Red Storm on the Reich GB - Sept. 8, 2008 - May 9, 2009

  Some great work going on here

   Cracked open the JS2 and since I'm doing it oob the build should go pretty quick. Now the paint job I have planned thats gonna be the fun part. Will be my first time trying the silly putty method and I'm looking foward to giving it a go. Heres what I have planned

 Hello,

 Thanks for the comments espins1. this has been a fun build. Was really looking forward to starting this GB. Still considering shoving a couple of Ivans in the back seat. Most of the referrence pics I have don't really show much gear stowed, in fact most of the pics show GPAs overloaded with soldiers!

 panzerguy, the silly putty thing works great. used it on a WW1 Biplane. First time I tried it and had excellent results. Lots of fun. It's an excuse to play with the silly putty!  Looking forward to progress pics on the JS2.

 Best Regards,

 Mobious

   Mobious the Ford GPA looks great glad you did'nt give up on the driver

   Well I started on the JS2 this afternoon and even though theres not a boat load of parts like most Dragon kits it still is turning into a challange fit wise I should be done with the turret tonite so I'll try to have some pics up later.

 Hello,

 panzerguy, Thank you for the comments. This really has been a fun project for me. Are you planning on texture for the JS 2 turret?

 Changed the load out of the GPA a bit.

 Comments & Suggestions welcome, thanks for viewing

 BstRgds,

 Mobious

   Mobious I like were your going with the figs and that maxim gun is sweet.

   The JS has some decent texturing molded into the turret the problem is that after the filling and sanding I'm gonna have to redo it around the cupola and mantlet

   Some pics of what I accomplished today

   And does anyone notice anything strange about this JS2?

     I swear that's a tiger muzzle break

panzerguy wrote:

And does anyone notice anything strange about this JS2?            I swear that's a tiger muzzle break

That muzzle brake was based on a German design and was used temporarily after an experimental T shaped muzzle brake exploded during testing and almost killed Voroshilov, a high ranking official.  It was installed on a small number of JS-2's with the earlier A-19 122mm gun and was eventually replaced with the introduction of the D-25T 122mm gun which had a slightly higher rate of fire and featured the double baffle muzzle brake that we see on most JS-2s.

  Scott thanks for the info.  After seeing that pic I thought about replaceing the kit muzzel with a Tiger one to give it a little bit of a differant look. Then I relized that even though they look the same the russian version is larger.

Hello,

 Thanks panzerguy for the encouraging comments.

 The muzzle break does look a lot like that found on a Tiger I, except the bore is bigger! The turret texture looks very nice on the DML kit. Sorry to hear about the fit problems. Looking forward to seeing progress pics and the Soviet 3-color camo.

 Thanks espins1 for the anserw as to why the muzzle break resembles the German design. Very interesting stuff.

 Best Regards,

 Mobious

panzerguy wrote:

Scott thanks for the info.  After seeing that pic I thought about replaceing the kit muzzel with a Tiger one to give it a little bit of a differant look. Then I relized that even though they look the same the russian version is larger.

The A19 and D-25T 122mm guns used on the JS-2 packed one hell of a whallup!  There are cases of a JS-2 causing horrendous damage to Tigers and Panthers with their massive two part HE  shell.  The shell would explode with such force upon impact that turrets could be blown clean off, armor plates cracked, weld seams completely broken apart.  Pretty scarey to be on the receiving end of that! 

   Heres were I'm at.

      Most of the running gear is all set. Left off the idlers till after I get the tracks done. The road wheels are pretty thin around the edges so you gotta be careful when cutting them off the sprue or you run a risk of them cracking, happened twice to me.

   I'm not backing down from doing this OOB but this is why I love MK tracks..

    NO PIN MARKS !

Wow, you aren't kidding about pin marks.

I'm guessing by the color of the plastic that this is the old DML kit, not the new Tamiya offering?

dupes wrote:

Wow, you aren't kidding about pin marks. I'm guessing by the color of the plastic that this is the old DML kit, not the new Tamiya offering?

   Hey Dupes, Ya thats the old DML one. Probably gonna take me as long to clean them up as it is to build the the kit.  I swear this is a rebox of an Alan kit  

 Hello,

 Hove most of the figures painted. Bump. Picked up an oval base while out this morning. Bump. Post a few pics. Bump,dity,bump,bump,bump,teesh...

 Still more paint to throw at the figures. A quickie base. Some blending and touch ups. Personal gear,etc...

 If everything goes accordingly, should have this one wrapped up this weekend.

 Best Regards,

 M

Mobious - really nice job on the figures...

panzerguy - JS2s are brutes... Great info scott, as usual!  Those pin marks..ugh.....

Mobious  your Ivan's are looking sweet.  Wish I could get the results that you have going.

panzerguy  I feel your pain on the track pin marks.  I just junked out the set of AFV tracks that I was going to put on my Tiger. 

