Berlin, 1945: The End

 This is my rendition of Jaguar's "Beginning of a New End" vignette, depicting the famous photograph of Red Army infantry raising the Red Flag over the Reichstag.

The staged photo, taken several days after the actual flag raising on April 30th, has been significantly altered by Soviet censorship artists. In the original photograph, the officer in the center wears two wristwatches, indicating looting. I added these wristwatches on the model using strips of foil and magic sculpt.
The medal on the base is a "Victory over Germany" badge that was widely issued at war's end. Because it is genuine (albeit relatively common), I didn't want to use any glues to keep it fixed; luckily I had a bit of Blue-Tack sitting around to keep it attached.

As usual, I used Acrylic paints to apply a basecoat, followed with the creation of shadows and hilights with custom-mixed oil paints. For these figures, I experimented with Vallejo acrylic paints, using them to create sharp hilights on corners or very exposed areas, such as the tip of the nose or the cheekbones. I'm content with the results, but I know I can do better.

The supplied resin flag was of very poor quality, as it was pitted with airbubbles and nearly a millimeter thick! I used thick alluminum foil to make a new one. The figure that stands in the foreground was also poorly cast and was replaced with a figure from Alanger's "Stalin's Cossacks" set. He sports a new face from Hornet and a 'Pilotka' sidecap from a DML kit.

 I used sheet styrene to extend the black base, as I felt it was too short. Now, it stands tall in the face of the defeated facists for propaganda lovers everywhere!

Before oil washes

Here's a before and after shot, which hopefully shows why I love oil paints so much. A few washes of browns and tans, an ta-da!

After oil washes

 

A version of the original 1945 photograph

Finally, here is a colorized version of the original photo. Note that there were about a dozen different photos taken of this specific incident, so the poses are a little different from the ones in this photo.

Thanks for lookin'!

Czech Mate

 Here is Tristar's 1/35 Pzkfw. 38(t) ausf. B, built OOTB, with two kitbashed figures. I really like puns in diorama titles, and this is no exception. The 38(t), a Czechoslovakian vehicle, has been knocked out by a Soviet anti-tank team... i.e, Czech Mate.

 The vehicle was a joy to build, in fact I haven't had as much building a model as I did building this little gem.

  I airbrushed the complete interior with acrylics before I finished assembly, to help me get at the hard-to-reach areas. I used some interior placards from Archer to add a splash of color, but otherwise, I didn't really add anything that didn't come in the box.

 The camo was airbrushed using slightly altered Tamiya paints, using 'Silly Putty' to create the hard-edged pattern.

 The two figures are examining their kill, one of them holding a massive PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle. This weapon was often fired at tracks or vision slits, because they were unable to penetrate thick armor. I wanted to show that the tracks had been shot out and that the engine had been damaged, forcing the crew to abandon the vehicle. The figures were cobbled together from a few dozen figure sets... I honestly can't remember exactly which kits all the parts came from. I used oils over acrylics, as usual, to finish the two figures.

 The figure on the left is sporting a stylish "Budenovka" hat, which was popular with the Red Army from the days of the civil war until the early 1940s. I thought it resembled a Rook chess piece, which I felt fit with the theme nicely.

The tarp is made of Apoxie Sculpt, rolled flat with a hobby knife.

 Here are a few shots of the interior. Tristar spared no expense in making every last detail perfectly rendered. I normally dislike the construction phase of modeling, but this model was really a blast.

Thanks to Sean B. for help with the photography. Thanks for looking!

B-5 280mm Mortar

This is Trumpeter's 1/35 B-4 203mm howitzer modified to be a B-5 280mm mortar. Like it's smaller counterpart, the B-5 mortar was manufactured in Leningrad at the Barrikady factory. Both weapons became infamous during the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union, where the Soviet artillery earned the nickname "Stalin's Sledgehammer." I decided to convert the kit to this rare variant because, as a teenager, I am very impatient and I didn't feel like waiting for my RB Barrel replacement gun to come in the mail. Also, my Dad was working on a Leopold railgun at the time, and I simply couldn't let him have the bigger gun.

