Dragon JSU-122S/152 (Kit 6047) Build

1
January 23, 2013
Filled the sponsons with plastic sheet.
2
January 23, 2013
Raised the lower hull for accuracy and track clearance.
3
January 23, 2013
Used plastic strip and sheet to raise the hull.
4
January 23, 2013
Opening the air intakes for photo-etched screens. I didn't notice the exquisite detail until I started grinding it off.
5
January 23, 2013
I was able to make it harder to open the air intakes by doing the sponson first. Should have opened the holes first. Anyway, the screens for the Tamiya kit are the same width, but about a millimeter shorter in length. Looks like I can make it work.
6
January 24, 2013
Internal baffles made with plastic sheet.
7
January 25, 2013
Intake baffles done.
8
January 25, 2013
Axles and wire handrails on.
9
January 26, 2013
Test fitting the gun and mantlet.
10
January 27, 2013
Deepened the panel lines on the back plate, added a handle on and a rain guard over the large access door, and used a brass rod for the hinge bar.
11
January 27, 2013
Attached the main sprockets. They can spin freely to aid in track placement later.
12
January 27, 2013
Attaching the lower and upper hulls.
13
January 27, 2013
The seams are sealed, sanded, and textured (with super glue and cornstarch slurry dabbed on with a bamboo skewer). I use silver paint to help me see any gaps.
14
January 28, 2013
Starting the detail work.
15
January 29, 2013
Headlight and horn using Voyager photo-etch for Tamiya
16
January 29, 2013
The horn required some slicing and splicing to use the photo-etch. The "bell" is drilled out.
17
January 29, 2013
Top hatches required some work to be flat bottomed, not round.
18
February 6, 2013
Slowly adding bits and pieces from the Voyager photo-etch. Remember, that photo-etch is for the Tamiya JSU-152.
19
February 6, 2013
The grills and wire bits.
20
February 6, 2013
21
February 6, 2013
Glued the brackets onto the fuel tanks and let them dry over-night. Notice how the straps end before they reach the brackets.
22
February 6, 2013
I cut strips from sheet styrene to extend the holding straps to the brackets. Super glue, with a little corn starch, filled the gap. Then all was sanded smooth.
23
February 6, 2013
Using super glue allowed the process to go quickly. Extended both the front and back straps down to the brackets.
24
February 6, 2013
Applied silver paint (enamel) to help me see seams or gaps.
25
February 6, 2013
Added "Grandt Line" bolts (which are used to tighten the straps on the real machine).
26
February 6, 2013
Attached the tanks to the hull.
27
February 7, 2013
Spare tracks "welded" on the front with Super-glue and cornstarch slurry.
28
February 8, 2013
Primed with Tamiya white liquid surface primer.
29
February 8, 2013
30
February 8, 2013
31
February 8, 2013
32
February 8, 2013
33
February 10, 2013
Base coat of Model Master Acryl Medium Green
34
February 10, 2013
Wetted the front area and applied table salt at random to scrape off later. Painted front with Model Master Acryl Flat White
35
February 10, 2013
Scraped off the salt and misted the green areas with Model Master Acryl Russian Armor Green to darken and cover any white over spray.
36
February 11, 2013
Applied decals over a gloss coat. The word is "VICTORY!"
37
February 12, 2013
Artist oil paint and mineral spirit wash.
38
February 12, 2013
Ugly. Hope this works...
39
February 12, 2013
Pin wash in some places, general wash in others. Needs to be "cleaned-up" after it drys. I will wipe the excess off with mineral spirits. I hope....
40
February 12, 2013
The wash cleaned-up. I used a foam pad and Tamiya cotton swabs with mineral spirits to wipe away the excess wash.
41
February 12, 2013
Completed the first dry brushing to bring out the highlights.
42
February 12, 2013
More dry brushing....
43
February 12, 2013
Finished the stowage and detail painting
44
February 12, 2013
Spare tracks painted
45
February 12, 2013
More stowage
46
February 14, 2013
After applying green filter, brown pastel filter, and mud layer (real mud!)
47
February 14, 2013
Ready for tracks!
48
February 14, 2013
49
February 16, 2013
The tracks seem pretty nice, but it took about six hours to clean them up!
50
February 16, 2013
The tracks are fitted and glued together.
51
February 16, 2013
After a couple of hours of glue drying, I paint and weather the tracks
52
February 16, 2013
Made them a dusty rust color, with highlights of rubbed metal (dry brushing)
53
February 16, 2013
Even though the tracks are glued and dry, a little heat from a hair dryer softens the bond. Very carefully, the tracks can be threaded onto the vehicle.
54
February 16, 2013
The sprockets have to be constructed so they can spin freely, or this method would be very difficult. The rest of the wheels have been glued in place, but if they could turn, it wouldn't hurt.
55
February 16, 2013
Using little blasts of heat and cotton swabs allows me to mold the tracks in place as I want them.
56
February 16, 2013
In a few minutes, the glue bond tightens, and you're done! I started with 89 links per side, but after wrapping around, and sagging the track, the connection point was at 83 links. I always try to connect on the bottom.
57
February 16, 2013
I don't think you could use this method if the lower hull wasn't modified (raised), like I did at the beginning of this project. There would be too little clearance to thread things through!
58
February 16, 2013
Next steps are touch-up paint and mud on the tracks and sprockets. Almost done!
59
February 16, 2013
Finished!

