Saurons eye - S-300V 9S32 "Grill pan" fire control radar

[dutik]

Hi there!

 

This kit was long on my wish list: The 9S32 "Grill pan" fire control radar of the venerable S-300V SAM system.

 

Guess you know a bit about the S-300P system: Large MAZ trucks hauling canisters of even lareger missles around. The pride of the Russian Air Defence Forces, yadda, yadda, yadda...   No, this is it NOT. This one is the S-300V system of the soviet/russian ground forces. Or just the army. Totally different story. Yepp, there are two air defence forces in Russia: The Air defence forces for the protection of the Motherland and the rear echelons of soviet forces, and the air defence of the ground forces, aka the armys own air defence branch. The S-300V System of the Soviet/Russian Army is fully tracked and able to follow the mechanised forces (these are the well-known and well-feared large numbers of BMPs, tanks, Hinds, BTRs) crosscountry wherever they go to protect them from anything an adversary might throw on them by air. The S-300V looks like a sibling of the wheeled S-300P family, but is isn't: It is a wholly different breed made by a (then) different design bureau. The only major commonality was the use of the same missles and some minor equipment. When the S-300V system was introduced into servic back in the 80ies it was not only capable of defeating aircraft ans cruise missles, but also intermediate range ballistic missles. That is the Pershing-2 for you. The Air defences S-300P wasn't. Well, the Soviet Army was in fear of two weapon systems in the European theater of operations: The Pershing-2, which could annihilate the second echelon, staging areas and command structures, and the EF-11 Raven, that could create havoc among any communication and surveillance systems of the Russians. Yes, the AWACS, RC-135 and SR-71 caused also some kind of concerns, but to handle this thread the Russians had the Mig-25 at hands. The introduction of the S-300V solved the remaining two problems... BTW, it was the first air defence system able to defeat IRBMs, longe before the Patriot was able to achieve this. On top it was reliable, ECM-resistent to a high degree and able to overcame targets with low radar cross section in any wheater conditions. There is a nice article about this system at Air Power Australia.

So coming into the crosshairs of this fire control radar might cause some chilly feelings by any pilot. Just like Saurons flaming eye watching you (and a fast and deadly missle is soon under way )

 

'nuff said 

 

Images:

 

 

Large and sturdy box. Parts count 1000+. Two PE frets, decals, masks for the cockpit windows (nice!), single track links. Lower and upper hull are just a single large part each. Did I mention the 1000+ parts?

 

Regards

-  dutik

 

[dutik]

As always: First step is the cockpit

 

 

 

Nice fit here, except for the seat brackets. Had to add som styrene below the seat to kep them upright and in place. Anything else was fine. Glued it into the lower hull:

 

 

There are no colors given for the interior. I went with the common soviet light bluish grey I am familar with from my service back then during Cold war. White should be the other option here. Trumpeter provides some decals for the dashboard and the paneel to the drivers side. I've added some generic decals from Airscale and Anyz to add something to see. No need to go overboard - cab windows are not as large as an aircraft cockpit.

 

Enjoy!

- dutik

[dutik]

The frontend:

 

 

Looks very busy. Lots of dials, circuit brakers, handles. Very russian.

 

Enjoy

- dutik

[dutik]

This one is earmarked to get finished!

 

Yeah, I know, not my usual opus moderandi, but this one is just fascinating!

- dutik

[Out2gtcha]

Very unusual!  Looking forward to more

[mustang1989]

How big is this kit? Looks to be huge when completed. Great progress so far! 

[dutik]

Mated cockpit, upper and lower shell:

 

 

Very good fit, especially given the large size of that thing. Needed only a small amount of putty where the lower bow ramp meets the cockpit front and two small strips of styrene at therear, behind the taillights.

 

The large box at the rear is the APU. Multipiece subassembly. Also no fit problems. If you want to do some scratchbuilding and superdetailling you could open up the side doors and add the turbines intake and exhaust at the inside. There are good photos at Air Power Australia. I wasn't inclined to do so

The structure on top is the rotating radar mount. Also two large shells. Added the radar paneel mount at the rear too. Next steps are the suspension arms and a lot of small parts around the hull: Tools, tow cables, air vents, handles, lights and a plethora of other small parts 

 

 

18 hours ago, mustang1989 said:

How big is this kit? Looks to be huge when completed.

 

Somewhat. Lenght is 12+ inches, or 30+ centimeters. And the extended radar screen will add some considerable hight too 

 

Regards

- dutik

[dutik]

Added the torsion bars. It is important to keep them level to get the vehicle standing with all wheels on the ground.

 

 

First and last stations have shock absorbers, but the shock absorber parts don't fit well. They are 1-2 millimeters to long, depending on the location. You have to cut the part in two at the center, shorten the "rubber cover" by one or two ribs and reglue them. I am adding wire pins too, to make the bond more rigid. Meanwhile added some more parts: airvents, handles, boxes, tools and a bit of PE. Also blocked the large air intakes from below before I glued the upper and lower hull together.

 

General notes:

 

- The fit of the round alignment pins is excellent. No need to redrill the alignment holes, no need to cut off anything because they are misaligned. Well done, Trumpeter!

 

- The fit of all square alignement pins is lacking. The holes are to tight, sometimes also to short or not deep enough. You have to cut out some styrene from every square alignment hole. Literally every one.

 

Regards

- dutik

Edited December 24, 2020 by dutik

[mark31]

nice going

whas thinking on getting this one

will try to follow your build

 

Mark

[dutik]

You are welcome!

 

Regards

- dutik

[dutik]

To give you an idea of the size of that beast:

 

 

And the VW Bully is 1/32 scale, so a tad larger than in 1/35.

 

Regards

- dutik

[The Madhatter]

That's pretty cool, I like it. Has a Gerry Anderson feel to it.  I can see a few different ways to use the base kit for something sci-fi

Looking forward to the next update 

[aircommando130]

Just seeing that so far makes me want to dispense chaff!

 

Merry Christmas and cheers....Ron

[dutik]

What is a radar without a dish? Or at least an array of yagis?

 

The radar dish:

 

 

Sill lacking the large IFF box on top. The small dishes are for sidelobe cancellation for 3 tracked targets. Sidelobes have the unhealthy habit to invite anti-radar missles like the HARM, so it is wise to provide means to cancel them.

 

Regards

- dutik

[dutik]

Adding the small parts revealed two problems:

 

1.

The protective bars for the headlights are to short. Don't know why, if by design or because I built in the lampposts to high

Solution: I made my own protective bars from some wire and styrene. Done!

 

 

Really useful items. I broke off the lights a few times, because the mating surfaces are so small. Now the are safe!

 

2.

Two of the air intakes feature a protective mesh. Problem: Both the air scoop and the mesh part are made from PE, the mesh forming another wall of the air scoop. But there are no rims, tabs or other arrangements to glue the part onto. Just the razorthin PE walls... Bummer, Trumpeter!

Solution: I've glued some strip styrene inside the air scoop to hold the mesh. 0,75mm square is the perfect size.

 

 

The small strips at some parts are to be folded down somewhat to form a guide for the airflow or rain cover or something like this. I don't know why trumpeter made them with with tabs instead of a single bending mark. Some extra putty needed here to hide the gaps.

 

Regards

- dutik