'Berlin 1945 - Here come the Russians' Diorama

[rodrant]

Hi ISM friends ,

My participation in this GB will be making a diorama , depicting the Russian Advance in Berlin in 1945 , for that I will start to use two Tamiya Kits as the main characters ,

The JS-2 Russian Heavy Tank , Model 1944 ChKz , and the Russian Army assault Infantry set , both in 1/35 , the JS-2 Kit is a special edition with added Aber PE complete set , also includes a metal barrel .



Now this diorama will have more goodies , it will have a building , and I have the idea to do some AT gun abandoned or a PantherTurm but this made from a Panther A Tamiya Kit , but will see the size of it after I get the Diorama Building and base so to see where everything fits , as the JS tank is a beast , at least I think it is , this time I will go for a single build and will try to get on the details and not to hurry the build , also will try to do some scratchbuild with the PantherTurm , still do not know if will add some German figures , will see ...I was thinking in participating with at least a plane , well maybe I get tired of the diorama and will need to do a quick plane build , but will see after .

[Timplastic]

WOW you lucky boy
Thats a mighty hard kit too find find. That sure will be great kit too build. Are the instructions for the etch included in the tamiya instructions or do you get the usual amber instructions in there ??

Look forward too seeing the build
Tim

[elscorpio]

My favorite WW2 tank...it s a beast of a tank!!

Can t wait to see it completed and in its full glory! I ve been looking for one IS 2 for a long time, but the Tamiya or the Dragon available, are just too expensive in ebay...must wait a bit longer...

Best of luck in the build !

Boa Sorte compatriota !!
Abraço
João Mendes

[rwsmith14]

Looking forward to it, Antonio !!

[rodrant]

WOW you lucky boy
Thats a mighty hard kit too find find. That sure will be great kit too build. Are the instructions for the etch included in the tamiya instructions or do you get the usual amber instructions in there ??

Look forward too seeing the build
Tim

I remember to buy it online , but it was with a price reduction , so I took advantage as it is an expensive kit and hard to find , yet I took a look and it is a very nice kit, and even the Tamiya base is a very good one and think can give you a nice build base , maybe the Barrel in metal will be a nice adition and some metal tracks , but it brings those hard plastic tracks that I think are nice in comparison to the rubber ones , will do the tank with this ones as I can find metal tracks anywhere , as I would like to try on this build .

And yes the PE instructions are from Aber , not in Tamiya instructions , so a little more planning to do on the build

Thank you for comment and thank you Tim !

[rodrant]

My favorite WW2 tank...it s a beast of a tank!!

Can t wait to see it completed and in its full glory! I ve been looking for one IS 2 for a long time, but the Tamiya or the Dragon available, are just too expensive in ebay...must wait a bit longer...

Best of luck in the build !

Boa Sorte compatriota !!
Abraço
João Mendes

Obrigado Amigo !

Thank you João

[rodrant]

This arrive today and will be the base for the Diorama, it is a plaster/gesso Diorama form RT-Diorama in Germany , it is named 'Old Germany' , will be a nice base for doing the diorama . Now I can start thinking on the Layout , and already was checking about the idea of making the Panzerturm , but could take some space , but will see after I get the Panther , maybe I go just for an abandoned AFV or AT gun ...or expand the base of the diorama .

Also some German signs to use ...getting things toghether , but will wait some days till the start of it



By the way , for those who do not know what a Panzerturm is , here is a Photo :





My idea was to do soemthing like the next photo :



even you can get resin kits of it , Verlinden has one , and also PAnzerArt will have something similar that they will launch in future , I think that with some work we can get a Panther Kit to do the job to depict something like the one in the Photo

The Panther Turm were fortifications tht use or the Turret of regular production Panther with reenfroced armour and a structure of concrete and wood with room for crew and ammo , or dug in Panthers . They were used along the Siegfried Line and Hitler Line ( this one in Italy ) very hard to destroy and costly to attack ,in this Photo you to see a turret with destroyed Churchills on sight , so I guess that it took some tanks before being knokcked out .



This is all part of modelling , and one part that I like a lot , to think the diorama and try to get Historical information about it , for me is a lot of fun doing this and Internet could prove to be very usefull on doing this

But my build is about the JS-2 not the Panther Turret :-D . Until the beginning of the build then guys !

[TommyKillander]

That's a really cool idea for a build, António!

Good luck with the build!


Tommy

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

Can you say Awesome? I can!
AWESOME idea, love it António

[rodrant]

Thank you guys !

