Some of the detailing on the cables and washer hoses, and fenders:







Turret exterior

Here's some more build updates







For the Plumbing to and from the Fuel tanks I wanted to get it as acurate as possible but I also didn't want it looking to perfect and factory fresh. So I decided to give some of the pipes a dented and worn look to show the vehicles age. The dusty residue from the superglue will be cleaned off later before painting.









Now it's starting to look a little like a tank!





The upgraded Motor Rifle Trooper with a Resin Hornet head (plastic Dragon head removed) I think the Hornet head is a huge improvement, both in terms of character and detail.





On a side note my Tank models Tank Crew arrived in the post today!

Opened up my Tank Models figures last night and I was certainly impressed with them. The quality of the sculpts and casts was spot on. Wonderful detail and clever placement of gates make it easy to tidy them up and prepare them with little hassle.



Scale wise they are also a great match to the Plastic Dragon figures. The Nemrod figures were quite noticably smaller than the Dragon ones, but these Tank ones are great. Once again though the Driver's legs stop at the knee, so some conversion work will be needed to finish his legs if I choose too.

This is the Tank Commander, he even comes with a great little resin base, which is a nice little touch.

I've had a chance to get most of the figures done now save some greenstuff work to fill the gaps and some rifle straps etc., work on the base is also progressing nicely and I'll be able to crack into the terrain this evening. Here's some updates on the Tank.

After some (a lot) of work I finally got the Modelkasten tracks finished. It took some work adjusting the suspension to get the correct sag, but I think the end result was worth it.











Some of the Tank Crew, as with the infantry these still need to have gaps filled with greenstuff etc.

Jon,

Loving this. Those Thank figures look spot on for something I've got in mind for the Trumpy T 62 (if it ever comes out) I'm blogging a Tiran 5 on MA. Contact me offline as I've some pictures of the fuel lines of the Duxford T55.

Craig

Jon Fitzgerald Exellent Job on your tank!Whant to see when it will be finished

Thanks guys.

Craig, I love Tiran 5's I'll be sure to check that out. Also thanks for the offer for reference photos. I'll drop you a PM.

Smitsan - Thank you, I'm just waiting on the Modelpoint barrel now but I'm hoping to be able to start painting shortly. Most of the work on the T-55 is done now, the only major parts are the barrel and the scratchbuilt KTD laser system.

I'm going to start painting the figures soon also.

This is a lovely topic. I like the subject, no Germans for a change. The figures are very well chosen, superb details ! The T55 looks the part. This is going to be something !

This is looking really good Jon, the T-55 is coming along perfectly. The TANK figures look soo good, ive got a couple of sets and they really are some of the finest around. I just think its a bit of a shame to use them against the inferior Dragon figures. The lack of finesse on the DML figures really shows up against these resin figures. I would certainly suggest perhaps re-scribing some of the details and folds on the DML figure, perhaps also replacing the hands. I only suggest this just because the DML figs are noticeably inferior to the resin onces.

Thanks for the comments guys, very much appreciated.

Rob I know what you mean but it's a bit of a trade off really. Sadly I couldn't source any resin figures for the Soviet Motor Rifle Troops in the 80's-90's the only set I could find where the Dragon ones. There are a few generic Checnya Russian Soldiers that you could possibly convert but theres only enough sculpts to make two troopers. I really wanted a larger number to show a squad on patrol.

I think personally that once you add the Resin Hornet heads and the etch rifle straps for extra detail that the level of the Dragon figures gets raised quite alot. I've seen another diorama where a guy has done a similar thing and head swapped the Dragon Motor Rifle Troops with good results compared to a Resin Tank commander figure. Also once painted these are going to look nicer I think.

I've filled and smoothed out the gaps with green stuff, added more etch rifle straps, and used all the nicest Hornet heads I have. As for the hands I will get around this by painting them with gloves which will cover the slightly "chubby" fingers compared to the finer cast resin hands on the Tank figures.

Here are some photos of the finished Dragon Motor Riflemen





Two Soldiers sharing a smoke...









