“The hammer and the sickle”- ****FINISHED*** RFI diorama section

[Muchmirth]

Hello all…. Again!

  Hoping to start this one in a few weeks and I might not be able to finish it within time but will hopefully be my second entry to this gb. 
  It’s going to be a bombed out soviet tank factory during ww2. It’s a fictitious battle scene where soviet infantry and a KV-2 retake the KV factory in the army group north/Leningrad sector. It’s all in 1/48, a scale I haven’t  done before:

  The kits I’m going to use are:

I know I didn’t have to show the sprue shots but just wanted to show that this one remains un-started.

   The Kv-2 was the most industrial looking tank I could think of and will be a straight up rip of the 528 vehicle which uncle nightshift did. I’m not so great at construction and so want to try improve in this area by doing a follow along. 
   I’m going to have to try and make some copies or one copy of the tank (or elements such as the turret) from scratch!!! Using the kit as a basis I’ll use plasticard to try and knock it up. It’s a kind of shop of horrors with tanks. The idea (and this where I get super lofty) is that the tank is revisiting it’s destroyed birthplace and comes face to face with its unfinished, rusted self. 
  The tank and infantry will be the functional part offering contrast to the wrecked factory and unseen enemy.

    Originally this was going to show the occupying Germans with panzer grenadiers and a mk iv to counter  the attacking Russians but this would be far to big and would take even longer.

    I had initially wanted to do the Krupp factory which was bombed and where I got the idea from, along with these pictures below:

 
 

   But it’s think the soviet factory will look even better as some snow would have fallen through the broken roof and I get the chance to plaster the place in communist slogans and propaganda.

   https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2018/06/14/How-Factories-Made-Unmade-Us-All/

   I’ll start with the figures this time as their about 15/16 of them which I’ll use and so could be quite time consuming, seems better to get done first.

  I have a little surprise for the factory building and base which I’ll be making from scratch… all I’ll say is that it will involve a lot … lot lot of rust!!

All the best and thanks for looking in.

Paul.

Edited December 16, 2023 by Muchmirth
Title change

[Mark Cassidy]

Looks intresting,  I was thinking as I looked at the pic of the tank in the factory and it got me wondering if a scene where one side gets so desperate they use a partially completed tank to stop the other side storming the factory floor.  So it could be a partially built tank all burnt out , spent shells lying around , perhaps the tank is still in factory primer. 

 

Just a thought that ur idea gave me 😃👍

[Muchmirth]

21 minutes ago, Mark Cassidy said:

Looks intresting,  I was thinking as I looked at the pic of the tank in the factory and it got me wondering if a scene where one side gets so desperate they use a partially completed tank to stop the other side storming the factory floor.  So it could be a partially built tank all burnt out , spent shells lying around , perhaps the tank is still in factory primer. 

 

Just a thought that ur idea gave me 😃👍

Cheers Mark… that’s sort of where I was going when it was going to be the Krupp  grusonewerk factory but only problem was that I’d never be able make adequate copies.

  👍

[Marklo]

Welcome again to the GB Paul, looks like this will be a great build, I’ll definitely enjoy watching it take shape.

Edited August 1, 2023 by Marklo

[Rob Sutto]

Cracking idea, best of luck to you.

[Muchmirth]

While I await things to arrive in the post for my other build,  I’ve made a start with this one:

    First up… figures.

 

Not great painting but equally not great figures. I have left some seams on in awkward places that I didn’t spot until it’s too late and now I’m not going to go back to remove… just too lazy and might still be passable if you squint. To be honest first 1/48 figures and they felt a little pointless as made from plastic and I’m used to 1/35 and resin. You can’t really do much with anything under 1/35 but that’s my opinion. 
   Then I started on my first turret copy… now this is far far from perfect and I did have to omit some bits which are currently beyond my skill level but I did enjoy it and learned a lot more about scratch building:

  You can see the barrels which I’ve started to paint n the background.

