Hi guys.....
I've Two question....
1)I've Dml shilka(zsu-23-4v1).....in your opinion is the eduard set of PE necessary?!
2)I use tamiya acrilic.....is there a reference chart to compare colours and to create the exact mix with tamiya acrilics!?(about russian colour...obviously)

Sorry for my poor English......thanks in advance and....

Best Regards
Ciro

1. I prefer the Eduard PE for all of DML's Soviet/Russian modern kits because they are so old and they do need better details by today's standards. It is more a personal choice, but I think the PE adds enough to the base kit for the cost and time involved.

2. That is a tough one. I am not sure there is a specific chart for the mixing of the tamiya colors, but your best bet is to start with a greener green, like IJN Imperial Green and then mix in black and brown to help darken it and tone it down a bit. It will probably take some time and patience along with a fair amount of experimentation.

Hey there Ciro,

Having just built that kit, and using the Eduard PE, I would almost say that its a must.......well ok....it really depends on you building habits, if you like building out of the box, then the kit is fine the way it is.

The Eduard PE set really dresses up the DML kit though, and brings it to life. There are a suprising amount of pieces in the PE set, and you may be pulling your hair out by the end of it, going from the DML instructions to the Eduard instructions and then back again(as well with mine I had the Model Kasten tracks as well, so I had 3 sets of instructions!!), as there are some steps and parts that are not even mentioned in either instructions, however, all that being said, it builds into a really nice kit with the PE.

It was my first venture with PE.....and the only bad thing I can say is.....that I think I will be spending alot more money on PE in the future!!!! LOL

If you want to have a look at my build, check out my website:

ZSU-23/4

PS: Some company also makes a complete interior for the turret and the driver's compartment as well, if you are interested....it never came out till I was 95% finished mine, otherwise I would have had it in there!!

Yes, Trakz do a resin interior. We have (of course ) a review on Armorama..

Shilka interior review

Cheers
Henk

Hi guys,,,,,many thanks for all your replies.....I've appreciated them,expecially about the PE....I usually use PE but in this case I've some doubts...So,,,,thanks for your inputs....about the interior set of trakz ....I know about his existance,I think it's a very good kit but in my opinion (here,in Italy)it's too expensive....(about 50euro)....Thanks for the link Scott,I like your shilka...good work!!!!!

Sorry for my poor English....
Ps
Scott can you tell me something about your shilka colour?!

Best regards....
Ciro

About the color.....

Well basically it being an Iraqi version, some of which were ex-Russian ZSUs, I built mine as being one of those.

So the base coat is Tamiya Deep Green I think....something close to the MM Russian Armor green as I didn't have any of it left, and the LHS leaves something to be desired, so I just picked the closest Tamiya green to that. Once that was dry, I created the chipping effect with Rubber Cement. Just glob it on in places where you think a top coat of paint would rub or flake off. Once dry you can paint over it, in which I used a custom mixed color of Tamiya Desert Sand, and Tamiya Buff, probably about 75/25....used the buff just to lighten the Desert Sand up some. Sprayed that over top. Let it dry, and then peeled and scraped off the rubber cement. Some color washes, drybrush, decals and some weathering, and what you see is the end result.

I am happy with the way it turned out, and I took home a very unexpected gold at our local hobby show here in April, taking it to Halifax mid October to see how well it will do there...again, not going there expecting anything, as I don't go for the hardware, I go for the comradery and to look at other people's models. If I get some hardware along the way, then its just a bonus!!