So time to initiate on this Build ,

I will start with the JS-2

Box ,already mention that this is a Tamiya kit with an Aber PE add-on and an Aber Metal gun barrel !



Full box of Plastic










Rubber tracks ...bendt ...will use them if I have to , but like this ones better, the kit brings them





Small bottom hull compared to the size of the beast



Instructions , Some PE from Tamiya ...the ventilation engine grids I think , the usual string to depict the steel cable ...should I look for some Aftermarket , don't know ...and decals .



On the bottom of the box glues there they are the Aber goodies ...

PE



Gun barrel



Seems that the PE , it is the basic set 1 so only exterior enhancements , and the 122mm mighty gun barrel for the JS-2



Starting with the wheels



return rollers , must make 6 ...



Well ...tonight more work on this ...still waiting for some more stuff to arrive for this massive build , just hope to have the time and patience to finish it

Thank you for following , not much to show right now , but things are now in cruise speed ! Or better saying Tank speed :-D

[NonProlificModeler]

Wow, mate! This will turn into a wonderful dio! I'll keep an eye on it! Good luck with the build. Greetz from Germany. Jens

[rodrant]

new update with some of last night work on this build :

ok...remember that this kit brings a PE set from ABER ...welll the first step to use it is in the front Armour , an to do the small screws and plates that grab the spare tracks ( actually think should have been an extra armour against infantry AT guns , PAnzerfausts and others ...) , but I'm looking at the Kit , and honestly ...I'm not a very experienced modeller , and myself consider me a builder , you know ... but really waht is the point to use massive PE if in the end you do not add that much detail on the kit ...

I have this ! See the spare track on the left of the picture and those rivets or screws to make the fixing of it ...



well , I should remove them and use this tiny pieces :

that is a bending tool for PE , and I place a toothpick , the tiny spot is the head of the screw, then I should glue this to some tiny lent of a very microscopic brass tube and use that plate ...I must have done 8 pieces of them , sorry not this time , will use maybe the barrel , and even the grill PE for the tank will be use the one from the kit itself ...sometimes and in my opinion , there is this massive PE detail , that in the end ..what is the point to use that all ...it is just my opinion , ok ? Not saying that this is the correct way , other modellers may think other way of course



Also , the Aber instructions aren't that good in terms for us to know the lenght of the Brass tube to be cut ...but that's my inexperience talking maybe ...

So I glue the whell supports to the bottom hull



Easy to follow



Now this come with the kit to make the correct alignment of the tank suspensions while the glue dries , usefull and well tought !



Before :



and after with already soem of the tank accessories ( toll box , and external fuel tanks )



Wheels placed



and now I have the tracks to d , will use the rigid plastic ones that come with the kit , hard to do , but already had made some like this and liked the end result ...



We have two sprues , and the 'base' to build the upper tracks , with the weight effect



I put some Tamiy amasking tape so not to glue the track links to the mold base



One ready :



two ready , and marked left and right to just know today how to follow the build



For today that is all folks !

More work on the tracks today and start on the hull , as I will have a lot to do in this Diorama !

[rodrant]

Small update on this , on the week end I Will have more time to dedicate to my build , some of the stuff to do all the diorama still to arrive , and to do what I have in mind , I bought several more accessories, and some more figures besides the Russian Infantry , but will show you when they arrive , really the JS-2 will be the center piece of the diorama , and must try to see it's size and see the diorama space in the base that I'm planning to use ...also I will use a gesso RT-Diorama building and I want to do some interior work , but do not have any experience on how to do that ...well enough Bla,Bla , I now place the tracks in the lower hull :

I must glue now the tracks before I paint , honestly I prefer this type of tracks than the rubber ones , this are more real in terms of depicting the tracks 'weight' or loose aspect , do not know the correct English term





They get with this nice effect that is hard to do with the rubber tracks



I wished to use metal tracks for the firs time , but couldn't find in my normal Hobby shops , I still go to the Friul site , but already too many stuff bought and this will be an expensive diorama, just hope that the end result will be the expected

Now to the upper hull ...two main pieces , some 1mm holes to do , here carefull on what of the 4 versions to do , as only one should have the Headlight on the left of the hull , carefull on this one , but again Tamiya instructions are very nice , also until this step , all the building is just a dream ! , no fitting issues , and really I will just use some of the PE on the turret and hatches , like a lot the kit details !



PE for the motor grill , this one is from Tamiya and come with the kit !



