Zvezda 1/35 KV-2 Heavy Tank

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Jan 24, 2016 10:03 pm

Hi again!

I have been working on different bits here and there, in my usual chaotic way of building things

I decided to try Tamiya X-22 Clear to make the glasses for the IP meters, I think the result is good and I will try this on my next PE instrument panel, the "glass" seems a little bit thinner than if I use PVA-glue (Micro Kristal Klear) and there is less distortion (not that it is important on this kit, though!).

20160123_211930 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20160124_105431 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The MG finally decided that the amount of abuse it had to put up with was enough, so I had to repair that. Fortunately the kit comes with an extra set of MGs (The same sprues are used for KV-1 kits, so there are a couple of spare (or unused) parts in the kit).

20160124_122526 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I also added some non-penetration marks from low-caliber guns and put the primer on

20160124_144651 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20160124_144808 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I have also started to weather the engine. Sofar I have chipped and added pigements and coated it with Aqua Gloss. I will weather it with oilpaint and more pigments... The engine and I are not finished yet!

20160124_174101 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Speaking of lowcaliber guns, I heard the most amazing story from one of the Finnish born "sprue-buddies" in IPMS Gothenburg:

- "In our family we have a very special relationshiop to the KV-2", he told me.

- "I built the old Tamyia-kit when I left home and got my own place and one day my step-grandfather (his real grandfather died in the war between Finland and Russia) came to visit him and he saw the model on the shelf.

He had never told me anything about the war before, but he started to tell the story about when he and his comrade in arms took out a KV-2 using a 20 mm Lahti anti-tank rifle. At first his comrade fired shots at the KV-2, but the bullets just bounced off the tank like peas hitting a barn. His grandfather instructed him to "shoot at the wheel to ignite the lube oil".
Left with only one one round in the magazine, he pushed the comrade away from the gun yelling "This is how you do it!", firing the last round into the running gear which set the tank into flames!"

That's how you take out a KV-2 if you're AWESOME

Tommy

patrickroos · Post by **patrickroos** » Sun Jan 24, 2016 10:38 pm

trekfanj · Post by **trekfanj** » Mon Jan 25, 2016 1:06 am

Been following this thread from day one, and seeing what you've done so far makes me want to pull my own KV-2 down and get cracking on it.

Keep up the great work, Tommy!

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Mon Jan 25, 2016 10:45 pm

trekfanj wrote:Been following this thread from day one, and seeing what you've done so far makes me want to pull my own KV-2 down and get cracking on it.

Keep up the great work, Tommy!

Thank you, trekfanj !

It's a great tank that is fun to build and sure is an eyecatcher on the shelf. Best of luck with your build whenever you start it!

Tommy

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Mon Jan 25, 2016 10:50 pm

Hey Guys!

Quick update today, I have completed the interior of the lower hull with some detailpainting, chipping and finally sealed it with matt-coat.

20160125_231031 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I have also continued with the weather of the engine, using AK Engine Grime and oilpaints in different colors. I will add some more soot pigments on the black areas of the engine and hatch tomorrow.

20160125_230940 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Tommy

NonProlificModeler · Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 2:23 pm

Wow, Tommy, it's really getting better and better every day! I love all the scratch built detail! Keep it up, mate!

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 10:02 pm

NonProlificModeler wrote:Wow, Tommy, it's really getting better and better every day! I love all the scratch built detail! Keep it up, mate!

Thanks, mate!

Tommy

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Tue Jan 26, 2016 10:30 pm

Hello !

Time for another quick update.

I have primed and painted the area around the hatches with XF-13.

20160126_210717 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20160126_213602 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20160126_221245 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The engine had one last "makeup" treatment before it where mounted into the hull. I have added a small amount of blue into the black sooted areas.

20160126_224027 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The hatches where glued with PVA-glue.

20160126_225720 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The whole process is very similar to how to assemble an aircraft model

Next step will be to joint the upper and lower hull together.

Stay tuned!

Tommy

panzerjager · Post by **panzerjager** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 7:45 pm

I have been following every step of your build now,and i can say it just keeps getting more and more interesting!

the weathering on thee engine is absolutely spot on btw

keep up the good work!

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Wed Jan 27, 2016 8:37 pm

panzerjager wrote:I have been following every step of your build now,and i can say it just keeps getting more and more interesting! the weathering on thee engine is absolutely spot on btw keep up the good work!

Tack så mycket / Thank you very much

I'm delighted that you like it and follow this build.

I try to use new techniques every build I do and sometimes it goes well but it might also turn to disaster

so I hope that I can get everything together the way I thought and that it turns out OK in the end.

Cheers!

Tommy

TomasGould · Post by **TomasGould** » Thu Jan 28, 2016 1:47 pm

Great work!!
You've done an amazing work so far

keep it up

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Fri Jan 29, 2016 6:42 am

TomasGould wrote:Great work!!
You've done an amazing work so far keep it up

Thank you, Tomas

Tommy

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Sat Jan 30, 2016 12:09 pm

Hey guys,

The hull have been assembled, primed and painted with 4BO green cammo, so the build is moving into the painting phase now

First some masking of the wheel axles and holes for the return rollers.

20160128_195308 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Primer on. Used Vallejo Black Primer, which I thin with some Ultimate thinner and put on in thin coats which dry between each pass.

20160129_200840 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Green cammo I used XF-13 as a base and added XF-65 to get some faded areas and to get some variation.

20160129_223435 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The plan with this tank is to use hairspray technique to put on a heavily weathered winter-cammo, with plenty of chipping, washes and pigments to give the impression of an old work horse that barely survived the winter campain and made it back to a field base.

I have never done anything like this before, so it will be an exciting journey...

Stay tuned!

Tommy

NonProlificModeler · Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sat Jan 30, 2016 1:49 pm

Sounds like a great plan to me, Tommy. I never used the hairspray technique and I wouldn't have enough courage to do it on a kit for the first time, but I will definitely try it on some plasticard. Good luck, mate! Great build so far!

Jens

Zippo · Post by **Zippo** » Sat Jan 30, 2016 1:51 pm

Looking good!

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Sat Jan 30, 2016 10:43 pm

NonProlificModeler wrote:Sounds like a great plan to me, Tommy. I never used the hairspray technique and I wouldn't have enough courage to do it on a kit for the first time, but I will definitely try it on some plasticard. Good luck, mate! Great build so far! Jens

Thanks Jens, well... I'm a bit of the YOLO type, so I will do it on the model directly

Zippo wrote:Looking good!

Thanks Zippo!

So... I've done the first layer of chipping today using XF-63 first and a dark rust tone after that. I will do more chipping later.

20160130_202440 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I have also drybrushed the tow cable with X-10 and I will add some rust to it later on.

20160130_201208 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

And... yes, finally. I have started working on the Friulmodel tracks, been dodging that for a while TBH

They look awesome, but there are some moulding artefacts that needs to be trimmed. I have done that now, washed them in a mild detergent and they are now drying on a kitchen-paper until tomorrow, when I will burnish them.

20160130_223150 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Over and out for tonight

Tommy

Avgas · Post by **Avgas** » Sat Jan 30, 2016 11:30 pm

Looking great Tommy, I like the fading you did with the Field Gray over the JA Green. I shall store that away for future use.

trekfanj · Post by **trekfanj** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 1:17 am

Friul tracks scared me at first, too, but when I finally bit the bullet and built them, it was actually really easy and a lot of fun too!

Keep up the great work, Tommy! The more I see your build the more I like!

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 5:21 pm

Avgas wrote:Looking great Tommy, I like the fading you did with the Field Gray over the JA Green. I shall store that away for future use.

Thanks Avgas, I'm thinking of highlighting it a little bit more but I might leave it as it is, since I will put on winter cammo.

trekfanj wrote:Friul tracks scared me at first, too, but when I finally bit the bullet and built them, it was actually really easy and a lot of fun too!

