Pobeda (Victory), Berlin, May 1945

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 8:58 am

Hi, guys! Here's what I'll build for the "From Russia With Love" GB:

REVELL "Stalinorgel" ("Katiusha"), # 03076

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ICM "May 1945" (complete), # 35541

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ICM "Soviet Motorized Infantry, 1943 - 1945" (one or two figures), # 35635

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 9:02 am

And last, but not least:

MB "Women of WW II era" (one of 'em), # MB35148

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All of this will appear on a dio that's settled in a scratch built factory ruin. I hope four months will be enough time to do that! You'll see pictures as soon as I've started the build!

Take care.

Jens

Post by **Dunhill2005** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 10:00 am

Hey Jens!!!
I am happy that you managed it!!!
Looking forward to see your dio

Post by **MassterOzymandias** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 10:24 am

Interesting dio and nice kits.
Enjoy it!

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 10:32 am

Thanks a lot, guys! I'm already wet from sweating! Four months are short and think about the meaning of my nickname!!!

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 11:58 am

I like the idea
so i will be keeping an eye out for this build
good luck with the build

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 12:14 pm

Thanks, Mark! I'll start this evening or tomorrow morning. Could you tell me what do I have to write in my profile in the boxes "YouTube" and "Google+", please? I tried the URLs and my user names, but none of them were accepted. I have no idea how to use this forum properly, because it's the first one I ever used! Sorry for being so stupid! Thanks. Jens

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 12:28 pm

You need to go to your profile and then the signature
but i wouldn't know how the links work
i only have my on the bench bit in there
but i guess itworks the same as adding a photo

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 12:36 pm

Ah, okay. Thanks, Mark. I wanted to link my profile to YT so everybody can see the vids on the dio, too, but I guess it'll be easier to post the links for each video in this thread.

Post by **Svenne009** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 12:45 pm

Great idea and some nice kits. I bought and build the MB Women of WW 2, cool kit because it's something else/new, but the one I had was covered in flash and didn't fit that well. How is your's looking?

Good luck on the build. Will keep an eye on it

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 1:00 pm

Well, it's still in the bag, but it looks clean! Painting civilians - especially a woman - is completely new to me! There are differences in the skin tone and hair! I hope I get that right somehow! Thanks for your good wishes! Greetings from Germany! Jens

Post by **MarkVerploeg** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 1:26 pm

NonProlificModeler wrote:Ah, okay. Thanks, Mark. I wanted to link my profile to YT so everybody can see the vids on the dio, too, but I guess it'll be easier to post the links for each video in this thread.

If you want to put in the videos that would be best
if you only have a link to your channel then people might go to the wrong video
but there is a how to video on here that explains the photo steps
maybe there is a part for the youtube videos aswell but i wouldn't know this for sure as i don't make them so i never tried it

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 1:31 pm

Yes, that would be the best thing to do!

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Thu Jan 07, 2016 1:12 pm

Hi, guys! I was really busy these days and I'm not well. My back hurts terribly, BUT I managed to start the build. On 4th January I put up the announcement on YT and right at the moment the upload of my first update is about be uploaded. I'll post the links for both videos as soon as possible. Till then! Stay tuned! Jens

Post by **martin57** » Thu Jan 07, 2016 3:36 pm

looks like it will be a great dio , good luck .

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Thu Jan 07, 2016 3:38 pm

Hi! Here they are! The links to my YouTube videos of the announcement and update #1 for the GB:

I don't know if it's alright to do it that way. If not, please let me know AND leave an explanation on how to do it properly. Thanks a lot! Jens

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Thu Jan 07, 2016 3:42 pm

Hi, Martin! Thanks a lot, but I'm not so sure yet. I had some serious problems with the kit, but I'll fight my way through it. It's not one of those modern top "convenience" kits, but I grew up with stuff like this and I think I can cope. Jens

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 3:29 pm

I finally opened the first box of figures I want to build for my dio. It's ICM's "May 1945".

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I haven't got a foto studio, so the quality of my pics isn't always great. I'm sorry for that. Hang on! There are more posts to come.

Post by **MassterOzymandias** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 3:47 pm

I like the ICM figures kits and this looks great. Get it on!

Greetings from Mexico!

