Tamiya JS II ChKz

[sam_dwyer]

Well, i've been in my new place for a week now, so thought it would be a good time to start a little modelling.. Im on a months leave now too, so there is no holding me back..

To ease myself back into it, I thought i'd have a crack at this:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/samd1/JS-II%20ChKZ/DSC_2816.jpg

As you can imagine, its a Tamiya kit, so the quality is there - but its all fairly basic, so i'll be just detailing the kit up, not going bonkers with aftermarket stuff (also coz there isnt anything out for this kit yet!)

I still havent got a photo booth set up set up yet - so not too sure how i'll get shots in construction - but we'll work something out!

Sam

[DCG]

Should be somewhat compatible with PE and turned barrels for the old DML JS-s, no? I mean, you'll have to deal with those engine deck screens somehow right? ;)

[RickLawler]

The Russians are Coming...the Russians are Coming!

Congrats on the new home...

Rick

[sam_dwyer]

you'll have to deal with those engine deck screens somehow right? ;)

HI Darren - tamiya saw it in the goodness of their hearts to include etch deck screens!

[panamadan]

Good kit to get back into the saddle with! Dan

[MikkoH]

Nice to have you back on saddle sam.:D Looking forward to see this on done. Have wanted this to myself also.

[greybeard]

This is supposed to be a very nice kit. (I don't have it yet.) I'm looking forward to following your progress.

Cheers
Scott Fraser

[pwranta193]

Good to see you haven't melted... all unpacked? Will any of the WWII Prod tracks work?

[Sticky]

Bout time you showed us somthing from the new work room! Good choice too!

[ECLIPSE]

Looking forward to following this one Sam.

[lquah]

Sam

MDM's back in operation!! This is fantastic news.. but who would have thought the first tank to roll out of MDM would be Russian! Shock horror! :eek::eek:

LQ

[sam_dwyer]

PW: No chance of melting here - Since we had air conditioning fitted at der neu haus, there has been a cold snap here - flooding in some parts etc.. Saturday was the first chance to give it a run..

LQ: I know.. a Russian tank - never fear, I think the next project may be a DML early jagdpanther. I picked the JS because it will be a nice and easy build (and paint)

The kit is typical Tamiya quality, but the cast texture and welds are a little under done.. I guess its better to be under than over done. Adding this will be fun

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/samd1/JS-II%20ChKZ/DSC_2817.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/samd1/JS-II%20ChKZ/DSC_2818.jpg

Nice job on the fuel cell welds, shame they persist with 2 piece tanks - god how this shits me!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/samd1/JS-II%20ChKZ/DSC_2819.jpg

Lovely wheel texture
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/samd1/JS-II%20ChKZ/DSC_2820.jpg

Lower glacis plate
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/samd1/JS-II%20ChKZ/DSC_2821.jpg

Its Sunday morning here.. so between playing Call of Duty 4 on Xbox Live and being hassled by the kids, I should get a fair bit done today.
More progress shots to follow

Sam

[panamadan]

Nice weld beads on the fuel tanks however. Dan

[sam_dwyer]

Just a tiny bit of progress.. I got promoted to Sergeant on CoD4 this morning! Oh and yeah i've done some work on the JS..

Weld beads around the towing hooks - oddly Tamiya dont replicate these at all. I just stretched some 40 thou Evergreen rod, glued it on and textured it with the back of a #11 exacto, then brushed over the whole thing with liquid glue to blend it all in. Oh, I also drilled out the spare tracks - these still need a little bit of cleaning up.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/samd1/JS-II%20ChKZ/DSC_2823.jpg

And the welds around the rear plate area:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/samd1/JS-II%20ChKZ/DSC_2824.jpg

Next step is to add the wheels and suspension parts, I think I may skip ahead a little and get the hull parts together so that I can add/enhance any welds necessary.

[Panzergrenadier]

Very cool Sam.:thumb: Kind of funny I used the same method on all the welds. I just didn't want to bother with putty. I used stretched sprue instead of Evergreen rod. How do you compare the effects of the two mediums?

Don't forget to add a weld to the bottom of the rear plate...

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff110/panzergrenadier91/isu152_18.jpg

Hoping to see more...

Siim

[panamadan]

Big, big tow cables! Dan

[Sheeds]

Great to see you detailing without using 4 sheets of etch brass too. :thumb:
Looking at Siim's shot, Tamiya have really over done the flame cuts and underdone the welds.


Sheeds.

[sam_dwyer]

Thanks for posting that shot Siim - im working off fairly limited references, and was hoping someone would post a shot of that area.

Sheeds - yes yes no extra etch on this one..

So hull is together, and last thing last night I puttied up the sponson undersides - the fit is actually very good, i just added a little more putty than necessary to be sure
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/samd1/JS-II%20ChKZ/DSC_2826.jpg

There is a knock out pin mark on the inside of the rear fenders which I will sand out later.

And this morning (its Monday morning here) I sanded and Scotch Brite'd the undersides
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/samd1/JS-II%20ChKZ/DSC_2827.jpg

Also I detailed the rear plate further - added the welds along the bottom, finished the side welds, added 3 tiny tie downs (one is visible in Siims' shot, the other 2 are visible in GP#9, P113) - the right one is a little wonky in this shot, its been corrected since it was taken - also added the upper rear plate hatch stoppers - the tiny squares of evergreen, and finally some flame cut texture to the top edge of the lower rear plate
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y82/samd1/JS-II%20ChKZ/DSC_2828.jpg

The holes left in the rear plate are for the tow cable retainer clip thingies, these will go in later.

Sam

[Sticky]

Looks good Sam. blogger Hiroshi says the kit is not too scale, did you measure it?

[Sheeds]

Is the belly armour seen wlded on the JS in Siim's shot, unique to that vechicle? Was it a production thing? You can see it dissapring down the length of the hull, and seems to have openings for the round access ports.

Sheeds.

[Panzergrenadier]

Looking at Siim's shot, Tamiya have really over done the flame cuts and underdone the welds.
When looking at various vehicles the flame cut effect ranges from smooth to very rough so I think Tamiya has it at a comfortable base level, so one can sand it down a bit or add to it.

Is the belly armour seen wlded on the JS in Siim's shot, unique to that vechicle? Was it a production thing?I don't know about the bottom, but just to make it known, the picture is of a ISU-152 rear so it might not apply 100% on IS-2.

Good spotting on the little tie downs!:thumb:

[Kirchoff]

Sam,
It's quite refreshing to see a project which will eschew tons of aftermarket for the sake of a simple fundamental build. It should be a testimony for the art of embellishing a nice kit, followed by an expert application of paint and weathering! I'm certainly watching intently!

Mike Kirchoff

[mrt]

Hey Sam, hope alls well in the new house.. i just got this kit too, for some sootb therapy .. bit of putty and a few weld beads here and there sounds just like what the doctor ordered.. Will be watching your progress closely, interesting to see how you tackle the paint job.

Cheers
Andy

[Ebbe Bergman]

Finaly Sam we are about to see more projects from you. Hope you like the cave! Wish I had one too.
Cheers!
Ebbe

[Panzergrenadier]

How are you doing Sam? Any progress?

[Larry Bates]

Hey Sam,

How's the new digs?

Laz