Rubicon’s Su-85/122 is a fun little kit to build and weather. And as I found out, it can be double the fun with a few magnets!
The kit is designed for the Bolt Action tabletop game. It’s sized at 28mm, or 1/56th scale. Parts are included in the box that allow one of two variants to be built. The Su-85 was an anti-tank gun, and the Su-122 was a howitzer. Both were based on the T-34 chassis.
Rubicon’s Su-85/122 – A Magnetic Attraction
As I began building the kit, I noted that the two gun housings could be fully built up. There weren’t parts that had to be used on one or the other. I started thinking about the possibility of magnetizing it so either could be used.
It didn’t take long to work out a simple plan to add magnets inside each gun housing. Those matched up with additional magnets placed on the tanks hull. With little other modification needed, I had made them “hot swappable”.
I did have to make sure that the weathering matched both. This was easy enough to do, however. I started by weathering the lower hull. Then I worked on each of the gun housings. Finally, I added one to the hull, and did more weathering to blend it. The process was repeated on the other gun hosing. The result is that the two can be swapped on and off, and the weathering looks right for both.
I really enjoyed building this kit. It’s a great way to get into armor building without needing to commit to a full 1/35th scale kit. No track links to worry about on this one! It’s all one piece and easy to work with.
So if you’re looking for a simple armor build, give the Rubicon kits a try!
Don’t forget to take a look at the rest of the Tabletop Gaming articles on my site!
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