Learstang Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 (edited) All righty, it's time to plunge (back) into the wonderful world of armour! I haven't done any armour since I built a Sherman Firefly in the one true scale (1/72nd scale to you heathens), many years ago. It will be interesting to see how I get on with this one. For this adventure, I've chosen as a subject the ISU-152 Soviet assault gun/tank destroyer. I've always liked the brutish appearance of this beast. To me, an enduring image of the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany is that of an ISU-152 rumbling through the ruins of Berlin in April of 1945. To those who don't know about the ISU-152, it was a heavily-armoured assault gun/tank destroyer which mounted a huge 152.4-mm gun-howitzer on an IS-2 tank chassis, and was designed to replace the similar SU-152 (which was mounted on a KV-1 tank chassis, and used the same gun). It was particularly useful in destroying fortifications with its huge shells, which could weigh over 100 lb. Although being relatively short-barreled with low muzzle velocity, the gun fired such a large shell that an explosive shell could kill or disable a German tank crew with its blast effect without even penetrating the armour. Regarding its nickname, 'Zveroboiy', that is Russian for 'Beast-Killer', as it killed Elephants, Panthers, and Tigers. At any rate on to the kit. It is supposed to be a 'snap-fit' kit, but it can obviously be built conventionally with glue, as I intend to do. The moulding looks quite nice, with no flash and sharp details. Regarding its accuracy, it looks like an ISU-152 to me and I'll let the tread-heads debate its accuracy, as I intend this to be an easy OOB build with no AM goodies (with the likely exception of a turned-metal barrel). Enough of my prattling on, below are some piccies: Best Regards, Jason Edited June 14, 2016 by Learstang 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Following this with interest!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 (edited) Thank you, badger! Hopefully I will actually finish this GB project. Below is a bit of progress. I've cut out the main hull parts and snapped them together - everything seems to fit nicely. Below is also a photograph of the gun. It's actually rather nicely-moulded, but it's such a centre-piece of this AFV that I'll probably spend a bit of quid to upgrade it with an AM turned-metal barrel. Best Regards, Jason Edited June 15, 2016 by Learstang 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I will be interested to see how this goes together. A while back I picked up Zvezda's 1/72 Tiger and Panther quite cheap so it'll be good to see other kits from the same range going together. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Excellent! My old boys now have a younger brother! The Zvezda gun looks a lot better than Pegasus effort, but I still think you should replace it.....Gutted the barrel I sent to you never made it. PS - I've got the IS-2 & Panther, so I think we've got most of their WWII kits between us. PPS - If anyone ever finds the Zvezda 1/72 T-34 going cheaply, please let me know! PPPS - The version on the KV chassis that I'm building is the SU-152 not IS-152. It was developed as the KV-14 (available in 1/72 resin from Zebrano, for silly money), I'm hoping my efforts might summon a decent quality all injection version (PST, Trumpeter, anyone?), otherwise I've got two more kit-bashes to do! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 (edited) Me too about the barrel! However, perusing eBay, it doesn't look like the AM barrels are going to force me to dip into my inheritance so I'll no doubt be shortly picking one up (the AM barrel, not the inheritance). Regards, Jason Edit: There, I just bought an RB Model one for 8.62USD. Not bad. Edited June 14, 2016 by Learstang 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I've part built Zvezda's Panther Ausf D and it's a cracking kit. Also have several of their T34/76s. Shame they're all past the 25% limit or I'd build one for this gb! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 BTW - Jason your comments about the 152mm HE round are spot on, I've read a quote from a Tiger crewman (IIRC) who stated the whole tank rank like a bell after a ISU-152 scored a direct hit, forcing them to abandon it (I'm not quite sure what this actually means but it certainly doesn't sound like much fun)! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 14, 2016 Author Share Posted June 14, 2016 Just a few days ago I read a rather interesting and disturbing medical article about the effects of a blast on soldiers. It's much worse than just concussion as a blast affects the entire body, not just the brain (which it also badly affects). One interesting aspect, especially appropriate to armour crews, is that the blast effect bounces back and forth off of hard surfaces, so its effects are intensified in a large armoured box, which is what an AFV is. I don't think I would have wanted to be a tanker in any army in WWII (or any other war for that matter). Regards, Jason 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Amen to that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 23, 2016 Author Share Posted June 23, 2016 All righty, then! A little progress to note - today I received my replacement barrel in the post and a very nice piece of metal work it is. Below is a photograph showing the plastic part I'm replacing and below that the new metal barrel. I've been waiting on this part to do more work, so now that that excuse is out of the way, I suppose I need to crack on with the build. Regards, Jason 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 Lovely aren't they. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 23, 2016 Author Share Posted June 23, 2016 (edited) Yes; it is very nicely done. At first I thought the muzzle brake blast openings weren't open, but then I noticed they were. Very nice casting (or machining? - I know about working with plastic, not metal). Regards, Jason Edited June 23, 2016 by Learstang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 You might find some burrs up inside the muzzle brake, a quick going over with a needle file will sort them in a jiffy. Hoping to make some serious headway with the 'elder-twins' tonight.....Got a bit side-tracked finishing off the BA-6M (only took me seven years, that one). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 That barrel looks too nice to paint! Well worth the investment. Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 25, 2016 Share Posted June 25, 2016 8.62 USD well spent I think Jason! Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 Welly, welly, welly. Work continues at a glacial pace on my bold and hopefully not doomed venture into the 'wild and wonderful world of armour' (which I believe is a new History Channel series). Below is the gun-howitzer (or howitzer-gun; I've seen the ML-20S 152.4-mm cannon described both ways) put together, with the plastic breech glued to the machined barrel and muzzle brake. It may look a little crooked, but trust me, it's on straight. Then is a photograph of the part that holds the gun, the pintle(? - sorry, I don't know all the technical terms for tank thingies, only for aeroplane thingies). Whilst test-fitting this into its mount, I broke off the two pins, so I drilled out where they had been and replaced them with some brass tube - much stronger, of course. This tube will be super-glued into place at the proper time. For the time being I just dry-fitted it so I could put the entire cannon assembly on the chassis, which is the last photograph. Doesn't look too bad. Now for my next trick, I will start painting the b****y thing. But that's for another post. Best Regards, Jason 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Looks like they did a much better job of the mantlet than Pegasus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 That's nice to know. The moulding overall looks excellent on this Zvezda kit. Very clean and nice detail. For example, the engine grille on the back has openings that go all the way through. Best Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Might be worth sticking a backing plate painted black behind that.....I'm sore tempted by the Zvezda kit, but I already have five each of Italeri & PST, plus a couple of Italeri ISU-122S. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 Now there's a question - I was thinking about painting the interior the same green as the exterior (I have some Testors MM Field Green I was going to try) - would it be better to paint the interior black? Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Anywhere thats visible through holes in the hull.....If you are leaving any hatches open I'd spary the whole interior black, just to be on the safe side. You might want to overspray a small area immediately around the hatch with the interior colour (white), the hatches themselves should be the same colour as the camo on inner & outer faces. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 I don't think this kit has any hatches that open up, so I'll probably go with all-black. Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Forgot to mention that the engine compartment is primer red if you want to show any contrasting colour through the grille, personally I wouldn't. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Well following your advice has led me hear Komrad Marshal but I'm now confused, where does the propeller go, canopy, undercarriage and rear gunner chapski reside ?, is this yet another obscure variant of the old Shturmovik ? Great choice Jason, I too have one of these monsters lurking in the stash, (though in the more sensible 'hard of hearing' 1/35th scale) along with sundry items including the kitchen sink to bung at it. These beasts along with the JS-III are amongst my favourite armour subjects so I look forward to progress with baited, not to mention gin sodden breath..... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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