Heres my last and final Tank figure... Chillin on a DShK



Heres a comparison with the finished Dragon upgraded figures and the Tank crew... Not ideal maybe but I think they hold up well together.

Last night also let me get some work on the actual diorama base done as well. After two days the Super PVA glue was finally dry! The most frustrating thing is having the start of a base that you can't build anything on because its still too wet!



Marking out the rough layout of the ground features with insulating foam. These will be blended into the base and bulked out with Das Pronto Modelling Clay, and then given surface texture with a mix of household filler, grit, sand, and old flock.



As its a winter scene expect large banks of thick snow either side of the road, as well as a small evergreen tree covered in freshly fallen snow. I'm thinking something along the lines of this

i have been following this one on here as well as elsewhere , and it is tempting me into a T 34 dio in the snow

as you are making an impressive job of it love the figures !!

Jon,
you've done an excellent work so far. Your build of the T-55 is wonderful and it's quite a shame to hide all this interior after all the efforts you made for it. But that's modeling !!

Keep on your good job.
Olivier

Thanks for the kind comments Olivier!

I got the Modelpoint barrel in the post yesterday and started work on it right away. It's a great piece, with fantastic detail.






I also finished the smoke launchers from Lion Roar. It took a little bit of scratch building to make the brackets out of plasticard, but luckily I had some good reference pictures.

Really nice work Jon.

Thanks Martyn, I hope to have some photos of my progress on the Tank figures tonight.

Painting skin tones with oils certainly has been a big change from using acrylic colour, and it really was a learning process!

Just a quick update on the scenic base, managed to get some more work done blending the Das Pronto Clay and a ground work mixture made of household filler, sand, and flock.

I've also been trying Vallejo's pumice ground mixture, which is interesting stuff and gives some nice gritty texture.

I'm really liking your step-by-step build here - it's looking like a great dio. My computer could barely make it through the first page of pics though I'll be watching this - thanks for sharing

Nice ! The figures match I think. These guys are related well together.

Jon,

Did you get my mail?

Craig

Thanks for the comments and feedback guys.

Craig thanks yes I got your email, those reference photos were fantastic,sorry I couldn't reply to you sooner! I'm painting at the moment and hoping to have some more work done on the figures this evening.

Amazing build my man, never seen soo much detail and effort (and cost) go into a T55, very impressed with your work, can't wait to see her all done!!!

Thanks for the great comments guys!

Heres a quick update before i go away on holiday, no updates for a week i'm afraid!



Finished T-55 with scratch built KTD laser range finder system system. It's my first attempt at scratch building something from plasticard and whilst it isnt perfect I'm quite pleased with the result.

Well i've been away for awhile but i'm finally back with some updates. A few things happened, firstly I went on holiday to Brazil which kept me busy, and also my airbrush broke! While cleaning my Premi Air G35 the nozzle snapped in the airbrush and the thread of the nut broke off inside. It was while I was re-attaching the nozzle and using the small spanner in the set to tighten the nozzle in place. This was a bummer as it left me without a brush for a day, however it was a good thing as it also prompted me to go and buy myself another better brush. In the end I got myself an Iwata High Performance C Plus Airbrush which is just fantastic. I'm loving the HP-C+ and have found it a really lovely airbrush to use.

The Premi Air isn't totally out of action though as I ordered myself some new nozzles which arrived today. A little TLC and the G35 will be up and running too, the question is whether or not I will want to use it anymore!

Heres some progress on the terrain build. More texture to the ground and some vegetation added pre-painting stage (fir tree, log, and ferns). Flock and algae etc I will most likely add after the base is painted.





The fir tree will be weathered and covered with snow.

I also cracked into painting the T-55 which I primed first with Tamiya Primer then Tamiya Dark Green. I also made sure to mask and protect the interior at this stage.







I also got some work done on the tankers, which are heavily WIP at the moment:











Next stage on the T-55 was laying down a coat of Tamiya Flat White, built up in gradual layers, I then added a coat of Tamiya Clear mixed with Thinner to give a semi gloss and help with the oils and later wash stages, and then adding the Camo scheme using Tamiya Field Grey.

excellent work !!! good job.