The
war in Donbass is still on. Truly speaking the diversity of tracked and wheeled
vehicles used by both sides of this conflict is the perfect inspiration for all
fans of Russian military models - cars, APCs, tanks, self-propelled artillery
and many more are in the modelers range.
Here
I would like to present the newest Trumpeter's kit 05599 prepared as the
separatist tank signed as the Ace of Spade from Viking Battalion.
Preparation stage
Because
of the reasons I mentioned above I wanted to build this kit in typical green
finish but with some interesting finish. After the searching in collection of
battlefield pictures I found the serie of Ace shots taken by Gennadiy Dubovoy.
They were good enough to decide to use them as the references. Fortunately
Echelon prepared the decals set with stickers based on the same pictures I used
to build the model so it was obvious that I will build this specific tank.
Components of the project
To
enriched the kit with some additional elements I decided to use:
-
Masterclub tracks MTL 35049;
-
RB Model gun barrel 35B102;
-
Eureka XXL towing cables ER-3537
-
RB Model antenna rod and mount 35A14;
-
Voyager PEA211 and PEA202;
- Echelon Decals
D356201;
-
Eureka XXL Modern Universal Tent and tarp sets E-022, 023, 024;
-
Arkebuza Barracuda net;
-
RB Model chain;
-
Paper Panzer Production wooden box;
-
Plus Model plastic bottle.
The
base was completed with:
-
Eureka XXL concrete road panels;
-
Macone telegraphic pole;
-
PanzerArt, Meng and Verlinden barrels;
-
RB Model transport pallets.
Truly speaking this
was one of the best kits I ever build. And I am not writing it to make any kind
of advertisement for Trumpeter. This is
the truth. Of course there are some small mistakes but they have no influence
to the final appearance of the kit and for my opinion. I can say -
"extremely recommended!"
Building stage
The good fitting and
well detailed elements resulted with smooth building process. Even the
preparation of Kontakt-1 bricks was easy and fast work. But the biggest surgery
operation was the surroundings of the drivers visor - I needed cut it out and
build it from the beginning because of totally different shape.
Let’s play with colors!
For the main colors I
used the AK paints released as the Modern Russian Colors vol.1 and vol.2. They
were applied on the black primer airbrushed earlier. The detail's finish was
done with Vallejo Model Color and with LifeColor on the rubber rims.
Decals
The Echelon Decals
provides very good set of Novorossian T-72B1s markings (there are also 2S1s and
a BMP-2) that were been seen in action against the Ukrainian forces in the
eastern Ukraine. The set comes with two antenna flags.
Drops of chemicals and pinch of pigments
The main role in the
weathering stages was played by Wilder chemicals. As I use them for couple of
months I can say that they are a bit different than other brands but have
evident advantages - it is needed to learn how them use properly to achieve
nice results but truly speaking the learning process is very fast and
simple.
Additional stuff
I treat the
additional stuff on the models as my trademark so here I could not make an exception.
To realize this I use Eureka XXL new resin sets of tarp and tents, Akrebuza's
barracuda net and Paper Panzer Production stunning wooden box. In addition I
put some dirty rags, rope, wires and Plus Model plastic bottle.
Diorama
To set the whole
scene I use simple photo frame 20 x 26 cm and balsa wood. It was enriched with
ace of spade card, St.George ribbon, small pictures of the real tank and the
descriptions (stickers).
The ground work based
on the Eureka XXL concrete road panels and scratch build cable reels. The
highest point of the base, the telegraphic pole, comes from Macone resin set.
To finish the overall
view I used the barrels, some wooden planks and cables and pipes.
Figures
Both figures were painted
with acrylics.
The end
I build this kit and
its surrounding quite fast - 5 weeks of work give the result you can see here. I’m really satisfied with the result. This kit was nice to build and hope to meet another Trumpeter kit on my way!
I would like to thank Maciej Góralczyk
, Piotr Wypiór and Ronin Ira from Military Equipment Of Conflict in Ukraine
Facebook group.