Skarach's world

• A dilute mixture of Winsor & Newton “Raw Umber” in enamel thinners was flicked from a brush onto various parts of the vehicle, to represent damper patches.
• This was repeated using a mixture of Winsor & Newton “Burnt Umber” in enamel thinners.
• Abteilung 502 “Engine Grease” (ABT160) oil paint and Humbrol “Gloss Cote” was mixed in a small amount of enamel thinners. The resulting thick mixture was painted onto parts of the drive shaft and the engine.
• Abteilung 502 “Bitumen” (ABT004) oil paint  and Humbrol “Gloss Cote” was mixed in enamel thinners and flicked onto various parts of the vehicle, to add further damp stains.
• AMMO “European mixture dry leaves” (A.MIG-8410) were glued onto various parts of the cab floor, engine area and horizontal sides, although it is quite hard to discern them amongst the similarly coloured dirt!
• Finally, I put a bag and folder up map on the seat.

• AMMO “Oilbrusher” oil paints (“Medium Soil” A.MIG-3522, “Dusty Earth” A.MIG-3523) were dotted on the much of the horizontal surface, underside and chassis of the vehicle, which had previously been dampened with enamel thinner. Using a round brush the oils were dissolved and “melted” onto the surface, particularly to collect around raised objects or recesses.
• Once the cab window had been fitted it, along with the tyres, were sprayed with a dilute (10%) mixture of Mr.Color “Tan” (44) in Mr.Color Leveling Thinner, to further simulated dust.
• AMMO “Oilbrusher” oil paints (“Medium Soil” A.MIG-3522, “Earth” A.MIG-3514, “Medium Grey” A.MIG-3509) were mixed in enamel thinners and painted onto the wheels and axles. After 15 minutes, the excess was wiped off, leaving the residue in the recesses.
• Vallejo pigments (“Light Sienna” 73104, “Green Earth” 73111, “Light Yellow Ochre” 73102, “Dark Yellow Ochre” 73103) were deposited separately using a brush to the underside, chassis, horizontal sides, engine area and cab floor. Then a mixture of Abteilung 502 “Basic Earth” (Abt093) oil paint in enamel thinner was carefully added, to act as a fixer.
• Later, the same pigments were mixed in the dilute oil paint to form a slurry, which was then flicked onto various parts of the vehicle. Once dry, some of the splattering was removed from the less obviously dirty parts of the vehicle.

• The entire vehicle was washed with a dilute mixture of Winsor & Newton “Raw Umber” oil paint in enamel thinners.
• AMMO Oilbrusher “Starship Filth” (A.MIG-3513) was used to place some streaking on the vertical sides.

This was built pretty much out of the box, excepting a few extra photoetch pieces from the spares and a RB Model 152mm ML-20S gun barrel (part number 35B63). I did extend or enhance the weld beads in places, using the thinnest plastic rod melted with liquid cement and shaped with a knife.

The vehicle

“The SU-152 (Samokhodnaya Ustanovka*-152) was a Soviet self-propelled heavy howitzer used during World War II. It mounted a 152 mm gun-howitzer on the chassis of a KV-1S heavy tank. Because of its adopted role as an impromptu heavy tank destroyer, capable of knocking out the heaviest German armoured vehicles—Tiger and Panther tanks, and Elefant tank destroyers—it was nicknamed Zveroboy (“Beast Slayer”).” [1]

* “self-propelled carriage”

The kit

Trumpeter 1/35 kit [3].

References

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SU-152
2. http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/soviet/soviet_SU-152.php
3. https://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/trumpeter/tr05568.html