It is like this , I get this foam support , it is from a computer conditioning , it is nice to put decals on plane and today for helping me in placing the hull and to work on it



So , Will ow start on next steps doing the headlight , steel cabel and gluing the two hulls , then the turret , going easy on a nice kit , it's price isn't low , I saw it around 50 € without the ABER PE , I buy it in a promotion about 30 € with the ABER PE , but nice detail and an easy build

Thank you for watching my build thread , see ya in next update

[Timplastic]

Very good progress so far
I do like the tracks on this kit, Tamiya really thinking up a good way too solve a problem
Keep it up

[MassterOzymandias]

It's a great project! I follow your advances!

Greetings

[NonProlificModeler]

Typical fantastic Tamiya engineering! The tracks look absolutely realistic although they're not painted yet. The tank will turn out great! Jens

[rodrant]

Tahnk you for the nice comments fellows !

One more update :

After starting the hulls , time to glue one to another , no issues again , a very nice fit !

Then making the 'steel' cables ...use the tamiya tissue cord !



The Hull in now like this :



Time to start on the Turret , start on the ABER Gun Barrel in metal , not much only two min steel parts, the barrel and the end of the 122 mm Gun ! the PE is to place those two tiny parts , do not know exactly for what they were for in real tank , not a targeting device ?



This is the part to fit in the turret ...



Should fit in here, but not a proper fit , I did some sanding in the interior so that the metal barrel could fit .



Because of those small salient plastic, that if you use the Plastic barrel are very usefull to fit correctly the gun !



Almost complete !
Must say that the gun barrel added for a lot of weight in the tank , it is massive ! Could imagine the real tank , should be a beast !





Added the small turret details !



MG in the rear ...already the KV's tanks had this in the rear . The JS-2 has another coaxial MG .

Now this bars were hard to fix , I use Tamiya Cement , the white one , used carefully this cement do a hell of a job in this small parts , must be carefull as to the excess , but it is very quick to glue stuff ...careful with it however



Used some more PE , this time the serial numbers in the turret , it would be nice to see them



Very small , this is number 1



Done!



Used some metal primer on the metal parts , before priming everything in Tamiya Grey Primer !



Now start painting this and the tank figures ...my job for tonight !

Thank you for following this thread !

Almost starting on the diorama , so stay tuned !

[rodrant]

Some work still yesterday night ...I'm very happy and working with enthusiasm in this build

So , some Primer used on the tank , used Tamiya grey Primer in can :



Placed the figures to see how they fit ...and I checked for some error in the instructions , I didn't noticed that , but If I looked to the art box I could see the mistake :

And it was the tank hatches ...

This is how they supposed to be , I used some Tamiya extra thin glue to unglue this , it is one of my methods to correct some mistake , sometimes works as the thin glue dissolve the glue that you used before , then carefully I place the cupula on the correct way ...

This is the mistake :



They have all wrong sugesting if you place the figure or not ...my confusion was from the Tank loader as it has this hatch that looks as a shield just like the T-34 ..so that was my mistake , even If when I was doing it , I thought about the Periscope and how the tank commander would fit on it

used some Mr Hobby Liquid putty to fill some small gaps in the turret and in the fuel external tanks ...sand it and to paint it next



Also I put the small shield in the back MG ...it fell in the bench before I took last photos before primed , when I saw it I thought that another part was gone to the paralel universe , was lucky



The figures already painted with the base colors, will try to work today more in some shadows , their faces , even I do not like to make them eyes , a wash to me think it is a better result in this scale , only an opinion , as every time I paint 1/35 figures they look as they came from a Manga Japanese movie ...



checking the photos , they really need some more paint ...will take there of that today !

After painting it using Tamiya TS-26 Olive Drab 2 Spray ...well it is in the same color as before the primer ...maybe I should place the decals and done , now must do some drybrushing and work on the details , let's see how it goes , I will try to place here the colors used and how I do it ...in the light desert colors I liked the effect , in this green will be a first time , I make last year the Churchill for the D-day GB and I exagerated a little in the weathering , even I know that Russian vehicles were very weathered , I try not to get it overdone ...

[rodrant]

Sorry , but just couldnt wait to check the first Diorama Layout

This is going to be a Big one

My idea is to depict a BErlin scene in 1945 ,and will try to do a PAntherturm , but will use the Panther Early version from Tamiya , it is a realatively cheap kit and with some good uality to do what I have in mind , and as it will be dug in , so will be some sand and some pavement up , and the difference between the gesso plates will do the terrain height difference , but must finf a good wood base to this as it will have some weight .

[panzerman]

Cool idea for the diorama. Nice work on the Stalin tank.
The Panther pillbox component is wicked cool. Keep having fun.
Bill.

[OliveDrab]

You have a great build going The JS-2 looks like a very nice kit!

