Dirty 'Beast'
First started in December, then back to the bench about a month ago ahead of a competition over in Hamilton in September.
Tamiya's well known ISU-152 really does fall together with only the link-and-length tracks giving [me] a challenge (I'm terrible at building & installing tracks). I chose to replace the kit barrel with an RB turned aluminium one, which is so heavy, I had to add a counterbalance of garden pebbles & Miliput in the rear of the hull ! - regardless it's well worth the investment IMHO. Other than that, the seated crewman and the couple of items of stowage, this is an OoB build.
Paint is all acrylics mixed using the Mk.I eyeball method. Followed by the usual chipping, pin wash, oil-dot filter and then pastels (my least favourite aspect of weathering). For this I wanted the vehicle to look used but not abused - the 'duelling scar' on the front cheek is an experiment - never done that before. The rubble was a last-minute decision, again an experiment, but I love the look - the relatively clean topsides imply the crew has cleaned-off the worst of the dirt and it's collected on the fenders. Not sure if it's worked, would appreciate your thoughts on that.
Nothing else to say for now, to the folks who followed the WiP thread here, thanks guys, really appreciate your encouragement along the way. Please criticise, question and comment. All the best from NZ.
The crew and the other finishing touches help even more to make this look like a prize winner.
Nice work, Ian. I’m a fan of WW2 Russian armor and that’s it’s ultimate expression.
An amazing result and an equally amazing build thread, Ian!
The Beast turned out amazing, Ian @ij001
It was a true pleasure to follow your thread and see the progress of this armor.
Very nice paintwork and a very realistic result. The other competitors better watch out.
Wow, that looks fantastic! I wish I had half the skills. Well done Ian.
Thanks for your comments everyone, always appreciated and never taken for granted.
Really enjoyed this build so have decided to start another AFV project next. Not sure what, but will almost certainly be German. Cheers folks.