Hi guys,

I'd like to present to you my evolving project. It is a ZSU-57-2 SPAAG by TAKOM. The model is based on this photo of a vehicle operating during the war in Bosnia in the 90s.



You can find the complete SBS to this model on my website:
www.scaledracula.com
Here I will present a shortened version of the process.

Here comes the construction:
I started with the fenders, thinning them down and reworking the hinges on both sides.




I built the hinges with a help of ABER device:



Then I started to build the main hull. The fit of TAKOM's model is really good. I didn't have any problems. All the PE part come from the kit itself. I only scratchbuilt some wires near the rear fenders.




The vehicle I've chosen as a reference is a heavily customized unit. So there was a lot of scratchbuilding ahead of me. Here's a rear turret structure I constructed from styrene sheet.



Then I started to work on the superstructure which is a much more complicated piece. Once again I used styrene parts to construct the basic shape.




The rubber on the superstructure I recreated from a genuine magnetic rubber used for example for the fridge magnets.




The test fit of the superstructure. A lot of work to do yet.



It's time to add some details. The hatches are from the same styrene sheet. I also made handles from wire and hinges from some random PE parts.




Here's the rear structure already glued to the turret.




Ufff! That's it for now. I will continue this thread soon, but for more detailed SBS visit my website:
www.scaledracula.com

Regards,

Scale Dracula

This will be interesting

Let me just start and say that this is amazing.Your scratchbuilding skills are a inspriation to me.I will be checking out your site and following this build.

Hi guys,

Here's the next step of my work on the ZSU-57-2. After a long construction I finally get to paint something. Here's how I dealt with the interior.
As before, visit my website: https://www.scaledracula.com for the complete SBS.

After priming all the inner surfaces, I painted them in dark grey. Then I sprayed a thin layer of chipping fluid.




After the fluid was dry I airbrushed Ammo Cremeweiss as base colour, and then Ammo Matt White as a highlight.



Now the chipping fun begins. I really like this stage and I usually end up overdoing it. You just want more and more... I use a variety of tools to get different results. Check out the photo.




I repeat the whole procedure with the cannon. Only this time it's green finish. (AMMO Russian Base paint)



I added some lighter shades of green directly to the airbrush to create a highlight.



And then another session of making chips and scratches.




Now let's take care of the weathering. I started with a general oil wash. I prepared it myself with Talens van Gogh paints dilluted with white spirit.





I did the same thing on the walls of the turret.




The wash made the surface considerably darker. I used oilbrusher paint to bring back some of the whites. It was blended with white spirit as always.





For the cannon I switched to Ammo Mig enamels. I really like those colours. And for blending? You guessed it... White spirit.





It's time to paint the ammunition. There's a lot of it in the kit and the design of the parts doesn't make it easy to paint it. After the primer, I covered the shells with a fair ammount of glossy varnish. Then I airbrushed the Alclad Polished Brass. This was the first time I used those paints and I'm not really satisfied with the result. I don't know, I expected the paint to be more shiny and smooth. But to be fair, I didn't use the suggested black Alclad primer. So probably the result could have been better.



The ammo was finished with brush and a mix of Vallejo's different green shades.



The seats were painted with Brown Leather paint and then drybrushed with Red Leather to achieve a worn out look (both paints by Vallejo).





I glued all the loose parts together and then I polished the edges of the gun with Gun Metal pigment. It is a really important step in my opinion.



Last but not least, I dabbed some pigment on the horizontal surfaces and fixed it with... white spirit.





And that's it. Now I can glue the turret together and finally, finally start painting the rest of the model.

Can't stop looking at photos, absolutely beautiful work!!!
Hat off!

WOW !

Excellent job, looks very nice so far!

Thank you for your kind words.

Here's the next step of my project:

Before the priming I clean the model with IPA alcohol sprayed from the airbrush. Then I sweep the model with a big flat brush to make sure it's free of dust. I know it doesn't look spectatular, but it's a very important step. You need a clean and solid foundation for all the future paint job.

I primed the model with Ammo Mig One shot primer.

I make sure there's no dust or dirt cought under the layer of paint. If there is a problem, I sand the affected area and repaint it.


