Thread started by StevenVD
Steven Van Dyckadded a new photoalbum.
23 4 June, 00:53
Steven Van Dyck AuthorMost of the "Zveroboy" SU-152/ISU/152 victims shown are Panther D hit in the Kursk region. When I thought of this project, I had only two Panther G's in my stash, a later version. But then I read that SU-152's were still in use at the retaking of Lvov, and some tanks were destroyed using them. These are not described, so I can use my RFM interior detail kit for this project.
2 4 June, 01:01
Steven Van Dyck AuthorWelcome, the SU-152 will feature first. Even without the tracks, the undercarriage looks very promising with all wheels and even rollers turnable. I made the engine too though it won't show. First I swithched the engine blocks. in this kit you need to pay attention not to switch a part every now and then, there's lots of details but little or either unfitting guidance pins. Now I'm going to install the engine intakes, these were molded on and Aber is trying to replace them. Come back later to see if that worked out!
16 June, 13:25
Steven Van Dyck AuthorI replaced the engine intakes using the risky left side method on the inscriptions, because I was able to use a Proxxon tool to remove the plastic edges close to the bolt heads. Then I replaced a plastic spoiler and also put in place the Aber plastic barrel.
18 June, 01:32
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe gun is ready to attach in the hull. I had also glued some clearparts into the periscopes, but all of it had to be removed to install the Aber set. All these tiny bits need to fit together, even part of the outside has to be replaced to get some room for the upper lens.
20 June, 15:24
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe interior is painted and dry-fit with the barrel. The Friul tracks are very easy to assemble and can be finished in one day. I will also include some tank riders from the Tamiya kit.
23 June, 00:15
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe Tamiya tank riders are all assembled. They're a bit sturdier than the Hobbyboss crew. They will improve the dio with their actions.
23 June, 22:56
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThanks, Villiers. Now the driver figure is made fitting to the cramped position he needs to be in to close down the hull. Therefore I also had to paint the figures and get that driver finished. I kept it minimalistic in 1 color khaki, he will be almost invisble in that location. Then the hull was closed up and some of the brass wire and tube Aber provided was attached to it. The fender set is quite sturdy and even the large Mastertools bender is not sufficient to hold the complete parts. I saw that Voyager cut these up. With Aber they will be extremely straight, like factory new fenders...
26 June, 18:59
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe SU-152 is prepared for painting. The fenders are added. A strange choice for Aber was to exclude the horns from their fender set and move this to the basic set. The fit to the hull is very well. The system for replacing the exterior fuel tank straps is very complicated to get right. The length of both towing cables is indicated incorrectly, make sure not to follow the instructions but cut it longer (or the left one much shorter). And now I will have to start the Panther kit.
1 7 July, 15:49
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThanks, Villiers. The SU is now painted in Tamiya Olive Drab. The tracks are immersed in burnishing fluid. Because of the air bubbles in the cavities, enclosed surfaces don't react well. I tried a new bottle now.
1 16 July, 11:43
Steven Van Dyck AuthorSome modulation is done with NATO Black, Midnight Oil Blue and Kawasaki green. Then some greygreen Vallejo mix. The blackened tracks were spotted white and are partly corrected with paint.
1 26 July, 15:51
Steven Van Dyck AuthorA Mig brown wash is used on the Su152. The tracks were finished with the terminals, but I had overlooked the instruction to use one half of them on the side with no track pin hole. Because you don't get any for the inside of the tracks, on one side of the tank these small parts are now missing. I have to try and move all of them to the outside.
1 1 August, 23:08
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThanks, Guy, today I managed to switch all white metal track pin plugs to the other side. Removal was quite easy, application was a bit tedious but done in one hour. One got stuck inside the CA bottle with no plan to get it out again. Both tracks were now installed on the SU-152. with that out of the way I should be able to start that Panther build.
17 August, 22:54
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe cat is now also coming, at least its muzzle. It's a barrel from Aber not actually designed for Rye Field, but with some work done on the breech I could close up the gun. The clamp cracked it promptly, so I wil have to do some filling.
1 23 September, 19:03
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe Panther got its gun assembled with the coaxial mg. Because I shattered the barrel base and had to reassemble it, it had to be sanded to fit in the cradle and lots of clamps were needed. As I was sanding, I did the road wheels too.
1 29 September, 13:40
Steven Van Dyck AuthorA large PE case is inserted in the mantlet part of the kit, but it is completely invisible when the mantlet is closed up. For the 1944 version of the Panther, you need to remove multiple small details from the clearpart turret. Like that, the clearpart gimmick seems to be defeated unless you carefully polish all affected areas. But I won't need that for my intentions with the kit. Also you get a smoke grenade gun that can be made rotatable, but you can't get hold of that thing from the outside unless you choose the open barrel version and put a toothpick in it. I mounted the complicated commander's hatch with optional 1944 periscopes.
1 7 October, 16:05
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe turret interior is assembled further. Lots of options appear throughout the manual, but you need some sense of interpretation for the function. Even the interior of the cabin exhaust fan is provided. A scheme with two aspects is given to bend a wire for the turret rotation mechanism, this is clearly not for the beginning modeller.
1 19 October, 21:54
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe clearpart hull is carefully prepared for assembly. The glacis plate on the other hand is opaque. Two Masterbox figures are added for the dio, a Russian cameraman and a German victim.
1 11 November, 22:13