Building the Black Eagle in 1/72nd
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Background
While perusing a Japanese modeling magazine, my eye was attracted to
a Russian tank called “Black Eagle”. Some “googling”
of that name found more information and this would be my next project!
But how to build without plans? The websites did give dimensions, height,
width, length, one side view and several photos, enough to make a set
of construction plans.
About the Black Eagle…the tank is very low, six feet, has an auto
loading gun with ability to select the loads required, no crew in the
turret and no direct vision, all TV cameras. There are photos of both
six and seven road wheel versions. The model would be the six wheeled
version because only one 1/72 Revell/Monogram T-80 would be sacrificed
as a source for the wheels, track and gun.
The Build
First step…make drawings; a three view plan for a box using dimensions
given for the tank. My Black Eagle would have to fit within this box.
Ground clearance was calculated from the T-80 kit piece with the trailing
arms attached. Once the ground clearance was drawn on the plans, there
wasn’t much space is left for the turret and hull! The photos show
different road wheel spacing than the T-80, three groups of two wheels.
A website side view drawing, reduced to match the box size, would give
dimensions for wheel placement, centerline for the turret, front to back
size of the turret etc. Photos were now used to add details and check
for accuracy…does it look like the photo? There wasn’t a clear
picture of the rear, so the exhaust and cooling air vent through louvers
in the back, but venting through the top, like the T-80 might be correct.
Build the hull…First determine the width of the hull, side to
side, which is the overall width less the track and clearance, determined
by laying some track on the plans. The hull sides were made from 40 thousand
with marks scribed on the sides for centerline of the road wheels. Next
the front, back, bottom and side were made and assembled …basically
a box. I did cut out for the cooling air intake…again a guess since
it’s under the turret bustle. The trailing arms from the Revell/Monogram
kit were cut away from the hull and the hull remnants sanded away. The
arms were glued to the hull, using the scribed marks as a guide for location
of the road wheel hubs. I glued the trailing arms in the four corners
first, made sure the hull sat level with the “ground” and
all four touched the “ground” before leaving them to dry overnight.
The next day, the rest of the arms were attached. (see photo).
To make the side skirts, I carved a mold of the overall tank using balsa,
coated it with crazy glue and after drying, sanded smooth. Use the glue
in a well ventilated area because the fumes from this much crazy glue
are “deadly”! One piece of ten thousand was vaccuumformed
over the mold and the skirts cut away. Detail such as reinforcing strips;
armor plate, etc were added later. Long rods were added to the hull to
support the outer edges of the skirts (refer to the photo above, the track
will go over the rods). The tracks from the kit are not long enough for
the new hull…don’t worry, leave the gap under the skirt. Nobody
will dare lift this skirt!
Turret…what a shape! The “horseshoe crab” shape is
accurate based on photos of the model made by the Russians. The turret
is made a la Harry Woodman’s technique…balsa covered with
plastic. It’s made in three pieces…the crab shaped front,
the square aft piece and the transition piece between them. These were
coated with crazy glue and sanded smooth. Pieces of ten thousand were
brushed with liquid cement and then pressed firmly onto the balsa. The
plastic bent to fit the convex surface using only hand pressure. Crazy
glue was added at edge joints for added strength, but the plastic stuck
tenaciously to the balsa. Each piece of the turret armor was cut and glued
to the first layer of plastic.
A new gun mantle was made and the T-80 barrel attached.
Details…and there are lots of detail…were made from plastic
rod or sheet. The “bolts” holding on the explosive armor were
made using a small punch and die set. The “glass” in the rangefinders
are from Pine Box Derby decals and sequins. I plan to add antennae, TV
lenses and other sensors, all in different colors to add more “interest”
to this exotic model.
The model is painted with Tamiya Buff plus some white and shaded with
even lighter Buff. The rubber skirts are lighter still for contrast. Then
Burnt Umber oil wash around the details, not a complete wash and sealed
with a flat clear finish. That’s it!
Conclusion
My model turned out to be about an eighth too high because the height
of the hull was increased without taking away somewhere else. And it’s
too wide by about the same because of miscalculating the track width. |
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