Spending an afternoon with some Russian Beauties Part II, The BA-10 1/100 15mm

     Having finished the last big boat project I needed something different. I cast my eye around my overcrowded "toy room" for something simple and undemanding and there they were, a bevy of beauties from the far-off land of Russia; a pile of Zvezda kits that I had picked up and never built! I scooped them up and got to work right away

      The Stug kit being a dead-easy build I looked for something that would be more of a challenge, there it was the BA-10. Not that there is anything particularly hard about this kit but is does have lots more parts and they are tiny (and my fingers are bratwurst-sized). Off to the races I went!

Box art, nice to see something other than all-green on Russian armor

box rear, no room here for instructions

the contents

sprue side A

sprue side B

details, wheels, lots of wheels

the turret top is excellent 

assembly begins, the rear fenders join with the hull sides and spare tires

the spares go onto the tiny stub axles on the hull side

creating this ungainly looking thing

the chassis and front fenders come as one part

that the upper hull snaps over...

......like so

next come the front hood and cab, the M.G. is part of the turret base

 and threads through the hole in the front of the cab

an ingenious way of having a delicate part like an MG barrel 

without having to make a tiny part that will get lost in handling,

 this assembly pops in place on the top of the hull

and we are now ready for the suspension, front axle and wheels

attach the wheels carefully, the fit is tight and the parts are small

the axle is then pressed into place, I used the back edge

 of my craft knife to press it into place to avoid stressing the wheels

more of those tiny details that probably no one will ever notice,,

 leaf springs for the rear axle

the rear axle and wheels

it is often easier to press the axle down onto the wheels 

carefully push those wheels in before adding the outside dual wheels

I pressed the brake drum down into the wheel with the back edge of the craft knife 

rather than pushing on the end of the axle to avoid snapping the part

done and ready to go

two lugs, two holes, they just snap into place

the headlamps, I didn't grt any photos of the assembly of these as it needed at least three hands to do,

 I can tell you it is possible to snap them into place by putting the straight shaft into the hole on the side of the hood and then flexing the fender down until the bent end pops into the hole in the fender, 

I glued all of the other ones I built that day

it captures the look very well

side 

front

3/4 rear

     I didn't think this was going to be as detailed a kit when I first picked it up, it certainly is the best, most detailed and accurate model in this scale that I have come across. Assembly is a bit of a chore but would be easier if you cut some corners and use a bit of glue,I did so on the second and third models I built and it speeded things up a good bit. The parts fit is superlative and there is no flash of any sort.

      Very Highly Recommended