Keep up the great work, Tommy! The more I see your build the more I like!

Thanks ! I watched Pauls video first and there where no problems at all.
[youtube]ScuFVDdFgjk[/youtube]

I have completed one side and are on my way with the other side as well.

20160131_173833 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The effect of the burnishing is awesome - it looks like the real deal

I will complete the rest of the links tomorrow until the point where I can assemble packs of 10 links and some extras to adjust the sag, but after that I will go back to the painting. Tracks will go on last thing, I think...

Tommy

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 8:08 pm

Quick update again,

Glosscoated the KV preparing it for hairspray. The base cammo will look fine I think, giving a good contrast to the winter cammo.

"Chillaxing" with a nice stout watching my favorite World of Tanks-streamer on Twitch.

20160131_205823 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Have a nice week!

Tommy

NonProlificModeler · Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 10:49 pm

Great! Must try this burnishing liquid the next time I use Friul tracks! That'll add much to the realism of you KV-2 - which IS already very realistic!

Jens

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 7:55 pm

NonProlificModeler wrote:Great! Must try this burnishing liquid the next time I use Friul tracks! That'll add much to the realism of you KV-2 - which IS already very realistic! Jens

Thanks Jens!

I'm very pleased with the result, I will probably only add some pigements to the tracks.

Cheers

Tommy

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 8:31 pm

Hey guys!

I have started with the wintercammo chipping using the hairspray method.

After watching a couple of videos on YT about the method I where quite confident that this would be a "piece of cake" and I started by trying to apply the hairspray. Some people do this directly from the spraycan, I was careful enough to first try this on my benchmule and I soon got to the conclusion that it where impossible to apply thin layers of hairspray with any control....

So I decanted the hairspray and applied three thin coats using my airbrush. Then I left it to dry for 3 hours.

After that I started to put on a mix of XF-2 and XF-57 Buff (ratio 20:1) to get a dirty white colour. I did the mistake to spray the paint too thick which made the paint crack

So I changed tactic and just sprayed a thin first layer of paint on the rest of the model.

20160202_194815 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

After approx 2 hours drying I started to chip the paint using tapwater and a soft brush to apply water and a stiffer brush for making the chips. The side of the turret where I had put on too much paint wasn't possible to chip.
I will have to touch that up afterwards, especially the areas with scratches. But I'm not too worried about that; it can be fixed.

20160203_210029 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The rest of the chipping went pretty OK I think. There are lots of more chipping, paints and weathering that will go on before this tank is completed so don't worry about the looks right now; this is just a first step.

20160203_230853 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I must admit that hairspray technique was more difficult that I thought it should be, drying times, thickness of hairspray and paint coats are very importants it seems as well as thinning and amount of water and type of brush used. Everything has big impact what the end result will look like.

This is a very versatile way of chipping - when it's mastered. It's possible to do large flakes or small chips, tiny scratches, faded areas and running marks.

Cheers

Tommy

TheTroyster · Post by **TheTroyster** » Thu Feb 04, 2016 9:31 pm

Those tracks turned out well, but that Double Chocolate Stout looks great as well.

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Fri Feb 05, 2016 9:12 pm

TheTroyster wrote:Those tracks turned out well, but that Double Chocolate Stout looks great as well.

Thanks Troy, stout is excellent stuff and I'm very pleased with the tracks and the burnishing !

Cheers

TOmmy

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Sat Feb 06, 2016 6:59 pm

Hey guys,

I'm working on honing my hairspray chipping skills... All you experienced scalemodellers out there are probably already on top of this, but for me this is a whole new universe of chipping unfolding. Unfortunately I'm not so good at this so the end result may be so-so, but I'm learning as I go

Anyway, I have started working on the upper hull now and done some chipping of the winter-cammo. Same white-coat as before, 20:1 ratio of XF-2 White and XF-57 Buff. I use a soft brush with lots of water for larger chips/areas and a stiffer brush with less water for smaller chips, scratches or worn down areas where I need better control.