[rodrant]

Start painting yesterday the tank ...sort of modulation used Mr.Color Olive Drab modulation set ...love this paints !

Remember that I painted the tank using Tamiya TS-26 Olive drab 2 Spray can .

these modulation sets are three , Olive Drab , german grey and Dark yellow , in this case Olive Drab



4 Paint bottles



1 Basic color Olive Drab (that I didn't use in this build



and 1 Shadow and 2 highlights tones



a booklet



all in japanese :



I found some inglish instructions in Intranet here :

http://www.detailscaleview.com/2015/04/ ... -drab.html , usefull

For thinner , and with this paints ( I believe that they are cellulose paints ...not acrylics , so I can't use the Ultimate beautifull thinner with them ), now this stuff and for this paints is beautifull , nice spray and dries fast , very usefull when you do this type of work , as you do not have to wait long for paint to dry ...now a spray booth and mask is recommended , as this smells and make a mist that I think isn't very healthy ..., just an advice people !



aproximately 50 % ratio Thinner and Mr.Color , this isn't suitable for Acrylics , but used it with Tamiya paints and works fine for me , another reason that I believe that they aren't really acrylics, but I'm not informing you of anything new right ?

This is the JS-2 after the first Highlight :





then used the 2nd Highlight to enhance some of the spots were I think they could be more lighter , even I'm doing this not very accurately , just having fun painting the tank



The final result after using the shadow , very diluted , and here and there giving some shadow tones ...







In this type of work , I'm always worried on not to overdo the effect ...knowing that Russian tanks were very weathered and that Russian paints were not the best quality , I try to make the modulation to give some tonal variation ...really is very different to paint a German beautifull camo schemes in tanks and planes , than to make a all grey or Olive Drab tank , and in this case I think I achieved the effect , not being 'pro' with the airbrush , but going there , must practice more and use it more .

I guess that you can do the same effects using acrylics , not exactly using this sets and paints, I have the three sets and like very much to paint with them , and that is what matters , you use what you fell confortably and used to , right , and above all having fun , at least I'm having fun with this build !

Thank you all that comment and watch the thread , see ya and keeo modelling

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

Looking realy good buddy!
Tried modulation myself one time, didn't worked out for me.
You make it look easy

Keep it up!

[rodrant]

Looking realy good buddy!
Tried modulation myself one time, didn't worked out for me.
You make it look easy

Keep it up!

Thank you Frans , very kind words

[rwsmith14]

You have a great build going The JS-2 looks like a very nice kit!

the Tamiya JS-2 kit is fantastic !! One of the guys in my model club is in the process of building one and it looks great !!

[rwsmith14]

She's looking great Antonio !! love the figure painting !!

[rodrant]

You have a great build going The JS-2 looks like a very nice kit!

Thank you ! The kit is very nice ! very easy to build ! Recommend it

[rodrant]

She's looking great Antonio !! love the figure painting !!

Thank you !

[Avgas]

Looking good so far!

By the way , for those who do not know what a Panzerturm is , here is a Photo :

When I was in the mob I worked out in Norway for a while at Oerland NATO base. It's at the head of the fjord that leads to Trondheim. The Norwegians had a turret from the German WWII battleship Gneisenau mounted on a hillside. Now that was a real Panzerturm, it was three 11 inch guns and the mountainside was a maze of tunnels to service the thing. I was told that they test fired it once and it broke almost all of the windows in Oerland. I 'fired' the guns while I was there, unfortunately they are not live but I did have a load of mates go 'Bang' very loudly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austr%C3%A5tt_Fort

[rodrant]

Looking good so far!

By the way , for those who do not know what a Panzerturm is , here is a Photo :

When I was in the mob I worked out in Norway for a while at Oerland NATO base. It's at the head of the fjord that leads to Trondheim. The Norwegians had a turret from the German WWII battleship Gneisenau mounted on a hillside. Now that was a real Panzerturm, it was three 11 inch guns and the mountainside was a maze of tunnels to service the thing. I was told that they test fired it once and it broke almost all of the windows in Oerland. I 'fired' the guns while I was there, unfortunately they are not live but I did have a load of mates go 'Bang' very loudly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austr%C3%A5tt_Fort

Thank you , and also thank you for this small apointment ! Didn't know this BIG Panzerturm in Norway ! Very Nice !

[rodrant]

STart ruin all the work that I have making the modulation paint ...