  

You can see here that I’ve left off the periscopes from the top and the machine gun port from the rear. I still need to figure these out but as it’s a factory assembly line I might have a good excuse to leave some bits off… nudge nudge wink wink. 😉
   

  I was going to make just one copy of the turret but now I think I might make one or two more. I figure the more I do the better they will look. One copy will be dangling from a chain attached to a scratch built gantry crane. It and any others will be fully entrophed-up!! (Don’t think that a actual word but their you go). 

   I wanted to try to use blue stuff to make copies of the more awkward shapes but I find it soooo difficult to work with. You watch you tube videos and think it looks dead easy. This is my second attempt to make a decent mould to start with (first result I broke the original part and the mould shrank out of shape.)

I was picking another modellers brains on how he makes copies and seems like silicone and casting resin is a much better resource but I’d like to have another go at the blue stuff first before I go down this route. 

  This is the gun mantlet by the way, it’s a fairly detailed part for me to scratch so hope this casting melarkey works out, I’ll also be able to repeat for the mg port and scopes, etc. 

   So now I’ll be taking a week off from modelling (misuses insists I take a break every once in a while) then it’ll be straight back into this…. By the by I can’t believe we are around half way through this gb!!!

All the best,

Paul
  

Edited August 28, 2023 by Muchmirth

[Marklo]

I find blue stuff easy to work with I wonder if you’re getting it hot enough. I put it in a dish of boiled water then microwave it for about two minutes before molding it. I’ve found I get pretty good results with it.

[Muchmirth]

3 hours ago, Marklo said:

I find blue stuff easy to work with I wonder if you’re getting it hot enough. I put it in a dish of boiled water then microwave it for about two minutes before molding it. I’ve found I get pretty good results with it.

Funnily enough Mark your dead right I wasn’t getting it hot enough and was using too much. I cut it right down to just enough for the part and put into boiling water on the hob til it became very squishy then pressed the part in. Also I was removing the part before the blue stuff had entirely cooled causing the shrinkage and warped mould. It’ll be a week til I get to play with it some more but might work out this time. The part above came  out cleanly and made a decent impression.

Cheers,

Paul

[JeroenS]

On 28/08/2023 at 11:32, Muchmirth said:

Funnily enough Mark your dead right I wasn’t getting it hot enough and was using too much. I cut it right down to just enough for the part and put into boiling water on the hob til it became very squishy then pressed the part in. Also I was removing the part before the blue stuff had entirely cooled causing the shrinkage and warped mould. It’ll be a week til I get to play with it some more but might work out this time. The part above came  out cleanly and made a decent impression.

Cheers,

Paul

That's good intell. I bought some of it a while ago, thinking I should try it but having no idea how. Have not looked into it since buying it, but it's in the back of my mind now. Maybe some time it will come in handy.

[Muchmirth]

48 minutes ago, JeroenS said:

That's good intell. I bought some of it a while ago, thinking I should try it but having no idea how. Have not looked into it since buying it, but it's in the back of my mind now. Maybe some time it will come in handy.

It’s handy stuff to have alright. I tried to use it a while ago and failed dismally but like Mark says seems to be easy once you get the hang. Definitely recommend getting it super hot or like I have done above with poping it in a pan  of water and boiling, that way you can reply easily if the mould is t right first time. I’ll hopefully be able to share my results shortly and might prove a heads up. 
Cheers

Paul

[Marklo]

 

My last outing with blue stuff. Once you get the hang of it it’s wonderfully easy. Now my new 3D printer may well supplant my resin casting as in general it’s even easier to use ( for me anyway) but then again I could see myself using the printer to make patterns as me the resin and blue stuff to make multiples if only to use up the litre or so of resin I have left  

[Muchmirth]

53 minutes ago, Marklo said:

 

My last outing with blue stuff. Once you get the hang of it it’s wonderfully easy. Now my new 3D printer may well supplant my resin casting as in general it’s even easier to use ( for me anyway) but then again I could see myself using the printer to make patterns as me the resin and blue stuff to make multiples if only to use up the litre or so of resin I have left  

Brilliant Mark, they turned out dammed perfect. Very nice result indeed.

