In progress > BTR-152 by SKIF
Doors	Scratch-built winch	Winch cover test fit
Bumper is glued in place	Check out how bad the leaf springs are	Winch cover opened
Seat comparison - lots of work ahead	Seat frames from styrene instead of copper	windshield wiper mechanism
latches and wiper motor	seats	dashboard and spare gauges
rear benches and other additions	front benches compared to the parts from the box	Tire pressure panel mounted and connected
dashboard and air conditioner(?)	cabin interior	scratch-built fenders (wings)
Steering wheel had to be fudged	scratch-built guards/screens for the headlights

This is BTR-152 from SKIF. Another crude, poorly-detailed kit in my collection. I'm going to spend a lot of time on it if I don't give up soon. Fortunately there are a LOT of photographs of different models of BTR-152 on the internet that give you even more ideas of how underdetailed this kit is.
1/6/08 The most time-consuming part so far was the Engine compartment where I cut off the grille shutters and replaced them with white styrene ones in open position. Then I scratch-built the winch based on photos I found of the ZIL-157 where the winch is more exposed. The bumper was scratch-built too out of copper foil. Winch cover was cut out of brass tube of the (more or less) right diameter. It is mounted on two hinges one of which actually works (the other one got accidentally glued-up) so I can open and and close for show-off purposes. The leaf springs are horrible but I didn't have energy to make my own - I think I'll have to cover all the imperfections with dirt.
I cut the doors in two pieces and replaced all the details with scratch built pieces. The doors will also have working hinges so they can be in opened/closed at will which will reveal the driver/passenger area which scares me because the seats are way off scale they are too skinny (comparing to other 1/35 seats/drivers lying around) and there seems to be no room to fit a more accurate seat in the kit.
1/26/08 Made a huge (and at the same tiny) progress with widshield part where I added hinges for the shutters and a windshield wiper mechanism. I don't think I'm going to use windhields though. Inside I placed oversized and oversimplified latches that hold windshields/shutters in place.
Also after some deliberation and careful planning I decided to try to make the seat frames out of styrene (0.64mm in diameter) instead of copper wire. Pros: styrene doesn't want to be bent as easy as the copper wire but glues together nicely. I'll see how sturdy they are when I have the seat cushions ready.
2/10/08. Seats are done along with the sheet metal frames on which they will be mounted. I also made the dashboard based on reference photographs. I drew both the layout and the instruments/gauges in Illustrator and then cut the dashboard out of copper foil; drilled holes for switches and gauges. The gauges where printed on transparency film (mirror image) and I pasted a piece of white polyester on the back. This way the image is protected from accidental paint drops which can always be scratched off with a toothpick. Now I have to figure out the order of painting/attaching of the dashboard to the body of the BTR.
6/18/09. Multiple little but very time-consuming parts are finally done. These include scratch-built back and front benches. I decided not to attach the long benches leaving just the hinges instead. The front benches will have to be glued only after the sides of BTR are attached to the chassis. I hope it works! I also added little things here and there to make the inside look busy. The tire pressure adjustment panel was something I dreaded to make but it's a very prominent feature of the interior. I made the handles of the taps/faucets out of copper foil by punching little hexagons with an allen wrench.

7/18/2010. Finally the BTR is taking shape! Most of the body is done now. I painted the interior before assembling it together. I scratch-built the fenders/wings and the guards for the headlight. I used the mesh from a screen door - it's on a heavy gauge side but I think it is still better looking than the photo-etched parts supplied with the kit.

If you have any questions regarding this project or anything else on this site feel free to contact me via email " mokeyev'at'yahoo.com " (just replace 'at' with @)