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The dirtiest Russian Juggernaut. KV2


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And on to the next build. While i'm gathering resources for my Tiger project, i started with this Russian Juggernaut, the infamous KV2.

This is a kit from Zvezda. Never build one of their kits before so i really don't know what to expect. 

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First impressions: the parts look fairly clean, little flash or excess sprue. The plastic feels a bit the same like Italeri kits. It's sturdy but soft enough to work with or clean up.

Altough the instructions are in Russian, the pictures are very clear so building this kit is pretty straight foreward. 

Today i started with the assembly of the hull and there were no problems. Lot's of small parts that add detail to the model. 

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i'll try to work in segments as much as possible. So that i can paint up certain parts before assembly. 

Downside to the kit are the link and length tracks. I need to come up with a method to soften the straight upper track part to create sagg. Maybe work it with a blowdryer. 

I haven't decided on the direction i will take this kit. I found some pictures of a winter camo so maybe that will be the theme but as i said, i'm undecided.....we'll see...

 

As always, feel free to tagg along, comment etc. All input is more than welcome!

 

I'll keep you guys posted. 

Cheers! 👍👍👍

Edited by Maddoxx77
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9 hours ago, TeaWeasel said:

Good start. I never understood the turret on this thing, seems a little counter-intuitive to have such a huge profile like that. 

 

Got to have somewhere to keep all those KV2 memes!

 

Keep an eye on this one and see how it goes

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On 29/07/2022 at 13:13, TeaWeasel said:

Good start. I never understood the turret on this thing, seems a little counter-intuitive to have such a huge profile like that. 

They were developed during the war with Finland. The purpose was to destroy bunkers and forifications. They never had the intention to fight tanks or armour with it. There is one account of 1 KV2 stopping a german advance during the opening days of operation barbarossa. The size of the turret was neccesary to house the main gun and the crew, but it was a vehicle with many flaws. The size of the turret made the tank top heavy so they flipped over easely. Also the gun could only be fired when the tank was completly straight otherwise the gun emplacement would get damaged.

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21 minutes ago, Maddoxx77 said:

There is one account of 1 KV2 stopping a german advance during the opening days of operation barbarossa

You're probably referencing the The Battle of Raseiniai. 

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19 hours ago, xebec said:

You're probably referencing the The Battle of Raseiniai. 

That could be it but i'm not shure. It's even debatable if it was indeed a KV2 or a KV1

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In the past couple of days i made some progress on the model. Build almost all of the segments, the turret, the main gun and the upper hull. 

Since i want the upper hatch on the turret to remain open ( maybe to add figures ) i made my first attempt to scratch build the interior of the turret. I know it's not accurate. I did not use reference photo's. I just added bits and bobs to make it look like an interior. 

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i even attempted to scratch build some sort of russian radio equipement.

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the segments are all sprayed with AK black primer.

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i added some battle damage to the upper hull.

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next up are all the roadweels. Clean them up and spray them with primer. After that it's on to the tracks. 

 

I'll keep you guys posted.

Cheers! 👍👍👍

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Looking good so far! I did one fairly recently and just very carefully bent the tracks with no heat applied to get a bit of sag. I maybe just got lucky though! Probably safer with some heat.

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1 hour ago, ModelMonkey said:

Looking good so far! I did one fairly recently and just very carefully bent the tracks with no heat applied to get a bit of sag. I maybe just got lucky though! Probably safer with some heat.

I haven't build up the courage yet to try..... 🤣🤣🤣

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Time for a workbench update. 

All the roadweels were cleaned and fitted. The link and length tracks came together quite nicely, no issues. There were enough spare track links to fill the gaps. Still no fan of this sort of tracks, still have to figure out a way to create some sagg. 

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I'm thinking about glueing the roadweels to the tracks to make it one whole segment so i can prime and paint it as a whole before fitting them on the model.

Toughts and tips are more then welcome. 

 

I closed the turret so my poor efford of scratchbuilding and weathering the interior is all hidden 🤣👍

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i got it's coat of AK black primer and is ready for the base layers as is the upper hull.

still waiting on my order of Ammo Mig Russian green ww2 colors before i can go to town with the airbrush and chipping fluid 😁

 

i dryfitted the upper and lower hull, made the towing cables ( a bit too long ) and added some detail so i could check the look of the model.

