Shturm in a tea cup
Comin' out of nowhere
Drivin' like rain
Stormbringer dance
On the thunder again
Dark cloud gathering
Breaking the day
No point running
'Cause it's coming your way
Drivin' like rain
Stormbringer dance
On the thunder again
Dark cloud gathering
Breaking the day
No point running
'Cause it's coming your way
Il-2 Shturmovik….
Some assembly required!!
Parts washed and cut down prior to commencing the build
Some assembly required!!
Parts washed and cut down prior to commencing the build
As expected from Tam- near-perfect fitting on everything. Clever construction. I’ve made a small booboo by cutting out the wing cannon root as asked by instructions. However it only applies to ‘scheme B’… I’m doing “A” ?
I’ve forgotten how good Tamiya are right out of the box.
No filters! The cockpit is stunning in 72nd.
Will add some washes for a bit more depth. Otherwise “psyched” by how easy it’s a coming together
Drinking up those details whilst I can!….
….Most of this will be seen through the semi-open canopies and knowing Tam the quality of the transparencies will allow more to be seen than most model manufacturers
Shturmo-quick.
Beautiful. Precise. Hardly any work to be done on these fittings.
Beautiful. Precise. Hardly any work to be done on these fittings.
The undercarriage legs feel very fragile. Will benefit from the “H” retractors later in the build.
Canopies added with my home made masks. Await the Russian colours from Vallejo before painting. Also added a small sliver or two of Mr Surfacer 500 around the smallest of gaps. Otherwise this is 95% precisely fitted!
The Russians didn’t do a night version of this…but if they did….
A new batch of Vallejo black primer - better than the last one I had, (storage issues may have led to consistency problems), I’m happy with the fit, the Mr Surfacer has done its job, and now I’ll marble in white for the pre-shading
Marbled and pre-silvered too, I will try out a chipping strategy for the final coats
I’ve seen painted references that these machines tended to get chipped with their operations from rough airstrips etc.
Top coat tri-camo: the colours are correct for the Soviet schemes according to Vallejo….however they do look strange to my eyes.
The underside I am far happier with. Apart from the broken undercarriage leg ?
Managed to salvage a broken undercarriage leg and was therefore forced to putting on the whole undercarriage for structural strength and symmetry
Used oils to wash and dirty in a few areas. I tried to chip using Mr Masking Sol which is a good product, but not for the purposes of chipping
Quite happy with the underside
Next stage- Mr Hobby Clear. Will try this rather than Pledge polish.
Decals went on like a treat
Always surprised that Soviet WWII planes generally had no upper wing red stars!
Decals applied over Gunze’s clear varnish.
N.B. The inner ordinance attachments are in the wrong place on here. I discovered when I came to add the bombs that I’d cocked up. In fairness, and for the record, the instructions aren’t super clear. So if you’re reading this and trying the kit be vigilant!
N.B. The inner ordinance attachments are in the wrong place on here. I discovered when I came to add the bombs that I’d cocked up. In fairness, and for the record, the instructions aren’t super clear. So if you’re reading this and trying the kit be vigilant!
Will weather decals to bring in line with rest of camo scheme
On long finals now….ordinance, gunsight and main wheel doors all added. Everything on this kit is so precise.
Just smokes, exhausts and aerials to add and that should take another 1-2 hours.
Pavlov’s plane in flight. Note no aiming calibrator marks aft of the propeller on top of the cowling.
The caption reads that the aerial is bent to the left, can’t see it personally. Pavlov survived the war, only to be killed tragically in a plane crash in 1950.
The 2 wires both connect to the stabiliser
This is Pavlov’s rear mirror and defence. He looks happy. I have no details about him.
Finished by the "shape make glorious culture from Zaphod number 1 Workers’ factory of Hoveringham’sk’ya!" [with apologies to Borat]
Every Panzer’s nightmare
Flawless kit. Vice-less assembly. Crisp mouldings. One of the best I’ve ever attempted, and considering the price tag, very reasonable. In my opinion.
Uschi rigging.
At some future stage I will strap on my EOS macro with the EOS 5D IV and get some better shots. For now, iPhone.
Kommentarer
56 28 December 2022, 15:14
Andy BallAll the omens are good Ł, the parts are crisp and most that have built it seem happy.
29 December 2022, 12:28
Villiers de VosYour first photograph sums up the start of a perfect few hours in solitude giving free reign to your creative talents.
29 December 2022, 12:33
Andy BallDon't you find the removal of pieces tedious sometimes? So I thought I'd try a new method Villiers…but I have a habit of losing lose parts along the way 😞
29 December 2022, 12:35
Villiers de VosI love the building part and have one of those hardware screw organizers that closes to keep the parts from getting lost 🙂 Mine has adjustable compartments.
Best wishes for 2023. Your builds are very inspiring. It started with that large Spitfire Biggus Spittus Airfixii.
