There is only war.. (former IS-2 tank project)

[Hoxtalicious]

Hi, IS-2, done by Tamiya, love them to bits. Best company out there when it comes down to easy to build kits with superior detail and a fair share of "having done their research" before selling it. At least, that's my opinion and I'm sticking to it until another brand comes along to take the crown.

Bleh, anyway, every once in a while I get one of these as a one-off non-gaming project and to remember my roots, I was a builder before I was a gamer, plus it is another step closer to completing my collection of sorts I guess.

Pretty straight forward build really, no after market parts, no kitbashing, nada. Only complaint is the tank commander, that was the only bit with mould lines and a horribly cast head. But nothing a bit of scraping and bleeding can't fix.

Tracks will be added once the whole lower hull is good and solid. Also not sure whether or not to add in the extra weights to give it a bit more "realistic" weight. Once the tracks are on and the final hand rails are added to the turret we're off to the balcony for a bit of priming: White for the turret, then the whole vehicle in classy Soviet Armour green, but not before the turret receives a bit of masking tape to preserve some of the white. Could be tricky, but we sometimes take on challenges.

Seeing as this will be for my own collection it will be done to my not-so high standards.

Obligatory WIP pics:

From the side, showing off the distinct silhouette and the rather pants-shitting large 122mm gun.


A bored looking commander.





Close up of turret texture, showing off the level of detail put into this kit.


And, alongside a Dark Vengeance marine..
 

[DarkElf27]

Hah, no shouting and sword-waving for these commanders, aye?  

[Hoxtalicious]

DarkElf27

Hah, no shouting and sword-waving for these commanders, aye?

I may not be a grognard, but I like to keep some realism in my collection.  

[Lady Blodwynn]

You will finish this one, yes?  

[Vikki Stardust]

Lady Blodwynn

You will finish this one, yes?

He will. ninja  

[Lady Blodwynn]

Vikki Stardust

Lady Blodwynn

You will finish this one, yes?

He will. ninja

Make sure he does.. ninja  

[Hoxtalicious]

Lady Blodwynn

Vikki Stardust

Lady Blodwynn

You will finish this one, yes?

He will. ninja

Make sure he does.. ninja

Oh ye of little faith..  

[Lady Blodwynn]

Lt. Brookman

Lady Blodwynn

Vikki Stardust

Lady Blodwynn

You will finish this one, yes?

He will. ninja

Make sure he does.. ninja

Oh ye of little faith..

With good reason.  

[Van Evok]

that 122mm gun was a beast in either AP or HE mode - bunker busting was definitely more common than tank hunting late in the war when German Panzer were seriously depleted and Germans turned to static defences like Ostwall  

[Hoxtalicious]

Okay, slight update.

Primed the turret skull white, which is always a c**t to properly apply, so this time, taking no chances I decided to mist it on at an arms length. Seems to work like a charm, even if most of the paint misses the mark.

The upper hull and half of the lower hull have received their first layer of Russian green, with a little luck I can spray on a second coat by the end of the afternoon, leaving me with the task of tracking down a few paints for the tracks, tools and commander.

Also, going to get freaky with masking tape soon, the turret is in need of stripes.  

[Hoxtalicious]

It's a few hours old by now, the stripes sadly didn't turn out as planned, so I'm ditching those in favour of an entirely green tank, which is still viable, it's just not part of the push on Berlin, that's all.

Chances are I'll wrap up priming the turret tomorrow and start work on the bare metals, maybe give the tracks a brown coat of paint first before drybrushing them metal.  

[Van Evok]

speaking of push on Berlin...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKnJwQZoQaI some unique footage here!
...and music great too IMHO.  

[Lady Blodwynn]

Where are the updates you bog dwelling pig?  

[DarkElf27]

Lt. Brookman

It's a few hours old by now, the stripes sadly didn't turn out as planned, so I'm ditching those in favour of an entirely green tank, which is still viable, it's just not part of the push on Berlin, that's all.

Chances are I'll wrap up priming the turret tomorrow and start work on the bare metals, maybe give the tracks a brown coat of paint first before drybrushing them metal.

Is there a reason you're priming the turret a different color than the rest of it? Or have you just not gotten to the chassis yet?  

[Sir Kyle Aziz]

Lookin' good so far.

You know I think my local hobby shop sells Tamiya products. I could go there and browse their stuff to see if you'd like?