Panda Commander

Russia’s bizarre “turtle tank” died the way it lived: encased in an awkward metal shell that prevented its turret from rotating and surely hindered its mobility. Just a day or so after the modified T-72 appeared on the front line around Krasnohorivka, just west of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian drone team spotted the 51-ton, three-person tank sheltering in a hangar in Donetsk’s Petrovs'kyi district. An apparent Ukrainian artillery barrage targeted the hangar, destroying it and the vehicles inside—including the notorious do-it-yourself up-armored tank. The turtle tank apparently was an early-model T-72 with DIY anti-drone armor. Where many crews on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war add drone-defeating armor to their vehicles in the form of cages or slats, the crew of the turtle tank installed a huge roof that extended out in front of the tank. The struts supporting the roof prevented the turret from rotating more than a few degrees and also would have complicated any effort to maneuver on forested or urban terrain. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/04/09/russias-anti-drone-turtle-tank-got-too-famous-for-its-own-good-ukraines-troops-tracked-it-down-and-blew-it-up/ (Close-up video at link showing details of “turtle”armour.) Panda Commander

First rate modelling. You have commendable skills. Panda Commander

After completing my first kit in decades back in July '23, I'm now heading for the finish line with my second, a Tamiya 1/48 IS-2. It's largely OOB, with a few additions from the Aber photoetch set No. 48 051: How small is this stuff? Very small: Even with a 5X Optivisor, this is about all I felt able to use from the set: Primed in Games Workshop rattle can black; zenithal highlighted in Tamiya rattle can Fine Surface Primer white: After much wrestling with, and cursing at, my Harder & Steenbeck Infinity CR Plus, I have discovered that isopropyl alcohol & a couple of drops of retarder are the ideal diluent for AK acrylic Russian 4BO green: I had weeks of nightmare issues with paint clogging, spitting and blowing out of the cup. At a couple of points, the 'brush nearly went out of the window! Finding out about isopropyl alcohol was like the sun rising after an Arctic winter... I'm still learning the ways of the airbrush, but I'm not displeased with my progress at this stage. More later, hopefully. Panda Commander

Nice kitty! Panda Commander

Nazi forces are said to have lost their prized vehicles as they desperately tried to escape from the Soviet Army across the Czarna Nida River in Poland. For years, local history enthusiasts believed this story - and two previous incomplete Panzers were dragged from the river in 1990 and 2003. But it was always claimed there was one last tank. Now history buffs have discovered the last of its kind Bergepanther- a tank that tows tanks. The unique vehicle could be worth a fortune, with a similar model fetching £13m (€15m) in Germany two years ago, reports local media. Michał Kęszycki, technical manager of Panzer Farm, organised the salvage operation after hearing the story from his uncle. The tank will now remain at the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw, which called the vehicle an “absolute rarity”. https://www.the-sun.com/news/9358642/lost-nazi-panzer-tank-discovered/ Panda Commander

Thanks, everyone. Panda Commander

My father-in-law is ex-Scots Greys, and spent a lot of time on Centurions, especially Mk.3 and Mk.5 Vespid do a well-reviewed 1/72 Cent, but it’s the Aussie 5/1 version. My questions: a) Would it be a difficult task to convert the Oz version to a UK Mk.5 tank, or is it more of a “Just leave off these three parts and fill in the holes” job? b) If the conversion is feasible, is there a “How-to” or WIP article anywhere? c) Does anyone do appropriate 1/72 60s/70s decals? d) Who sells a suitable paint? Panda Commander

Superb modelling. That’s a level of skill to which I can only aspire. Panda Commander

The wheel edge could wear to a bright steel. FF to about 53 seconds into this video: Panda Commander

Commendable modelling, Fuad; l love the bucket! Panda Commander

Exemplary. Panda Commander

I agree. The XF-78 started out as pale and desaturated, but the weathering process, plus a 90% thinned dusting spray of Dark Earth (?) shifted it towards orange. Lesson learned. Panda Commander

Thanks to one and all for your supportive responses. Tamiya 1:48 JS-2 inbound! Panda Commander

After far too long, after too much faffing, after starting & stopping a dozen times, here's my Tamiya 1:48 Panther G: The original: Photoetch from Eduard ( I think…) Painted in Tamiya XF-65 Field Grey, XF-64 Red Brown and XF-78 Wooden Deck Tan; weathered with washes, oil dots, ground-up cheap pastels from The Works in our high street and some MIG Products. The more I look at it, the more I see that's wrong, but it's finished, and it's my first completed model in decades. Panda Commander

Thanks to everyone for your helpful replies. l have X-20A on the shelf, so that’s what it’ll be. Panda Commander

I am - finally - coming to the end of my build of a Tamiya 1:48 Panther, and l’m thinking of sealing everything with an airbrushed coat of Tamiya acrylic Flat Clear (XF86) Dim newbie question: Should l dilute it before using it though my airbrush; if so, how much and with what? Panda Commander

Weapons developments out of Ukraine come quick and often sudden. Case in point a Ukrainian Leopard 2 that has appeared in the field sporting an outer crust of explosive reactive armor (ERA) bricks that trace their roots back to the Soviet Union. The folks at Oryx (@oryxspioenkop) even have a designation for the “Kontakt’d” Leopard 2, the 2A4V. The designation borrows from the Soviet-Russian nomenclature, with the “V” denoting “vzryvnoj ('explosive')” for added Kontakt-1 ERA bricks, such as the T-55MV, T-62MV, T-64BV, T-72BV, and T-80BV. It looks like this particular Leopard tank was of Canadian origin. Canada has sent eight of the tanks to support Ukraine's war effort. https://www.yahoo.com/news/ukrainian-leopard-2-tank-seen-182211235.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9kdWNrZHVja2dvLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAA81Hrh0tELgO2uNDaYgRlpNj2A57moWkD3vikq8gK5QWOZqsiIZsMZ79bM2bmXr9v0wPXCxBT-fwqV_W_iw3ICF9GwKJBGpSGIxI4LOwdPXLnHvZx6cbJKBwETVifkgiI5Kz-cx0freBl7hU82PEEMzs6PX5ysaGLzyZ_opdvk7 Panda Commander

Interesting, but why bother? Like all complicated camo schemes it looks great close-up, but it’ll simply “blob out” at intermediate- to long range. Look at RealTree or Mossy Oak camouflage clothing: Superb at close range against an appropriate background; from a distance - just dark. Panda Commander

T-72 with ERA on “cope cage”. https://news.yahoo.com/russian-tank-debuts-cope-cage-220425594.html Panda Commander

Excellent stuff. Panda Commander

Superb modelling. Panda Commander

Exemplary. Panda Commander

First rate, Alexandra! Panda Commander

l have never seen a better or more detailed tutorial. Exemplary. Thank you. Panda Commander

Apart from your superb work on the tank itself, the crew figures are actually posed like human beings! lt’s like a moment in time has been frozen… Outstanding. Panda Commander