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


PlaStix

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The development of Russian armour is a fascinating, if somewhat complex, topic which I could not do justice in a few sentences here. When Peter suggested the idea for a Russian GB I knew I was going to have to make some tough decisions about what I chose to make.  Thanks to Sgt.Sqaurehead I developed an interest, initially, in German WW2 Armour but subsequently have become interested in other country's AFVs as well. Having made three Russian tanks over the past year or so I have also collected a variety of Soviet tank kits from various periods and am itching to build them all! 

I have, however, got to make a start somewhere so I have chosen to make three of the WW2 Tamiya kits I have but do them in a bit of a scene.

 

The first of the three I have chosen is a T-34/76 Model 1941 with cast turret:

33235107023_a767891932_c.jpg

When first encountered on the battlefield the T-34s were described by German Tank General Von Kleist as 'the finest tank in the world'. It was, at the time, far better than contemporary German tanks. It was as a result of these tanks that the Germans developed the Panther and Tiger tanks and it was only as the war war went on that the T-34 variants lost their superiority. The T-34 was fitted with 76.2mm gun which was also pretty impressive at the time. Another thing to note was the fact that the cast turret had several handrails which could be used by Russian soldiers who were transported on these tanks - this was one of the first tanks to be used in this way. The T-34 and its variants went on to be one of the most produced tanks of all time and a few are still in use today in some countries.

 

The second I am making is a KV-1 Heavy Tank with Appliqué Armour:

33917606341_fd07753e5f_c.jpg

The KV series of tanks were named after Kliment Voroshilov who was a Soviet politician and defence commissar. Early in the war these tanks were known for their heavy armour and, like the T-34s, the German tanks of the time did not prove much of a threat. The initial KV-1 design went through several development stages and in 1940 this included bolting on additional or ’Appliqué' armour. This version had a powerful 76.2mm gun.

 

The third kit I am planning on making is the SU-122 Tank Destroyer:

33235107473_f05f83eb4c_c.jpg

The SU-122 was an assault gun that was actually built on the hull design of the T-34 and it first saw production in late 1942. It was fitted with a M-30S 122mm Howitzer. The SU-122 proved to be good at it's role of providing direct fire on strongholds but it could, apparently, blow the turret off a Tiger 1 if a direct hit was achieved.

 

So the plan is to build them all at roughly the same time and pretty much OOB. I have some figures from the set below which I will use as part of the scene:

33662267880_733c828212_c.jpg

 

I also have this rather lovely Zvezda Yak-3 kit which I may include as part of the diorama or in a build of it's own:

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My original plan was to have it in flight over the tanks but when I saw the lovely detail included on the engine I felt it would be a shame to not to have it on show. I will see how I'm doing for time. Ideally I would like to build a more modern Russian Tank for this GB as well but there's also going to be the Made in Britain GB running alongside this one and I have some plans for that one too. :frantic:

 

Looking forward to getting started in a couple of weeks. I still need to wash the sprues so I'll post some photos of them when I do.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

 

Edited by PlaStix
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Hi Peter and thank you for your very kind comments and your original suggestion for this GB! Great idea! Well done! :thumbsup:

Kind regards,

Stix

 

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The first kit to be washed in warm soapy water was the T34 - so some photos of the sprues - everything in the box:

33910657542_fa847788c4_c.jpg

 

Individual sprues and close-ups:

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33682711840_8bd8663e81_c.jpg

 

33682711460_d570ef7f8b_c.jpg

 

The lower hull is metal, like most of Tamiya's earlier 1/48 kits:

33910656252_e110f1f7f3_c.jpg

 

The decals:

33682710070_a69379ecc3_c.jpg

 

Samples of the instructions:

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All-in-all I think it looks like another nice 1/48 kit from Tamiya. From reading a couple of reviews I am aware I will need to fill in the sponsons where there is a bit of a gap apparently.

 

I will try and get another of the kits washed tomorrow.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

 

 

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Hi PlaStix! Great choice of subject, I'm doing Objekt220 from the HB KV tank kit so it's good to have some company.

