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Wish a good recovery! The BREM-2 recovery vehicle


dutik

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Hello!

 

Time to start another vehicle build. Some months ago we placed an order for Spdesign conversion sets via an Ukrainian online shop. My part of the order was a BREM-2 conversion and a T-80UM Bars - the "King of the Hill in yellow and violet camo. While still waiting for a decent styrene T-80U kit (Tumpeter announced one this year) (yeah, I know the Skif kit - thats why I wait for Trumpeter) I added a cheap Trumpeter BMP kit to my Skyraider order. Just to make good use of the shipping costs and so. The cheapest was a Chinese IFV version that went for less than 18 Euros. This will do the trick, because I just need the lower hull and suspension.

 

What is the BREM-2?

The recovery Version of the BMP family. Not very common compared to the vast numbers of BMPs all around. The turret was removed and replaced with a 1,5 ton crane and an internal spill for recovery of stuck vehicles plus a open cargo platform at the rear top and some more dothats useful for recovery of vehicles. Crew of 3, a top mounted PKT for self defense. That's it.

 

If you don't know SPdesigns:

This is Sergej Paksjukov from Ukraine casting conversion and correction sets of modern soviet/russian/ukrainian AFV stuff. Sergej started with corrections and conversions for Skifs T-80, corrections for Dragons BTRs, and a line of both conversions and full kits of MT-LB based vehicles. His early efforts were hard to build "Cottage industries" stuff, with bubbles, warping, even jelly spots were the resin hadn't cured. Good old days like other AM stuff from the past. Nowadays his castings are good, straight, with hollow turrets and even some interior parts here and there. Only drawback are huge pour stubs running along the parts, and you have the choice to cut into the part or to remove tons of resin. Old School modelling as we like it.

 

Not to forget: If you are looking for all the command, control, communication vehicles to complete your battery of IM molded SAM or arty vehicles from Trumpeter and co then is SPdesigns THE only game in town.

 

Let's begin!

 

Regards

- dutik

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First pics:

 

The two kits.

 

brem015rqqm.jpg

 

Upper and lower hull mated.

 

brem02elpi0.jpg

 

Still filling and sanding the seams around the lower large bow plate. Fit is good, but this area is well visible, so I want to achieve a seamless surface. This will take another day due to some more layers of putty. This is good thing, because the build interlocks with my other builds. One is curing, the other one is in the works.

 

All these details are cast right onto the upper deck! Had to sand off a few millimetres at the back of the upper body resin part to make it fit to the lower hull. Not a biggie. Rear doors are also provided by the conversion kit. Added the drivers hatch and some styrene parts for the suspension and boxed in the exhaust before mating the hull halves.

 

That's it for now.

 

Enjoy

- dutik

Edited by dutik
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  • 2 weeks later...

Mating resin and styrene hulls was easy. It took some runs with putty and heavy grit wetsanding at the large bow plate, but this was an easy task. Silk smooth surface now.

 

The running gear made some trouble: One of the shock absorbers was too long. Had to cut off a part from the middle and glue it together again. Biggest problem is the PE provided in the kit: Brass, but hard as Dragons old stainlees steel PE from the early kits. Boy, if the Chinese use the same stuff for the armor of the real thing then you should not mess with them! :fight: Also no bend lines so you are on your own to get the right fit. Tried my luck with one bumper guard, than skipped the PE parts and made replacements from styrene. Here we go:

 

 

brem03pzuc4.jpg

 

Now I am working around bow and rear plate adding a ton of small styrene details like hinges, tow hooks, spare tracks and so on before I move "onto the deck" to work with the resin parts there. Just started to remove some casting blocks too. The black primer is where I boxed in the radiator openings that will be covered with the mesh PE.

 

Regards

- dutik

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  • 2 weeks later...

While working slowly to add more details I got some more useful stuff:

 

brem056lsvp.jpg

 

Stainless stell cable for the winch and crane. A russian acetylene welding set for the stowage box. The welding equipment is not that much different from western stuff, but Evolution provides also russian decals. Great! Not to mention that most other welding sets have no decals at all, evon not for the pressure gauges. The Modelpoint Tucha smoke mortars are from my stash. Turned brass, better than any resin part.