I really was with a doubt , that was doing the weathering and later paint the white 'friend or foe' identification marks ...suppose that this were for not getting bombed by allied airplanes . But I thought that I should first paint the white stripes ...o start painting , using a Brusg with more or less 8 mm width as mention in the instructions ...not using masking tape or airbrush , as this were painted by crews I guess , so should be irregular , as they were painted by my nervous hand



I also painted the exausts with some X-9 to depict some rust and corrosion , also I spray some X-19 smoke , after will weather some more rust and soot ...



DEcals after a Clear Coat ..this decals were awfull , they break , the front identification number , I must use flat white in order to correct the 4 and part of the 3 as they were transformed in smithereens ...I like Tamiya kits , but some of their decals are just s...t !!! Can not understand why a Big company like Tamiya do not use for example Cartograf to make their decals ...







For the weathering I will use some oils after a new Clear coat to protect the decals !



















In the end , I'm sort of happy with the result , I'm not very good doing this part of the builds honestly , must work more on this





For the base I go to a Photo frame shop , and get a frame ( 43cm X 43 cm ) that I will use as the base for the build ! Place the tank to see how it is .



Besides the RT-Diorama Old German diorama , with the house, I also use an aditioanl coblestone road to complete the street , and make some more space to the JS-2 . On the right side with no gesso plate, will make the dig in Panther ...using some das and some other acessories to give the idea of removed earth and street stones , and some sand bags ...

And If you are panther lovers, do not see my next steps of this build ...some very nasty stuff that I will do with this Tamiya kit , do not look if you are sensiteve



well , I have this and never build it , as it is a cheap kit ( for a Tamiya one ...) and have some nice parts , being an old kit it would be the ideal for my idea ...there was a new release of a Pantherturm in Resin from PANZERART , but the price was aroud 50 € , and I think I could do something similar with 15 € or so ...

Next steps ...on the JS-2 will aplly some very dilutes XF-57 Buff on the hull to give a dusty look , at least on the lower hull , must still place the towing tables in the rear , and add the figures in the turret , and a Flat coat ...being finished will start on the Panther and starting on the base and building ...being gesso i do not exactly know what glue to use on this ...CA glue perhaps ?

Thank you for following this build thread !

[rodrant]

Some work that I made yesterday :

I get some feedback form some of the ISM guys , and I follow their advice , so weathered a littel bit more with rust , specially the flat parts of the tank ...honestly it is something that I must do more and improve on my builds ...so I had in my modelling stuff some MIG Light rust and with some brushes I apply more rust on the tank , and I like the way how it turned to :







Add the figures also ...



Some final pictures of the JS-2 Heavy tank , and ready to place in the diorama ...









I also airbrushed some very dilluted XF-57 Buff to give a more dusty aspect .I really like this effect on aFV's if done carefully gives a great finish , at least my humble opinion

So JS-2 finished and going to the next build for the diorama, still have about a dozen figures to assembly and paint and a lot of scenario to master

Goin to do the Pantherturm , or in this option a Dig in Panther in the street ! As I told you before will use Tamiya Panther 1/35 kit , version Ausf.A , a good kit it seems to do this :

The kit is all in a bag and the hulls separately , I will use only the upper parts of the hull so ...



This were bought in Germany so the units marks were cut off from the decals , still will not use them ,but must remember when I buy a Panther in future to buy it some where else





As it is a simple and only the upper part build I will not going to make many pictures on it , I separate all the needed parts from sorues :



After some cleaning and sanding , the turret isn't that much easy to glue and assembly , sign of times as I think this was the first or one of the first 1/35 kits from Tamiya , you noticed that in the build and in the instructions

The hatch from the back I intend to placed it open as I had the option of a lnocked out turret or an abandoned one , go for an abandoned/disabled one



The back of the hull was cutted , use a scrapping tool so that it was leveled in the terrain , even I can correct it as I'm using a base with DAS to place it in the street !



And ready ...need some putty to fill some gaps as the build isn't that good , probably the age of the kit , but also the way I build it , in a fast , almost intuitive way



I think it will be a nice base for what I have in mind !





I will place the front MG34 , not any in the turret ...and also I will check in some photos if it has zimmerit or not , In some resin kits , they have this zimmerit protection in squares , not the usual 'wave' pattern , but also saw most of the Panther Turm with no zimmerit at all , but in this case it is a dug in tank , and probably they use a battle damaged or under reapir tank on thi s, soI maybe do some zimmerit wit putty for the first time

Thank you for watching ,

[fly1ngdutchm4n]

Awesome!
The weathering looks real great with the rust now
Good progress, keep it up!!!

[Smiffy]

Great work so far, the weathering is a sight to behold

[patrickroos]

Nice work so far!
Cant wait to see what will happen to that poor Panther...