20160206_165929 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Finished (almost). I will clean up unwanted "milky" sections with a cotton bud dipped in tapwater tomorrow after the white paint has settled. I will also stipple XF-2 White on on those areas where I have removed too much.
I have cleaned up the turret already with this method so I hope to be able to seal the winter-cammo tomorrow so I can proceed with washes.

20160206_190434 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Wheels, sofar... I will weather these heavily with drybrushed metal and rust tones. Wash and pigment. All in a big mish-mash

20160206_190608 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Stay tuned

Tommy

NonProlificModeler · Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sat Feb 06, 2016 9:23 pm

Wow, Tommy, I never worked with that method and I say "hats off", my friend! I wouldn't have had the nerve to try that on my "Katyusha". I like the result so far and wonder what you'll come up with next. I'll keep on eye on this, hehehe!

Jens

MassterOzymandias · Post by **MassterOzymandias** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 10:48 am

Great technique for the camo! I like the chipping effects on this beast.

Greetings from México!

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 9:10 pm

NonProlificModeler wrote:Wow, Tommy, I never worked with that method and I say "hats off", my friend! I wouldn't have had the nerve to try that on my "Katyusha". I like the result so far and wonder what you'll come up with next. I'll keep on eye on this, hehehe! Jens

Thanks Jens, you're most welcome.

I love experimenting and trying new methods. Fortunately there are always new things to learn in scalemodelling.
Worst thing that can happen is that I mess it up

If that happens I have to come up with an alternative plan - hopefully I will learn something from it.

MassterOzymandias wrote:Great technique for the camo! I like the chipping effects on this beast.

Greetings from México!

Thanks Masster!

I have been working with finalising the wintercammo and doing som cleaning and touch-up of the turret and hull. I have also assembeld the last part to the hull, headlight and the towcables. The towcables where too long so I had to improvise a bit and move the cable attachment a bit back...

The problems with the towcables didn't end with that.... one of the attachments snapped

20160207_165957 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

But I managed to get everything in place

20160207_171517 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Did some rustchipping of the exhaustpipes

20160207_151257 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Everything has been coated with Aqua Gloss once more preparing for washes, which I will start tomorrow.

Cheers

Tommy

NonProlificModeler · Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 9:57 pm

I totally agree! I found out for myself that learning from my mistakes/mishaps is the best way of learning! I never forget the lection I got from an error. Much better than everything's always turning out right. Nothing to learn from that!

And I like experimenting, too, 'cause for me that's the easiest way to make mistakes, hehehe! Take care, my friend! Jens

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Wed Feb 10, 2016 9:35 pm

NonProlificModeler wrote:I totally agree! I found out for myself that learning from my mistakes/mishaps is the best way of learning! I never forget the lection I got from an error. Much better than everything's always turning out right. Nothing to learn from that! And I like experimenting, too, 'cause for me that's the easiest way to make mistakes, hehehe! Take care, my friend! Jens

You too, Jens.

Haven't thought about it that way, but it makes perfect sense

Ok... I'm quite busy at work so there's not much happening on weekdays now, BUT I managed to sit down a couple of hours in total and started to put on washes. First I use AKs Streaking Grime for Yellow Vehicles to get a dirty worn look to the white cammo. Its a mix between pinwash and filter since I first make a pinwas around the edges and then stomp the edges with odorless turps, to give a soft transition to the larger areas.

20160210_220608 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The turret have also got some streaks and filtered areas using Streaking Grime in green and gray as well.

20160210_220729 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20160210_220758 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20160210_220811 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I will put on a new layer of Aqua Gloss and proceed with black pinwash and more streaks on the turret sides, hopefully tomorrow...

Tommy

TomasGould · Post by **TomasGould** » Thu Feb 11, 2016 9:32 am

You did a really nice work with the worn winter colour

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 4:37 pm

TomasGould wrote:You did a really nice work with the worn winter colour

Thank you Tomas !