  On another matter will you be going to Ipms Dublin at the end of sept?

[Muchmirth]

Well I did some casting. The blue still imprints and the original parts besides them:

The below pics show a mixed bag of results:

Left hand side is cast milliput. Then the middle ones are two part epoxy resin (left overs from another project) which was tinted black so I could see it more clearly going into the mold. Then finally on the right hand side is clear epoxy resin from Poundland. I wanted to see the difference between the expensive stuff and the cheap stuff. Too me their isn’t much difference. The expensive stuff is smoother, more viscus and self levels much better. The cheapo pound land one is thicker and this does not get into the nooks and crannies as easily. Plus as it’s thicker doesn’t self level as well. Also it sets quickly which is good in one way as you get your results quicker and bad in another as it has less working time. 
   To me the milliput is a bit of a disaster for the flat panels but on the mantlet might be passable.

  All the parts are in their just from the cast state, so all of them need filling and sanding and further shape correction. 
  If I had proper silicone mold making kit and casting resin then I’m sure these would all be ace but I don’t so will persist with these in one shape or form. 
  I also started to make the tank hull:

  So far this is really nice kit, seems simple and fairly straight forwards to construct. I had a bit of a mare with my one previous hobbyboss kit which was the leichter 221, it was pretty horrible with far too many parts, bad instructions and a nightmare to align correctly (lack of guidehorns). 
   Anyway I’ll work more on the lower hull and the copies next. 
Thanks for watching,

Paul

[Marklo]

On 8/31/2023 at 1:46 PM, Muchmirth said:

will you be going to Ipms Dublin at the end of sept?

I will if I can  

[Muchmirth]

Scratch turret one done (bar a bit of filling of minor gaps and sanding) used various cast parts for this. The milliput gun mantlet turned out best in the end. Black resin mg port and plasticard bottom panels and gun barrel. 
  

Next up I’ll carry on with copy number two, for which I’ll use the black resin top and front panels and clear Poundland resin back panel. I’ll have to cast another two gun mantlet from milliput and maybe one more mg port. Side panels I’ll make from plasticard. 

All the best,

Paul

Edited September 7, 2023 by Muchmirth
Typo

[Muchmirth]

Comrade Murphy’s tank factory had such a slow output in 2023 that comrade Stalin sent him to the Siberian gulag!

   Both copies done along with the actual model: wip versions at the bottom finished at the top: the glue pot beside it to give you an idea of size.

 

[Muchmirth]

Moving on to the diorama part of the project I have a new foam cutter (cheap one from eBay) on thick foam it’s pretty naff but on my usual 10mm… well smooth as Barry white… only a true modelling geek like myself will understand the sheer satisfaction of the sleek straight edge on the foam below:

Much better than my Stanley blade and saws. The top right hand side pic is 1mm thick cut foam which can be used for wall edgings or capping stones or even roof tiles in 1/35….Completely of no use here but just thought I’d show it off as only my fellow Brit modeller compatriots will understand! 
   Anyway I cut out the below back wall of the factory: it was going to be cut at funk angles but changed my mind as wouldn’t be big enough to include all the gubbins I’m gonna make for the inside. I need the space the angles would cut out.

The line below the brick work will be just part of the models stand in case it looks odd. I’ve gone with concrete slabs  (cracked and gnarled) above the brick work, which is also cracked and gnarled in patches.
   I’ll add upright steels and concrete lintels later.
   The stone in the pic I use to imprint a rough texture to the walls and the green yoke is my scribing tool (most others use a dental pick but I like my scribe and use it all the time). Scribing is a joy for me and probably a chore for some. It’s strange I can spend hours painting an insignia on the sleeve of a solider in 1/35 but even the thought of a pin wash on a tank makes me cringe. I hate it, I know it looks good once done but find it a chore. Horses for courses eh! 
  Oh and talking of tanks I’ve finished the hull, assembled the wheels and cleaned up the tracks of the KV2:

   You can see I’ve added the steel texture, I used mr surfacer 500. I have omitted the weld beads which mr nightshift had managed to add. Too me it’s too small to be able to add. The beads would have to be less than 0.5mm and I just can’t see me doing it right plus I kept accidentally scratching the surface with the scribing tool… more practice on a larger model me thinks. 
   But I did add the extra side amour plates above the wheel axels. These were apparently made inside the under siege Leningrad and so quite rough cut. 
   Next I’m onto painting the tank and adding dental plaster to the scribed brick work/concrete walls.

   With painting the tank I’m going to practice my brush post shading. I have done this since my m10 last year so need another go. What I do is paint the first layer on (no primer coat this time as not much pe on this one) with one thin flat coat of base colour (Vallejo reflective green) then I edge the recesses and panel lines with a darker version of the reflective green (same way you would with an airbrush). I feather and blend this as much as I can with a pointed brush. I then finish the base layer with one more very thin coat of base/reflective green. This way the post shading is sandwiched between the coats the final layer is almost transparent and helps it blend in. Then I’ll add my highlights with a dry brush of reflective green mixed with Iraqi sands or just straight up Iraqi sands as it makes it all look a little dusty…it’s still a little experimental to me and looked good on the m10 but if all looks terrible  on the Kv2 then it doesn’t matter as most the tank will be winter white washed anyway, so ideal specimen to practice on.

Thanks all,

Paul

[Muchmirth]

Ok so the results of this weeks work: 

   I did my brush shading (I suppose I should really call it mid shading as it’s not really pre or post):

   Now the second pic shows just how harsh I made the dark edging… I thought I may as well try to make it overly prenounced to make it worth while but really needs more blending, hence why in the future I’ll be using oil paints to try achieve the same result (just would take a lot longer to dry). 

    Closer shot on the near final result, not a smooth transition but you can still see the mid shading. I’m not trying to sound like I’m inventing some sort of new technique as I’m sure someone, somewhere has done the same but it’s new to me and still obviously needs practice.

Now I’ve spent a bit of tIme doing this the next steps will be covering it all up with winter white wash!!!

Still a few patches I need to attend to plus wheels need shading/further coats.

   The tracks are in the background which I’ll spray with aerosol can black shortly.

    Moving onto the copied turrets. I added the rust to them by sponging on various red/browns in the top pic. 

    The first in line turret is the one which will be dangling from the crane. I have Matt coated and then coated in hairspray ready for the Russian 4bo (Vallejo refractive green) to go on over the top. I’ll chip it back to rust quite heavily later.

   The rear one will remain rusted. I believe the Russians didn’t prime their vehicles. 
   So the three kv2 turrets will be in contrasting colours (white, green, rust) along the assembly line, hopefully showing the genesis of the machines. 
   Also did some more on the rear factory wall.

Firstly I used dental plaster, which sets super quick, to add the stone/plaster effect to the foam. For the brick wall I painted the plaster a light stone colour then painted the individual bricks random brick colours, as seen from the selection in the wet pallete. Whilst the paint was still wet I put a couple light stone coloured washes over the brick work and swiped with a wet wipe to merge/unify the colours of the wall. It sort of works but I have practiced this technique a few times. You have to be quite bold and hold your nerve when doing it as you can wipe away all your hard work… but when it works it works well. 
   I also started to make the concrete upright supports. These are two pieces of 10mm XPs foam sandwiched together and coated in polyfiller which was tinted with Vallejo stone grey:

   Then I started to make the front panel which will hold the title: this gives the game away as to what I’m doing with the base: 

 

The bottom pic shows that I’ve carved flame cuts into the XPs foam. I want the whole base, which the factory will be set in to, to be a 1/1 scale rusted piece of steel or girder. Hence the flame cut edge. I base coated the whole thing in a decorative rust spray from a aerosol (after it had been cured in pva to protect it from melting). Then I used my rust chalks with diluted pva, which produced the randomly rusted result in the top pic. 
  I was really happy with this… then I broke it 😡😡😡😡.

