RudyOnWheels

Some Excellent builds going on here! Can I still join you capitalist Hyenas and bougois dogs in this group build>? thanks! Rudy    If so, Here is my entry, will be my third tank and my first T-34:  

 

Well, here's some progress...3 nights of mind numbing painting of suspension pieces and "wheels". Hopefully, can put them all together this weekend.

Some Excellent builds going on here! Can I still join you capitalist Hyenas and bougois dogs in this group build>? thanks! Rudy    If so, Here is my entry, will be my third tank and my first T-34:  

That's coming along nicely Ernest. Nice upgades! I think a bunch of us on this GB have been slowed down by work or other things. I've been totally slacking since my fast start due to work and a bit of modeling burn out. Got to get that feeling back. lol. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

  The resin turret is a major upgrade.  The metal barrel is also a bonus.  Very nice work.

Kien, very nice work on that kit.  Looks mean, just like a tank should.

Oh wow, I'd heard there were some issues with the turret shape but I figured that was just nitpicking. The front of the Tamiya turret does look really funky and 'off'. 

Kien, the JS-2 is looking good.  Nice work on the pin marks! 

Got some work done on my Tamiya T-62.  The upper hull is now mostly done, just not glued onto the lower hull yet.  I replaced the kit spare tracks with the one Armour Track link that was left.

With the hull done its time to work on the turret.  I'm replacing the kit turret with a resin replacement made years ago by MB Models.  I assembled the kit turret and gun so I could use as a test bed for painting.  Also works as a model for comparison!  The resin turret has the metal gun barrel installed.

Here's a closer look at both turrets.  The Tamiya kit has a wierd shape to the front of the turret and is somewhat flattened overall.  This major flaw in the turret shape has been widely known for many years.  Fortunately the resin replacement is much more accurate in shape and has some details missing on the kit.

And heres a combo pic of both turrets on the hull. 

Well, that will be it for a while.  My job is taking me out of town for a couple of weeks, so benchtime is shut down until sometime in March.

Happy modeling all!

Looks good Kien. Gosh I hate those little injection pin marks on the bottom of the fenders on kits.  Nice work on puttying and sanding them out. I tend to just go the easy route and smear some 'mud' over top of them.

Well, I got quite a lot done over the weekend because of rain. The tamiya armor kits really build up fast, they have a very low part count without sacrificing much detail. The turret is huge next to the 1:35 valentine I’m working on! Nearly done with the building, just need some minor details and the tracks. The pin marks under fenders were filled with mr surfacer 500 and sanded. I am planning to make this into a diorama of Berlin 1945. I will be doing minor changes to the tank like missing fenders. That is all for now. 

Kien 

Kien: Cool! Got that kit in my stash too, looking forward to seeing you build her.

Absolutely!  Welcome to the GB!  Roster updated.  Looking forward to seeing this kit come together.

ManCityFan,

This group build has some really nice kits going on, could I join the GB with a Tamiya 1:35 IS2? No after market, just out of the box. 

Kien 

Thanks guys! I look forward to having some time to get this one done up here.

Hey Ernest, those AM cables look like a huge improvement!

Ernest: Ah ok, Tamiya quality! Nice tow cables, they look much better than the string or plastic ones. 

SP: Welcome aboard! 

stikpusher

I just went thru all the pages of this GB. Lots of great stuff here! 

Can I jump in with a 1/35  Zvezda/Dragon BTR-70 that is maybe 20% along? 

 

I just went thru all the pages of this GB. Lots of great stuff here! 

Can I jump in with a 1/35  Zvezda/Dragon BTR-70 that is maybe 20% along? 

Griffin, very nice looking figures and the T-55 is looking great too! 

Gamera, Tamiya deserves the credit!  They molded a pretty good cast texture on the JS series!

I was working on the tow cables for the JS-3.  Kit comes with this heavy string for the cables:

I dinked around with the string and kit cable ends, but didn't like the look.  I dug around the stash and found this in an older Dragon JS-2 kit!  I'm sure these will be much better!

Griffin: Really nice job there! The T-55 and the figures look great! I built a Type 59, a Chinese copy of the T-55 a few years ago and now I've got the hankering to build a T-55 too. 

Ernest: Those close-ups look really good. I've tried to get the texture of cast steel right, yours looks perfect.  

I agree with Kien that JS2 looks great Buffle. I'm pretty much done with the figures and dry fitted them and the DShK to see how it'll look. Now I have to start doing the weathering and the tracks. It's getting there. 

 

bufflehead

 Kien, in my opinion the cast texture is just right and still shows through after primer, paint and weathering.  If you want a really heavy texture you can add more with Mr. Surfacer but I don't think the casting of these tanks was that rough.  Here's a closeup pic of the turret. 

BTW, I don't remember if those casting numbers were already molded on or if I added them...

 

Bufflehead, 

Thank you for the close-up picture, the cast texture looks like the perfect amount so no need to add any. Fantastic work on the IS2, the close in really shows the great weathering around the turret and fenders. 

Kien

Kien

 

Bufflehead, 

I have the Tamiya IS2 and am going to start building it within the next week or two. I was wondering, does the cast texture on the kit show through the paint or is it to subtle? Otherwise should I do my own cast texture using Mr. Surfacer?

Kien

 

Kien, in my opinion the cast texture is just right and still shows through after primer, paint and weathering.  If you want a really heavy texture you can add more with Mr. Surfacer but I don't think the casting of these tanks was that rough.  Here's a closeup pic of the turret. 

BTW, I don't remember if those casting numbers were already molded on or if I added them...

bufflehead

Ooooh.....German Armor GB!?!  UK Armor GB!?!  Sign me up!!  I'm sure I have a kit or two in the stash that will suffice for either!

Dwayne, looking forward to the great work you'll do with that new compressor!!

So the assembly on the Tamiya JS-3 is practically done.  I just need to add the tow cables, periscopes and MG ammo box, which I may not do until some paint is on her:

Here's the JS-3 next to Tamiya's JS-2 that I built several years ago.  Nice to compare the two and see the evolution.

Now its time to switch to the Tamiya T-62 and get it to roughly the same stage as the JS-3!

 

Bufflehead, 

I have the Tamiya IS2 and am going to start building it within the next week or two. I was wondering, does the cast texture on the kit show through the paint or is it to subtle? Otherwise should I do my own cast texture using Mr. Surfacer?

Kien

Yeah Griffin, those faces look great!  The figures are going to look quite nice on the tank!

Dutch, that is one sweet SU-85 interior! 

Hey Griffin, very nice job on the faces on those figures!

Hey Dutch, all I can say is WOW.  That interior is incredible!

Great interior! Really really nice bud.

Griffin: I dunno but they look pretty darn good to me. Nice work! 

Dutchman: Wow, great job there. I hope you're leaving the hull unattached so you can remove the top to show all that detail. 

I have finished the lower hull.

Some pictures of the fighting compartment:

And the engine:

Time to build the superstructure.

I'm not too sure these guys look very Ethiopian, but what the heck. LOL! 

 

ManCityFan

Hey Rob, good point on the East German armor.  I had not thought of that. 

 

When I was a young lieutenant in Germany, we figured that the Soviets would use the East German army to try to punch a hole through our defenses and then exploiting any success. I've had an interest in their stuff ever since.