So I have continued my "dirty deeds" on the hull of KV as well

20160212_124720 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20160212_124739 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20160212_124856 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Almost forgot to paint the rubber on the return rollers and the bare metal surface on the outer rims of the idler and road wheels.

I will use XF-85 Rubber Black for the return rollers and XF-84 Dark Iron for the idler and road wheels...

20160212_163408 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Cheers !

Tommy

patrickroos · Post by **patrickroos** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 7:31 pm

Very nice!!!
I just love the torn cable that have started to rust! Brilliant stuff!

rodrant · Post by **rodrant** » Fri Feb 12, 2016 8:44 pm

looking great ! Love those effects that you manage to do ! Nice!!!

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 8:21 am

patrickroos wrote:Very nice!!!
I just love the torn cable that have started to rust! Brilliant stuff!

Thanks Patrick, it's fun to add small details like that - it makes the build more personal.
I have realised that I build armour like an aircraft-guy, I spend tedious amount of time on small details that never will be seen

But I'm totally happy with that, I know that the details are there and I learn a lot from doing them...

rodrant wrote:looking great ! Love those effects that you manage to do ! Nice!!!

Thanks António - it's all about watching what other guys do and do some experimenting on top of that... This forum is great source of ideas and there are so many inspiring builds.

Tommy

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 8:33 am

Hey guys,

Time for an update; I have assembled the tracks now and are preparing them for some pigments. I will not add a lot of weathering, since I think that the tracks looks great as they are.

The tracks have been prebuilt in sections of 10 links and I will just add some more links until I get the amount of sag that I'm happy with.

20160213_222554 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I want to have enough sag to give the impression of an old battle-scarred KV with worn track-links - but on the other hand it shouldn't look ridiculous.

So I think that I will settle with this:

20160213_220544 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Cheers

Tommy

NonProlificModeler · Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 8:47 am

Your job on the winter camo makes me freeze! It looks so realistic! And I'm sure the tracks will look great, too, when they're finished! Have a nice Sunday.

Jens

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Sun Feb 14, 2016 4:25 pm

NonProlificModeler wrote:Your job on the winter camo makes me freeze! It looks so realistic! And I'm sure the tracks will look great, too, when they're finished! Have a nice Sunday. Jens

You too, Jens. Let the mojo flow, mate !

I've had a good day at the bench sofar, been working with the undercarriage of the tank.

First I painted the undercarriage with XF-52 Flat Earth thinned with IPA (isopropyl alcohol), that stuff basically dries when it hits the surface, so the paint will be very flat.

20160214_111850 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

After that I mixed white construction-glue, pigments, Citadel grass and sand together with the green foliage stuff that can be used for trees and bushes (railway modellers use it alot). It had the consistency and colour of runny dog-poo, but eventually it dried up and gave a more random structure to the collected dirt and mud on the lower hull and fenders.

20160214_122824 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20160214_122834 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Finally I went over the surface again with different pigements

20160214_124211 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Tommy

TomasGould · Post by **TomasGould** » Mon Feb 15, 2016 9:16 am

Great mud effect Tommy!!! I can't wait to see the finished result!!

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Mon Feb 15, 2016 6:35 pm

TomasGould wrote:Great mud effect Tommy!!! I can't wait to see the finished result!!

Thanks Tomas!

I managed to get some more work done on the KV yesterday evening, a really good day at the workbench...

I have added som dry pigments as well on the upper hull:

20160214_125347 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I put some dark rust on the exhaust-pipes, also added some red pigments to "boost" the rust effect a little

20160214_125329 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

...and after that it was time to open up the hatches

I glued the hatches with a couple of drops of PVA-glue, so I could remove them. The glue did a good job holding the lids hatches in place, maybe little too good on the engine bay hatch - some metal paint and weathering got stuck in the glue, so I had to clean that up and touch up the weathering.
I was a little worried about how the rims around the openings would look after all that hairspray, paint and varnish, so I was prepared to make a rescue operation - but it looks OK I think.

