Tanks

All posts tagged Tanks

BT-7 Soviet Light tank – part 1

Posted by yansick on January 8, 2020
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A very recent build of mine for the beginning of the year: A 1935 BT-7 Soviet Light Tank from Zvezda.

The tank was easy to put together. I just had a hard time with the engine grill. They are made out of the nylon (I presume) mesh provided with the kit. This mesh is very springy and quite tough, so it was hard to cut it to the right dimensions and bend it to shape. The end result is ok, but I gave up trying to make it perfect…

Another problem with this kit was the tracks. I had to remove half a link to adjust it to the wheels, so I had to cheat a bit to hide the fact that the succession of guiding teeth is not even. It’s a minor detail and probably hardly noticeable but… A bit frustrating anyway.

I added a few details like some missing rivets, clear glass lenses for the headlights (not visible on the photos yet), raised details on the eternal fuel tanks, etc.

For the painting and weathering, I decided to go for a winter camouflage (Defense of Leningrad, 51 Battalion winter 1942/43). I found very little references for this type of winter camo on soviet tanks, but from the sources I had, it looks like it was a field applied white wash. I could be wrong, but I think it will look cool.

For now, the little devil is painted with Tamiya XF-67 Nato green, with subtle highlights of a 50/50 mix of Nato green and XF-4 Yellow Green. A filter of oil paint (Windsor & Newton Oxide of Chromium) was also applied on the whole model to make the green a little bluish.

Decals were applied, as well as one coat of varnish (Future floor finish). It is ready for white wash and weathering!

Panzerkampfwagen 35(t) – part 2

Posted by yansick on January 3, 2020
Posted in: Diorama, Scale model. Tagged: , , , , , . 2 Comments

Wow! It’s been a while since I posted anything!

My 2020 resolution: post a little more than in 2019…

Beginning with this completed diorama for my Panzer 35(t). I tried new techniques for the weathering, using very diluted enamel paints (Humbrol) to create dust accumulation effects.

For the diorama, I also tried using a static grass applicator (battery powered). The result is ok, but I think I will need more pratice to achieve better looking results.

I wanted to suggest a scene in france at the start of the war, hence the road sign for Lisieux (printed on an ink jet printer).

The fence is an accessory from an old Tamiya kit. I used the hairspray chipping technique on this to get a well worn look. The ground is made with 2 part epoxy putty (Apoxy sculpt).

Enjoy the pics! And keep an eye on this blog: another post is coming soon!

Jagdpanzer IV A-0 (part 1)

Posted by yansick on May 20, 2019
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Here’s a new kit, mostly completed: Dragon’s Jagdpanzer IV A-0 (kit no. 9059).

It’s a really nice model, with very good details. It includes photo-etched schurzen. It also includes a metal barrel but since the end of the barrel is still a plastic part, I figured It would be easier to glue the plastic barrel instead. Once painted, it will make no difference.

This version of the Jagdpanzer  was a pre-production unit, mostly used for training, but a few were used with Panzer Lehr Division in 1944. Some with zimmerit, some without.

I think I’ll go with the Panzer Lehr version and a standard 3 color camo, no zimmerit.

Enjoy!

Distinctive rounded glacis on this version: the later models were more angular.
Nice schurzen!
rubber tracks, just for testing
rubber tracks, just for testing

Tamiya JS-2, part 3 – diorama

Posted by yansick on May 3, 2019
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An update on my JS-2 diorama: Here are some photos of the first stages of painting for the base.

I started by painting the individual details with plain colors (no shadows or highlights). I also worked a bit on the rust effects. The corrugated panel in the center of the diorama is more a test than anything, since it will be entirely hidden underneath the tank.

Then I used the airbrush to start simulating brick dust and give some hints of shading.

Next step will be the washes and pigments.

Coming soon!…

Tamiya JS-2, part 2 – diorama

Posted by yansick on December 31, 2018
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I started to work on the diorama for my JS-2 tank. I wanted to keep it small and simple, but as always I got carried away a bit, adding lots of details in the rubbles. The scene is supposed to take place right after the fall of Berlin.