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i ordered some russian figures wich will be delivered in the end of august. Gives me plenty of time to finish the model itself.

I'm starting to feel the way i want to take this one. 

 

I'll keep you guys posted. 

Cheers! 👍👍👍

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7 minutes ago, Stef N. said:

Now, he's a big ol' bruiser of a tank. Looking good. What do you think of Zvezda's manufacturing so far?

It's decent. Like i said. The plastic feels similar to Italeri kits. The details are fairly good. No fitting issues what so ever. And it's bang for your buck. 

Those tracks tough..... 😝

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Look great yep. Checked my completed one and I didn't actually manage to get much sag in without heat. I was too nervous to apply any heat so mine are still taut looking.

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On 7/28/2022 at 7:16 AM, Maddoxx77 said:

This is a kit from Zvezda. Never build one of their kits before so i really don't know what to expect. 

The KV-2 one of their 1/35 kits which stems from a time when Zvezda had just started to started to lift their game, notably starting with their 1/48 aircraft range release of the La-5FN in 2007.  Now I haven't built their KV-2, but my gut would suggest don't judge Zvezda generally on this one. Their 1/35 armour has improved, exponentially over the past five years in particular.

A few years ago now, I chose Trumpeter's similar era (2005) mould kit of the KV-2 which was an easier (bathtub hull) build in more pleasing texture grey plastic. I'm enjoying the comparative in your build. 

Edited by Bigglesof266
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2 hours ago, Bigglesof266 said:

The KV-2 one of their 1/35 kits which stems from a time when Zvezda had just started to started to lift their game, notably starting with their 1/48 aircraft range release of the La-5FN in 2007.  Now I haven't built their KV-2, but my gut would suggest don't judge Zvezda generally on this one. Their 1/35 armour has improved, exponentially over the past five years in particular.

A few years ago now, I chose Trumpeter's similar era (2005) mould kit of the KV-2 which was an easier (bathtub hull) build in more pleasing texture grey plastic. I'm enjoying the comparative in your build. 

I enjoy this kit for what it is: nothing to complicated. Just good vallue for your money. Not too fancy but fairly good quality molding, descent details. 

I had no fitting issues what so ever. The lower hull and the turret went together without problems. 

The only issue i have with this kit ( not the brand ) are the tracks. No problems with assembly but i don't like link and length tracks in general for the lack of sag. 

I however don't want to spend an extra 30 to 50 euro's on aftermarket tracks. So i have to work around it without damaging the model. 

 

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Definitely one of my all time favourite world war II Russian tanks. Play it an awful lot in WoT. Affectionately nicknaming it Stalin's Hammer.

 

I've only ever built two tanks with link and length tracks and never again. Those sprues go straight into the bin. I had a lot of luck assembling the entire track run with wheels glued in place and then sitting them in boiling water for a few minutes to soften the plastic to put in the appropriate sections of sag using the in situ wheels as my guide . Track sag is a much disputed subject in modelling, but as a former Cav officer the simple rule of: to tight, they snap, to lose, they throw, should be kept in mind.

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7 hours ago, Crayons said:

Definitely one of my all time favourite world war II Russian tanks. Play it an awful lot in WoT. Affectionately nicknaming it Stalin's Hammer.

 

I've only ever built two tanks with link and length tracks and never again. Those sprues go straight into the bin. I had a lot of luck assembling the entire track run with wheels glued in place and then sitting them in boiling water for a few minutes to soften the plastic to put in the appropriate sections of sag using the in situ wheels as my guide . Track sag is a much disputed subject in modelling, but as a former Cav officer the simple rule of: to tight, they snap, to lose, they throw, should be kept in mind.

Beeing a former tank gunner myself..... i know all about track sag 😝😝😝🤣

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18 hours ago, Maddoxx77 said:

I enjoy this kit for what it is: nothing to complicated. Just good vallue for your money. Not too fancy but fairly good quality molding, descent details. 

I had no fitting issues what so ever. The lower hull and the turret went together without problems. 

The only issue i have with this kit ( not the brand ) are the tracks. No problems with assembly but i don't like link and length tracks in general for the lack of sag. 

I however don't want to spend an extra 30 to 50 euro's on aftermarket tracks. So i have to work around it without damaging the model. 