20160214_142445 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Sneak peek of the drivers seat and the HiFi-set

20160214_143240 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Unmasking of the headlight, I'm happy how it turned out!

20160214_164054 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The upper hull is more or less completed now. I will make som final touch-ups, set the turret in position and glue the hatches in place - but I will do that last thing ofcourse.

20160214_160550 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20160214_163607 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Next up is weathering and assembly of the running gear..

I have also thought about a small dio or a base plate with some details, I have to think some more about that

Tommy

panzerjager · Post by **panzerjager** » Mon Feb 15, 2016 7:42 pm

WOW! That is some top notch work right there

Looking forward to the final reveal now

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Mon Feb 15, 2016 9:13 pm

panzerjager wrote:WOW! That is some top notch work right there Looking forward to the final reveal now

Thanks panzerjager!

I might do a baseplate also, but I haven't made up my mind about the layout yet...

Tommy

NonProlificModeler · Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 2:55 pm

Yes, that tank needs a dio, definitely! Two and a half months to go. Enough time to do it.

Jens

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Tue Feb 16, 2016 10:02 pm

Hey guys!

I have assembled the running gear now, suspension arms and the wheels are glued into position and the tracks have been mounted.

The tracks have been brushed with some brown and red mud pigments, so give a dry and rusty appearance. I like it like that and I will only add a little mud and pigments to the wheels, I think.

20160216_221828 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I found an old piece of oak bench-top which was left over from my kitchen renovation. I'm thinking of using that as a base plate... I will probably only make a presentation, rather than a full dio.

20160216_192600 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I have these kits from my stash to work with... I will not use everything from them, but I may take a figure or two and some of the ammoboxes.

20160216_192537 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Cheers!

Tommy

NonProlificModeler · Post by **NonProlificModeler** » Wed Feb 17, 2016 10:56 am

Pretty cool, Tommy!

Jens

MassterOzymandias · Post by **MassterOzymandias** » Wed Feb 17, 2016 3:54 pm

The weathering is so nice than a real one. Good choice with the figures!

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Wed Feb 17, 2016 9:39 pm

Thanks guys!

I have started to assemble the ammo-boxes today... There are surprisingly lots of details there and the build is quite fiddly, but I think that they will look good so it's worth the effort.

I will probably build 3-4 boxes, where one will be opened (the one I've built) and the others just stacked.

20160217_193022 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20160217_210121 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Tommy

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Fri Feb 19, 2016 9:41 pm

Wohooo...

TGIF - let's celebrate with more ammo!

20160219_201502 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I might assemble the remaining 2 boxes in the kit, it depends on how crowded the base gets...

Speaking of crowded... A KV has a 6 man crew, but I'm not convinced that I should try to cram in 6 figures on the base. I might settle with one or two. So, after a lot of indecision and changing my mind back and forth, I started with this figure...

20160219_210940 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

But to make it work I had to twist his arm - GRU-style

20160219_204652 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

It still looks a bit wierd, so I decided to bring out the bonesaw and amputate a little

20160219_204317 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The patient kind of survived. I will fill the gaps with Vallejo Plastic Putty, since it is easy to clean with a moist cotton-bud.

20160219_210336 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Tommy

TommyKillander · Post by **TommyKillander** » Sat Feb 20, 2016 4:50 pm

Hey guys,

Okey... I decided to use the last two ammo-boxes as well... Can't get too much ammo

20160220_151517 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I'm also building a couple of pallets with replacement track-links, fresh from the workshop. I have no idea how and if spare links where delivered in field bases, but let's not get picky about historical authenticity...

I cannibalised one of the 85mm ammo-boxes that came with the figures and will place a beam as a standoff, using some spare 2x3mm rosewood strips. I'm thinking of painting the track-links black and add some minor chipping.

20160220_153218 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Built another crewmember. This time it's a soviet hooligan, where I will replace the handkerchief with a crowbar

I made the crowbar from a piece of the rod that came with the figures...

20160220_151246 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Everything is pinned up and ready for paint!

20160220_172058 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Cheers

Tommy