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 5:31 pm

Hi, José! I didn't have internet for more than an hour now. Right at the time I wanted to post my pics! You're right about the ICM kits! The figures look good. I started with the accordion player and there are minimal, almost invisible gaps. I'll use CA glue to fill them. It runs into the seams and doesn't destroy any detail. I'll try to post more pictures now. Greetings from Germany. Jens

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Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 5:43 pm

And of course I continued working on my "Katyusha"! I started painting the wheels. Since I don't have an airbrush masking was a stupid idea. I won't do that again, 'cause it's unnecessary extra work! The complete chassis and wheels are BLACK so why did I do that???

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Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 5:49 pm

Last post for today! Well, maybe! Steering column attached. The fender-blahblah unit will be glued after painting the chassis. Okay, guys! That's it. Take care, be good! Jens

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Post by **Dunhill2005** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 6:32 pm

NonProlificModeler wrote:Hi! Here they are! The links to my YouTube videos of the announcement and update #1 for the GB:

I don't know if it's alright to do it that way. If not, please let me know AND leave an explanation on how to do it properly. Thanks a lot! Jens

Hi Jens!!!!
This is an opportunity to post videos. There is an other way too

1. Open your thread...
2. Post a reply
3. Click on the yellow-marked button
4. copy the http address and paste it as shown on the pic.
5. remove all marked in blue (lasse alles nach den "Gleichzeichen stehen)
6. press submit

So your video is inserted directly into your thread

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Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Fri Jan 08, 2016 6:35 pm

Super, Kevin! Vielen Dank ( und wehe, es meckert einer, weil ich mal einen Post auf Deutsch schreibe)! Lol! Jens

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sat Jan 09, 2016 8:36 am

Here's some historical information on the "Katyusha". I have dozens of pics, but I must resize them to post them here. They'll come later on.

History of Katyusha – Rocket launcher BM-13

Source: Wikipedia

[„Katyusha multiple rocket launchers are a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver explosives to a target area more quickly than conventional artillery, but with lower accuracy and requiring a longer time to reload. They are fragile compared to artillery guns, but are inexpensive and easy to produce. Katyushas of World War II, the first self-propelled artillery mass-produced by the Soviet Union, were usually mounted on trucks. This mobility gave the Katyusha (and other self-propelled artillery) another advantage: being able to deliver a large blow all at once, and then move before being located and attacked with counter-battery fire.
Katyusha weapons of World War II included the BM-13 launcher, light BM-8, and heavy BM-31.
Nickname
Initially, concerns for secrecy kept their military designation from being known by the soldiers who operated them. They were called by code names such as Kostikov guns (after the head of the RNII, the Reaction-Engine Scientific Research Institute), and finally classed as Guards Mortars. The name BM-13 was only allowed into secret documents in 1942, and remained classified until after the war.
Because they were marked with the letter K (for Voronezh Komintern Factory), Red Army troops adopted a nickname from Mikhail Isakovsky's popular wartime song, „Katyusha“, about a girl longing for her absent beloved, who has gone away on military service. Katyusha is the Russian equivalent of Katie, an endearing diminutive form of the name Katherine: Yekaterina →Katya →Katyusha.
German troops coined the nickname Stalin's organ (German: Stalinorgel), after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, prompted by the visual resemblance of the launch array to a church organ and the sound of the weapon's rocket motors.
The heavy BM-31 launcher was also referred to as Andryusha (Андрюша, an affectionate diminutive of "Andrew").
World War II

Katyusha rocket launchers invented in Voronezh, were mounted on many platforms during World War II, including on trucks, artillery tractors, tanks, and armoured trains, as well as on naval and riverine vessels as assault support weapons, Soviet engineers also mounted single Katyusha rockets on lengths of railway track to serve in urban combat.
The design was relatively simple, consisting of racks of parallel rails on which rockets were mounted, with a folding frame to raise the rails to launch position. Each truck had 14 to 48 launchers. The M-13 rocket of the BM-13 system was 80 cm (2 ft 7 in) long, 13.2 cm (5.2 in) in diameter and weighed 42 kg (93 lb).
The weapon is less accurate than conventional artillery guns, but is extremely effective in saturation bombardment, and was particularly feared by German soldiers. A battery of four BM-13 launchers could fire a salvo in 7–10 seconds that delivered 4.35 tons of high explosives over a 400,000-square-metre (4,300,000 sq ft) impact zone, making its power roughly equivalent to that of 72 guns. With an efficient crew, the launchers could redeploy to a new location immediately after firing, denying the enemy the opportunity for counter-battery fire. Katyusha batteries were often massed in very large numbers to create a shock effect on enemy forces. The weapon's disadvantage was the long time it took to reload a launcher, in contrast to conventional guns which could sustain a continuous low rate of fire.
The distinctive howling sound of the rocket launching terrified the German troops and could be used for psychological warfare.
Development