Comments

23 January 2013, 16:34

Frank Krause
Hehe, that's interesting. A kind of group-build by chance. Will be interesting to see, what the etching parts will bring, since mine will be (mostly) OOTB. Happy modeling, George!

23 January 2013, 17:27

George Bacon
Great minds think alike? Good luck on your model, Frank!

23 January 2013, 17:34

Frank Krause
My progress so far:
JSU-122S Construction | Album by Frank Krause (1:35)

23 January 2013, 17:37

George Bacon
Making some progress...

28 January 2013, 02:57

Frank Krause
On the way - I see you also made some additions/corrections.

28 January 2013, 06:11

Kim Branders
Nice progress

28 January 2013, 07:41

George Bacon
As for the correction, I found some good web sites with info on the JSU and/or Dragon's model.

picasaweb.google.com..19265/ISU122sMalbork

4bogreen.com/is-seri..s-152-tank-destroyer

28 January 2013, 14:49

Frank Krause
Hi George, the second link was known by me, not the first one. Thanks for sharing.
Be careful with the 4bogreen. Not everything mentioned there is correct.
***** Example: The lifting eyes (parts B20) are molded with the rings standing perpendicular to the plates on which they are mounted. The rings were free to swivel in their mounts and typically laid flat against the plates. The kit parts can be modified by carefully cutting the rings from the eyes and re-attaching them in a more natural position. This applies not only to the superstructure and engine deck lifting eyes but to those on the rear hull (Step 6) as well. *****
Looking at all the photos of JSUs Dragon did parts B20 correct, but they missed to add the rings to the eyes. I've overcome this by adding wire rings to the lifting eyes.

28 January 2013, 15:23

George Bacon
Thanks for the tip. Your work on the rings was excellent!

28 January 2013, 16:07

Frank Krause
Call me "Lord of the Rings".. 😉 😉 😎 😄
It's always good to look at more than one source. Tanks standing in museums or displayed as monuments are sometimes a mix of WWII and post-war, sometimes a result of a kind of whatever restauration.
Now I ripped off the first 2 handles (parts B2 in step 4) on the upper hull (see picture), because I haven't seen any on WWII JSU-122S.
[img1]

28 January 2013, 17:54

George Bacon
Added the rings ala Frank "Lord of the Rings" Krause and started using the Royal photo-etch. Thanks Frank, for your tips and all your research! 🙂

28 January 2013, 23:43

Frank Krause
Hehe, a JSU with percings!😎 Looking good! I like the handrails done with wire.

29 January 2013, 00:12

George Bacon
The horn, headlight and top hatches all turned into separate projects!

29 January 2013, 20:56

George Bacon
Slowly moving forward using the Voyager photo-etch. The external fuel tanks are next...

6 February 2013, 18:18

George Bacon
I decided to use the kit's fuel tanks rather than the photo-etch (I prefer plastic parts whenever they will work), although I did use the photo-etch handles at the end of each tank. That required removing the molded-on handles. As you can see, the straps around the tanks needed a little work.