 

A word to the wise about the Su-122 kit, many if not all or them were made with a rather brittle green plastic. It splits easily and the small parts can literally disintegrate so a very gentle touch will be good. This is especially true when screwing the hull halves together. Hope it goes well for you. 

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Hi SleeperService! Great to see you here and I look forward to following your projekt! Thank you for the heads up about the plastic in the Su-122 kit - I will definitely watch out for that!

Kind regards,

Stix

 

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On 4/19/2017 at 2:52 PM, wimbledon99 said:

Wow - You like a challenge don't you Stix!! Love this already and it's only just begun :D

Hi Nigel - I really like Tamiya 1/48 kits so to me it's less of a challenge but a joy to look forward to. As I mentioned above they are going to be pretty much OOB so I don't have to worry about etch either! :thumbsup:

 

On 4/21/2017 at 11:56 AM, John_W said:

Yay, Stix is building tanks again!

Must admit I have enjoyed making my recent Mosquito but I am really looking forward to building some armour again!

 

On 4/23/2017 at 11:40 AM, Hewy said:

i'll probably not bother with the su9-u i was going to build and just watch this unfold:P looking forward to this epic stix,

glynn

Yeah, yeah, yeah............after your superb Yak Firebar we would all be massively missing out on your Su9-U! Probably be better if I put mine to one side and followed yours!

 

17 hours ago, modelling minion said:

If this turns out anything like your earlier Afika Korps diorama then it will be an absolute cracker. As Glynn says the rest of us might as well put our builds to one side and watch this one unfold.

You two made me smile! What with Glynn's wonderful Firebar and your superb Mig-25, your incredibly beautiful builds are a real treat to follow! :thumbsup: I'm hoping you are both taking part in this GB as I'm looking forward to following your projects! :popcorn:

 

On Saturday I got the SU122 out to to wash so I took some photos - box contents:

34057692292_560a5865e1_c.jpg

 

Individual sprues - there are two of this one:

33372949164_9906fecdfd_c.jpg

 

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The metal lower hull:

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Closer view of the upper hull:

34057686972_5c90f2bfe6_c.jpg

 

Decals:

34057687622_f14c056a9f_c.jpg

 

Sample of the instructions:

34057685632_985904c32e_c.jpg

 

....including version painting guides:

34057684662_136e790d2c_c.jpg

 

Well there's only 5 days to go until I can get these started......still can't wait!

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

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1 hour ago, PlaStix said:

You two made me smile! What with Glynn's wonderful Firebar and your superb Mig-25, your incredibly beautiful builds are a real treat to follow! :thumbsup: I'm hoping you are both taking part in this GB as I'm looking forward to following your projects! :popcorn:

Oh yes I believe we will both be along, I just need to make my mind up which one of the (many) Soviet/Russian birds I have in the stash to build. And thank you for your very kind words regarding my Mig-25.

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Glad to see you have both got your threads started! Very much looking forward to following both. :popcorn:

Only one day in the way before we can start!!! :yahoo:

Kind regards,

Stix

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22 hours ago, stevej60 said:

Gonna be a big project this one Stix,great stuff!

Hi Steve........yeah I have a few ideas I want to try.........whether I get them all finished or not is another matter.

 

First job this morning was to get the KV-1 washed so I took a few photos of what's in the box:

33494881414_9666b2ff3d_c.jpg

 

....and some of the individual sprues - there's two of this one:

33526018053_8b9a59812d_c.jpg

 

33494880984_c5755799bc_c.jpg

 

33526017173_cc22b14e53_c.jpg

 

Metal lower hull:

33526016673_bdc255ac24_c.jpg

 

Decals:

33494880234_27466340ec_c.jpg

Knowing how I struggle with Tamiya decals I'm going to go with option A which doesn't use the big fancy ones but does have extra armour on the lower sides of the hull.

 

The Appliqué armour sprue:

33494880004_f5b9a70cee_c.jpg

 

The instructions:

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As I'd washed the KV-1 I was starting with these two this morning:

33494881984_5baf8246f3_c.jpg

 

......specifically getting the wheels painted on these 4 identical sprues:

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I got them all painted but this is a photo of just one of the sets:

33526015213_9a1759acc9_c.jpg

 

I also got the plastic parts attached to the metal hull - there are a couple of differences:

33504057234_fac745b8d3_c.jpg

 

This afternoon I did make a similar start on the KV-1 - once it was dry - but no photos yet.