   So then I started again, making a replacement. See the result of the repeated process below: 

 

The pic above is the decal I made on the pc and printed on a laser printer. (I’m slightly obsessed with titles and making decals as you may have noticed). I sanded the decals to chip them and also helps reduce the glossy effect. 
   I added some bolts to this one which was coated in mottled mr surfacer 500 to give a crusted rust effect. I have purposely used quite a rough piece of foam and coated the middle section in artists Gasso to replicate weathered rusted steel and flaking layers of paint. The white gasso section is where the “hammer and sickle” decals will go. 
  Thanks for dropping by,

Paul

  

Edited September 23, 2023 by Muchmirth
Typos

[Muchmirth]

Small update… but I couldn’t wait to show where the diorama is going: the glue and paint is still drying and only the rear factory wall is fixed in place, to the floor, everything else is just resting for a composition check:

I’m enjoying this more than the previous build so far.
   I’ve added in the turret-less kv2 to show where it will eventually sit. It’s turret is currently being winter white washed with mig ammo washable.

  As you can see I’ve redone the front titles board, to replace the one I broke before🤯 . It all just needs a spray from a rattle can of dull coat to seal in.
  The rear wall has had some oil washes from w&n artisan black and burnt umber. The burnt umber on the brick work to tone down the previous yellow look. The black I streaked from the top of the wall to look like damp, grimy patches. Also used to emphasise the cracks and joints. As the artisan is water based it’s ok to add but I will Matt coat before the further weathering with enamels…Thangs about to get Christina agurilla Dirrrty!!! I’m sure the XPs foam has had enough plaster, paint and pva but best to be safe at this stage. 

 

  The kv2 green copy turret is lighter in colour than the original because that green is going to be chipped back quite heavily (using the hairspray technique again) to be more like the rusted turret at the back. I wanted it to look faded as it has been exposed to the elements.

 
I’ve added the tramline and painted it grey and silver, also I’ve added some rust wash. You may notice a bit of a rusty damp patch on the concrete slab floor, beside the tracks. This is honestly on purpose and not just sloppy painting because I’d noticed at work how rust stains concrete too when it is constantly in contact with rusted metal.  I’ve attached below my ‘mood’ board or ref pics for this one taken from around my work: (I’m just copying Johnny @The Spadgent really!!!)

I’m going to building some machinery gubbins for the background of the factory floor so will be using these pics as reference. 
   I’ll show you the nearly finished back of the model/rusted steel girder: (where I’ve used sone actual rust gathered from an old rusted gate).

https://i.postimg.cc/s2TmsXy3/11-E96-A17-1-DCC-487-E-8993-89-C6-BBBC85-DD.jpg

  I’m having to seriously rethink my roof and crane ideas as I have several options for this and finding it hard to pick the best. I hope to get cracking on this next week…. After the Irish Ipms show!!! I’m getting away down their on my own (permission from she who must be obeyed) to go (leaving the kids behind!!!!!). So some peace, food, Guinness, banter and of course a truck load of models!! What could be better?

Best for now,

Paul

Edited September 28, 2023 by Muchmirth
Added pics

[JeroenS]

2 hours ago, Muchmirth said:

So some peace, food, Guinness, banter and of course a truck load of models!! What could be better?

Have fun!

[Stef N.]

Looking superb Paul. And have a great time at the show.👍👍

[Muchmirth]

Hi, my name is Paul and I am a dry brushing addict. I’ve been dry brushing models for roughly three years now, since I started scale modelling and have been addicted since, even on models I don’t want to dry brush. I can’t seem to stay away from it. I know I need to cut back but just feel compelled!!!!
   The kv 2 is evidence of this addiction:

I did the white wash with mig ammo washable white. The markings are hand painted (very roughly). I’ve used w&n artisan (water mixable) burnt umber (I think!) to do the utterly loathsome pin wash. Plus I used it for some of the streaking. The mud I made from mig ammo washable mud (which had dried in congealed lumps inside the pot… not sure why) with real mud from the garden. I’ve added rust tones with castle arts burnt sienna and orange. The snow is snow sprinkles from ak. (I pretty much followed the night shift example wholly). 
  