31 December 2022, 04:42
Andy BallVilliers, looking at your builds I'd say that's one wise investment- best wishes and hope '23 is a productive year for you in all respects. Thanks for having a look at the builds too, very humbled
31 December 2022, 07:23
Andy BallThanks André for having a look
Robert: you're always welcome in the virtual room!
9 January 2023, 10:33
Andy BallThanks Freak!!
@thanks Cuajete- I'm finding they're a blast with a sharp scalpel blade. (I bet you know that anyway)…Technique learned from the Sunderland build!
9 January 2023, 22:11
CuajeteYeah, I knew it anyway, Andy. But in any case, it is an operation that is not without risk 😛
10 January 2023, 18:33
Bernd GrünThe record cover makes a fitting reference to the airplane, beautiful music and a great airplane.
12 January 2023, 07:31
Andy Ball@Bernd- most of my builds are inspired by some album or song! Recorded, as you know, in Musicland Studios im München!
12 January 2023, 08:52
CuajeteI'm looking forward to seeing the result of those previous paint jobs 👌
13 January 2023, 18:46
Guy RumpDon't know how I missed this Andy, enjoyed going through your photos. Looking good! 👍
13 January 2023, 19:14
Andy Ball@Cuajete, hoping for a bit of Technicolor this weekend!
@Guy- told you I'd try it one day!….just had a look through your build to see if I can steal any ideas!!
13 January 2023, 20:48
Transall NGNice kit nicely built !
Tamiya missed something, which doesn't occur often : the ejection holes at the intrados have an odd disposition, no symetry as seen here. I learned this from Jason Nicholas Moore's book and checked it on pictures.
The correct wing is the right one, and only Academy caught this detail... but didn't produce an Il-2m3 !
But one may say that it is at the intrados and that no one will see it...
13 January 2023, 21:06
Andy Ball@Transall NG thanks for the details regarding, what I assume you mean, are the lower wing ejection holes for the MG and cannons? I'm no expert on Il-2s, and won't correct at this stage, but that shows how even the mighty Tam occasionally overlook things!!
13 January 2023, 22:41
Andy Ball@Marciej- it allows a fast build …. I've just started my Tamiya Zero tonight….same philosophy on fit and convenience!
13 January 2023, 22:42
Transall NG@Andy Ball. Yes, you're right. I'm not fluent in english, but if you understood it is a good start for me... Nonetheless, it is a great kit, and i wrote this only to warn those who appreciate pinpoint and accurate job : it is not an easy detail to point at as pictures of intrados are rather rare for any aircraft type.
14 January 2023, 17:27
Andy BallHey Transall NG your English is better than my "school boy" French. <<beaucoup mieux>>
14 January 2023, 21:19
Andy BallZhivko and Marciej- she's well used to doing her dancing the "circle of death"- so she's a little scraped around some parts, for sure!
23 January 2023, 12:13
Alec KAndy, your output is amazing. Great looking Shturmovik, watching of course 👍
23 January 2023, 12:57
Andy Ball@Alec thanks for the compliment, I think output is helped by quality input - which Tamiya's kit is.
@Roland: saved you some cushions and a drink....
23 January 2023, 13:24
CuajeteAndy, I also want a drink of that vodka to toast the effect you're getting with that fabulous painting job.
Glad you fixed the broken landing gear leg problem 👌
23 January 2023, 19:10
Andy Ball@Cuajete: Da tovarisch!! We will drink the bottle together once I'm done and the Great Patriotic Victory is won by the proletariat!
The leg broke again today in decal'ing
23 January 2023, 20:19
Łukasz GlińskiOoops, hope you can recover the landing gear 👍 What's the story behind Mr Sol and chipping btw?
23 January 2023, 20:29
Andy Ball@Ł - I tried to dab some small bits of Mr Sol's masking over the preshaded aluminium, so once the top coat had dried and the latex stuff removed I may get a more authentic look. Turns out the area masked looks out of scale for what I wanted.😞. I'll try another technique another time.
23 January 2023, 22:59
Andy BallCheers Patryk- still some way to go! I thought I could finish in a few hours ! Ha!
No.
23 January 2023, 23:00
Andy BallThanks all! Glad you liked it. I'm still practicing my weathering techniques!
29 January 2023, 23:02
Gary KitchenNice finish Andy, the weathering certainly makes it look like it's done a fair stint on the Eastern Front (or Western Front I suppose from a Russian point of view 😄 )
30 January 2023, 09:36
Andy BallIndeed Gary, digging around on this: pilot Pavlov did around 200 missions and survived the Great Patriot War, the plane was delivered from funds courtesy of his home village (hence the graffiti), and on photographic evidence wasn't too weathered - but my skills are such that if I can weather the kit it will hide a multitude of mistakes!!
30 January 2023, 10:15
Album info
Photos of 2023's first completed build!
