Able Archer/ RFR rules (?) - Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022 in 20mm (part 7) - The new Russian Tsirpan-S-1 arrives to the battlefront

At the moment Armory is the only brand producing the Pantsir-S-1 and soon Zvezda will release its own. After spending 100 euros in two Armory Pantsirs I decided enough is enough as the risk of the model´s price being intercepted by the controlling part of the family (wife). So I made my own Pantsir (named Tsirpan this time...) from a toy truck, finishing with three models of this type, enough for three BTGs. The other three hopefully will have either Strelas, Tunguskas, Buk or modernized Shilkas, depending on what I can find at reasonable prices. 

The model became a bit rustic as there is nothing better than a true model coming out from a nice box but, at the same time, these kind of projects gives me enormous pleasure to make. 

Now discover which is the true Pantsir and which is the Tsirpan?... Sure! You just found it due to the different 'Z', right?? Now seriously: the Armory model to the left was used as a direct matrix to make the toy one on the right. All measurements were carefully taken but even so some errors were made mostly because the cabin, from were everything started, was not an exact replica of the Armory cabin but just something with the general layout. In the end good news to my wife: the Armory model is 50 Euros (P&P included) and the Tsirpan came out at 2,5 euros! 

The general dimensions, specially the maximum length, were respected and this my main approach. From there everything derives and one or two millimeters difference is not very important as it is not noticeable on the wargames table.   

I only had five tires from the spare box that could be used in this model so I cast another four which became slightly... well, not a master piece, to say the least. 

This is the original toy truck I found in a Chinese shop. The cabin had a relatively resemblance to the Kamaz cabin of the Pantsir and about the same dimensions. 

To begin with, the cabin had to be broken at the front bottom and slightly bent as well as the mudguards. 

 

The toy chassis were also used. It was connected to the cabin with a piece of hard styrene. This was a problem as the chassis became a bit taller than it should. 

The wheels are mostly hidden in this model and were crudely attached to the body with a glue gun and super glue. 

Blocks of blue board were glued to the chassis and then covered with a mix of paint and PVA glue. This layer was insufficient as I noticed later when the primer diluted a bit of the styrene. The weapons station was crudely made as most of the detail will be covered by the 30mm guns and missiles.  

The majority of the details were made in EverGreen, bits of GreenStuff, paper clips and broom bristles. 

Of course most of the details are over simplified but the generic looks was captured. This one looks a bit like a polythene Airfix Tiger from the 60s when compared with the Dragon one ...

The steps are too thick and rear holders are made of paper clips all for the sake of modelling endurance. 

Next: a return to WW2 and the Western Desert.