
