Here's a bit of history on the actual tank from Tank Encyclopaedia:
The ISU-152 was an absolute nightmare for the Wehrmacht. Much like the SU-152, it was capable of blowing Tiger, Ferdinand, and Panther turrets/casemates open. However, what made the ISU-152 inherently better than the SU-152 was its superior armor and towing power. It had three major roles – assault gun, tank destroyer and mobile artillery, which made it one of the most versatile heavy vehicles of the war. After the war, it remained in service well until the 1970s, and some even saw some unconventional action at the Chernobyl liquidation, 1986.
And a bit on its use as a tank destroyer:
Whilst not designed for this role, it inherited the name “Zveroboy” (Beast killer) from the SU-152, because it could knock out the Panther, Tiger, and King Tiger tanks, as well as the Jagdtiger, and Ferdinand/Elefant. It is actually well known for this role because the Soviets were able to make this into a very effective propaganda tool in the late war. Whilst the weight of the shells (and therefore slow loading) resulted in 1-3 rounds per minute, the sheer mechanical shock was enough to kill the crew of an enemy tank, or disable an enemy tank even without an armor penetration, which is useful because generally, these shells did not penetrate. It has even been reported that the shell could totally blow the turret off of a Tiger tank!
At Kursk, AP shells were given to the ISU-152, but these rounds were expensive, hard to make, and were in very short supply, as well as only being a little more effective than the HE round. Finally, when fired upon, the ISU-152’s 90mm, 90 degree sloped armor fared well against 75 mm German guns at long ranges, but the Tiger’s 88mm gun was always a killer. However, despite stories and amazing photos of the ISU-152’s exploits as a tank destroyer, at close ranges, it was vulnerable to German high caliber guns, and it had a low rate of fire. Not only this, but it was inaccurate, and not intended for the role. ISU-152s tended to be used for direct fire as an assault gun, which saw it fighting against enemy positions, not necessarily enemy tanks.
Here's a bit on the variant that I'll be making:
This was a modernized variant from 1956, undertaken at the Leningrad Kirov Plant and designated the Object 241K. It took a new engine, the same as the T-54 and the main, internal fuel tank now had a capacity of 920 L, giving it 500 km more operational range. It had ammo capacity for another 10 shells, now giving it a grand total of 30 shells, due to an additional fuel tank in the crew compartment being removed. The commander’s cupola and sights were reworked and improved. It was also given a new running gear design based on the T-10 heavy tank. The mantlet was given an additional armor ring – some even had 15 mm extra welded onto the 60 mm mantlet from above.
And for a bit more history on the vehicle, a couple of videos from one of Wargaming's historians Nicholas 'The Chieftain' Moran:
The Slow Mo Guys recently did a video on the Sherman tank, but also fired a Russian gun not dissimilar to the gun on the ISU-152, really helps you get an idea of the power of those Russian 152's:
I'm planning on doing a small vignette based off of this picture, shouldn't be too difficult but it's the first time I'll have done anything like this!
So, on with the kit! It looks to be a great kit, the parts are well moulded with some nice details. It comes with PE grills, copper wire for the tow cable and a chunky turned metal barrel, not bad for a kit I got on sale!
I've been working on this for a couple of days with no real problems so far, if there have been problems they've been of my own making, not the kit's fault!
Wheels mostly assembled, with some of the suspension arms:
And the lower hull mostly done:
I'll be attaching the wheels but leaving the tracks off for ease of painting.
I've got some more progress done, I just need to remember to take pictures! I'm not used to this whole documenting your progress thing!
That's it for now, more pics coming soon!
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