In June 1938, the Soviet Jet Propulsion Research Institute (RNII) in Leningrad was authorized by the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU) to develop a multiple rocket launcher for the RS-132 aircraft rocket (RS for Reaktivnyy Snaryad, 'rocket-powered shell'). I. Gvay led a design team in Chelyabinsk, Russia, which built several prototype launchers firing the modified 132 mm M-132 rockets over the sides of ZIS-5 trucks. These proved unstable, and V.N. Galkovskiy proposed mounting the launch rails longitudinally. In August 1939, the result was the BM-13 (BM stands for Боевая Mашина (translit. Boyevaya Mashina), 'combat vehicle' for M-13 rockets).
The first large-scale testing of the rocket launchers took place at the end of 1938, when 233 rounds of various types were used. A salvo of rockets could completely straddle a target at a range of 5,500 metres (3.4 mi). But the artillery branch was not fond of the Katyusha, because it took up to 50 minutes to load and fire 24 rounds, while a conventional howitzer could fire 95 to 150 rounds in the same time. Testing with various rockets was conducted through 1940, and the BM-13-16 with launch rails for sixteen rockets was authorized for production. Only forty launchers were built before Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941.
After their success in the first month of the war, mass production was ordered and the development of other models proceeded. The Katyusha was inexpensive and could be manufactured in light industrial installations which did not have the heavy equipment to build conventional artillery gun barrels. By the end of 1942, 3,237 Katyusha launchers of all types had been built, and by the end of the war total production reached about 10,000.

The truck-mounted Katyushas were installed on ZIS-6 6×4 trucks, as well as the two-axle ZIS-5 and ZIS-5V. In 1941, a small number of BM-13 launchers were mounted on STZ-5 artillery tractors. A few were also tried on KV tank chassis as the KV-1K, but this was a needless waste of heavy armour. Starting in 1942, they were also mounted on various British, Canadian and U.S. Lend-Lease trucks, in which case they were sometimes referred to as BM-13S. The cross-country performance of the Studebaker US6 2½ ton truck was so good that it became the GAU's standard mounting in 1943, designated BM-13N (normalizovanniy, 'standardized'), and more than 1,800 of this model were manufactured by the end of World War II. After World War II, BM-13s were based on Soviet-built trucks.“] End of part 1

Wow, guys, AFTER WAR!!! So, in fact REVELL or ZVEZDA made a mistake with this kit or at least with the box art! I looked it up: The ZIS-151 truck was produced between 1948 and 1958, the instruction depicts two Soviet variants, one from 1943 (!!!) and the other from 1945 (!!!). Well, I don't care that much. The information doesn't interfer with the storyline of my dio. If the rocket launcher was mounted on a Studebaker, this ZIS-151 here or a mule doesn't matter to me!

Have a nice weekend. Jens

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sat Jan 09, 2016 9:54 am

Hi, guys! I started painting the skin areas of the accordion player. This is a great figure! Filling was minimal and easy, the accordion fits exactly into the position of arms and hands! I had to sand the backside of the accordion's keyboard a little thinner, but that was one minute of work.
The base colours are: Humbrol matt 63 "sand" for the skin and Tamiya XF-57 "buff" for the hair. From now on I'll do the rest of these areas in oils. And I'll try to find a better way of taking pictures! Take care. Jens

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Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sat Jan 09, 2016 10:00 am

And I worked a little on the headlights of "Katyusha"-baby! The inside is too deep, so I filled about a third of it using water-based window colour. The bottle has a very fine nozzle and that made it easy. I'll use the balls inside the empty ink cartridges as light bulbs for the headlights. The inside will be painted silver and then painted clear yellow.

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Post by **Smiffy** » Sat Jan 09, 2016 10:02 am

Great work so far. Looking forward to seeing your build progress.

