BTR-60PB
| Kit: | ICM, 1/72; model finished in 2012. |
|---|---|
| Vehicle: | "Ps 673-62", Finnish Army, late 1970s. |
The BTR-60 is a Soviet armored personnel carrier originally introduced in the late 1950s. The BTR-60PB, depicted by this model, is the third-generation (and last major) variant. The Finnish Army adopted the type in the early 1970s, and acquired a total of 113 vehicles; they served until 2006. I wanted to build this not only because I thought this is an attractive-looking vehicle, but because it was in service when I served in the Finnish Army and I remember seeing these at the time.
As you can see, this model is very small.
Construction Notes
The ICM kit is generally good, but most of the smaller parts (handles, tools, etc.) were either already broken or broke even if very carefully attempting to remove them from the sprues. They were all replaced with scratch-built parts made either from brass wire (24 and 26 gauge) or styrene rod.
Test fitting of the wheels demonstrated that there is something very wrong with the kit. The wheels end up too far in the vertical dimension, and too far in the front. I attached the wheels properly with steel rods as axles, and scratch-built some suspension details from styrene rod.
I airbrushed the model with Model Master and Floquil acrylics, with colors I mixed myself. I weathered it with Tamiya weathering pigments, and finally coated with Testors dullcote. The decals came from the kit (registration numbers) and from a GAL Decal sheet (roundels, actually intended for Finnish Air Force BAe Hawks). Very light wash was applied (thinned Polly Scale acrylic paint). I also masked the windshields and sprayed them lightly with Testors dullcote to simulate how the windshield wipers have cleaned part of the glass.
A review of the ICM kit can be found here, as well as a good photo reference of some Finnish vehicles. I took a large number of detail pictures myself when visiting the Parola Armor Museum in Finland in 2012. Some of the photos I found on the Web when building this model are no longer accessible.
Cargo rack and new handles/railings installed.
A BTR-60PB on display at the Parola Armor Museum (SMA photo). Note how the serial number is crooked (not aligned with the structure).