Zvezda’s new-tool MT-LB in 1/35 scale is a great kit but yall know I can’t build anything out of the box
And of course it has to be Iraqi so I had to make the early-version headlights and guards. Also the mushroom-shaped air intake hood was ubiquitous to almost all Iraqi MT-LBs as my references show, and neither Zvezda, Trumpeter, nor Skif included this in their kits. So I made my own in Shapr3D, along with the headlight assembly, and printed it in resin.
The dozer setup and wading equipment are exquisitely made by SP Designs. I also added a brass R-113 antenna from Aber, and the brass PKT machine gun barrel is from Voyager.
Excellent build Matt. How did you get this kit so fast? It was just released last week! And your build speed is astonishing. Great build of a great kit. Zvezda has certainly stepped up their game!
Thanks brother! A friend in the UK purchased and shipped it for me. I assume he got it from a vendor in Russia.
You’re right, Zvezda has certainly stepped up their game. The only thing I dislike on this kit are the water vanes on the rear hull. In reality they’re thin, flimsy sheets of metal with lightening holes in the sides, but Zvezda has molded them as mostly solid pieces. Fortunately, my references don’t show many MT-LBs in Iraqi service to have them mounted, so I just left them off.
The kit builds up very quickly, I built it in about five or six hours.. the link and length tracks are a godsend!
I printed an S-60 in 1/35 scale but cleanup has been extremely tedious.. the Iraqis mounted these on T-54 and PT-76 hulls, would love to purchase an S-60 from LiveResin but it seems chaotic to deal with them.
No need to deal with Live Resin directly. HobbyEasy sells Live Resin and while their supply can also be a bit chaotic, they have pre-orders up regularly and will generally get everything, it just takes a bit of time.
don’t know how I missed this one but I will be following with interest, especially the painting and accessories as well as detailing of the kit decals etc.
