The BMD-4 is an airborne infantry fighting vehicle which development started in 1997. The initial trials were made in 2001 and the first vehicles were issued in 2005. It is built on a BMD-3 base and equipped with a Bachka turret derived from the BMP-3 turret.

The vehicle architecture is similar to the one of its predecessors with the driver and two soldiers in the front, the turret in the center and the troops seated all around the turret. The rear compartment is used for the engine and the transmission. The access into the vehicle is done through a large hatch behind the turret.

The crew consists of the driver in the front and the gunner and the vehicle commander in the turret. The number of troops carried is 4 instead of 7 in the BMD-3.

The main asset of the BMD-4 is its firepower. The main armament is the 2A70 low pressure 100 mm gun with 34 rounds which also can fire 9M117M1 antitank missiles with a range of 5500 m.

The secondary armament is the 2A72 30 mm automatic cannon with 500 armor piercing and antipersonnel rounds and a 7.62 mm PKTM coaxial machine-gun for close defense.

To serve the armament the gunner uses a modern fire control system with a thermal sight. The commander also has a panoramic sight allowing him to fire the weapons.

The vehicle is protected against artillery splinters and small arms fire. It also is protected against NBC weapons and is fitted with 6 Tucha 902V smoke grenades dischargers.

Due to a poor reliability production ceased in 2010. Reportedly a total of 60 vehicles would have been built either brand new or from former BMD-3 hulls. The BMD-4 seems to have been phased out to the profit of the BMD-4M. It never saw action.

The kit

It is a logical following of the BMD-3 Trumpeter also released the same year. Besides the box includes 3 sprues, the 2 hull halves, 1 clear parts sprue and 1 photoetched part sheet form the BMD-3 kit. Only the sprue for the turret and the bins behind the access hatch are specific to the BMD-4. The tracks are the workable individual links type. A small decals sheet and a length of braided brass complement the content. The notice is a 8-page booklet. It is supplemented by a color plate for the decoration instructions. The instructions usually are clear. 7 steps only are necessary. Concerning the decoration, Trumpeter proposes a plain green camo and a 3-tone one.

The cast is good and few prominent mold lines are present. The fit is overall good. However the holes on the inner faces of the roadwheels need to be slightly enlarged. The model represent a BMD-3 modified hull and is quite accurate. However Trumpeter offers as an option the cover for the AGS-17 which is wrong. On the BMD-3 modified hulls the cover is replaced with a welded plate which is issued in the box. On the turret, Trumpeter has omitted the very visible weld seams between the armor plates.

The build

It begins with the suspension and the running gear. The alignment of the suspension arms needs to be checked. At the back of the hull, the locks for the tow hooks A3 and A4 must be glued before the hooks themselves. The axes of the return rollers have a notch which must be positioned upward. It is a clearance for the track guide teeth. To facilitate the future installation of the tracks I didn't glue the idlers and removed the tab so the idlers can remain mobile like the actual ones. On the inner faces of the roadwheels the hole to insert the suspension arms axis is slightly enlarged. The roadwheels and the sprockets are not glued yet to help the painting.

At step 2 you have to assemble the tracks. To do so you just have to click the links together. The latter do not require much cleaning. Trumpeter states to use 84 links per track however 82 are enough especially when you let the idlers mobile.

Once the lower hull and the suspension are painted the tracks are installed.

At step 3 the upper hull is glued to the lower one before adding the details except for the episcopes which are glued from inside. The junction between the both hull halves needs some surgery where the front end of the vehicle narrows. You have to remove some plastic inside the lower hull so the upper hull perfectly fits.

At step 4 you assemble the tow cable. Trumpeter gives some braided brass which looks good to my taste. You need to enlarge the hole at the end of the eyes A26 to insert the cable. You also may modify the shape of the retaining plate which is molded solid on the eyes.
To bend the grille PE-A5 you have to use plastic part B10 to which it is glued. The notches in the PE part must be aligned with the bolts under the lid.
Trumpeter proposes two options for the weapons stations formerly present on the BMD-3 hull. In reality there is no option. In the BMD-4 the weapons are not used. The MG port is blanked off with a round plate as depicted by part B22. As for the AGS-17 port it is deleted and replaced by a armor plate welded on former BMD-3 hulls. Part B21 must be used however the weld seams omitted by Trumpeter have to be represented.

Step 5 is dedicated to the turret so I skip to step 6 to complete the hull. Headlights protections PE-A11 and PE-A12 are tricky to shape without any template. The stiffeners which must be bent are fragile and I broke one on each of the parts. So I removed them and glued them back when the protections are installed.

Steps 5 and 7 are dedicated to the turret. Before the assembly starts it is better to create the weld seams which are clearly visible on the large armor plates. Trumpeter gives the glasses of the sights as clear parts but does not give the option of sights with open shutters. To depict them open so a little extra work is simply needed. For the gunner sight D14 you just have to glue the shutters in the open position. For the commander sight D10 you have to cut the flap D26 along the hinge and fold the upper part inward. Then the whole flap is hinged downward. Sight D24 is protected by PE shutter PE-A14 which must be first shaped before being glued pivoted to the right.
The gun mantlet dust cover lacks details. You may enhance the folds. The riveted retaining strips are missing too. They are made with PE leftovers.
The smoke dischargers are well designed. The tube itself has a tiny mold line and the cap is molded as a separate part which gives a more realistic rendition.
The muzzle of the coaxial MG is hollowed.. The protection of the MG is ill-represented. It should presents several cooling slots. The 100 mm and 30 mm guns are molded as a single part which is nonetheless easy to clean. The muzzle of the 100 mm gun is a separate part which is not hollow enough. So once it is glued it can be drilled out a bit more with a round drill.

The turret is paired to the hull without the usual tabs to secure it.

The decoration

Trumpeter proposes a plain green decoration and 3-tone one which I opted for.
The colors I used are XF-67 NATO green, XF-78 Wooden deck tan and XF-1 Flat black. They are freehand airbrushed. Some touch-ups were needed here and there. The details are painted with pictures of Recomonkey website as references as Trumpeter does not give any indications.

The weathering begins with a dark brown wash applied all over the vehicle. Then a pinwash is applied around the details. Some aluminum scratches are made on the lower surfaces of the hull and the turret. A dust effect is realized by spraying several layers of well diluted earth tones. Finally the contact surfaces of the tracks are drybrushed with some aluminum.

Reference : Recomonkey

Last updated: 08/2023