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sat Jan 09, 2016 10:05 am

Thanks a lot, my friend! From now on (after having them wheels finished) it'll be pure fun! Greetz. Jens

**Felis Barcinonensis YouTube Channel** · Post by **felisbarcinonensis** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:25 pm

Looking good mate! That's a very ambitious project!!

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:41 pm

Ahem, Felis, you're right! And I'm the kind of modeler who's never really satisfied with his work. A touch up here, a touch up there, huh, time's up??? Uh oh!!!

Post by **martin57** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:25 pm

Coming along great, those figures look superb ,

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:40 pm

Thanks, Martin. Tomorrow I'll start building all of them and then I'll put a base coat on all skin areas. Too much work for a single man!

Post by **rodrant** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 6:03 pm

Interesting build ! And looking good so far

Post by **Jan01** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 6:54 pm

Those ICM figures look interesting, never built them before I usually do Dragon and Masterbox. So look forward to seeing the end result of those. Like the choice of figures and vehicles you have.

Post by **NAMBiohazard** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 7:38 pm

Love your choice

for the build and great idea on the bulbs for the lights

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sun Jan 10, 2016 9:37 pm

Thanks a lot, guys, for your nice comments! These are the first ICM figures i build and I'm starting right now with the rest of them. I'm even more interested in the one women from MB I need for this dio! Well, because she's a civilian, of course!

The Russian doctor doesn't count as a woman. She's wearing a uniform and a long coat! I hope to finish the build on the figures so I can start painting them tomorrow. I prefer finishing the figures first. All right, guys, once again thank you for your mental support. I can use all I can get! Jens

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:10 pm

Hi, guys! I wanna show you some pics of the progress I made. I finished the interior of the cabin, but I had to brush up the seats. They were flat as a mirror, no texture, no folds, nothing. I dremeled some folds and glued tissue paper onto all areas. Hang on, there'll be some more pics in the following posts!

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Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:12 pm

Here's the result of my work on the seats. Next post will show the cabin!

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Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:20 pm

The build of the cabin was easy! When I saw the parts on the sprue I was a little worried, but the only thing that was worth worrying about was cleaning the mold seams and the flash. The build took me five minutes. The rear window comes as a clear part with the mesh mold onto it. Noe way I could paint that properly. I had some mesh from my British Centaur tank. So I cut out a matching piece of it and glued it to the rear window. It will be invisible from the outside, because there'll be steel plates covering it. That's why I didn't clean the joint of the lower halves of the cabin. I cut out a rear window from a blister pack I kept for opportunities like that.

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Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:27 pm

It doesn't look like it, but the scratch built rear window fits exactly into the opening! Next two pictures show an idea I came up with when I realized, that the accordion player will fit on the truck's step, but only without his kasak jacket. So I tried if it fitted onto a wheel. It does exactly!!! It'll hang on the spare wheel then. This stands upright behind the cabin. Perfect!

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Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:37 pm

The head lights were painted silver and then clear yellow. For representing the light bulbs I used these glass balls you already saw in a previous post. The original grille was bulky and badly detailed, so I removed it from the frame. I used rods of .3 mm copper wire to replace it. A little adjustment will follow before painting. Since the new grille is open I have to scratch build a radiator. I've got some fine mesh from Plus Model to make it look better. I used 1 mm plasticard for the radiator and I'll glue both together using CA glue. After that I'll cut the mesh in the correct shape.

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Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:41 pm

Last, but not least: I finished another figure from ICM's "May 1945" set. The fit of these figures is amazing! This one here had no gaps at all. The focus is poor, but I'll try to do it better next time. The facial expressions are worth better pictures!

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Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:46 pm

History of Katyusha – Rocket launcher BM-13

Source: Wikipedia

Part 2:

[„The 82 mm BM-8 was approved in August 1941, and deployed as the BM-8-36 on truck beds and BM-8-24 on T-40 and T-60 light tank chassis. Later these were also installed on GAZ-67 jeeps as the BM-8-8, and on the larger Studebaker trucks as the BM-8-48. In 1942, the team of scientists Leonid Shvarts, Moisei Komissarchik and engineer Yakov Shor received the Stalin prize for the development of the BM-8-48.
Based on the M-13, the M-30 rocket was developed in 1942. Its bulbous warhead required it to be fired from a grounded frame, called the M-30 (single frame, four round; later double frame, 8 round), instead of a launch rail mounted on a truck. In 1944 it became the basis for the BM-31-12 truck-mounted launcher.
A battery of BM-13-16 launchers included four firing vehicles, two reload trucks and two technical support trucks, with each firing vehicle having a crew of six. Reloading was executed in 3–4 minutes, although the standard procedure was to switch to a new position some 10 km away due to the ease with which the battery could be identified by the enemy. Three batteries were combined into a division (company), and three divisions into a separate mine-firing regiment of rocket artillery.