I also primed my scratch-built ammo crate. The front hole was masked to preserve the natural colour of wood (balsa).



Then I paint all the nooks and crannies with Russian Dark Base. It looks like a preshade, but I just wanted to make sure all the hard to access areas got painted.



The next step is to build up a layer of rust colour that will be my base for the hairspray technique. I airbrush various shade of Lifecolor paints starting with the darkest colour. This step is important if you plan to do some heavy chipping. For minor scratches all you have to do is paint the whole model dark brown.



I started to paint the superstructure as well. I airbrushed it with Matt Black and then I made a highlight with Rubber & Tires. After that I covered the whole surface with an oil black wash which blended the previous colours together.



This is what I've got at this stage. The model is already covered with chipping fluid.



Let's start the chipping process! I usually don't cover the whole model at once. I'd rather focus on a smaller area to make sure I can finish it the way I want. This time I divided the work into 4 parts: right side, left side, the top of the chassis and the turret. Check out the previous part of my SBS where I explained what tools I use for chipping.



Small chips are usually the best as far as I'm concerned. But I also did some more aggressive chipping basing on my reference photo.



The ammo crate got some chipping as well.



And so did the wheels. In this case I introduced some colour variation to suggest that some of the wheels were late replacements.



TAKOM was really clever in designing the tyre as a separate part of the wheel. But you still need to paint this outer rim green.



That's it for now. Go to: http://www.scaledracula.com/the-double-hitter-painting-1/ for the complete SBS of this stage. I'll be back with the next part real soon.

Cheers!

Here's the next step of my work on ZSU-57-2. Enjoy!

The first thing i started to paint was the weathered rubber. I cover the superstructure with chipping fluid and I spray a thin, uneven layer of medium grey.



Then I moisten the surface with water and I start wiping the paint with stiff brush with trimmed tip.



I also make some scratches with an old airbrush needle.



I repeat the process with a lighter shade of grey. You don't need to respray chipping fluid if you work fast. Here's the result after 2 layers of grey.



I will come back to the rubber later. Now I go to the hull of the tank to make the monochromatic finish a little bit richer. I usually use oil filters applied with a brush. This time to try something new I prepared an acrylic filter with Ammo Mig's Transparator. Blue and yellow paint is airbrushed randomly across the surface. As random as it is, I'm trying to abide one simple rule: blue goes on shadow and yellow goes on exposed areas.





The next step is the rust. This is where it gets really exciting. I love to paint rust although I'm still struggling to find the best method for it.

I start with some chipping on the dark brown base colour.




I prepare and oil palette of rust shades.



Then I start to apply small amounts of paint on the model and I blend it with white spirit.



Here's the result after a couple of layers.



For the sides of the superstructure I decided to do something else. I just wanted to recreate a different kind of oxidation where the rust doesn't streak but rather stays in place creating round structures. Something like that:



I did it with basically a lot of speckling with a variety of colours. I used Lifecolor paint for that.



The next step is the decals. I'm not a big fan of the decals to say the least. I find them really annoying and I try to avoid them during my builds. But sometimes there's no alternative.

I do it like this:

1. A layer of glossy varnish and a bit of Micro Set on the surface.



2. If the surface is uneven I add a bit of Micro Sol and I press the decal with a q-tip. This time it wasn't necessary.

3. When the decal is dry I spray another layer of glossy varnish on top. After a day or so I sand the area with 1000 sand paper. Careful not do destroy the decal!



4.To secure the decal I airbrush a thin layer of satin varnish on top.



The decals on the hull were pretty easy. I had much more problems with the ones on the market bag. But that's a whole another story...



That's it for now. Just to remind you guys, you can find the extended version of this SBS on my website: http://www.scaledracula.com/the-double-hitter-painting-2/
Also, feel free to visit my FB page where I will be posting some stuff as well:

https://www.facebook.com/ScaleDracula/

Take care!

Very cool work.

Thanks a lot Tobias.

Here's the last part of my build where I deal with the weathering.

First I started to working on the bucket that will be one of the accessories on my model.

I did a quick hair spray chipping to reveal a white primer base.