I had a white plastic wedding cake column in my parts bin (leftover from some wargaming terrain I did a while ago). I decided to use this in the diorama as a way to suggest the destruction of fine german classical architecture. A library? A bank? Who knows…

Still, something was missing to really coin it. This small diorama had to evoque the fall or Berlin (and I didn’t want to use another nazi flag, as I did in this other diorama). So I sculpted a nazi eagle emblem, the kind of wich was afixed to many building facades in large german cities during the 3rd Reich. I used Apoxy sculpt and fine tools (including a needle) to sculpt, and did it while listening to an audio book of H.P. Lovecraft novels.

I know. No link. But somehow the combination of sculpting and listening to cosmic horror stories is really relaxing for the brain 🙂

Anyway, enjoy the pics for now: I’ll be painting all this and posting the results in early 2019.

Happy New Year to all of you!

Strips of cork. I cut them in small “bricks”, sanded the edges and glued them one by one. I took A LONG TIME! But the end result is very good.
The plastic column was butchered with a rotary tool…
I used epoxy putty to fill the hollow parts. With a saw, I also scribed the horizontal lines, to add a touch of realism.
More expoxy putty work.
The cock pavement is completed. I test fit the elements…
Work is started on the nazi eagle (Apoxy Sculpt).
The cobblestone is grouted with drywall compound.
With a heated needle, I made some holes on the column. I then used my X-Acto to carve around the holes to simulate bullet impacts on the stone.
Various debris are then glued to the base using white glue and wood filler.
The debris, from another angle.
The finished eagle. When it will be painted, I plan to but a chain near it to suggest that it might have being torn from the facade…
Again , the rubbles: bits of cork, styrofoam, pieces of wood, a some plastic bits.
Top view.
Test fitting the JS-2. The miniatures are to be repainted (I don’t like the green of their uniforms)
Test fitting: Another angle.

Tamiya JS-2, part 1

Posted by yansick on December 2, 2018
Posted in: Scale model. Tagged: , , , . 2 Comments

Wow! I’ve been really busy at work lately, so I had no time to complete my projects and post updates…

Still, I managed to find some time to work on this bad boy: a 1/35 JS-2 by Tamiya (kit number: 35289).

There’s not much to say: the kit went together beautifully. I made minimal modifications: bending fenders a bit, and replacing the handles of the fuel tanks with thinner metal strips.

As for painting, nothing special there too: same colors and techniques as my ISU-152

I am not done yet: some streaks and pigments need to be added to the upper part, and a few touch ups are still required.

I am currently painting the miniatures, so stay tuned!

Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures…

IS-3 Diorama

Posted by yansick on April 7, 2018
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At last!

I had a bit of time available to complete my IS-3 diorama!

I scratch builded the furniture for the barricade from plasticard. The cobblestone road is made from a sheet of foamcore. I also printed small newspapers to add to the debris on the street. The miniature is from Mini Art (kit 35027).

Enjoy!

An old panzerkampfwagen II…

Posted by yansick on January 14, 2018
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Right after Christmas, the urge to build a new model was really strong for me, but I wanted to build something simple and quick for a change.

On my shelves stood an old Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. F/G from Tamiya. A kit produced in… 1971! The kit includes 5 figures. I only intend to use the tank commander figure.

Just to give you an idea of the simplistic, toy like nature of the kit: There’s almost as many miniatures parts in the box than actual tank parts…

Vinyl tracks (without details on the inside), molded on suspension, tool clamps that are just plain rectangles, no hole in the barrel, etc… The kit is way under modern standards and would require a tremendous amount of work to make it really accurate.

But I really didn’t want to put all the efforts (and after market products) required: I just wanted a fun build.

I decided to build and paint that little monster as is, OOB. No fuss. The only modifications I did were to drill holes in the main gun and machine-gun barrels and fill the gaps at the bottom of the hull with plasticard.

The decals gave me serious headaches: They were very thick, yellowish and did not stick well to the model. A huge chunk of the big letter R on one side of the turret even broke of during weathering. I made a Nazi flag from epoxy putty to hide this.

The diorama was pretty basic and quick to make. Again: no fuss.

The whole thing, diorama included, was built in little less than 2 weeks.

It’s not 100% done:

  • Tank commander figure is currently drying (oil paints…)
  • Some details in weathering need fixing (the antenna rack for example was made of wood on the real tank and I want this to be more obvious in my paint job)
  • I want to ad a bit of oil spills on some wheels and on the engine deck

Overall, it was a fun project. And in the end, it doesn’t look so bad for such an old kit.

Enjoy the pics!