Good evening and welcome to episode 1 of Midnight-Master-Models
Our subject today is the ISU-122s technically being the second, but officially the first model of the new series. Let us first dive into the materials used, then a short word about the new series and last but not least about the model itself and the next steps.
Materials
JSU-152 – Tamiya 35303 scalemates
JSU-152 basic set – voyager PE35343 scalemates
JSU-152 Fenders – aber 35236 scalemates
IS-, ISU- after 1945 – Masterclub MTL35026 scalemates
JSU-122s matlet with D-25 gun – Panzer Art GB35-027 scalemates
bits-and-pieces box
About “Midnight-master-models”
Since most of my models are built mostly out-of-box I decided to create a special series for those who do not fit in this category. Included are thus models which include a lot of after-market and/or scratch-build resulting in a higher level of detail compared to my usual ones. That is also the origin of the name. The “master” comes from the quality of the models (One disclaimer to clarify some things: These models may not be the most that you can get out of a model, but rather the most I can get out of them.) and the “midnight” from the time spent on these many times exceeding into the very late hours.
But enough about the new series and onto the model itself:
Pre-build – why this model?
Who kept up to date with the planned projects page may have notived that the plan and the aftermarket made by Panzer Art to have been listed there since pretty much the beginning of my documentation – why is that? Actually the same rease why i decided to go all out with this one: It is my personal favorite tank. Thus i wanted to wait until I was largely satisfied with my builds to take this one on, which I truly felt passionate for and in my opinion it was the right decision looking at the result.
Build – a party of aftermarket
Even though the pictures might seem complicated the build was very straight forward and and easier than expected. The tamiya kit was as expected largely great. The only complaint is the rear part of the upper hull being warped, but this was rectified with quickly and easily. The Panzer Art aftermarket set to convert the model to an ISU-122s fit great, but the muzzelbreake cracked during assembly because of an unlucky accident on my side. Luckily the tmiya kit included parts for the IS-2 including the muzzlebreak, which is identical, but had to be changed to fit the base of the damaged one. Handlebars were replaced with 0,6mm copper wire and armour textures/weld seems/flame cut marks were added as on all of my models. Most of the voyager and aber sets as well as the tracks from masterclub were installed without any major complications. Last modifications were wires for the lights and horn, a bulb for the headlight and an antenne from stretched sprue. The towingcables were included in the voyager set (welcome suprise there) and the bucket came from the stach with a tarp made from greenstuff. I decided to not add any other stowage to better fit the theme of the finaly day of WW2 where most vehicles were seen hevily butcherd from the intense fighting on the streets of Berlin.
Post-build
I am personally very much satisfied and pleased with the result and am excited to now go into the painting for this one. Still I really want to get your opinion on it since i may both be blinded by my personal love for the tank itself or all the shiny aftermarket. In addition to this I am not completly settled on the final paintjob – maybe some of you have an idea or recommendation considering the setting. Otherwise we will see each other hopefully again either in the comments, a personal contact or simply the next article.
Until we meet again