As it turned out the tracks have alot of flash.  Also there are 3 pin marks per track link.  Just to add further insult to assemble the tracks, AFV made a piece that connected the two links.  This connection piece has the guide horn on it.  And, Yes this piece had plenty of flash.  Just to make the decission final, the guide horn piece would leave a nasty gap that would have to be filled.  All that combined has put my build a little behind. 

Well I will get a couple of pictures on tomrrow.  I have got all the washes done and plan on doing the pigments in the morning.  Will have to wait for the Master Club resin tracks to be shipped to me.  They look alot better.

Till tommrow, keep up the great work everyone.

 Hello,

 JMart, thanks for the positive comments.

 Giest, All work and no play make... well you know how it goes. Glad to hear you did manage some free time. Looking forward to update pics on the SPG.

 Moose, thank you for the comments. I would have liked to have gotten the 5th guy in the back seat but I don't know how. Those Ruskies must have been contortionist.

 Looking forward to the pics of the B-Berg Tiger with washes applied. Sorry to hear about the AFV Tracks. I've never used them. MK makes a decent sent for the Tiger I. Curious about the resin ones. Nerver used resin tracks. Keep posting updates on progress. Maybe throw in a comparison shot of the tracks when they arrive. Thanks upfront.

 Mobious

Here is the pictures that I promised.  I finished up the washes and put on the pigments.  What is left is the tracks, which I am waiting for.  That and glue a couple of parts that I managed to knock off. 

Once again any and all coments are welcome.

Moose - likey likey! You battered her up pretty well - it's coming together VERY nicely!

You may want to rub some graphite or a bit of steel-colored drybrush on that rear idler to simulate the paint being rubbed off where it meets the tracks.

  Mobious the figs are coming out great I swear those guys look like there posing for that pic lol.

   Moose the kitty is looking great also. Are the tracks you're getting the Model Kasten? 

   Heres my update

   I had to shave down the underside of the fenders to give the tracks a little more clearance. How DML messed up the fit between the upper and lower hull is a mystery to me.

   Using polly putty I replaced the casting texture on the turret that had been lost during sanding.

   And the weld seams with testors white putty.

    The louverd engine cover had sink marks on the bolt detail so I had to shave them off and replace them with some resin one's from the parts box

   Oh yeah I also got all those tracks cleaned up. Took me all of Kellys Heros and some of A Bridge To Far but gotem done and they dont look to bad. 

 Hello,

 Moose, the Tiger is looking great. the stowage bin turned out really good. I agree with dupes about the graphite or drybrushed silver around the track contact points. That camo looks sweet. 

 panzerguy, was looking for the casting numbers. Were those on the kit? The weld seam looks spot on. May want to hit the grab handles with a little weld too. Easier said than done at least for me. Glad to hear the tracks are usable with a little(OK a lot) of TLC. On the up side at least you were able to watch a couple of my favorite war movies. As far as the figs looking like they were posed, They were for propaganda purposes just like the reference pics I've got.

 Keep up the good work and the keep the pics coming. Looking forward to updates.

 Mobious

So what dd you guiys do?  Wait til I was done with my build and start kicking butt with your builds when I am not checking in all the time like I used to!!!  HUH?  Is that it?

Beautiful stuff getting done in here.

Thanks for all the compliments guys.  As for the polished steel at the track contact points.  Well, I planned and said to myself that is something I need to do.  And promptly forgot till dupes and mobious mention it.  It is on the to-do list.

As for the tracks I have order the Master Club tracks.  They are resin tracks that has a nice review on the perth website.  Looks like a very nicely molded set.  Very little clean up as well.  I will post pictures of the AFV set that I decided not to use. 

panzerguy, thanks and I love the effect that you achived with the cast look. Did you add anything to the polly putty?

Nice job panzerguy it looks realy good!

  Thanks guys

    Mobious the cast numbers are on the back of the turret

    I will be adding beads around the grab handels and the lifting hooks ,just had to give everything a day to dry. Will you be adding a photographer to you GPA dio?

   Moose The poly putty comes with hardener it's the little green tube in the photo. You can vary the drying time by how much hardener you add. The more you use the quicker it will dry.

  Marc you did'nt think we were gonna let someone with wing in his name show us up

    Sweet 234/3 by the way

 Panzerguy,

 Wasn't going to but that sounds like a cool idea. Think I've got a 1/35 camera from the DML Tiger I (Initial) that would work out nicely. Thanks for the idea. Maybe even title it "The Shot", If I can just find where I stashed it. Looking forward to more welding getting done on the JS2. The turret seams look great.

 Best Regards,

 Mobious

Afternoon all.

Finally got some space cleared on the work bench, so I'm going to make a start on my SdKfz 7/2, I'm building OOB as I havn't quite got the skills of some you gents. After saying that I might attempt a winter camo scheme as the Flak gun crew are dressed in winter uniforms. 

Well here we go, first the box:

Will keep everyone updated as the build goes.

Mark