WW2 Tamiya 1/48 Russian Armour Diorama plus a Yak-3 - finished and in the Gallery - 31/08/17

[Valkyrie]

Figures look as if they could be tricky, il b tuned into this for some more tips. I dnt even tackle pilots for inside ac never mind full length exposed tank crews!!

[Robert Stuart]

Looking forward to the T-34 Stix, and to those figures

[wimbledon99]

Hi Stix,

 

Been busy with work and home so not dropped in for a couple of weeks. These looks amazing. Really looking forward to the Yak and final diorama  

[PlaStix]

On 30/06/2017 at 15:44, Drift said:

Very good work Stix, as usual. Hungry to see the rest

Thank you very much Drift - next bit below!

 

On 30/06/2017 at 16:07, Valkyrie said:

Figures look as if they could be tricky, il b tuned into this for some more tips. I dnt even tackle pilots for inside ac never mind full length exposed tank crews!!

Hi Valkyrie and thank you. Figures aren't too bad to do. I have done some before. Tamiya figures are usually okay to paint mostly because they are nicely detailed. Some manufacturers make the detail too soft which makes them more difficult. Didn't get as much time on this project this past weekend so the figures are still in the same state.

 

On 30/06/2017 at 19:08, Robert Stuart said:

Looking forward to the T-34 Stix, and to those figures

Hi Robert and thank you. Progress on the T-34 can be seen below but the figures didn't get any further. Hopefully next weekend.

 

On 30/06/2017 at 22:19, wimbledon99 said:

Hi Stix,

Been busy with work and home so not dropped in for a couple of weeks. These looks amazing. Really looking forward to the Yak and final diorama  

Hi Nigel and thank you very much. No Yak this weekend - just T-34 I'm afraid.

 

A lot of this past weekend was spent decorating and fitting carpet - didn't get as much time on this as I'd hoped. By the time I had the T-34 to a similar state as the SU122 it was getting a bit dark so the photos are a bit grainy - I only did the three below:

 

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

[modelling minion]

Superb work Stix!

The weathering is fantastic, I particularly like the rust stains on the grab handles and other accessories, just brilliant.

[Hewy]

The weathering really is fantastic,impressive stix ,most impressive

Glynn

[PlaStix]

21 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Superb work Stix!

The weathering is fantastic, I particularly like the rust stains on the grab handles and other accessories, just brilliant.

Thank you very much Craig. I have to say I do enjoy the weathering process on tanks.

 

16 hours ago, Hewy said:

The weathering really is fantastic,impressive stix ,most impressive

Glynn

Thank you Glynn - very kind of you to say.

 

I haven't done anymore work on the T-34 and SU-122 but I did decide to try and take a few better pictures. I didn't get home from work until nearly 8.00pm yesterday but the light wasn't too bad so I started to get a few taken and then realised I had taken a lot. Anyway I will post them in three separate posts - the light quality still wasn't the best but I'm happier with these photos - please keep in mind they are not finished yet:

T-34/76 first:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PlaStix]

More photos - SU-122 next:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PlaStix]

...and a few of them together:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm hoping I might get some more done on this project this evening but we'll see.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

[Biggles87]

I'm just blown away by your weathering on the SU-122 Stix, especially the rust on the crumpled mudguards.

 

Cheers

 

John

[stevej60]

Hell's bell's Stix those tank's look like they've been forged out of steel,superb.

[Robert Stuart]

Good to see the T34 and Su together, with subtle weathering - nice

[Basilisk]

Great effort on your tanks Stix.

 

Cheers, Peter

 

 

[modelling minion]

They look great Stix, almost enough to make me build some armour for a change.

[Hewy]

I'm in agreement, top job ,very nicely built and weathered stix

[Hewy]

22 hours ago, modelling minion said:

They look great Stix, almost enough to make me build some armour for a change.

 They most certainly do and It did me craig , I'm building a little universal carrier in migb ,gb , due to  these ,although stix  makes this type of weathering look far easier than it actually is,and I've been round in circles on mine ,

Glynn

[PlaStix]

On 7/4/2017 at 20:56, Biggles87 said:

I'm just blown away by your weathering on the SU-122 Stix, especially the rust on the crumpled mudguards.

Cheers

John

Thank you very much John - I am really enjoying the weathering process on these. One more to do at the weekend then I promise I will get back to the Yak! "Back to the Yak!" sounds like on old rock'n'roll song title.

 

On 7/4/2017 at 21:02, stevej60 said:

Hell's bell's Stix those tank's look like they've been forged out of steel,superb.

Thank you Steve!!

 

On 7/4/2017 at 22:08, Robert Stuart said:

Good to see the T34 and Su together, with subtle weathering - nice

Thank you very much Robert. It interesting seeing the various tanks alongside each other.

 

On 7/5/2017 at 06:27, Basilisk said:

Great effort on your tanks Stix.

Cheers, Peter

Thank you very much too Peter.

 

On 7/5/2017 at 21:21, modelling minion said:

They look great Stix, almost enough to make me build some armour for a change.

Definitely go for it! I'd like to see your talents at work on some armour.

 

17 hours ago, Hewy said:

I'm in agreement, top job ,very nicely built and weathered stix

Hi Glynn and thank you.

