Meng - BMR-3M Amoured Mine Clearing Vehicle - Construction
Tracks, tracks, tracks.... Decided to tackle the tracks first...
Right... 492 peices done... 800 left to go... And I haven't even started on the vehicle itself... Lol... These weren't too bad to be honest... About 6 to 8 hrs I had these altogether..
12 Road wheels 2 Idlers and 2 Sprockets... Boring..!! Lol
Boring part done...! Sprue nubs to the roadwheels were surprisingly easy to clean up... Not like Takom's heavy tread pattern... Mengs tread pattern is much more refined...
Lower suspension in... Roadwheels, idlers and sprockets on... Tracks wrapped around... Not too shabby for a day at the bench...
This is shaping up to be a great kit if the lower running gear is any sign... Clean up has been minimal... Fits perfectly...
Test fitting the fighting compartment panels to the hull...
This kit just falls together... Panels snap into place and without any bonding there's little to no gap all round...
Texturing the main Hull plates...
Additional weld detail added to the main hull plates...
More welds...
Over welding... Going cross eyed...
Took the time out to make a new welding tool... Definitely an improvement...
A little more done tonight... Upper and Lower Hulls bonded together with a few items added to the rear deck...
PE Grills fits like a glove...
Bit of detail to thenside walls...
Rear tanks added... Would've been nice if these were slide moulded... The usual 2 halves and lid approach... Difficult to get these looking seamless...
More welding, more bits, more texture...
It's going to be tight getting into places painting at the rear...
Frontal ERA Blocks going on...
Last components that require welds are now bonded in place...
Looking like something now...
Getting through all the small parts... There's quite a few... Some are just too fragile to put on till the end...
Rear Tanks and the large spreader bar for the crane are all loose for painting...
ERA looking quite cool..
Crane jib mounted... Very cool addition...
Tool box on this side is still loose... There's quite a tight region at the back of it which will be difficult to paint...
Smoke dischargers either side... Made up of 18 pieces... A little bit of welding added to their brackets also...
ERA blocks everywhere...! Side skirts really making an impact...
Crane done and dusted... Made up a rope to go with it...
Pretty much just got the main armament, a few more ERA blocks and last of the fragile peices to the roof to go on... Then onto the mine rollers...
Making a start on the mine rollers...
Putting his claws together... I'll take the, up to the point where I can do the welds to the arms rather than following the instructions...
Fair bit involved with these mine rollers... Plenty of opportunity to practice welds...
Almost there... Textured and prepped for welds before permanent bonds are made to the sub assemblies...
Texturing the mine roller elements...
Welds to the Mine Roler Frame members...
Tiny welds to the roller cradles...
Welds, welds, welds...
Rolling, rolling, rolling...
Rollers in their cradles...
Damn she look tough..!
Going to be fairly fiddly mounting the rollers... Just getting them to this stage has been a bit of an effort...
Russian Beastie..!!
Not far to go now...
Thats one roller attached to its arm... Gotta say this was super tedious and fiddly to do... The instructions say 5 links but the imagery shows only 4 links of chain on the front end... Its pretty darn tight getting the pin thru such a short chain... So best off going with 5 if you ever build it... I managed to correct things however...
Mine rollers almost done...
The supplied metal cable for the mine rollers felt a little underscale and their texture wasn't all that crash hot... Found some alternative cable to replace them although a little on the large side, but the texture looks much better...
Cables for the mine rollers added using 0.030" lead wire.
Considering leaving the long range tanks off...
Last few items being bonded.
Everything ready to go except the main gun...
So very close now...!
Main gun completed... Gotta say this is a model unto it's own... Quite a bit tedious but at this size therei dont think many manufacturers could've improved on it with this level of detai.. None the less I got there..
Main gun mounted...
Done..!
Noice..!!
A number of elements are still left loose till paint...
And she's done... This is a big kit with a lot going on... But being a Meng kit it goes together very well... There are some tedious areas but its to be expected on such a complex build... Solid 9 outta 10 on this one... Another top kit from Meng...! Go get one...
Comments
22 22 November 2023, 11:39
Jonathon HerringEvery one of the reviews I've read say that the tracks were the most tedious part of the build. So, looks like you're ahead of the game. Looking forward to more, Eddy. Enjoy it.🍻
24 November 2023, 13:16
Eddy MarshallCheers John... Honestly... As far as plastic workable tracks go, these are probably the easiest I've put together... No glue and click together... The tedious part is sanding the sprue nubs to all of them, not that theyre visible... It took about 6 hrs in total... Last night's session i managed 110 links in an assembly line fashion... Sharp sprue cutters do help though...
25 November 2023, 00:21
Album info
Construction of the most beastie looking thing...And it not exactly a tank... But it is cool..!
