Build #3 finished: Plain Russian ugliness

Hey Julian I read your post like a chocolate bar I could not put down.

Very, very Cool Sir!  You are a very talented modeler!

Okido, both Friuls on, weathering nearly finished and final extras being fitted, plus Boris the disgruntled tanker. Build # 3 nearly finished ( a rather stark contrast to Bill approaching his

100th build ).

Looks like the penultimate post. Thanks for looking,

Julian

Bill and F Matthews: thank you both, looks I might become a permanent "Greenie" . I was trying to find a Dragon 152 but apparently it's out of production.

Julian

Julian,

I love it.  I really started to appreciate monotone finishes after I wrapped up my Sherman, you did a fantastic job on the subtelties and points of interest all over that big hunk of green metal.

Very fine indeed.

Bill

Bill: Thanks for the head up, missed that. Think I am looking at different things

Tigerman: Thanks, the Russian "Beast " is progressing nicely. I am thoroughly enjoying shading and weathering this green base (more so than the German tri-tone camo's).

Doog: Hi Karl, thank you ! Glad you appreciate my messing with oils . Have you been deported from Europe yet ? Think you skipped Holland this tour, glad to see you back on the forum !

Julian

Holy Nyezdhevah, tigerman! If that's "ugly", hook me up with her sister! That finish is frickin' sweet!

Beautiful shading, tinting and weathering for sure--a real nice touch you'vegot to it! It looks beautiful!

Spent yesterday assembling the first Friul (82 links in all), spraying it with Vallejo track primer and fitting it. I was a bit worried about the amount of sag in the tracks until I saw Rick's JS II and the look of this sag gives it a fantastic look. I have been applying oil filter after oil filter to build up a nice colour, think it's nearly ready for some chipping and scratching now :

Thats about it for this week, cheers,

Julian

Thanks Bodge

Julian

That is very kind of you Mikael, thank you very much

Julian

Grem56 wrote:

The decals are disgusting, thick and stiff. I used microsol and microset in enormous amounts to get the decals somewhat presentable.

Well I'm suprised you had so many problems with the decals, because they look pretty much perfect. I guess it shows you fixed them up quite nicely.

Falschimjager: Are you refering to this delicate and finely lined Russian piece of machinery as an elefant sir? Thanks for looking.

Guney, Terry and Stickman: Thank you for the kind remarks !

Steve: I think the mix of my paint isn't thin enough, seems to dry too quickly leaving this furry look. As you say I have some very stiff oil brushes that I use to brush this away.

mg Mikael: Thanks mgM, as you have already shown it is possible to do fun things with a Zvezda kit Take a look at the Lifecolor Tensochrome acrylic paint for some unusual colours and textures: the fuel stains are Lifecolor "fuel", a pinkish color. They also have Kerosine and oil which open some nice possibilities for weathering. The decals are disgusting, thick and stiff. I used microsol and microset in enormous amounts to get the decals somewhat presentable.

Raining at the moment here in Holland so no painting outdoors (SWMBO has me doing some maintenance on the house) so I can get going with the friuls

cheers,

Julian

So far so good. Especially love the chain and fuel stains on the external fuel tanks. The decals are lookin' pretty fine too.

Looking good! I realy like the paint coulor!

Grem56 wrote:

The "Beast " has some pimples and warts at the moment but I'll work on those as move along. Comments and advice always welcome from all the "experten " hier on the forum. Thanks once again for taking a look, Julian

   Julian, not so ugly anymore.

  The paint job is looking really nice with the shading. I assume you're talking about the fuzzy stuff on the mantel when you say warts? I get those once in a while and to remove them I just use a stiff ½ wide brush in a circular motion. 

great progress there Julian, really great looking beast. I look forward  to seeing you progress with this one.

Terry.

Hi Julian

Sorry i am late for answer..

Doing well my friend...Keep going...

The mot is inside the box...

wing_nut wrote:

It may be ugly now but the story of the ugly duckling comes to mind looks good

 Duckling! Are you comparing an ISU 152 to a duckling? Buddy that's not the ugly duckling thats the ugly Elefant (the animal not the tank).

Hi Bill, thanks, yes the Beast is underway. The horn and light are painted black because I read a 3 part article by Marcus Nichols of Tamiya Model Magzine on building the JS 2 tank. He painted them black and I like the different colour. They still need toning down (at the moment shiny Citadel "chaos black").

Julian

Have been back at work after my holiday this week so not much time for browsing the armour forum or building. Today I managed to squeeze in some time and have now reached the stage that I can start weathering this beast of a Russian SPG. Base coat was a mix of Tamiya olive drab and flat yellow. Shading coats have progressively more deck tan added to lighten the mix. Welds recieved a light wash with Mig brown and Vallejo dark umber (or is that burnt umber?). The chain I added on the righthand fender and the two shackles on the left fender recieved a coat of Vallejo umber too. I added a rear fender made of winebottle foil so I could mistreat it accordingly and also bent one of the front fenders. The running gear and lower tanks sides I have already treated with a Mig pigment wash (European earth). Friuls tracks are underway and will look gobsmackingly great when fitted. For now let the washes and dots begin . I must admit that I find the mono camo a lot more sexy than the tri-tonal German camo's I have done up until now. Maybe go for an all yellow build next time? (I also have an Israeli Sherman in my stash though and that could be very tempting too )

The "Beast " has some pimples and warts at the moment but I'll work on those as move along. Comments and advice always welcome from all the "experten " hier on the forum.

Thanks once again for taking a look,

Julian

Marc: thanks, I'll try an coax  a beautiful Russian swan out of this very ugly duckling.

Bill: I followed up Steve's advice and have smoothed out and filled up the weld seams somewhat. They seem very stark and rough in the photo's i put up but that is using the macro setting camera so it really blows up every spot and blemish. Using the old eyeball mk.1 the seams look very pretty and I have a very good feeling about how they will look with some "Dutch pea-soup green" paint and some weathering. Worst part was making the "banana-shaped" hull parts fit together

Julian 

It may be ugly now but the story of the ugly duckling comes to mind

looks good

mg.Mikael: thanks for the kind remarks. The grab handles are all scratched because it is easier to "bash them up" when they are made of brass wire (joins to the hull still need some work with mr. Surfacer).

Citadelgrad: Thanks Bill, very kind of you and I must admit I am looking forward to washing and weathering this model as well.

Panzerguy: Thanks for the tips on toning down the welds. They look rather stark at the moment so I'll give that a try this weekend.

Guney: That is a very mean looking ISU-152 you built ! Nothing subtle about this Russian design is there? just good old utilitarian "tractor factory" Russian building. Love the way you weatherd it (tracks look excellent as well). Where did you get the mot on the side of the crew compartment?

cheers,

Julian

Very fine progress Julian...Great work...

This is my 152..About a year ago... :)

  Julian good to see that you're able to get some work in on this guy. Nice job on the texturing.

   One suggestion on the welds, using some 180 grit paper sand them down a little and then go over them with some 000 steel wool. Next go over them with some liquid cement. Once that dries go over them again lightly with the steel wool. I used this method on my BA3 and it works real nice at smoothing out the welds.