 

Well, the conversion depicts the BREM-2 on exhibition in Kiev. It is a really accurate replica of this particular one, but this one has some parts simply welded in place for display. So I add the details common to vehicles in army service. Hinges, tie-downs, tow ropes and so on. I could also add a ZU-23 twin on top - if I want to show a Syrian BREM. Vehicles in that place of the world really fast get infested with 23mm twins. Must be the climate. Or the Jihadis. Whatever hits first :wicked:

But this one will become a russian one. So no twin, but some welding equipment, a tarp and other useful recovery stuff :coolio:

 

Regards

- dutik

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More details:

 

brem0647qxv.jpg

 

Divides the deck into subassemblies: cargo box, rear wall, 3x tow cable, commander/driver hatch, storage boxes, bow, crane.

So I am not building endless details with no end but get one assembly after another finished. This keeps the modelling fun.

 

2 tow cables, cargo box, rear wall are ready.

Crane is under construction.

To do are one tow cable, bow plate, hatches, storage boxes.

 

Well, made real good progress given my limited modelling time. I am happy.

 

Regards

- dutik

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  • 2 weeks later...

A little bit more work done:

 

brem07xnk4c.jpg

 

Added the light guards and the entrenching blade. Found an image that shows the entrenching blade in working condition. The common images (Vitaly Kuzmin, Kiev) are from museum vehicles that are missing parts. Ordered soft copper cable to finish the front installation as well as the crane. Added some more pulleys and stuff to the roof. Also had to take off and relocate some parts because I found more images that show more of the layout. Of course after I lglued on the parts the first time... Now waiting for some missing slotted nuts and wingnuts too.

 

Got the the last tow cable finished (2 supports at left and right front are with a cable, the third at the left roof is empty).

 

And the new walkaround images are here.

 

Side view showing the installation of the steel cables (there is one each to the left and ricgt of the entrenching blade). The cables are bolted to the eyes below the bow top and to the the sides of the blade. I guess they are intended to limitade the moving arc of the blade and to prevent it from flipping below the vehicle bottom.

 

Regards

- dutik

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  • 2 weeks later...

Made my own steel cables for the entrenching blade by using MR Modellbau soft copper wire, splicing a loop for the bow mounting point while going lazy at the blade mounting point by simply gluiing the cable to the backside of the blade... :whistle: It is not visible from outside, so the shortcut is ok. Also repaired a small damage with sheet styrene. Lost the outer hinge for the trim vane during sanding. Fixed now. So I call the bow area finished:

 

brem08squ4p.jpg

 

 

Here is an image showing most of the AM products I use for this build:

 

brem09xzua7.jpg

 

Armo turned metal antenna base, Masterclub slotted nuts for the 2 return pulleys of the winch cable. Kupferseil is the soft copper cable. Bronco wingnuts. Also PE wingnuts form Royal or Aber (dunno, old stock from my shelf). ModelPoint Tucha smoke mortars. Acetylene welding set from Evolution. Rusty Rail provides an open wooden box with spare parts (not show here) for the open storage box. Some resin bags from my stocks (guess from a Legend set). The large tow cables at the model are from Accurate Armour. More resin bolts and nuts from CMK from my stocks. Copper foil from my stocks - an old sheet made by Verlinden. This one is that old, it still shows the pre-Euro D-Mark price on top :coolio:

 

Regards

- dutik

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Ready!

 

brem11agsfw.jpg

 

Added the last parts. To get the support for the commanders MG was a real task. You have to glue a large and flimsy resin part onto the tops of two vision ports, onto the area the width of a pencil line... Nice!

Solved the issue by adding stryp styrene anto the rear face of each vision port, thus enlarging the top area somewhat. Enough to glue on one side of the resain part, then the other. Set it aside to cure overniight. It was still in place the next day, so here we are :thumbsup: The odd support arms inside the cargo box got fine wire glued into the inner corners that were pinned into small holes drilled into the support blocks on the deck. This might help to keep these flimsy installations upright and in place. One of the arms will also be surrounded by some cargo, while the other one was so close to one wall I also added a drop of superglue here...  :whistle: 

Last two dozen parts were mostly pieces of fine wire, drilled out hex bolts and other gizmos.

 

OK, time for some primer now. Guess I will have to iron out some scratches here and there.

 

Enjoy!

- dutik

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