   
I screwed up the tracks and running gear!!! Yay who would have thought it? Despite hobby boss providing a jig to aid assembly. This is partly why their is so much muck and snow all over them. 
  I made up the tracks and painted them, then dry fitted, not once but twice!! Then when it was time to stick them on to the wheels they were out of alignment. I basically don’t know how I did it but the front stick out further from the body than the back. The links kept snapping, it was like I hadn’t added enough links/slack but had actually added two more per side than the instructions showed. So I had to break out the super glue ultra fast setting before I launched it across the room. I then pushed down so hard I snapped two of the roller wheels off. Reattached these with aforementioned ultra fast glue but their still wonky. Kinda wee weed me off a bit! 
   Lesson to learn here? Well stop making hobbyboss and check it three times in the future… oh wait I can’t stop with this brand as they make most the kits I want to do and it’s me that needs to improve. Hi ho forwards only. 

  The evident dry brushing is seen on the rear rivets here. 
   The kv is still drying here and will need a few tweaks in the weathering but by in large it’s done. 
  The rest of the dio is slowly chugging on: 

  I did the hair spray chipping on the left hand side turret (one which will be held by the crane). With the crane I have some chain on order for it, should be here next week.

  I need to return to these turrets with oil paints and do some more rust patches with varying shades but I have added an outline/pin wash with burnt umber. 
   Below is my communist bill board with wood grained plasticard and tea aged poster. I’ve scuffed the paper printed poster with a knife and sander block, to make ragged edges. Apparently it says something like “smight the lazy worker” and was produced during the 1930’s, I thought it would fit in with the whole hammer and sickle theme. Talking of which I’ve done the titles, I’m pretty happy with them as this time you can’t see the edges of them but I haven’t any pics yet:
  

  
Then I made some odds and sods to fill the factory: basic table for the super knackard  turret to sit on and a broken table for the half top plate armour (will make more sense once painted and in place). 

Then I did a soviet flag for the kv, which  has pewter foil between the paper sheets as once painted it will have a nice wind swept curl to it. 
   The blocker stops are for the end of the rail/crane runs and made from some adapted Lego. Again needs paint.

  The last item is a cable reel made from plasticard with wood grain etched on. 

Then I moved onto the roof structure, something I was really looking forwards to. One fully intact bean for the centre of the building then one totally smashed for left hand side and another one which will be broken and fallen to the right hand side of the factory;

I need to add some rivets, metal  hooks/attachment bars for pipes and vents, do some sanding plus paint and weather.

  What’s up for this next? Well I’d like to make the gantry crane, then some machinery/storage tanker gubbins for the right hand side of the factory some of which will be buried under the fallen roof. 
 Then I can assemble everything along with a fair chunk of dust and rubble. 
Thats a for now, cheers.

Paul.

[Trevor L]

Well done for admitting your dry brushing addiction. Sadly there is no known cure for it, so you'll just have to live with it!

Great progress on the build, and I love that poster.

[Muchmirth]

1 hour ago, Trevor L said:

Well done for admitting your dry brushing addiction. Sadly there is no known cure for it, so you'll just have to live with it!

Great progress on the build, and I love that poster.

It was tough to admit in public but I find these group sessions a real help. Trevor will you be my sponsor? I could form DBA (dry brushers anonymous). 😉

   Thanks for your kind words on the diorama. 

[Trevor L]

1 hour ago, Muchmirth said:

It was tough to admit in public but I find these group sessions a real help. Trevor will you be my sponsor? I could form DBA (dry brushers anonymous). 😉

   Thanks for your kind words on the diorama. 

Happy to help. Feel free to reach out to me whenever you get the uncontrollable urge to crack open the artists oils.