Then I hand-painted the raw metal chips. Vallejo German Black Brown is my 'go to' paint for things like that.



I imagined it would be cool to have something in this bucket, just to grab the attention of the viewer. I made some potatoes out of Miliput scraps just rolling them around. I painted them light brown and I fixed them inside the bucket with sand&gravel glue. Then I put some earth tone pigment on top and fixed it with white spirit.



After that, I created a yellow filter from an oil paint. I used the filter on some of the panels to make them stand out from the dull green finish.





The next step was a typical dark brown enamel wash on the whole model. I tried to be precise not to flood the whole surface with the wash.





I came back to the oils and this time I took much more shades. I use the oils to give the model more contrast, the same way Mike Rinaldi works with his oil paint rendering technique.



I moved on to the smoke effects. On the engine grills I sprayed uneven patterns of Vallejo German Black Brown. I think this colour is more convincing than matt black, at least as a first layer. I used a piece of paper to mask some areas and create contrast.





On the exhaust I spray some matt black as a shade.



The glossy fuel stains were created with a mixture of Ammo Mig wet effects and liquid bitumen. Bitumen, an oil refining subproduct, is a very interesting product for our hobby. It looks very realistic and is extremely economical - buy one bottle and you can share it with all your friends for life.



I moved on to the rusty superstructure to paint the weld marks. First I spray a thin line of matt black...



...And then I paint the weld silver.



Then I prepare the model for the mud.



The thick mud mixture is made of Ammo mig enamel products, pigments and microballons. I put it on the model using an old brush.



A sponge is used to move the mud around and create special effects (smears, splashes etc.)



Later I create a much thinner mixture with just enamel products and pigments. I prepared 3 slightly different shades. I cover the model with splashes using the air blown from my airbrush.



The last step is to create fresh glossy mud layer form wet effects product and some oil paints. I create some streaks and stains with it.





I already painted and weathered the rubber on the wheels. I'll show you how to do it on a separate SBS on my website.




The wheels also receive the mud. Here I use a brush and a toothpick to create splashes.



I used some raw pigments on the fenders to blend the difference between the dirty undercarriage and clean upper hull.



I fix the pigment with white spirit.



With a dilluted oil paint I paint some round wet staind that will match the bucket. Before that I marked the circle with a pencil.



On the top of the barrel I create some chips using sponge technique. I used acrylic paint for that, probably Vallejo.



I used gun metal pigment to create polished metal effect. The silicone brush is a perfect tool for that. Highly recommended!



Some laser cut leaves were glued to the model with PVA glue





Last but not least I made a plastic bag with a... well, plastic bag.



I sprayed a thin layer of black paint to make the plastic look old and dirty.



After that I glued the bag on the barrel with CA glue.





And this is it! The model is finished! I'll post the full gallery soon.



As always, take a look at the post on my website: http://www.scaledracula.com/double-hitter-weathering/ for the complete SBS with more photos.

You can also check my facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScaleDracula/ There is more stuff to come.

Cheers!

Hello Scale Dracula!
I've been watching this one for some time now but couldn't reply earlier as I was looking for words to do your model justice. But I didn't find any!

Simply …………………! Even better than the real thing!

What can we expect next? It will be hard to beat this one!

Regards,
Mark

Thanks a lot Mark! I appreciate it but I hope you see with this SBS that this ain't rocket science. You can do the same if you're a commited nerd I guess.

And what is next? I really liked the idea of recreating a vehicle from a photo. I have two similar projects in mind. We will see how it goes. I'll try to post it here but check my website from time to time as well.

That's an insanely amazing job!

Thanks Dustin!

Here's the final gallery, just to sum the project up.











































Thanks for you feedback!

A very sad moment! This it it! This is the end! No more pics of the double hitter!

A very sad

Mark

Don't be sad. There's going to be another projects.

And I still have some leftover material from my ZSU-57-2 build. I will make at least 3 tutorials out of it. So make sure you check my website from time to time.

You are insane. Period.

If by insane you mean that I give up standard social life, healthy sleep and other adult activities just to paint little tiny tanks then... you're totally right.