Dave Ward's 1/35 Trumpeter SU-152 Heavy SPH

[Dave Ward]

After trying my dexterity, with the 1/72 Revell Leopard & cleanliness with the natural metal 1/48 Expeditor, I felt like something a bit bigger, and that could be made a little 'lived in'.
Having seen Matija's KV-2, I decided that the Trumpeter SU-152 had been propping up the stash for long enough
[ATTACH]326411[/ATTACH]
One of Trumpeters earlier models, it may be a bit crude in places - but so was the SU-152.
I'll put up some sprue shots before starting - especially the gun barrel! Oddly there is a decal sheet, but the colour chart doesn't show any decals at all
Dave

[papa 695]

Just a little bigger then Dave.

[JR]

Dave.
I remember building this a few years ago, not a bad kit, you'll make a better job than I did.
Will follow and learn.
John.

[Lee Drennen]

That’s a beast of a tank Dave

[Dave Ward]

A few detail pictures of the parts...................
[ATTACH]326452[/ATTACH]
Basic Hull - as in all Trumpeter KV models - this needs a bit of surgery for the SU ( simple )
[ATTACH]326457[/ATTACH]
Nicely detailed road wheels[ATTACH]326458[/ATTACH]
Massive superstructure - it looks a bit to smooth to me............
[ATTACH]326453[/ATTACH]
The mantelet has a bit of a cast texture.
Now, the gun barrel you can either have an all plastic split barrel
[ATTACH]326456[/ATTACH]
OR, you can have an aluminium barrel, and a slide moulded one piece muzzle brake![ATTACH]326451[/ATTACH][ATTACH]326454[/ATTACH]
I can't decide which one to use ( not! ) :rolling:
What may put some modellers off is the individual track links[ATTACH]326459[/ATTACH]
Half with a guide horn, the others not...........
And two pieces of PE[ATTACH]326455[/ATTACH]some of which will NOT be used, it'll be invisible when assembled , as experience of previous KV builds showed.
My Expeditor is awaiting it's final touches, but I may make a start on SU running gear whilst I am waiting for things to dry
Dave

[Guest]

Massive superstructure - it looks a bit to smooth to me............

Rolled armour plate doesn’t necessarily have much texture to it, so I wouldn’t worry overly much about it if it were my model.

Now, the gun barrel you can either have an all plastic split barrel
[ATTACH]326456[/ATTACH]
OR, you can have an aluminium barrel, and a slide moulded one piece muzzle brake![ATTACH]326451[/ATTACH][ATTACH]326454[/ATTACH]
I can't decide which one to use ( not! ) :rolling:

Kind of makes you wonder why they bothered to include the plastic barrel, really. Or at the very least, why it comes with a muzzle brake moulded on when there’s another one in the kit too.

What may put some modellers off is the individual track links

Having built a Dragon IS-2 (many years ago), KV-style tracks are pretty painless. Sure, you have to watch out with this one that you alternate the links, but they’re nice and big and it’s just one link into the next — not like you’re building a Sherman track with small end connectors or a Universal Carrier where each link is smaller than those of a 1/72 scale KV

[Dave Ward]

Off and running - about an hour - minimum clean up, most parts clicking into position, and TET wicked into the joints.............
[ATTACH]326592[/ATTACH]
At this rate it'll be a quick build ( or will be until I get to the tracks! )
Dave

[Dave Ward]

Road wheels, idlers, sprockets assembled. The chassis is completed, and the whole lot primed black[ATTACH]326757[/ATTACH][ATTACH]326758[/ATTACH][ATTACH]326759[/ATTACH]
I'll apply the basecoat next - I want to complete the running gear, and tracks before moving up to the fenders & upper hull.
Dave

[Dave Ward]

Basecoat applied - all wheels dry fitted.......................[ATTACH]326880[/ATTACH]
One thing that can catch you out is the ( very ) minor overlap of the last road wheel & sprocket ( above - this side only ), it makes assembly a bit of a jiggling test, as the road wheel fits between the sprocket toothed sides. Only one side, as the torsion bar suspension means that the road wheel axles are staggered.
Onto the most tedious part of assembly - the tracks. Luckily these are great big chunky things that even my fat fingers can deal with![ATTACH]326879[/ATTACH]
No need for any jigs, just a straight edge to build them against, remembering to alternate the guide horns. The tracks are a nice snug fit, and can be joined dry, and wrapped around the sprocket, then TET applied to the centre of the track. Leave this to set, and you should be able to remove the track section for painting...............
Dave

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
Great start on this beast. Looks a rather decent kit despite any accuracy shortcomings.
Jim

[Si Benson]

Coming together nicely Dave:thumb2:

[Dave Ward]

One side tracks complete (apart from the top run). This is still loose, and I'll prime before final fixing.[ATTACH]327025[/ATTACH]
Even though these are individual links, they must be added in pairs, otherwise somewhere you will end up with two guide horns, or two flat links next to each other.
The next step is to build the top run of track, with sag! Now, looking at ref. photos - for reference purposes only............[ATTACH]327026[/ATTACH][ATTACH]327027[/ATTACH]
There seems to be quite a range of sag - that gives me plenty of leeway to fit an even number of links along the top. Once that's sorted, I can duplicate the process on the other side.
Dave

[Guest]

Even though these are individual links, they must be added in pairs, otherwise somewhere you will end up with two guide horns, or two flat links next to each other.

This is not an unknown thing on the real tanks, though, so if you happen to be forced to do it like that on your model, it’s not a major issue. If you don’t like the look of it, you can of course hide it fairly well by putting the two adjacent links on the idler or drive sprocket.

[JR]

Dave, it looks good, I used the plastic barrel just needed a slight clean up after gluing. Your probably a cleaner builder than me so it wouldn't pose you a problem. The tracks were not bad, even for me !
John.

[Dave Ward]

One side finished ( just about) - now all I have to do is duplicate this for the other side[ATTACH]327139[/ATTACH]
No problems ( apart from glueing my fingers together ). It's much easier, when the links are large enough for my big hands.
Dave