6 February 2013, 22:16

james johnson
what do you think of the way this fuel tank is mounted on this KV-85? Is that rod there just because the tank is on display? [img1]

8 February 2013, 03:24

james johnson
Actually two rods. The ones protruding from the hull to the fuel tank.

8 February 2013, 03:25

George Bacon
It's hard to tell why it's there. I always try to find photos from the era I'm modeling to try to confirm or dispel what I see on modern day machines in museums or on display.

8 February 2013, 03:32

james johnson
yeah, that's what I was thinking........I'm going with the way you did it.....

8 February 2013, 04:11

George Bacon
For the JSU (and JS2 tank) the straps tapered at the ends, and were connected to metal rods which bolted to the brackets. I didn't model the tapering straps or rods (seemed liked too much trouble for what a person could see in 1/35 scale). I'm not sure the KV-85 straps were the same, but all the photos I see from WW2 show straps, and not the rods you found on the museum piece.

The KV-85 may be more like the SU-152 (KV-14) than the JSU I'm building. The photo-etch guys have already done the research on straps. For example, check out the pictures at hobbyeasy.com/en/dat..b87xo3g0kzqpat2.html

8 February 2013, 04:38

james johnson
I see what you mean, thanks! Those on the voyager pe set are closer to what are supplied with my kit. The out of box mounting looks like crap, but the reference you posted shows me how to modify the existing mount. Should be easier than replicating the JSU 122 rig..
Thanks again!

8 February 2013, 04:48

George Bacon
Update on my JSU-122. The Bestie is primed and ready to paint!

8 February 2013, 19:06

Frank Krause
Nice progress on your JSU, George! Love it. I'm just back from our Scalemates Meeting on Wangerooge island! Once I cleaned my workbench, I'll continue on the JSU. I made some experiences with etching parts during our meeting. So my next model might get some upgrades...

10 February 2013, 19:00

james johnson
soldering experience, Frank?

11 February 2013, 01:19

George Bacon
Thanks Frank. I hope the Wangerooge meeting was inspiring!

11 February 2013, 04:14

james johnson
Interesting George. Looking forward to seeing where you're going with this!

11 February 2013, 04:36

Frank Krause
@George: Very inspiring and relaxing! I felt very well during that week!

11 February 2013, 06:50

George Bacon
Applied a wash over the acrylic base paint with black artist oils diluted in mineral spirits. Will wipe off the excess tomorrow. Looks ugly. Hope this works!

12 February 2013, 02:53

George Bacon
Update on the JSU-122 construction: The fine detail painting is done.

12 February 2013, 20:26

Mike Kryza
Great... 👍

12 February 2013, 20:27

james johnson
clean! nice washes....

12 February 2013, 20:45

George Bacon
The tracks are on the JSU-122. Almost done!

16 February 2013, 00:52

Frank Krause
I'd better kick mine in the trash can.
Great job, George! 👍

16 February 2013, 08:02

George Bacon
Thanks Frank, but yours is coming along beautifully, and has been an inspiration to me!

16 February 2013, 12:42

Frank Krause
Thanks for the motivation, George! Let's see, what will come out at the end.😉

16 February 2013, 14:34

George Bacon
La "Bête" est fini.

16 February 2013, 18:11

Frank Krause
👍 Great! But... we want more.... pics... 👍
How did you do the headlight?

16 February 2013, 18:25

Frank Krause
Ok, ok! Found 'em! You added a new album for the finished one...!

16 February 2013, 18:26

George Bacon
The headlight (and running lights) are a model railroad product. They are lenses made by M.V. Products, and come in various sizes and colors. They're great! I keep an assortment in my spare parts box.

16 February 2013, 18:31

Brian Geiger
Sorry I missed seeing this at the last meeting George. You've done a heck of a nice job showing the step-by-step photos. It's enlightening to see all the modifications you've done "under the paint". Some very nice tips too. It turned out great!

Thanks for sharing and Thumbs up!

29 June 2013, 16:23

George Bacon
Thanks for your comments Brian. Hope to see you this month!

2 July 2013, 19:38