Variants

Soviet World War II missile systems were named according standard templates which are the following:
BM-x-y (names used for ground vehicles)
M-x-y (names used for towed trailers and sledges)
y-M-x (names used for navy)
where:
x is a model of a missile.
y is a number of launch rails/tubes.
In particular, BM-8-16 is a vehicle which fires M-8 missiles and has 16 rails. BM-30-4 is a vehicle which fires M-30 missiles and has 4 launch tubes. Short names such as BM-8 or BM-13 were used too. Number of launch rails/tubes is absent here. Such names describe launchers only no matter a vehicle they are mounted on. In particular BM-8-24 had a number of variants: vehicle mounted (ZiS-5 truck), tank mounted (T-40) and tractor mounted (STZ-3). All of them had the same name: BM-8-24. Other launchers had a number of variants mounted on different vehicles too. Typical set of vehicles for soviet missile systems is the following:
ZiS-5 (truck),
ZiS-6 (truck),
GAZ-AA (truck),
STZ-3 (tractor),
T-40 (tank),
Studebaker US6 (truck),
Armored train car,
River boat,
Towed sledge,
Towed trailer,
Backpack (portable variant, so called "mountain Katyusha"),
ZiS-151 (truck, used after the war)!!!;

Combat history

The multiple rocket launchers were top secret in the beginning of World War II. A special unit of the NKVD troops was raised to operate them. On July 14, 1941, an experimental artillery battery of seven launchers was first used in battle at Rudnya in Smolensk Province of Russia, under the command of Captain Ivan Flyorov, destroying a concentration of German troops with tanks, armored vehicles and trucks at the marketplace, causing massive German Army casualties and its retreat from the town in panic. Following the success, the Red Army organized new Guards mortar batteries for the support of infantry divisions. A battery's complement was standardized at four launchers. They remained under NKVD control until German Nebelwerfer rocket launchers became common later in the war.
On August 8, 1941, Stalin ordered the formation of eight special Guards mortar regiments under the direct control of the General Headquarters Reserve (Stavka-VGK). Each regiment comprised three battalions of three batteries, totalling 36 BM-13 or BM-8 launchers. Independent Guards mortar battalions were also formed, comprising 12 launchers in three batteries of four. By the end of 1941, there were eight regiments, 35 independent battalions, and two independent batteries in service, fielding a total of 554 launchers.
In June 1942 heavy Guards mortar battalions were formed around the new M-30 static rocket launch frames, consisting of 96 launchers in three batteries. In July, a battalion of BM-13s was added to the establishment of a tank corps. In 1944, the BM-31 was used in motorized heavy Guards mortar battalions of 48 launchers. In 1943, Guards mortar brigades, and later divisions, were formed equipped with static launchers.
By the end of 1942, 57 regiments were in service—together with the smaller independent battalions, this was the equivalent of 216 batteries: 21% BM-8 light launchers, 56% BM-13, and 23% M-30 heavy launchers. By the end of the war, the equivalent of 518 batteries were in service.

Post by **fly1ngdutchm4n** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:29 pm

Great progress so far!

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Mon Jan 11, 2016 8:40 pm

Bedankt! Cheers, mate! Greetz from Germany. Jens

Post by **Coen** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:18 pm

You certain did the go big or go home thing with this one!
Wow!
Epic plans for an epic story. The speed that you're moving at now I think you can do it in 4 months, no problem.

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:24 pm

Cheers, buddy! I'll do my very best. I'm working on another dio at the same time, but that's okay. I can use the time one thing takes to cure, to work on the other. It was a long break from 2009 till now, but I'm having fun with the hobby again - at last!

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:31 pm

Alright, guys, while my figures are primed, but still wet, I'll use the chance to show you some pics of the real thing!

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Wait! Don't go away! I've got some more!

Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:33 pm

This is in fact a ZIL-157, but the interior didn't change much. I can use it as reference material.

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One more post!