 

Thanks for the elaboration. The fit aspect is most pleasing to hear and I'm sure will be useful and welcome info to others. 

Take on board your dislike of link and length, and in this kit in particular. I prefer them, where done well. Trumpeter's KV-2 kit contained both CR (albeit the venerable Tamiya clone style) and L&L. Its L&L had moulded in sag on the idler runs as did their KV-1 kit. FMM the pick of kit supplied CR are Dragon's DS tracks. I didn't like them initially when I found the kits didn't co-include their Magic Tracks as an option, but have come round. 

As I have other hobbies and am not a plastic modelling exclusive obsessive, I'm not an expensive aftermarket accessory parts buyer generally, and definitely won't spend on metal tracks. Not knocking those who do if it suits their budget, desire, or obsession for replication in miniature to the nth degree, but I'd rather direct that into another model or activity respecting OMMV. Occasional projects I will, e.g. Revell's 1/144 Type VIII U-Boat where I bought Griffon's N144B003 detail set, and Academy's 1/35 Hetzer about which I have a particular fascination with the vehicle,. e.g. Artwox PE detail kit inc metal barrel. But with armour most of the time other than perhaps buying a metal barrel and supplementing wire for that horrible nylon 'string' Zvezda persist with indlucing in recent kits for towing cables I build them out of the box. I did buy metal barrels for both the Trumpeter KV-1 & KV-2, and Zvezda's T-34/76s and T-34/85, but I gauge the worth of doing so on an individual kit basis. I didn't bother with their SU-85 happy with how the kit one looks. I stippled its mantlet too to gain that rough cast effect, and saved on purchase of a resin mantlet. Pretty small and easy job, that came up a treat. With Trumpeter's KV-1 in hindsight, being honest I shouldn't have bothered buying a barrel as the kit moulding was excellent IMO. But turned ZiS-5 barrels (in this instance) aren't all that expensive, or weren't back then. One of the things I like about Eduard Profipacks when it comes to aircraft and Dragon Smart kits when it comes to armour, aftermarket stuff generally isn't necessary to detail to a standard I am content with in most instances.

I like Zvezda's 1/48 aircraft kits generally, although find their earlier high detail mould attempts overengineered if I could find fault. e.g. Their Bf 109F-2 & F4. Their PE-2 released in 2015 was perfect. I'm hoping their IL2 (Mod.1943) and SU-25 will be as good when/if I get around to buying them. I'm currently building their 1/35 BMPT "Terminator" (original version). For the money vs brand alternatives I'm happy with its quality and detail. Nice plastic, good fit, crisp mouldings. Quite a build though. I confess the older I get, the more I prefer Tamiya's design approach to their kits, but sometime I can't help myself. Couldn't resist as I don't have a high detail C variant or in 1/48.  I just bought yet another Eduard 1/48 Bf 110, rather an type obsession of mine as some have for Spitfires. Sucker for punishment.  o.O 

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Since i'm still waiting on the paint i ordered i decided i could use my time to try something new..... weldbeads. Using the Nightshift method with Tamiya epoxy putty i tried to apply some weldbeads on the turret. Needles to say my first attempt is very poor 🤣

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when completly dry i have to sand some excess putty back. 

i learned alot though. And that will come in handy in my future project. 

still have to do the hull so more practice ahead 

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i also added some flame cut marks on the turret. They look nice and give the turret more texture. 

 

and yes, i know it's the wrong order of doing things. My next project will be more structured. 

 

I'll keep you guys posted.

Cheers! 👍👍👍

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Today i started with the prime color on the roadweels and the turret. I managed to get some crude paintdestressing and for a first try i'm really happy. This is just the first of many layers. When completely dry i'll spray a coat of semy gloss to lock it in place. After that it's chipping. 

Anyway, i'm enjoying myself. Here are some pictures. 

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baselayer and 2 coats of hairspray added. After that i did 3 layers with tonal variations of the same color sprayed in a irregular pattern.

i left it for a few minutes and then started with a brush and some water.

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i'll keep you guys posted.

cheers! 👍👍👍

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Last update for today. I finished the paint distressing on the tower and the upper hull. I also have put the decals on the tower and did some post shading. It looks rather harsh on the photo's but it will get toned down with the chipping and the oils. 

Have a great weekend! 

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