The Soviet BRDM-2 family of vehicles (Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina, Russian for “Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle”) is based on an armored 7-ton, 4-wheel drive amphibious chassis.
Completed BRDM-2 and 9P148 Konkurs from S-Model kit 720023
It features a pair of retractable chain-driven wheels on each side, that can be lowered to help with trench crossing. The most numerous variant features a cupola with a 14.5mm KPVT machine gun with a coaxial PKT 7.62mm which is available in the S-Model kit. The chassis also was used as a basis for chemical recce machine, a command vehicle, a short range surface-to-air missile (quadruple 9K31 Strela) and an ATGM carrier with quintuple 9M113 Konkurs launcher, known as the 9P148 that you also see featured here.
The BMPT (marketing callsign “Terminator”) is a Russian fighting vehicle, based off a T-72/T-90 chassis with a 5-man crew. It is intended as an urban warfare vehicle supporting main battle tanks and infantry. Armament consists of
4 Ataka ATGMs on the turret sides (up to 6km range),
two 30 mm 2A42 cannons (known from the BMP-2) in the center,
and a PKTM machine gun (7,62x54mm) at the top.
Two AGS-17 grenade launchers in the front sponsons further add to the firepower.
The machine is clad into reactive and bar armor from all sides, and the kit represents that very well. Not everyone “gets” the vehicle (even the Russian MoD hasn’t ordered any), so the only customer to date is Kazakhstan. Since I am tired of seeing the same 2 examples in reports from arms expos and the thing looks a bit too post-apocaliptic – I devised a scheme of my own. Markings come from Dragon Humvee set and a Space Marine set.
2 years later than the actual completion date I am finally uploading a gallery of my rendition. It was an absolute joy to build bar the tracks which can be easily broken when trying to bend them around the wheels.
Zvezda 1/72 T-90, kit 5020
The kit is built mostly OOB except
OKB Grigorov’s T-90 tracks,
copper cable for the lower rims of the fuel drums on the back,
decals from New Penguin’s Airborne Combat Vehicles Markings set 72002,
and 0,3mm brass rod antenna, which I bent numerous times during the first week. I got so angry I placed the model in a box so I don’t do it again.
