Lee Chambers Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 (edited) This is my second attempt at building an armoured vehicle since I got back into the hobby a couple of years ago when I then built a Meng Merkava Israeli Main Battle Tank. I intend to put this vehicle into a winter snow diorama, this will be my first attempt at making a snow effect scene, so it should be a lot of fun. The kit itself arrived late last week and I began the build last weekend, it seems to be a nicely made kit however some of the sprue gate cutting points are extremely thick and unnecessary in certain areas which causes a lot more work for cleaning the parts up. However the plastic is very soft and with a Flory sanding stick does clean up quite quickly. There is a bit of history of the vehicle below from the build manual. History: The SU-85 (Samokhodnaya ustanovka 85) was a Soviet self-propelled gun used during World War II, developed on the basis of the T-34 medium tank and the SU-122 assault gun. Produced from August 1943 through July 1944. The 85mm D-5S gun allowed the SU-85 to effectively hit enemy medium tanks at distances of more than 1,000 meters and was able to destroy a Tiger tank from 1000 meters out, proving much capable against the newer German tank designs. Edited August 24, 2017 by Lee Chambers 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Nice start, does this kit have a full interior? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAYELL Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Hi Lee Starting well I love miniart kits, so frustratingly(new word ?) complex and fragile yet makes a terrific finished product. I think they are raising the bar a bit for detailed kits IMHO Keeping my eye on this Cheers Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted December 15, 2016 Author Share Posted December 15, 2016 26 minutes ago, Ozzy said: Nice start, does this kit have a full interior? Not full,but details around areas near any hatches. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jusjay Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Looking forward to seeing the finished piece mate. I started the exact same kit and agree the kit is nice... However the tracks imo were awful (might have been user error if I'm truthful) so I gave up on it. Yours looks good so far. Why scheme are you doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted December 15, 2016 Author Share Posted December 15, 2016 2 hours ago, Jusjay said: Looking forward to seeing the finished piece mate. I started the exact same kit and agree the kit is nice... However the tracks imo were awful (might have been user error if I'm truthful) so I gave up on it. Yours looks good so far. Why scheme are you doing? Going for the box art scheme,not sure how i am going to tackle the camo stripes yet LOL! I agree the tracks are crap,they do go together but you need to trim every bit of flash off the butting surfaces,i found a fresh scalpel blade works well.I am going to stick with them as most of the tracks will be covered in snow. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jusjay Posted December 15, 2016 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Ah that'll be a good scheme mate. Yeah the tracks didn't click in like they were meant to either unfortunately, but hey ho you live and learn. The model is a paint mule now haha! I've got a few spare bits of unused track if you need them, still on the sprue (well, I think I have!) so if u need any let me know via pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 40 minutes ago, Jusjay said: Ah that'll be a good scheme mate. Yeah the tracks didn't click in like they were meant to either unfortunately, but hey ho you live and learn. The model is a paint mule now haha! I've got a few spare bits of unused track if you need them, still on the sprue (well, I think I have!) so if u need any let me know via pm. ok cheers,but mine seem to be mostly clicking into place,i have one side of track done,should get them all done by this weekend,then paint the wheels and tracks and prime the hull early next week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentG Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 8 hours ago, Lee Chambers said: Going for the box art scheme,not sure how i am going to tackle the camo stripes yet LOL! I agree the tracks are crap,they do go together but you need to trim every bit of flash off the butting surfaces,i found a fresh scalpel blade works well.I am going to stick with them as most of the tracks will be covered in snow. Paint the entire tank green. Use something like "Silly Putty" or "Blue Tack" and roll it into long thin cylinders. Put these on the tank where you want the green stripes to be and then spray the white. http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/silly-putty G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 Good start. Good luck with trying to paint that interior. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 3 hours ago, AgentG said: Paint the entire tank green. Use something like "Silly Putty" or "Blue Tack" and roll it into long thin cylinders. Put these on the tank where you want the green stripes to be and then spray the white. http://www.ebay.co.uk/bhp/silly-putty G Cheers that was going to be my first option to try. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted December 16, 2016 Author Share Posted December 16, 2016 1 hour ago, Bullbasket said: Good start. Good luck with trying to paint that interior. John. Thanks,but a bit of dry brushing is all its getting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted December 16, 2016 Share Posted December 16, 2016 NIce vehicle, seems a good kit. , cheers Lee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentG Posted December 17, 2016 Share Posted December 17, 2016 19 hours ago, Lee Chambers said: Cheers that was going to be my first option to try. Great minds think alike! G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 (edited) Hi all, just a quick update. Lots of wheels to paint LOL and I've added bits of photo etch, also arrived in the post are a few items that will go towards making the diorama. I hope to get some parts in primer later this week, I have ordered some MRP Paints to give a try for the main colours of the vehicle body. I've also got a pack of Precision Ice and Snow for the winter effects. I will update again soon. Edited August 24, 2017 by Lee Chambers 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted February 8, 2017 Author Share Posted February 8, 2017 (edited) Hi guys, I turned this tank build into a snowy diorama. The backstory to this diorama is that the tank crew got separated from their convoy in a huge whiteout blizzard that lasted for most of the day and they are now trying to figure out where they are in relation to the rest of the convoy. The guy sitting down is suffering from chronic toothache, his comrade standing next to him is asking him how he is feeling (or offering to pull it out) LOL! Here are a few of the finished pictures, you can also see my finished diorama/tank build by clicking the link below. Edited August 24, 2017 by Lee Chambers 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Very nice vignette, Please, how did you get / what have you used to make icicle cubes? Cheers mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Chambers Posted February 10, 2017 Author Share Posted February 10, 2017 Hi,the Icicles were made from 5min epoxy scooped up a blob with an old scalpel blade and dragged the pointed end over a polyurethane plastic bag,this formed the shape off the icicle,when set simply cut to size and peel off the sheet,i applied with pva glue,or some clear lacquer can be used. The snow was from Precision ice and snow a product that is sold in a powder form called Krycell,plenty of " how to" video's on YouTube. I used some 2k clear lacquer to make the wet slushy areas mixed the lacquer with the Krycell powder,all new stuff to me but i just wanted to see how real i could make a snowy diorama. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carius Posted February 10, 2017 Share Posted February 10, 2017 Great job indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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