DONE @p.2 +++ "Object 511", a potential ZSU-23-4 successor, early 80ies

[Dizzyfugu]

Next project on the bench, and after the (for me) huge A-14 project I start something tracked and much smaller: an 1:72 tank model, a Soviet prototype from the early Eighties: "Object 511".
Topic: an SPAAG, a successor to the highly effective ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" and effectively an alternative concept to what eventually became the 2K22 "Tunguska" gun/missile complex in real life.

[Dizzyfugu]

Nothing new here, project delayed due to logistics problems. A resin conversion set I ordered for this one turned out to lack an essential piece, which has to be procured from elsewhere in the meantime. So I started another, non-GB project to fill the gap.

[buzzbomb]

Go you good thing !

Was fondling a pre-loved Shilka with various broken bits yesterday, so very interested to see what you plan

[Dizzyfugu]

Well, it's basically a similar chassis and hull (from a Trumpeter SA-6 launch unit), combined with a new turret. The latter is the problem, still waiting for the donor kit to arrive, and even then it is not certain if I can directly use it. I suppose that some major mods will be necessary, though (including a new turret ring for the SA-6 base, and it might OOB be a tad too wide), but what are knives, saw and putty good for? 

Work on the hull has already started, but these are minor mods, and the running gear (wheels and tracks are a single IP piece, but nicely detailed) has already been painted:


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In the meantime, the interim build comes closer to the finish line. Final weathering and varnish approaching.

[Dizzyfugu]

Ah, finally, the donor kit for the turret arrived. But to my disappointment the cannon is OOB fixed - not that suitable for an SPAAG that I plan to depict "in action". So, beyond adapting the turret to the hull, I will also invest some thoughts into a mechanism, so that the (new) weapon can be moved vertically. At least, that's the ambition. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Things started moving again, at a high pace. Now that I have the turret donor (from a Revell M109) as benchmark, I could check my theories about the turret placement and the mechnical part for the gun. Both proved to be correct: the turret ring had to be moved back, so that the hull roof had to be modified - I cut a square piece out, shortened it a little, and reversed it, plus a small plug. Thankfully, this mess will later be hidden under the large turret. However, the turret now partly covers the engine bay, and its hood had to be removed/replaced since it is highly bulged and made mounting the turret impossible. Luckily I had a spare hull part from a Leopard 1, from which I was able to salvage a "flat" engine cover. Another messy affair, but now the turret fits and can be turned 360°, even though there's a relatively huge gap (1.5mm maybe, but at 1:72 that's much) between turret and hull. But this will be hard to fill without compromising movability. Maybe I can add a veil to the hull.


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


I was also able to scratch the desired joint for the gun - an resin 1:48 GSh-6-30 for/from a MiG-27 from QuickBoost, taken OOB. It is movable now, and can be raised by about 70°+ - very suitable for an SPAAG! The mechanism was scratched from styrene profiles, and the OOB gun opening with an integral cover was cut into two pieces, so that I could recycle them. In fact, the opeing is, despite the movable gun, surprisingly small, and I was able to close even more gaps with a cover made from paper tissue drenched in white glue. Looks better than expected, pretty massive and menacing!


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Next steps are hull details (e.g. arrays for serach and targeting radar antennae), and painting comes closer, too.

I hope I can add pics to this and previous posts soon!

[buzzbomb]

I am excited and impatiently awaiting photos

[Old Wombat]

I am excited and impatiently awaiting photos

Yes.

[Dizzyfugu]

"Patience, young padawans..." But your requests have been heard, so I pre-draw posting Object 511's WiP pics.

At the moment I have finished basic painting, decals next and weathering effects.


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 "Object 511" a.k.a. "ZSU-37-6 / Лена" prototype, USSR Army, during state acceptance trials; Donguzskiy weapon test range, Orenburg Oblast, summer 1979 (What if/kit-bashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[buzzbomb]

Really nicely done and pretty slick work. Looks very much as it might/would/should.

[Dizzyfugu]

Really nicely done and pretty slick work. Looks very much as it might/would/should.

Thank you, that's the plan...  There'll also be an exhaustive background story, and why Object 511 eventually failed.

[Snowtrooper]

37-6? So six-barrel 37mm gatling? That's bad news even for a Hog, but I suspect that the calibre is about the upper limit of what can be realistically implemented as a gatling, and the ammo would weigh a lot. Which is probably why it was only a prototype

[Dizzyfugu]

That is true. The biggest operational gatling gun I could find is the (experimental) T250 37mm six-barrel specimen on board of the RW American T249 prototype:



This was apparently only a testbed, since it had only a 192-round drum magazine, which in the 3,000 rpm mode would have equated to approximately 5 seconds of fire.

There have been bigger multi-barrel guns (47mm is the max. I found), but these were AFAIK no gatling guns, rather automated ship weapons with a much lower rate of fire.

[zenrat]

The ADAAV produced by the MPF had a 120mm gatling.

But it was designed for use on Mars so the ammo would weigh 1/3 of what it would on Earth.

[PR19_Kit]

I reckon they should have gone the whole hog and put six barrelled 16" Gatlings aboard the Iowa class battlewagons. 

That would have slowed the Yamato down a bit...............