1/72 Unimodel BA-10 Armoured Car Pt. 2 - Wheels

The UM model is a complex one, amazingly the construction of the wheels, suspension and lower chassis includes about 42 parts! So while it seems I haven't made a lot of progress here it actually feels like I have done a lot.

The rubber tyres are interesting to work with. There was a little flash around the inside which needs to be trimmed off with a sharp knife and then you slip them onto the wheels themselves. The fit is OK but some went on better specific ways round, and these pop off easily and look strange, so these ones were fitted onto the inside of the rear double sets.

There is also the issue of painting the tyres. I decided to not glue the double wheel sets together at this point so I could remove the tyres again and spray the wheels before the final construction. Otherwise getting at the inner wheels to paint them would be tricky.

Everything goes together easily enough though and unlike the ACE BA-20 kit I just constructed the UM model has very helpful pilot holes or makes it obvious where things are supposed to go.

So there we go, aside from being a little skeptical about the merits of real rubber tyres - precisely because of their flexibility - I am enjoying this construction so far. You could say that there is a little too much complexity, but that would depend of whether you are a war-gamer or a display modeller. You are certainly aren't going to be able to bang this one together in a hurry (try the Pegasus BA-6 which only has 23 parts in total if speed of build is your goal)!

Next: The upper chassis and hull.