Aotrs Shipyards October 2016 Release: T-64A (144)

[Aotrs Shipyards]

Aotrs Shipyards is a webstore on Shapeways.com, a 3D print house which had production and shipping facilities located in the USA and the the Netherlands.

So good news and bad news this month. Good news, as promised, we have a T-64 release: the T-64A (both with gill armour or with skirts) in 144!

T-64A (with gill armour)

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(Again, this is the left-hand view as opposed to my typical right, simply because due to the supports, the left-side came out a bit better!)

T-64A (with skirts)

link

(Note: None of the skirted T-64As (or models thereof) I saw pictures (or drawings) of had the smoke dischargers fitted; so while Wikipedia says the skirts and smoke dischargers both came in in ’81, I have, for the moment, chosen to go with a skirted variant with no dischargers. I may well add a turret version with smoke dischargers later.)

Photos, as usual, from the Rep 2 prototypes!

The bad news is that that’s the only version at the moment. On top of conventions, illness (today has been the first day since the start of October I’ve been able to put a full day’s work in) and other sundry issues, the T-64 has proven to be nightmarishly difficult for various reasons – only being able to work at it in short bursts among them. It’s been a long haul, with the unfinished vehicle hanging over me like the sword of Damocles!

Once again I have to thank UsmanK, who provided me with some Russian-language links which enabled me to find some better walkarounds without which it would have been even harder.

(I have now talked to my Russian-fluent mate and he’s provided me with enough stuff that I can hopefully include Russian and Ukrainian languages in my own search terms and find such myself next time!)

I now have a commission coming in (and to be honest, I’m quite heartily sick of the T-64 at this point!); so November’s release may be from the backlog, but once I’ve done that commission, the next on the list is the T-62M or maybe the T-64B or a modernisation. T-62M seems slightly more likely at this point (as we could be into December, which is another short work-month) – also, as stated, I’m fed-up at looking at T-64s for the moment – but as always such plans are only ever nominal!

(The base T-64 has both a different hull (which can be modified off the T-64A) and a different turret, so that had slipped down the line somewhat.)

That said, the other good news is I discovered that the early production T-80s (1976) straight used the T-64A turret, so I have, at least got half another tank (and you can expect to see said early-model T-80s relatively soon.)

Shapeways, Aotrs Shipyards

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