[rodrant]

Another update ...

starting by the Panther ...I start to trying to place the zimmerit , and I remember that I had some left overs from a Tiger that I make , and start placing it , my idea was to make a damaged Panther , but really soon I do not go ahead ...didn't like the result and think would be better to have it with no zimmerit at all , also I check some pictures and really no zimmerit , think they used some Panthers with mechanical problems or some early versions of it to dig in in this street defences ...









Still Prime it ...



and use some TS 3 Dark Yellow Tamiya Spray ...



Really didn't like how it turned to ...

I then start on the base for real and use this RT-Diorama



It consists on 4 different parts for the base , three coblestones bases and one for placing the house with the walk .



As I needed more space I added from another RT Diorama another coblestone strip , this is from another kit that brings three of this bases and niceif you want an easy way to make a small vignette with a vehicle as example !



It brings a Lion statue ,



and an overall view of the other parts fro the house , also has some laser wood frames for doors and windows , no clear styrene to depict windows



one of the walls was break , it is a very soft material so even very well packed , this could happen , but seems easy to solve !



I then build the house , no instructions but easy to assemble , I use some scenic glue , white glue that I have and worked on this material , also easy to clean , but the structure stand solid !



It is a nice layout



On the Panther ...and it happens to me another time ...I used as a primer Tamiya Grey , then if I paint with TS-3 Dark Yellow , the color doesn't turn really dark yellow , but a sort of greenish yellow ...I then use Mr Color , and after another coat of primer as I remove and clean where the zimmerit stickers where , I paint again wiht Mr Color Dark yellow , and I like more of this color !



For making the terrain where the Panther will be I use some Plaster (actually it is a litlle like a silicone ...but now it is done and I'm waiting for it to dry )





The Panther is now on the base ( I paint some dark green XF-58) Camo , on this I took some liberty painting it like this , but could imagine that this was some earlier version from the Eastern Front that was reused for this functions ! I do not ind that it dries , I will paint around and will do some weathring toghether with the terrain , aslo I will have still some stuff to do around it , some spare stones from the road , sand bags , earth ...



I also will ise some of this Anti tank barriers spigots from this Tamiya kit ...will make three of them to palace in the street !





About the house, the house is hollow inside , maybe you can have an option to make a completly burnt building , but I prefer to do some floors and place some furniture , I will make a first floor after the roof colapsed , and in the ground floor soem war room with maps and so , will see If some Last German defenders can be in upper room making an ambush to the advancing Russians .
So for this and yesterday I went to my local Hobby shop and buy some Evergreen Stuff, some Profiles and some plate to use as floor ...



This are really nice , look like small stell bars , I will use more of this in the future , easy to work





Will place some 'steel profile' to be the floor support !



Cutting the floor





Not perfect but will do for my purpose , will have some floor to add on top of this



But I'm liking this part of the build as it is my first time doing some sort of scratch build , we must start doing it sometime , and maybe my next step on this will be doing some buildings ... , you do not have much 1/48 material for Dioramas so this could be a good option

Thank you for watching !

[rodrant]

I start thinking in doing/adding some interior detail to the house ...First item to use is this Verlinden Office furniture set , resin ...no instructions , I wonder why most of Resin kits do not have instructions



This all come on a plastic bag , some cleaning , and this is the set :



A shelf , a clock



a desk , and books , decoration , a phone , a lamp ...a basket and a chair



I will use only soe of the items , and will add some maps and some more stuff after ...I glued everything ...not an easy task working with such small parts ...the phone is hard to make ...but get it done more or less good



To make the Phone cable , the set came with some fine wire , I mould it around this bu«it in order to get the usual phone cable



On the house ...And on top floor , I cut the evergreen plate to get the colapsed floor , it will have three floors , the top one colapsed to the middle one , the furniture will be on ground floor



Also must see to cut some of the tiles and will try to add some wood frame and some more loose tiles , one thing at time



That's it , not having too much time for this diorama , but I still have plenty of time and this weekend some advance can be made , it will be hard to paint and all of the small details on the inside could take some time , also I still need to do around a dozen figures and paint them ...

Thank you for watching this build buddies !

Happy modelling !

[TommyKillander]

Great job, António !