 

More tomorrow I hope.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

Edited by PlaStix
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Today I did more work on the wheels for all three kits including adding a Revell Gunship Grey wash all over, a targeted Revell's Anthracite wash in and around the detail plus some dry-brushing with a lightened version of the base coat to which I added a touch of yellow. I also started work painting the tyres:

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The lovely detail seems to be showing quite nicely. I've still got some work to do on all the wheels before I cut them away from the sprues and start assembling them. More tomorrow I hope.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

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13 hours ago, Hewy said:

Brush painting master class

 

12 hours ago, modelling minion said:

As Glynn says, another masterclass in brush painting.

 

 

What they said!! :D

 

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On 30/04/2017 at 9:31 PM, Hewy said:

Brush painting master class as usual stix, very nice

Glynn

Thank you very much Glynn!:thumbsup:

 

On 30/04/2017 at 10:01 PM, modelling minion said:

As Glynn says, another masterclass in brush painting.

All bodes very well as usual Stix.

You are both too kind! But thank you. :cheers:

 

On 30/04/2017 at 11:25 PM, SimonT said:

Looks brilliant. What colour do you use for the rubber?

Thank you very much Simon. For tires and suchlike I use Revell's Anthracite.

 

On 01/05/2017 at 10:49 AM, wimbledon99 said:

What they said!! :D

 

Thank you too Nigel. :thumbsup:

 

I've not had as much time on this as I hoped - gardening unfortunately took up more than intended. I have, though, got all three metal lower hulls painted - first with several thinned coats of Humbrol 102:

34445565006_f82eb9bcf9_c.jpg

 

In the view below you can see how Tamiya improved the detail on their later kits:

34445564616_5ea06eef00_c.jpg

 

Once the base colour had dried I added a Revell Gunship Grey wash. Once this was dried a did a targeted wash around the detail with Revell's Anthracite. Finally I did some dry-brushing with a lightened version of 102 to which I added a touch of matt yellow:

33700466463_5ca8106ff1_c.jpg

 

33700467363_70e3b5d2a6_c.jpg

 

34125216570_8e721ff609_c.jpg

 

More next week. Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

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Incredible, even after zooming in on your painting stix it  just does not become apparent that its brush painted ,it really has inspired me  to brush paint more, I've been guilty of starting up the airbrush to paint seats  in the past,  but now on the sukhoi I've only brush painted so far taking on your advice of very thin paint and mixing with water,  i like your use of yellow too,  top drawer as usual.

Glynn

Ps, where's the bristles gone off them brushes

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Hi Glynn and thank you for your very kind comments. I must admit that I really enjoy the brush painting process. Sometimes it can be more of a challenge depending on the areas to be painted, or the consistency of some paints, but for the most part I find it relaxing.

The bristles have been cut off because these are some of my stippling brushes - I have a few of various sizes. Once a brush has become too damaged to use normally I cut them back and then use them for applying camo colours on AFVs or dirt washes.

Kind regards,

Stix

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On 10/05/2017 at 9:49 AM, wimbledon99 said:

Nice start Stix. This master-class can only result in another masterpiece :D

 

Thank you Nigel - you are very kind.

 

I have spent a lot of time on this today but it's not been particularly exciting. Tamiya, in their infinite wisdom, decided have loads of ejector pin marks in the tracks which, in the T-34 tracks, needed filling. This means I had to do two sets as the SU122 uses the same tracks. I decided, however, to only fill the ones which might be seen:

34634809785_350792153b_c.jpg

It was a little dull at times. These tracks also had seams on all the outside edges which had to be removed! 

 

Fortunately the KV-1 doesn't use the same sort of tracks and didn't have as many ejector pin marks - and those that were present were raised and could be removed with some careful sanding with fine wet'n'dry paper.

 

Hopefully tomorrow I can get onto something a bit less dull!

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

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