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I started assembling the hull and turret. Compared to Tamiya's Cromwell, there is "a bit" more to do and the quality of the kit isn't nearly as good.
The IS tank in Polish Service looked quite beaten up, with most of the fenders missing, and sometimes even missing road wheels or support rollers.
I started by raising the hull 1,5mm and closing the visible gap in the lower hull. This meant to lenghten the rear lower hull "struts" as well, to keep the angles.
Although the weld seams are actually quite nice, there are some places where they would need to be rebuild anyway. And I really want to try welding with Tamiya Quick Type Putty. The Cast structure was also redone using Plastic Cement and Tamiya Basic Putty. A lot of hulls also show horizontal defects, which were simulated with a small hobby saw and than covered with putty.
Because I'm using Eduards photo etch set, the grills were removed. Of course, there was no detail below, so the armoured box of the air intake was scratch built.
# Update 1:
Added the thick weldbeads which connect the hull castings and armor platings. Tamiya Quick Type putty "welding" really is fun! I sculpted the welds with a self made tool made of brass rod. I also cleaned up the suspensions components. The track were a pita so far, requiring a lot of sanding to remove the ejector marks.
# Update 2:
Added more weld beads and started the turret. The CMK Barrel, although pretty nice, was a mess to clean up due to excessive flash. The welds and cut marks really are the signature of this tank, so I took a lot of effort to replicate them with Tamiya Quick Type putty. The mantlet was bolted from the inside, so take care to not weld this part 😉 Also added more details to the lower hull. The Dragon kit really shows it age, and shelling out almost 80 € for the "upgraded" versions stills seems way off.
# Update 3:
Build complete! Added photo etch details like intake grills, some claps and the empty barrel holders. Due to obvious reasons, they were removed before going into battle. Since my reference photos showed them partially removed and bent, I tried to replicate this as well. I already lost track on how often those came off while handling the model. I also added a copper tow cable from the parts bin, and wire handles made of 0,7mm copper wire. Next will be the ICM figures and some random tank commander peaking out from the hatch before I start painting. All in all, I'm quite pleased with the outcome so far, although I should start soldering PE - or leave it all together 🙂
