Hello again and happy Holidays.

Having received this kit in the mail a few days back, I could not resist starting up. I am planning to create a small scene with this one - a first for me. Something in Berlin.

The kits looks pretty nice. I have no extra etched parts or metal barrels, so I will only consider adding MK tracks (SK-14) if there is a need as I progress. I ordered a ArmorScale barrel, so will see if I can use it when it arrives.

I have the following 4 books and there are a few good sites with walk around images:



These are the pics after 6 hours of work. The fit is very good, but what is even better is the ease of clean-up for the parts. The wheels are actually very fast on this one.



Back looks good:



The top and bottom are not glued, hence a small gap that will go away:



All dry fitted here:



Detail and planning in this area are very nice:



Cast texture is OK, but could be made better. Also no casting numbers anywhere:



The seam with require some work to look authentic, but fit is very good:



Tracks are really good too. Here is side-by-side with MK. there is a circle indentation that may need to be filled, if desired:



Tamiya close-up:



Although you would not tell from this pic, the sprockets fir Friul tracks perfectly!



The mesh is nice, but could benefit from a little improvement:



These grills are very well designed:



Overall, as you can see this is a very nice model. Basically no major issues to talk about. The only part I noticed that bothered me a little was the height of the back rear plate (what a surprise coming from me ):



It could stand to not stick up so far above the hull:



This is a small thing, but may benefit from correction, somehow. It will be very hard to shave down that top edge in a level fashion?





Here are some pics of how I think it should look:







In any case, I think most will not notice this. The kit is really good. It gets my vote for the best Soviet WWII model yet!

Next I have to work on the tracks and think of what I will do with the fenders, which really must come off as every action pics of this tank shows them mangled...

Any questions welcome. Also let me know if you have an idea how to neatly shave down that rear plate.

Dmitry

Dmitry,
Very nice looking model. The rear plate does look a little tall. I wonder which tank they used for reference, and it that one had a different rear plate height. No casting numbers is a bit odd. It is a bit funny to say, but it looks like the model was better made than the original tank!

My, oh my... I was trying to decide whether to spend my money on this baby, when it reaches the Turkish distributor this February... To the expense of the cash in my wallet, my questions are answered I had been avoiding the Zvezda JS-2 long time, expecting for a new kit.

Nice one Dmitry, a very nice look at the kit with perfect photos.

Now I'll keep my fingers crossed for some modern Russian kits, brand new in injection from major manifacturers. PT-76 from Trumpeter already got me excited....

Looks very nice so far, Dmitry. The kit-supplied track looks very good, with just some pesky ejector pin marks to smooth out. The fit of the parts looks top notch.

That rear plate does look too high; some careful shaving and fitting may be needed to fix it, if one wanted to go through the trouble. Or maybe a little shaving coupled with a really large weld bead...

I agree with you on the cast texture as well, it looks a little smooth, but nothing a little Mr. Surfacer couldn't fix. All in all, this looks to be a very, very nice effort from Tamiya.

-YL

Just a small update. I scraped down the rear plate with a surprisingly pleasing result:







One more of the real thing. This is an early IS-2 in Poland:



And just to be fare, here is a good pics of the sprocket:

Dmitry, I noticed a casting number on the back of the first reference tank's turret, and on the kit the casting number is not present. Do you plan to add the casting number?

Fast work Dmitry, I just ordered this kit from HLJ and now after seeing your pics I'm doubly glad I did.

Hi Dmitry ,
Good looking build , just received this kit myself . looking forward to more progress on your build !


best regards
JOEY

Thanks for the comments. Yes the kit is fast to build OOB. I think one day if you are not too picky. Maybe a weekend for careful construction. But I want to replace many parts, so it will take longer...

Here is the sprocket with MK tracks. Pretty good fit.



The MK tracks are nice but are a bear to make. Each one has 2 sink holes. This will take a few days! In the meantime I will try to come up with a way to add Russian casting numbers/letters. Any ideas how I can make a set at home since I do not think any are made in Cyrillic...

Thanks.

Dmitry

Great stuff Dmitry, thank you so much!!!

I can't wait for this kit to show up in French model shops, hopefully by the end of this week, your photos make me even more eager to get my hands on it!

Cheers,

Christophe

You can make pe at home. It's a fairly simple proces. Just look up an article on it and use cyrilic letters.

Btw, the kit looks great, definitly on my to do list.

Hy Dmitry!

Great start so far, and great solution on the rear-plate

That kit look very nice. Tamiya.......GREAT JOB!

Is it true that some tanks had several casting numbers (back of the turret, copula, gun shield) others did not? Just read it over on PMMS. But definitely will look better when you add them.

Best regards and keep up the very good work,

Andreas T.

The rear plate looks much better, Dmitry. Nice work! The Modelkasten track looks good too.

I keep hoping that Archer Fine Transfers will do some casting letters in Cyrillic in their Surface Details line. (hint, hint)

Happy New Year to all.

-YL

For the numbers I would shave off the sprues, just take the chisel type blade and carefully scrape/shave them off. For the letters, I'd experiment with stretched sprue. You may need to basically piece together the letter you need. Who knows you may have a sprue with a maker's tag in Russian. I'd apply a liberal amount of liquid cement to the model then position the numbers and letters and apply another liberally amount over the casting number. This will "melt the numbers down, making them look cast into the turret. I'm using this to add a casting number on a Panther. PM me if you have any questions!

