1/35 ISU-152-2 construction

Donald Dickson II
And all those individual tracks are one big reason I dont do targets. LOL I do NOT have the patience to link all those together.

Bart Goesaert
looking good... pretty heavy gun...

Rui S
Nice one 👍, Watching 😎.

Katya Hodgson
Donald, the tracks in this at least do not have to be cut off a sprue, and hold together someone making them easier to glue.

Bart, it certainly is! An actualy anti-tank 152mm gun, firing a 49kg APHE shell at over 850 m/s. 🙂

Rui, I hope I don't disappoint!

Katya Hodgson
So I got the tracks done, hopefully once they set fully I should be able to get them off in one piece for painting. I also test fit the upper hull and casemate to the lower hull, although it's not glued yet. Tomorrow hopefully I can fasten everything down and move onto the painting!

Rui S
Looking good 👍

Katya Hodgson
Thanks!

Katya Hodgson
I'm not sure filler is going to fix this one... 🙁

Bart Goesaert
neh, styrene sheet, old banking card, cardboard, ... to copy the contour, take a sheet of paper or tamiya tape, align it with the hull and tape it to the bottom of the fenders. Then rubb the contour with a pencil... the darker line you'll get is the contour, cut it out and copy this one to the thing you'll want to glue in as a filler. For interest, cardboard and paper can be hardened by applying thin superglue to them...

Katya Hodgson
You can see clear through... is this some kind of "weight saving" design?!

Donald Dickson II
There isnt a part missing or the like????

Bart Goesaert
No, it is mold related, these are open or else there's a so called undercut which prevents demolding. The parts to close these gap can take to much space, or aren't considered worth the investment... Making a mold is a very costly affairs, don't forget, it soon costs as much as a small or large house...

Katya Hodgson
No idea how I am going to fix this... 🙁

Bart Goesaert
You can just fill it up with whatever at hand: cs.finescale.com/fsm..ts/f/3/t/156783.aspx (search for: closing the gap between lower and upper hull)

Paul Shearer
Tracks look good. Just the right amount of sag to them

Derek Huggett
Gosh Katya! That is one helluva gap...and in 1/35! Bart is 'on song' with the solution, but I would add that you shouldn't need to concern yourself with much 'load bearing', just filling the void! Very thin plastic card can be useful in these cases. Good luck...I can't imagine you being beaten by this yet! 🙂

Katya Hodgson
Paul, they were perfect, but when I came down this morning, the sag had almost vanished for seemingly no reason, I have no idea why. The tracks are set now though so I can't do anything about it. 🙁

Derek, Sadly I don't have any plasticard or anything like that, you can only really get it in model shops, and there are none conveniently close. 🙁

Bart Goesaert
There are a lot of alternatives, hull from a yoghurt jar is also glueable, from the sprues, where the name off the sprues is, sand it flat, perfect usable... Only limit is the imagination. Paper is also perfect... Old plastic customer cards, ...

Rui S
@Bart, Thanks for sharing all the info 😉

Martin Oostrom
Those plastic credit card like gift cards are quite easy to come by. It's a big beast you're building Katya.

Derek Huggett
Katya. Local model shops - almost all but disappeared these days! 🙁 Craft shops run a close second, but as the guys are saying, imagination can be a wonderful thing (as can be ordinary paper, or packing from almost anything!). A challenge to rise to! 👍

Donald Dickson II
As mentioned, many alternatives. Heck, take construction paper, slather it with white glue and let it dry. You are simply looking to block light from coming through. Once you weather it and all, and with the tracks on, it wont be super visible, so you dont have to make it as presentable as if it was on top or the like.

Paul Shearer
That's weird about the tracks. Obviously something shrank up over night but I don't think I've ever had it happen to me. That sucks

Katya Hodgson
Well, i'll try... something I guess, i'll see what I can do.

And Paul, yes it is a shame, I was really happy with how the track sag had come out. 🙁

Katya Hodgson
Card to the rescue! I hope the paint sticks fine.

Katya Hodgson
Thanks! I'll be painting it tomorrow. 🙂

Katya Hodgson
I have been trying to paint it, but it's really not going very well. I'm honestly getting so upset and tired of constantly fighting to try and make the paint and airbrush work, and i'm just not sure what to do anymore.

Katya Hodgson
I can't make airbrush work properly, I can't make paint work properly, and to be honest whenever I hear anyone talking about anything I just feel confused, I don't have any idea what to do anymore.

Katya Hodgson
People say things like "paint in thin layers" but I do not even know how to do that, a lot of the time I have trouble just getting the paint to come out of the airbrush...

Bart Goesaert
What paint are you using?

Bart Goesaert
Painting with an AB: when dual function: give air, add paint and end with air alone... Try it on a test subject like a bottle or can. It doesn't absorb like paper, so you'll get a more genuine result. Tried several brands, but I'm still stuck to Tamiya and Gunze. Tried Vallejo, and it's nice with a brush, but with an AB... When building up the paint it doesn't dry that fast and start running after the third passage. As Roland says... Practice, practice and more practice... You'll learn invaluable lessons... Try what others say, and only use what you'll find handy... Because, what works for me doesn't necessary works for you...

Katya Hodgson
The whole point of Vallejo model air was that it's not supposed to need thinning, that's why I started using it. I have never been able to actually thin paint, which is why I switched away from enamel paints after getting an airbrush.

I don't use isopropanol to clean the airbrush, I use Vallejo airbrush cleaner, although I am running out so will need to get some more soon. I don't actually have any flow improver, and I have no idea what needle the airbrush has, or even what make the airbrush is, it's just the airbrush and needle that came with the compressor.

Katya Hodgson
Never managed it, I don't even understand the concept of how to mix the paints.

Done the best I can, Not perfect but I guess it is ok.

