1/35 Dragon SU-85M

[Mike]

I took a break from the tedium of the Sherman I'm building to return to a years-old shelf queen, my SU-85M, which has been collecting dust, dropped, and neglected for years. For this build I practiced weld seams, did a bit of scratch work, and just kinda slapped it together. The gun tube specifically was broken into three pieces and the front left fender was ripped in two. I repaired the the gun tube and left the torn fender as that kind of damage looked more realistic anyways.

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I had to finish the tracks on the right side of the tank as I'd gotten bored with the indy links that Dragon provided before this build got launched into the closet so long ago. I ended up cutting the two types of track links in half and then gluing them together to make hybrid links so the tracks didn't overly sag. I'm not sure where I went wrong, but I remember doing that on the left side as well. So much for escaping tedium, right? Well after I sorted that out I finished up a few small parts and as you can see from the pictures I've just given it a spray of primer. Tomorrow I'll consider putting some color on it if I feel up to painting anything.

Thanks for taking a look! 

[handiabled]

For it being broken into pieces you did a great job piecing it back together. Are you thinking of doing in the Russian Army green only or with a winter whitewash on top on it?

[Mike]

Actually I'm planning on something a bit different. (nevermind) - Nothing extreme, but it will start with Russian Green as the base.

[Mike]

Okay it's green now. I did a bit of Zenithal lighting and then a bit more since these pictures were taken. As per my usual style I kept it subtle. I plan on just dumping effects onto this build and see what happens. Since I don't super care how this one goes or ends up, who knows, it might be a work of art or it could be a piece of trash when I'm done. Either way I have no real plans for this one so we'll see how it goes. Sometimes you just have to have fun.

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

This last picture shows you just how subtle this first layer is. I have already gone over the model with the original color with a chipping sponge and then over sprayed the model with another Zenithal layer to bring down the contrast and add more shading.

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I've just finished spraying a Poly gloss for the minimal decals I'm adding and I'll hit it with another layer after that before I start playing with the next layer of effects. Stay tuned, this might be entertaining lol.

[Mike]

That didn't take as long as I thought it would. The numbers are from the decal sheet and the emblems are from the World of Tanks decal sheet. The air identification star is from a failed template I made a long time ago that isn't exactly lined up right and I thought it would be perfect for a crew painted star and so I've used four colors to replicate that appearance. It goes well with the WoT emblems because they have that appearance too. I think I got the look I was after. Tell me what you think.

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Now all I have to do is let the work rest for the night and not touch it.

Have a good one, Gents!

[handiabled]

Looks great to me Mike! I like the hand painted look to it

[Leon]

Nice work on the old shelf queen Mike!

[stikpusher]

Looking good! All ready for the May Day or Revolution Day parades in those markings!

[lyle]

a splendid recovery from the Shelf. Looks great.

[keavdog]

Looks great. I recognize that vehicles from a few video games lol

[Mike]

Jun 13, 2024 3:13:17 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Looks great to me Mike! I like the hand painted look to it

Yeah, so do I. Nice thing about russian armor, they were rough and mistakes only add to that realism.

[Mike]

Jun 13, 2024 5:28:40 GMT -5 Leon said:

Nice work on the old shelf queen Mike!

Thanks, Leon. It's long over due for some attention.

[Mike]

Jun 13, 2024 8:01:36 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Looking good! All ready for the May Day or Revolution Day parades in those markings!

Well, lol, that wasn't the intention but I suppose it does right now lol.

I thought the WoT graphics looked like a unit citation and that's why I wanted to use them. Just think of it as a unit that may have helped free Stalingrad or Moscow from the Germans and the crew added a graphic to denote the accomplishment.

[Mike]

Jun 13, 2024 8:39:54 GMT -5 lyle said:

a splendid recovery from the Shelf. Looks great.

I am not done playing with it yet. I plan on having a bit more fun with it still. But yeah, it's due.

[Mike]

Jun 13, 2024 16:39:25 GMT -5 keavdog said:

Looks great. I recognize that vehicles from a few video games lol

Oh yeah, I've seen some videos and it's highly recognizable for sure. If I can find one for a decent price I'd love to find a KV-1 to park next to it in the future.

......

So after viewing a few videos on this kit from YouTube I realized I'm the only knob that didn't line up the fuel tank straps with the brackets when I built this kit so many years ago. Part of me wants to fix it, but the other part of me knows I'll probably cause more harm than good in doing so and it's best to just live with the mistake.

So I'm going to get some pin washes on this thing today and we'll see how that turns out now that I'm doing it with a protective gloss layer this time. Maybe I'll get some oil work done as well.