The IS-2 looks great and dio looks very good sofar


Tommy

[NonProlificModeler]

i think I said it some time before: This will turn out as a masterpiece! Beautiful detail and the idea for this dio itself... Just great! Can't wait to see more! Jens

[MarkVerploeg]

That is some very nice work so far
i looked for a Panther turm before
they are rather expensive kits with the Verlinden one on top i think
i saw it for prices up to €70
a full kit costs less then that
keep up the good work

[rodrant]

That is some very nice work so far
i looked for a Panther turm before
they are rather expensive kits with the Verlinden one on top i think
i saw it for prices up to €70
a full kit costs less then that
keep up the good work

Thank you Mark PanzerArt. launched one about 50 € ,still expensive ,it has a metal gun barrel but think we can use the kit

[MarkVerploeg]

From what i have seen a lot of those turrets where Panther A and some early G version
most where stipped down and the commanders hatch was often replaced with 2 simple half round hatches
this was not always the case though
there where lots of examples where they simply burried a damaged Panther tank
the only thing that mattered was that the turret was not damaged and worked

[rodrant]

So ... I left last update doing some furniture , decided to add some more :

this time this MiniArt Plastic kit :



So I add two chairs a table and another furniture piece ... that i can't remember the name in English



All ready to Primer :



After primer , I paint all the furniture using XF-64 Red Brown



Then used some AK Wood weathering set , used the wash for wood and some Dark Wood filter



And Place the furniture just to see in the Building





In the building I added some damage :

This was the roof before :



After :



And I place some I profile in the middle of the damaged top floor



Also and using some balsa stripes that I bouught in my Local Hobby Shop



I make some wood structure on the damaged tiles on the roof





Then I look at the plaster that I did not like , remember that I told you that looks like silicone , well gone for a cheap solution , and it cracked all around ...





Now I must try to see what I can do later on this ...really for me it is DAS modelling paste or plaster and never more try 'new' stuff on dioramas .

Also I did the anti tank obstacles , and painted it with XF-84 Dark Iron



Time to Prime the base with Black Primer , used Vallejo Black Primer as it is a big area to paint :





After it dried , I Start painting the base ...XF-66 Light Grey for street and all the grey areas of the building , XF-54 Dar sea grey for the sidewalk , some XF-52 Flat Earth for around the Panther Bunker







Also Start Painting the wooden floor , XF-78 wooden deck tan



For the bricks and tiles , a mix of X-9 Brown and XF-15 Flat Flesh ...mixed all in a small spare jar , as it is a color that I use often ...



Then and after I painted with brush all the bricks , again placed what I already had , and a usuak view of the diorama



The Lion on the statue decided to paint it with XF-65 Field Grey in order to give the color that some metal statues have, then will make some dry brushing and some streaking grime wash to see what I can achieve in it .



The Tank barriers ...



And time to start working on the Panther Turm Bunker , will use some Juwella Sand Bags , and some Plus Models Paving stones ...



Will must do some lamps also , this ones are from Verlinden



The juwella sand bags are prepared with some White Glue and water mix , we imerse them and after we take off the excess in a paper towel we can add them to the diorama, this are nice to use because they are flexible and not rigid like for example resin or plastic ones



After I add all of them in my Panther Bunker ...nice!





Then I add the loose paving stones , as for one of the photos that I saw they placed them around the Dig In Panther ...so :





Final effect , it is nice and just as I imagine before I start this build , now ...some more dirt on top and some ammo shells and it will be a diorama inside the diorama for saying so





For fixing the paving stones with a brush I use AK Interactive Gravel and sand fixer , will see if it work after I left all this drying for the night !

And that is all for tonights, I will still will do some more work , but will show you in next update !

Hope you like , and thank you for watching so far this BIG build ...like it so far , it became very interesting all the stuff that I do for the first time !

[MarkVerploeg]

It is really taking shape now
and it looks very nice
keep up the good work

[rodrant]

Some more done , not too much time , but it is going slowly

I do now the street lamps , a resin set from Verlinden



You get some PE and resin pieces , you can do three street lamps or two wall lamps ...I make the two 'simple' lmaps to palce in the street



Again no instructions, but easy to build with a little attention



I then Prime them and paint it with xF-84 Dark Iron , later I will do some drybrushing using some X-11 chrome stell or some similar color .



Will use thei Reality in scale Parquet flooring to place in some of the building floors , it is a nice carton that really seems parquet floor !



I cuted and place it in the groud floor




Some carpets also in some sort of tissue !



FRom Plus models , some magazines and German newspapers of the time



Also some German propaganda also from Reality in scale and some WWII maps and boards from Verlinden and the 'decoration' is ready



A Fuher poster and a Signal magazine on the desk ...



The folded newspaper on the table ...guess that the news weren't recent , a lost map with the last tactic in defending the Reich capital ...



Some wall map and a board ...



I'm thinking of adding this set of German figures ..the last stuborn resistents of Berlin !