The barrel was made using steel tubing and modified kit parts. I replaced the plastic seats with thin aluminum sheets bent to shape, and added bolts using rivets from the model train detailing area of the local hobby shop. I attached the plastic rivets to the aluminum using Future floor wax. I combined the photoetched rifling included in the kit with the rifling from a second B-4 kit to add some detail to the massive gun.

I used a roughly 70:30 mix of Tamiya Nato Green and Yellow Green as a basecoat for the standard 4BO protective green that was applied to nearly all Soviet military vehicles of the era. I then lightly airbrushed areas with Tamiya Flat White. Using the 'mapping' technique described in Mig Jiminez's FAQ book, I applied chips and flakes of white paint. Several thin filters of Winsor-Newton brown, green, and blue oil paints helped bring out detail and vary the color. To cover the massive gaps where the tracks meet,(Yes, I admit it!) I added two tarps, made by rolling thin sheets of Apoxie-Sculpt with a hobby knife.

The snow is a mixture of micro-balloons, white paint, white glue, baking soda, and clear gloss. I applied very thin washes of brown oil paint to represent dirty snow, and I covered some areas of snow with white glue to represent slushy snow. Living in Minnesota, I have plenty of first-hand experience with the stuff and I knew I couldn't let myself take any short-cuts on the snow.

The figure is from Evolution miniatures, and he was finished using oils over acrylics. I can't say enough good things about Evolution's figures, they are some of the best sculpts and easiest kits I have ever seen. This figure came with a total of 2 parts... that's right, just two. The Mauser pistol was molded separately, that's all!

Here's an in-progress shot. Hopefully this illustrates what I added to the kit more effectively.

.

During my visit to the artillery museum in St. Petersburg in 2010, I got to see the B-5's "little" brother, the B-4. It is a truly massive abomination.
I appreciate any comments and criticism!

Soviet Sniper, 1942

 This figure is from Pizzaro Miniatures, and is white metal. The box says he is 54mm, but he is way too tall, and is closer to 70mm. Let me say outright that I am very dissapointed with this figure's quality... a quick glance at the figure and it is immediately apparent that something is off. The white metal is very pitted and rough. The sculptor really seemed to struggle with proportions, especially in the arms and head. Just look at the arms... the forearm is about 1/2 the length of the upper arm. The hands are barely recognizable, and the Mosin-Nagat rifle has no bolt. That, and the head is about the same size as his feet. The base is also somewhat carelessly thrown together, with obvious kit components thrown around. For example, there is a segment of 1/72 Tiger track links at his feet... ish.

 Luckily, I bought the figure for next to nothing, so all was not lost. I was really in the mood to paint some khaki, and this figure was the perfect subject. I wanted every uniform component to be a slightly different shade of the same color, to give a bit of visual interest to the otherwise bland color scheme. I used oils over an acrylic base.

 I was too lazy to pin the figure's legs, and this really came back to bite me. I've probably broken and re-glued the legs back together fifteen times.

 This guy was uniquely challenging to paint because of his weight. I'll be avoiding white metal kits because holding onto them for more than an hour gets to be too much. I know, I'm a weakling... whatever.

I churned this guy out in about a week sometime in 2009. I'm reasonably happy with the paint job, but the scultping bothers me so much that i really hate to look at him. Sounds harsh, but I'm picky.
Thanks for looking!

Ghoul

 This is an older bust that I did after my first MMSI Chicago show in 2009. I was especially inspired by the wonderfully grotesque works of Rusty Nail ( http://therustyshack.blogspot.com/ .) As soon as I got back from the show, I pulled out this 120mm bust by JMD Miniatures and started painting.

 The entire bust stands about two inches tall... I was a little dissapointed that he was so small. Oh well.

 I painted this mini-bust using Tamiya acrylics through an airbrush. I started with a dark grey and worked my way up to a light peachy-grey color. I then used various mixtures of Tamiya's Clear Red, Clear Blue, and Smoke to create extra effects and shading.

I also used a very thick paint mixture sprayed at a very low PSI to create the splattering effects. All other details were picked out in Citadel paints. ( I had not yet discovered Vallejo paints!)