Stay tuned for the next not-so-exciting episode of "Professional Amateur". Maybe I should start a YouTube channel under that name lol.

[stikpusher]

Jun 13, 2024 18:11:39 GMT -5 Mike said:

Jun 13, 2024 8:01:36 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Looking good! All ready for the May Day or Revolution Day parades in those markings!

Well, lol, that wasn't the intention but I suppose it does right now lol.

I thought the WoT graphics looked like a unit citation and that's why I wanted to use them. Just think of it as a unit that may have helped free Stalingrad or Moscow from the Germans and the crew added a graphic to denote the accomplishment.

Those would have been designated as Guards units, and received the associated honorific banner to wear on both uniforms and their vehicles

[Mike]

Jun 13, 2024 19:47:39 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Jun 13, 2024 18:11:39 GMT -5 Mike said:

Well, lol, that wasn't the intention but I suppose it does right now lol.

I thought the WoT graphics looked like a unit citation and that's why I wanted to use them. Just think of it as a unit that may have helped free Stalingrad or Moscow from the Germans and the crew added a graphic to denote the accomplishment.

Those would have been designated as Guards units, and received the associated honorific banner to wear on both uniforms and their vehicles

Hmm. Pretty close, maybe. It still has that hand painted look so I'm sticking with the crew added idea and it certainly looks Russian enough lol.

I did start some pin washing and it's going okay. I've started with n umber wash around the wheels and lower hull and I'm going to try a dark green pin wash for the upper hull and see how that contrasts.

[Mike]

Well, well, well. I've actually gotten past the first round of effects. It's beginning to look close to my vision, but I'm not done yet. I told you, I'm doing this one for fun. If I mess it up, then so be it. But I have remembered that some of my best works were a series of mistakes turned around and it's layers upon layers of effects. Not just a good base paint job and some pin washes.

First up was some oils mushed, feathered, and lightly brushed for streaking and tonal variations. I'm also attempting to get a lightly rained on appearance but that will hopefully be more apparent after a dust layer further on in the process. I did get the Green pin wash on the upper half of the model and it does help with a little definition of the some of the lines and hatches but as I was working with the oils I enhanced it a little more as I went over the model. So the initial effect was dark green shadows and you can see for yourself if I have successfully gained a shadowed appearance or not.

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

After that round of oils I added an ink wash to the engine vent grills and that turned out very well indeed. I also added the ink to the vision ports at that time.

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

Now I'm starting to get some nice contrast. Painting up the exhaust pipes later will only make this more enjoyable. So onto the first round of mud effects.

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

And that's the completion of the first round of effects. For the next round I'll have to seal this one up with some matte acrylic before I move on.

[Mike]

I've made some really good progress today. I'm proud of myself lol. I've got the details painted in and more effects applied and I really need to give it a rest before I mess something up.

So first up is the driving lights which were filled in with Molotow chrome and I made the lenses from some clear acetate sheet. When all is said and done these will get a bit of clear gloss to shine the lenses back up.

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

And here are the rest of the progress for today.

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

There's a lot of stuff that got painted and effects added. The rear deck screens were a challenge because the detail relief of the screen texture is very faint. I worked them over slowly with a black wash until I got it mostly black and very carefully and slowly added layer after layer of dry brushing until I think I was at the threshold of wiping out the black.

The rest of it was a cake walk after that. Tomorrow I need to add more dirt effects. There's a lot under those fenders that are just plain black primer and it will stand out if I don't do something about it.

Stay tuned for the next not-so-exciting episode!

[handiabled]

Nice build up of different "layers" to your weathering so far. Looking great Mike!

[Mike]

Thank you! It just seems to look better and better as I work it over. I'm remembering how much fun this stuff is and how much I used to enjoy a more involved project like this. I think I will be revisiting a lot of my other kits and perhaps taking them a bit further.

[Mike]

I think I'm done. Or at least pretty close to it. Edit: I need a thinner antenna.

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

SU-85M by Mike Brindos, on Flickr

I almost forgot the tow cables so I'll get those sorted tomorrow.

Once I get those done I'll try and get some outdoor beauty shots and post them in the completed thread. Thanks for taking a look!

[kyledehart5]

That's turned out really nice!! Look forward to the upcoming glamour shots.

[Mike]

Thanks, Kyle!

[handiabled]

I'll be watching for the grand finale pictures! I like the addition of the leaves

[Mike]

Thank you! Since I never planned on adding any figures to this build I thought the leaves would give it a bit of life. I'm glad you like that detail.