Dragon JSU-122

[DennisM]

I joined this site awhile ago and almost immediately fell out of modeling. I have come back and would like to show what I have been up to. I bought the old Dragon JSU-122 at a model show and wanted to try a winter scheme. Here is a progression of how the build went up until now.







Here is the base coat of green with some highlighting which will be completely covered up in the next stage.


Here is the whitewash. I thought it came out well, but next time I will wear it down a little more.


I hand painted the slogan. I just copied the decal from the kit. Hint: check your references because as far as I can tell from some Russian speakers it doesn't mean anything.


Here is where she stands now with some AK Afrika Korp wash. Waiting for this to dry so I can put some winter streaking grime on.


Let me know what you think so far. Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. I want to get better at this.

Thank you
Dennis

[TRM]

Nothing to criticize Dennis!! Nice clean build you have going on! Great to see you back in the game!! Your making me want to break out the 152 I got on the shelf!!

[spud]

I like it the hand painted slogan looks really good even if it means noting

[danb]

Nothing wrong with the white wash it looks awesome welcome back Dennis

Dan b

[tobias5555]

Really good one

[robbo]

Wow, looks great to me Dennis, glad to see you back to

[deafpanzer]

Welcome back! I think you did great painting the marks on JSU-22. Russians were not good at that part so I thought it was very realistic.

[wbill76]

Looks pretty good from here...the perfect foundation for some weathering!

[Deleted]

I agree with the previous speakers The whitewash looks great

[bigjohn]

Yeah, very nice work so far!! looking forward to seeing more of it!

[reserve]

Nothing wrong with what I see, but there is alot that's right. Nice job, man.

Regards,
Mark

[bullardino]

I like it, both the tank and the paint

[406 Silverado]

Looks good to me. The white is perfect for weathering. Nice old kit that still builds into a great little model...well big model. Looking forward to seeing more.

[bbd468]

Thats just a beauty of a build Dennis!!! I luv the looks of it and will use it a reference and inspiration when i build mine.

Gary

[tobias5555]

Good looking ISU 122

[DennisM]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I will point out two things that I will improve on next time. I did not make the wear on the vehicle consistent. The front fenders were molded very clunky and I liked how it looks without them. If they had been damaged and cut off there would have been some evidence on the remainder of the fenders but I left them perfectly intact.

I also have the problem of having each stage of the painting and weathering having a final, finished look. I have found by self experiment and watching others that having each stage taken a little to far over the top and then bringing it all together and toning it down at the end gives a better look. If you look about mid-way through the pics above you will notice some green throught the white. The brown wash all but wiped this out and it just looks white and brown now. I should have taken wearing the white off a little further so I would have white green and brown. I am still happy with it but just noting for next time.

I also have a question. How long does it take for the AK Interactive wash to dry? I noticed that I missed a spot several days later and was still able to clean it up with some mineral spirits. Could I just spray some flat varnish over it to protect it about a week after application?

Thanks,
Dennis

[TRM]

Came back and took another look....yup, still looks good!!

The fenders...pretty sure these got ripped off in a heartbeat, I like it better without!!

If you happy with the paintwork and you see things that you want to improve on later or on the next one....that is great...nothing wrong there at all!!!

Now this is my opinon on when to seal AK(if you are going to...as I do not most of the time) . I have found with arcryilic based clear coat in a couple days. The AK, like the paint, is probably not "cured" yet but should be fine. Wanna be safe than sorry...wait a weeke or so!! I often have a layer and will use AK and have clear coated the same day and moved forward of the piece with no issues. If I know I will be doing heavy chipping or something like that, I will wait a day or so!!.

[DennisM]

I ended up putting a thin matte varnish over the whole thing and it worked well. I did some more weathering and have most of the front half done.

[TRM]

That is looking great Dennis!! The added streaking is making this pop now!!!

[wbill76]

Agree with the others nice update and streaking effects!

[reserve]

Spiffy, man.

Regards,
Mark

[bullardino]

Very nice result

[Deleted]

You're putting a great finish on this one Dennis. White is a hard colour to make look 'right' but it's happening here

[406 Silverado]

Looking very good so far Dennis.

[johnt]

Hi Dennis, looks great!!

Cheers
JT