 

14 hours ago, Hewy said:

 They most certainly do and It did me craig , I'm building a little universal carrier in migb ,gb , due to  these ,although stix  makes this type of weathering look far easier than it actually is,and I've been round in circles on mine ,

Glynn

Your Universal Carrier is looking excellent and your weathering is superb! - and Craig should definitely have a go at building some armour and I can certainly recommend Tamiya's 1/48 kits.

 

Thank you for all the comments.

 

I have managed a bit of work over the past couple of evenings - mostly making up the tow cables and fitting them - nothing worth a photo though.

 

More tomorrow I hope.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix 

[PlaStix]

Over the past weekend I stuck to my plan of working on the KV-1 - basically to get it to the same stage as the other two. So first it was a case of applying Humbrol's Gunmetal to areas where I wanted chipping and wear to appear - I applied this very thinned with water and with a very fine, pointed brush. Next, over these areas and slightly over the area around these, I stippled on a very thin wash of Revell's Anthracite. I use the latter to tone down the shine of the Gunmetal a little and to make it look a bit like wear around the chipped areas. Next I applied thinned Railmatch's Light Rust around some of the details and into some corners. I try only to give the impression that some of the fittings, etc. are going slightly rusty. I know most of these vehicles didn't survive long and the armour plates themselves wouldn't have rusted in that time-frame. To be fair I saw something done similar on a tank at a model show - so it's more artistic licence than reality. Then, from some of these rusted areas, I use a very fine, pointed brush and very thinned Light Rust to streak downwards to make it look like the rust has got wet and run down. The paint is very thinned and I dry the brush off a lot so that it leaves only the slightest amount of paint - I sometimes have to go over these several times to build up the effect. Very thinned Anthracite was then streaked down from other areas to create more runs and then I do the same with Revell's Light Grey. Finally I stipple on a very thinned wash of Humbrol's Dark earth on lower areas and surfaces to give the impression of dusty mud. It takes quite a while but I only realised on Saturday morning it had taken me four hours just to do the chipping!

 

And this was the result of the several hours work weathering:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also took some photos of the three together. Please note I still need to add some mud and final weathering to all of these - plus some stowage and figures:

 

 

 

 

I have started to get some mud on the T-34 and got some photos taken later on yesterday - I will post them separately in a bit.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

[Robert Stuart]

On 10/07/2017 at 12:32, PlaStix said:

I only realised on Saturday morning it had taken me four hours just to do the chipping!

From the looks of it, time well spent Stix - those tanks loom look great

 

{edit} loom -> look {/edit}

[modelling minion]

Your hours spent on the weathering have certainly paid off Stix, the KV-1 is looking absolutely fantastic. The line up of the 3 of them looks really good, I think these are your best work yet and I cannot wait to see them with the Yak on the diorama. Speaking of which I have found a picture in a book of a T-34 trundling past a Yak-1 which is being serviced on a forward airfield so your idea is absolutely spot on.

[PlaStix]

20 hours ago, Robert Stuart said:

From the looks of it, time well spent Stix - those tanks loom look great

{edit} loom -> look {/edit}

Thank you very much Robert and I would imagine, on the battlefield, they did tend to loom quite a bit! 

 

4 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Your hours spent on the weathering have certainly paid off Stix, the KV-1 is looking absolutely fantastic. The line up of the 3 of them looks really good, I think these are your best work yet and I cannot wait to see them with the Yak on the diorama. Speaking of which I have found a picture in a book of a T-34 trundling past a Yak-1 which is being serviced on a forward airfield so your idea is absolutely spot on.

Hi Craig and thank you very much for your very kind comments. And thank you for the information about the photo - very useful to know! 

 

Speaking of the T-34 - as I mentioned above I have started to add some mud to the lower areas. I used Mig's European Dry Mud and applied it using a cocktail stick:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I still need to add some mud effects on the insides of the tracks and then stipple some washes over these areas to tone them in over the paintwork.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

[Robert Stuart]

20 hours ago, PlaStix said:

 

 

20 hours ago, PlaStix said:

I still need to add some mud effects on the insides of the tracks

 

OK, but its a good start Stix, looking very effective

 

{edit} That didn't read as well as I'd intended, it looks great {/edit}

[PlaStix]

On 11/07/2017 at 14:49, Robert Stuart said:

OK, but its a good start Stix, looking very effective

{edit} That didn't read as well as I'd intended, it looks great {/edit}

Hi Rob - no problem - and thank you for the comment. I managed to get some mud/weathering on the insides of the tracks on the T-34 over the past couple of evenings - I will post a photo when I get chance.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

[Basilisk]

Some great modelling there Stix

 

I am still not convinced on the amount of rust you show on some of your tanks as it gives the impression of a tank which was parked out-doors for a while without being used .

 

But these tanks would have been on the move with droops riding on them (climbing on and sliding off), so more bare metal would add to the feel of being used.

 

But as long as YOU like it, that is what is important and I have to say that your T-34 with the mud added looks great.

 

Cheers, Peter

[PlaStix]

Thank you Peter. 

 

Yesterday I got the mud application started on both of the other two tanks and then started work on the engine for the Yak-3. In fact I got more time than usual to do modelling yesterday and it was mostly spent just working on the engine. It is nicely detailed OOB but REALLY fiddly in places! Only one photo this morning to show some of the parts with some paint on:

 

I have done some assembly and I will take some more photos when the light is better. Gardening is also on the agenda for today so not as much modelling time. 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix