Looks great to me! Was this the Trumpy kit?

I'd say you swung and knocked it out of the park! It looks fantastic.

I predict that ou'll hear a lot of "If my first kit looked this good, I'd have......!"

very nice work,weathering just right

She looks good to me!

Woodworking. Yes, definitely woodworking.

Thanks guys, glad you like. It didn't turn out quite the way I had planned but I think it works. I'ts nice to get other's opinions. Keep in mind too that I only used acrylics, graphite and pastels. No aftermarket pigments, filters, etc. To give the dried mud (acrylics) texture, I used a little drywall repair and some textured sand stuff I had in the cellar. Nothing fancy.

Yes this is the Trumpeter kit. I scratched the gun barrel from styrene tube and made the stowage box lid from the led(?) foil of a wine bottle. Not the thin stuff like from exotic beer or candy but the thicker stuff.

I like it very much. Not sure what the darker color is (worn paint or rust?) If it's rust I think it might be overdone, not too many of these guys survived long term.

great model but i think the real tanks are some of the ugliest of all time

Congrats on completing your first, welcome to the dark side!

wbill76

Congrats on completing your first, welcome to the dark side!

Nice to have you aboard Somefella!

What a lovely build - are you sure it's your first or did you move into armour from another branch of the hobby as you obviously have the skills? Stunning work.

I've never been a fan of these utter monstrosities - these are just TOO ugly! I thought my current WIP JSU-152 was a bit of an ugly brute but these just looked awful. No doubt did the job though!

If I might pick one very tiny thing I'd perhaps get a little dried mud flicked up on that lens cover as the tank is battered, mucky and rusty yet the lens (in the first picture) is crystal clear and looks brand new. Imo it looks a bit out of place and was the first thing to catch my eye.

Apart from that

Welcome aboard buddy, I look forward to seeing more of your work!

Kind regards,

Ben

Welcome to the FSM modeling forums!

I have the same kit 3000 miles away, you did some great work on yours.

When first encountered these beasts were virtually unstoppable, targeting the tracks to immobilize then flank to get hits on the thinner rear armor became the best way to deal with the initial KV series of tanks. (unless a Flak 88 mm gun was handy)

Every part of the weathering looks realistic, perhaps a bit dramatic or overdone on the upper surfaces and turret. 'Just a bit more' is usually a indication to stop. Weathering and battle damage is fun to model and seeing its your first tank its understandable.

Keep building & posting your work!

Jason

Grungy and used ,just the way I like them!!

Thanks for the comments and critiques. I appreciate hearing your take on my monster.

The headlight? I was wondering who would be the first to notice. It does stick out like a sore thumb. I made the mistake of putting it on after the weathering was complete. It now has dust on it but I didn't retake the pic.

The dark on the turret is not rust. Never seen green rust before. As you probably know, these tanks darkened with age. I like to think this tank was in the process of turning a darker green. I originally wanted the tank to be darker than it turned out. So I went in after the fact and drybrushed some areas darker. A little variety makes  interest for me.

Is the turret over done? I thought it might be at first but I got alot of positive comments on it. I wanted it to be well used. I don't think it is all that far fetched. Think of a tank nearing it's service life. A couple years maybe of battle, crashing through old structures and tree limbs. I have almost a dozen more armour models in my stash. I will do some well used, some with mud, some with lighter use etc. I like variety.

I'm not a stranger to model building. I've just been doing cars for the last few years. This is my second military model and my first tank. I will definately be doing more.

Thanks again guys.

I hope you didn't take my comments out of text per say. I agree we are entitled to artistic licensing and that's what sets them apart from other's builds. None of my builds are 100% accurate.

I never knew the paint darkened with age. Was this common with just Russian paint or all paints?

I look forward to many many more, you definitely have a knack for armor.

No, don't worry about it Tigerman, that's quite alright. And thanks alot for the nice comments and encouragement. I have a Steyr 1500 that I have on the side I've been working on. Also a KV-1 to go along with my KV-2.

As far as I know it's just the Russian green that darkened. But then again I don't know much.

Heh tanks for taking constructive critique as just that.

Far as the headlight goes I would dare to say some were washed now and then for operating at night, figured that is what you had in mind.

Looks killer from here congrats on a great build.

Terry.

The weathering is nicely proportioned , but you made the turret way to big....  ;  )..

tread

I am sold.
I like it a lot and agree that it might be overdone in some areas but it is done very well.

Congratulations and wellcome to the dark (green) side 

Thanks guys. William, I was trying to do a caricature.