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And just to be fare, here is a good pics of the sprocket:





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Who makes these tracks?

I think they are Model Kasten, SK-14.

Cheers
Scott Fraser

Actually, Archer does offer raised casting symbols. Hope these work for you.

http://www.archertransfers.com/AR88007.html

For casting numbers and letters I usually shave the numbers/letters from sprues, take a look at any Russian produced kits you have -there may be cyrillic characters on the sprues.

LOL Pat great minds think alike!

And just to be fare, here is a good pics of the sprocket:


Noel i think those are the Fruils he showed early in the thread.


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Who makes these tracks?[/quote]

How did you achieve the finish on these tracks? They look real.

Hi guys, Very slow progress on the Model Kasten tracks. Each one has 2 tiny sink holes that I just fill compulsively fill with superglue and baking soda. I tried to just let it slide as they are tiny, but could not .

Thanks for all the advise on the casting numbers. the etched ones always look too nice for Soviet armor, so maybe I will try the prue method. First got to figure out what I need and where.

By the way, the model matches the plans in Ground Power perfectly. I do not know if those plans are good r not. Also etched parts for Dragon JSU-122 fit well. I ordered Royal Models etched set for Dragon kit for the fenders, etc. Not cheap!!! But in stock.

http://www.squadron.com/ItemDetails.asp?item=RR0410




The tracks in the pic are metal Friuls. Painted only with glossy black paint. I probably should have used them, but decided to go with model Kasten (SK-14) that have much better pin detail. They are more time consuming to put together. But I think the end result is nice, as they do not sag the wheels as much as metal tracks.

I have also been thinking about the diorama. I initially wanted to show the tank going over rubble to demonstrate the weight and setting, but decided to stay away from showing the model in motion as they is much harder to do well. So I am now thinking to use those Master Box german prisoners and show them walking by, looking at the tank. Maybe a couple tankers as well. That sounds like a lot of figures though and I have never built one yet.

Hope to complete one run of tracks today,

Dmitry

Dymitry how about trying to draw the casting #'s where you want them on the tank and building up the drawn #'s with Mr surfacer or a Epoxy paste just a suggestion .

The numbers might work, but the letters won't, at least for Russian casting marks.

I like Doug's idea of drawing the marks (Cyrillic or otherwise) with Mr. Surfacer or thinned putty.

-YL

Looks like big T has done it again; very interesting blog, Dmitry. I've dealt with same issue before when wrestling Zvezda kit. What worked best for me was actual letters and numbers bent out of solder wire, the one from Fruil set, and partially covered with Mr. Surfacer 500. God Luck

Nice work Dmitry, I spent Christmas reworking the old Dragon IS-1 and I see that I will have to get one of these. About the only thing I would replace are the eye bolts on the hull rear and engine cover - Tamiya just give you blobs and I've some spare Dragon ones to use

David

Really nice work so far (excellent photography too).

Can't believe how rough the turret is on that real tank though!

Hi Guys,

Small update, but lots of effort.

Here are a few pics of front fenders dry fitted. I am very impressed with fit and detail, although I will have to tear them off on my model:





Here are the tracks. 82 links now, with 2 additional ready to go. 2 punch out holes to fill on each. I will have to prime them to see how well I really did. I guess the real one had 85, but we'll see how they work once model is closer to completion. This was a lot of work. I just remembered that MiniArm makes a set of resin tracks for IS-2. I do not have them, but I think they are worth looking at to same on time:





ModelKasten tracks come with nice extras on each tree:







Those bolts can have many uses...



As for casting numbers, I've been trying to figure out exactly what they should be and where. I will probably go with MiniArm solution:





There are pics of turrets with letters too as not all had letters or lines. Some hulls have numbers on them as well, but I think you have to not go overboard with this...

Next I will more on to the texture, welds, and seams.

Dmitry

Dimtry,

Very nice blog will also order this kit now..

casting numbers can be readly reproduced, save your spures shave off the numbers on the little sprue tabs or sand the sprue down until the number is just about there you can leave some backing on behind the number.. attach to model with plastic weld either carefully apply the solution under the number or use your brush to pick up the number and solution paint the number down. The thin backing (if any is left) will desolve and the number will be slightly raised or will be quite raised however it will look as if it has been cast in place the spare backing as it desolves forms a series of cast lumps. Reasonably quick and easy. However, for bigger numbers look through your old sprues if you keep them that is.. Like the model name and kit numbers there usually bigger.


Best regards

Blue

PS just bought the cast turreted T34 dragons latest and ordered the CH 112 T34 kit

However am still waiting fro the STZ 42 Kit its been a long time from order. 29 Sept 2007 and its still not here in the uk.

You are doing a great job on this monster. Zaloga just published a brief run down on Missing Link. He messed up the fenders as only he can do and add some other items, His description of the weld seams and rough outer surface details that he applied are impressive. I have mine enroute from HobbyLink Japan. Cannot wait to start it based on your progress. Keep those entries coming. What paint scheme are you going to apply?
thanks
DJ