Here’s some quick photos i did today after doing painting and some detail work. I still have to paint the log and and mud guards, as well as the heavy machine gun. After that I’ll give it a Matt coat then do some filters and washes. The tracks weren’t horrible but the sprockets don’t line up and I’m considering shaving them down a bit to fix this.
I have four verlinden Russian tankers for this and other Russian vics, i may not be able to use the driver figure unless i position the turret at a 10 or 2 position… which I may end up doing. Also saw some good mini art figures that would fit well with this kit.
Gregory, at the risk of teaching you to suck eggs, remember that these tanks (in fact, from T-64 onwards) only had a crew of 3; if you’re planning on a 4th figure outside of the vehicle then forgive me.
The main armament was often slewed slightly to facilitate the driver operating with an open hatch; see my “T-64B from 3 Shock Army - Skif Kit” from somewhere within the Cold War section. (sorry, not too sure how to link this otherwise).
@BootsDMS yes I’m tracking three crew members a vehicle, i was thinking of doing a diorama of with another vehicle in the future and the fourth crew member being dismounted and talking to the T-80 crew, it would be this figure but he may be better for another diorama in the future.
If i remember correctly you did the “Near Fulda” diorama correct? I’m always willing to be told to suck eggs when I’m wrong because i love learning lol!
@metalhead85 yes this is the green i was talking about earlier, i like how it came out, i do feel however that my shadow effect is something I suck at because i can’t tell as of right now if it’s really working or not.
@metalhead85 that’s always my number one problem as well. It goes on then you notice you miss a spot and then i end up getting a thicker coat then i wanted. That’s why I’m thinking of doing more chipping projects in the future. That way i can see the base coat where i want it to be seen.
No sorry Greg, not sure about the “Near Fulda”; I depicted my 2 x tanks as from 3 Shock Army as that was the formation opposite 1st British Corps, (in NATO’s then Central Region)
although of course, they could have replicated equipments from anywhere.
@BootsDMS yes, I went back and found your post, i loved your diorama btw. Where did you get your inspiration from? I’m currently reading “red army” and it talks about this vaguely.
Thanks; at first I wanted to depict 2 x tanks as on the ranges, from an illustration in Messrs Zaloga’s and Loop’s excellent book “Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles 1946 to the Present”, and purchased 2 x Skif kits way back when. Only more recently did I complete the builds and by then was intent on representing a scene from a small You Tube clip entitled “Soviet Army T-64 Tanks” which lasts for 3.28 minutes. If you identify it at 1.52 you’ll see a Traffic Regulator close up and again at 3.09 where you’ll see a column of T-64s, a Regulator and the tree line, all of which, distance-wise I’ve had to compress but you’ll see where I’m coming from I’m sure (if you’re inclined to have a look of course).
I actually took the uniform details and the stance of the Traffic Regulator from another Steven Zaloga book from the Osprey Elite series “Inside the Soviet Army Today” wherein lies a series of excellent illustrations from Ron Volstad.
@BootsDMS that’s interesting, I’m going to need to get some of these books. I have a few osprey books on the T-90 and modern Russian army but i think I’m lacking in my hobby resource area of my library. I feel like it would give me more inspiration and a better understanding of what is and isn’t feasible for what if dioramas and such. I’ll have to give the video a looksy later today, it sounds like it would be a wealth of information!
A lot of Soviet kit was kept in storage to reduce wear - a battalion might only use a company’s worth of vehicles for training and so the mileage and wear on the others would be low. In the event of a planned major operation, expect the Cat 1 units to be equipped with pretty clean and undamaged wagons, until they got into combat anyway.
@RLockie ahh now that is something I’ve never heard before. Thanks for the insight on that! Btw your the first person that has ever referenced of said CAT-1 , do you have any information or books on the other categorization, the only other notable source is red storm rising when it speaks of other echelons and reserve units?
Sounds like a another way to describe hull down or hull defilade. I swear that there is an office branch in the Pentagon full of propellor heads whose job is to come up with new acronyms for old terms.
And yes, most post WWII Soviet tank designs had limited elevation and depression of their main armament. A drawback of their designs. So more of the tank had to be exposed to engage targets above or below compared to contemporary western tank designs.
@Gregory_J_Copplin, your T-80 is coming along well. Doesn’t look like you have too much longer to go with it, just markings and weathering along with the final fittings. As far as you crew figures go, that dismounted pointing crew figure will work well. Especially if you give him some company grade officer shoulder epaulets, and have the TC of the tank as typical NCO.
@Stikpusher yeah I’m thinking of using an mini art base and then decorating some of it with ammo migs mud or dirt effects to reshape the terrain on the side of the road. I’m going to order some osprey books at the end of the week so I’ll probably begin painting figures next weekend.
As for the pentagon… i think they make to many acronyms to where the soldiers say them and don’t even know what they mean or fully intend.
Got a little more work done on the T-80 this weekend. Was able to finish up all the painting and adding on of mud guards and log. Finished with the decals as well! Next up is filters and pin wash followed by some minimal weathering.
I’m thinking of using this diorama base, cutting off the grass section and using some dirt/mud from ammo Mig to make it look a little more messy. I’ll also replace the ground work with my own and add some vegetation.
@Stikpusher im thinking I’ll have the company commander directing the crew to the side of the road as if he was emplacing them into a defense or pointing out that there’s energy off the road over there. Not sure how i want to do that in totality yet tho
There are/were three categories as I recall. 1 is fully equipped and ready for action, 2 needs more personnel, equipment and supplies assigned to bring it up to full strength and 3 is equipped with older kit so not used in front line ops until the enemy forces have been battered by the first line units and are less of a threat.
Echelons are different and are employed within combat units, so the second echelon exploits breaches made by the first.
Mind you I’m going from memory of stuff I read ages ago. It’s certainly been published in open source books - maybe in David Isby’s work, or Steve Zaloga?