Still have to do the wheels though...

Martin Oostrom
Mixing can be quite simple. Put an x number of drops in a cup, add y drops of thinner in the same cup. Stir/shake/mix and put the mix in your ab.
Some people put the drops in the cup of their ab, slightly loosen the nozzle and apply the least amount of air. The paint will bubble and mix in the ab cup. Tighten the nozzle (don't forget!) , apply some air on a paper towel or something else and then spray away!
From experience I can tell that tightening of the nozzle is pramount, or you're in for cleaning duty 😄

Katya Hodgson
Huh, that sounds much simpler than what I tried...

Either way, this is the last time I try and paint something all white like this, it's more hassle than it's worth. I'm going back to Soviet green...

Donald Dickson II
Part of the issue is you are doing white. Bright colors such as white, yellow, red or bright green are a pain to work with. They do NOT cover well. I dont care what brand you use. These colors do require you to paint in thin layers as you mentioned. That simply means make a pass or two with your AB. Then move to another part and do the same. Just keep moving around the model making only a couple passes on each part. By the time you get back to where you started, it should be fairly dry. Then repeat until you have the color on nice and opaque.

As for the paint not coming out. What pressure do you have the compressor set for? It may be too low. It should likely be around 15psi or so. And as Martin said, thinning is not difficult. Some make it out to be more than it needs to be. Use these to mix it up in...
Ebay.com Item - 1 oz reusable mixing measuring cups ice resin flex coat epoxy hobby lot of 50

You can use these to suck up paint and thinner to put in the cup...

Ebay.com Item - 200pcs 1ml Disposable Plastic Transfer Pipettes Graduated Dropper With Scale!17268!US!-1

Katya Hodgson
I'm not sure what exactly the dial reads in, but I turned it up to the maximum the compressor will do (around 50) at one point, and still the paint was sticking.

I do have some of the pipettes, but I find them hard to use for paint, as it's difficult to get the paint into them, and even harder to get it out afterwards.

Bart Goesaert
Why hard? I have a cup of water next to me, and I shake the paint well, suck up some paint, drip it in my cup, and then put the pipette into the water, repeat a few times to clean it. Only time when that fails is when the weld on the pipette gets broken, then it is time to replace it

Treehugger
The track links looks really nice. Well defined and looking good as a detail.

Wim van der Luijt
I got fed up with using pipettes and did this instead:Making paint easy to put in the airbrush | Album by Loftinsulator (1:1)

Bart Goesaert
interesting....

Wim van der Luijt
I had a hell of time getting vallejo Air to work as well and was on the verge of chucking them all...read throught this old thread to see how I got them to work in my airbrush scalemates.com/whatsnew.php?topic=4959889

Katya Hodgson
Been working on the wheels, need to paint the other side white before moving onto the metal rims. After that I can get the tracks done.

Katya Hodgson
The tracks don't fit on. I am tired, and miserable, and I have no idea what to do anymore. The whole thing looks terrible anyway. I really do not know why I force myself to do this.

Bart Goesaert
Only a few mm's short? In Russian tanks, the front wheel is for tensioning, so you can apply some glue to the z-shaped axle (when it is fixed) to which this wheel is fitted, so that it becomes loose, then force it a bit inwards to shorten the distance. Orther thing it to do this on the tracks to enlarge the spacing a bit to compensate.

Katya Hodgson
They fitted before, and I got nice track sag too. But then the track sag vanished, and now they don't fit at all.

Bart Goesaert
That I can't explain, sorry

Derek Huggett
Katya - Just a thought...is there any paint build-up on the teeth to the drive wheel (or on the track) that is preventing the track nestling tightly around the wheel? (A few microns of paint on both is enough to interfere if it is a very tight fit without the paint). Perhaps a long soak in the bath would help (you that is, not the model!!) - we all need a break from the plastic once in a while. 🙂

Bart Goesaert
Never force yourself... it's only plastic... take a deep breath, or pauze, it helps you getting to a solution, we can only provide some advice and support, you're the one that has to do it, and when agitated... never leads to anything good...

Martin
I just finished the kv1 from Hobby boss with the same type of tracks. I had to fit an extra link. Which the kit came with..

Katya Hodgson
Martin, the tracks originally fitted, and I managed to get a lovely sag, but first overnight the sag disappeared, and now the tracks don't fit on at all.

Katya Hodgson
After a ridiculous amount of effort, I managed to get the tracks on. In the end, I removed the track and all the wheels, glued the ends of the track firmly together, fitted only the idler wheel and drive wheel into the track loop, and then stretched it over the pegs, adding in the other wheels afterwards. It's not perfect, and I still think it's a horrible mess, but at least they are on.

Derek Huggett
YAY! Tick, VG - knew you'd find a way! 🙂

Katya Hodgson
Using Tamiya panel line accent to add some detail to the engine deck.

Katya Hodgson
So, the vehicle itself is basically finished! It just needs the tools, decals, and clear coats.

Now, I don't often use a wash/accent, as it can go wrong very easily, and can be a pain, but I find it works very well on white, so decided to go with it for this, and i'm pretty pleased with the result!

Donald Dickson II
It looks great!

Katya Hodgson
Thanks! Just put the tools on. 🙂

Derek Huggett
🙂 👍 😉

Katya Hodgson
Finished it now, and album is uploaded!

Paul Shearer
Looks good

Katya Hodgson
Thank you.

Martin Oostrom
Perseverance pays off! Well done Katya

Katya Hodgson
I swear, every time I finish a model, everyone comments on the in progress album, not the completed one. 😛

Rui S
In My case I don't make two albums for One project.
The progress and the "completed".
More, because i never find a project completly finished, but Also because I don't see the Need for it

Katya Hodgson
Ah... ok