1/72 IS-2 mod. 1944

My difficulty with the tracks of the Zvezda ISU-152 made me want to quickly try again to see if I could do better  

Unfortunately, this is a 2013 tool thus, unlike the ISU-152, the barrel is not hollow 

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Here one can see the ingenuity of the Zvezda track system. You add half the road wheels, then the tracks, and then the other roadwheels on top, allowing the guide horns to properly feed through. The tracks are a slightly softer plastic to the rest of the kit, which slows them to be bent easily but still hold their shape. One big criticism I have if the kit is that the tracks are held in place by the return rollers acting as pins. The Ferdinand kit had something similar, but the mich larger road wheels held the line in. The IS-2 return rollers are too small and weak for this job, and can be very fiddly or shear off if you’re not too careful.

I am happy to say that I was successful in doing a better job with the running gear than the ISU-152. The proper way to do this is to glue the outer return rollers in first so that it can dry and cure fully, allowing it to take the load. I inserted the pin into middle one but did not glue it. I then wrapped the track around the sprocket which I then inserted. After everything is lined up, glue the rollers to the hull one at a time. The tolerance here is very tight as it easy to have one return roller be too far way from the mount. 

Very nice weld beads for a snap-fit, 2013 tooling 

It’s quite nice that the grab handles are molded on. I wish the later tooled Zvezda ISU-152 did the same 

The turret seamline on the real IS-2 is hideous so I decided not to adjust the one on the kit 

Lots of filling on the rear deck needed 

Vallejo rattle-can black primer added with a base coat of AK11425 Field Grey Base over it 

I added AK AK11157 US Dark Green for highlights I then mixed this with AK 11424 Grey Green at a 3:1/3:2 ratio for extreme highlights which I applied by brush 

Decals are from the Zvezda ISU-152 kit. VMS Matt Varnish applied over it