And the set for Tamiya for the Russian Assault Infantry !



Some PAnzerfaust ammo boxes and with the anti-tank guns , I'm thinking of placing some boxes near the Germans , and others near the abandoned PAnther ...I check the DRagon kit and also brings a PAnzerfaust ammo box...a wonderfull kit of figures , will show you later ....very complete set!



put the windows , and start to make some dirt and damage !!!







will use this juwella 1:72 debris set ...yes it is 1/72 but for rubble will do ...some ceramic parts really are from small scale , but think will do for depicting the inside and outside damage



Bricks ...



Start ruining the interior ...oh this was fun !





and on the outside ...



paint the windows , and place again the JS-2 Tank to see the diorama taking shape !



Now ...Russian artillery make waste on this Kommand office ...





I add some metal ammo for the Panther just to see , still I must do something on that , some soot or smoke on the hollow part of the shells as I suppose that some soot will be there when fired !





Really like how the Panther Turm turned out ...





Now after some weathering on the base and make the small details ...some rubble also on the statue side of the building and more dirt overhall

Today I start doing the Russians ...

The inside of the box :



Two bags, one for figures , other for armament and gear for the soldiers





Fine Tamiya instructions ...I like a lot Tamiya , we get some good info on organization of the Russian Infantry and their equipment



So twelve figures in this set ...



The PPSH and Degtyarev light MG



the first comrades



Next bunch



more Russians :



The last two ...really nice poses ,



and an example on how to place them ...well it is in a T-34 ...but I will try to get them aboard of the JS-2 , some nice poses even to place in the street !



This is the bag from the shells , it brings empty and the heads , that I will not use ...think it is form RB-Models ...



Well finish the first 6 ...almost ... In the figures I usually make them and add the gear later , sometimes I get some difficuties whren adjusting the guns , think it isn't the best way , but I always do like this .



Just another mention on this Tamiya figures ...really nice set , the figures have a lot of detail !



Well it is a long build thread , but now it is almost in the end ...will still have a lot to do but I like very much how it is turn in to ...a lot learned till now !

Hope you guys like , fell free to comment !

[rodrant]

With MIG Dark wash I make an overall wash in the diorama



Also in the Panther Turm I used some MIG oils



Then time for more details :

Use some German WW2 signs , from RT Diorama and Reality in scale









I place the ones in the street lamps and wall in some pieces of Balsa wood









With some Flags from Reality in scale will place some banners in the building windows



Also I place the road tank blocks and make some dark wash on the Panther



The banners on the building ...



Some warning poster I placed in the Lion statue base





Place the Panther ammo shells , already with some soot , and glue them in the base



Primed the Russians :



And start painting them , using for the first time in this 1/35 figures the Andrea Flesh set ...Usually use Tamiya XF-15 Flesh , but do not like the paint to do the flesh , so decided to try this one that I used in my metal figures and resin busts ...



And like the result



Nice figures ...



This one has a medal in his chest











Guns , helmets and stowage added to the figures ...very nice figure set fro Tamiya !











Now on this ones a clear coat and then some wash with TamiyaPAnel Accent (Enamel) to enhace the details ...

Also will start on this Dragon set of 4 German figures



A Big Bag of sprues



Nice set with PE and accessories (Plenty of ...)











Instructions ...



Well , I must finish the figures and still do some work on the Diorama , adding some pigments ...

That is all for today

[NonProlificModeler]

Wow! With all the figures you really need the space on the dio! That'll be great when it's finished! Kutgw! Jens

[rodrant]

HI guys , last update on this build ...

I finish the Germans that I will place in the Dio , the figures are nice , but a lot of work to do as they come in several parts , much different than other figures I did before











The figures had some PE ( belt buckles , guns straps ...) Honestly I'm tired of this long build , my fault , so I skip a lot of the PE , even the Panzerfausts have some decals that I try to place in one of them , but it was impossible to glue them properly , so I skip them also ...though If you have patience you can do some nice set of figures , still prefer the Tamiya ones or ICM set's as they are better to build .

As for the painting I skip the box instructions , and try to do a M44 camo scheme , not my best and will try to do some more in future in this late war schemes from Germany , beautifull , still hard to paint , this time I paint all in brush !

so time to make the final reveal here :

http://intscalemodeller.com/viewtopic.php?f=451&t=16517


I hope that you liked this thread ...not too much things new , still it was a BIG build , still must be more patience and waste more time doing the stuff , as I miss some little details that can be the difference between a great build and a not so great build ...but I'm very happy with the result on this one !