IS – II

"After Kerscher had closed on me, he radioed and pointed to the right. A "Stalin" tank was broadside to us next to a barn. It was a vehicle we hadn't yet seen in the Northern Sector of the front. We were startled for a moment, because the tank was outfitted with an extremely long 122-mm cannon.
This was the first Russian tank cannon with a muzzle brake.

Moreover, the "Stalin" tank looked somewhat similar in it's shape to our "King Tiger." After I initially hesitated, just as Kerscher did, it occured to me immediately that only the running gear was typically Russian.  I fired and the tank burst into flames. After this short disgression, we finished off all of Ivan's vehicles in the village, just as we had arranged earlier.
Kerscher and I later had to laugh because we had thought for a moment that we had had a "King Tiger" in front of us that had been captured by the Russians. In the heat of battle, however, such things could sometimes come to pass."

-  Otto Carius:  Tigers in the Mud.

 

The IS-2 tank first saw combat in the spring of 1944 and were assigned to separate heavy tank regiments, normally of 21 tanks each. These regiments were used to reinforce the most important attack sectors during major offensive operations. Tactically, they were employed as breakthrough tanks. Their role was to support infantry in the assault, using their large guns to destroy bunkers, buildings, dug-in crew-served weapons, and other 'soft' targets. They were also capable of taking on any German AFV if the need arose.  Once a breakthrough was achieved, lighter, more mobile T-34s would take over the exploitation. The IS-2 weighed about the same as a German Panther, and was lighter than the German heavy tanks, the Tiger series. It was slightly lower than both. A major weakness was the two-part ammunition, which slowed the rate of fire considerably. A second weakness was the very limited ammunition supply of only 28 rounds. This was the price paid by the small size of the design. One of the IS-2's most notable engagements took place during the fighting in August 1944 to establish a bridgehead over the river Vistula around the town of Sandomierz.. This was the first time the IS-2 had come up against the fearsome Tiger II.  During the engagement on August 13, the 71st Independent Heavy Tank Regiment's eleven IS-2s blocked an attack by fourteen Tiger IIs of the 105th Heavy Panzer Regiment. An engagement at about 700 meters (770 yd) coupled with skilled tactical handling saw four Tiger IIs destroyed for the loss of three IS-2s and seven damaged. 

 

 

Construction

 

This project came to me by way of a commission with the client asking me to build the IS-II using the recently released Tamiya offering.   In addition, my workbench was awash in nearly every available aftermarket goody to work into the project.  Referencing what at times were 4 instruction sheets; keeping organized became a priority!!

To begin, I decided to complete much of the larger photo etch pieces such as the fenders, stowage boxes, and external fuel canisters.  As is the case for most all of my photo etch work these items are soldered for added strength and durability. 

Kit construction began with a little destruction.  The first order of business is to remove the plastic kit fenders in order to install the photo etch replacements.  A sharp knife and a little sanding make short order of this task.   

 

 

 

 

 

Painting

 

I prefer to shift my tones while appying my base color; in the case of the IS-II my palatte consisted of numerous greens and yellow tones to add depth and highlights to the surfaces.  Overall, I worked toward the appearance of light directed from above – highlighting the upper surfaces with lighter shades while accentuating the lower surfaces and corners using darker greens.  

Chips and scratches were added mostly using a fine brush, though a small sponge was also used in certain areas of hightest wear.  Acylic and oil filters were applied next in order to settle the scuffs and scratches into the surface and to also accentuate the tonal variations of the base colors.  

For better overall coverage the large air recongition stripes on the turret were first taped and airbrushed.  Later I revisited the area with a brush to make it appear rougher as though it had been applied by hand.  The final weathering was done using MIG Productions Abteilung oils and MIG Productions pigments.

 

 

IS-II

 

 

 

Special Thanks 

 

I wish to give my sincere thanks to the fine folks at The Small Shop -  http://thesmallshop.com/ who gratiously provided me with the folding tools used on this project.  The excellent design and funtionality of the tools made the work accurate and easy.

 

Commissions

If you would like more information having me build a project for you, please contact me at:  ricklawler@msn.com

 

Items Used:

Tamiya – JS II Model 1944 ChKZ

Aber

35-219 Basic Set Vol. 1, 35-220 Fender Vol.2, 35L-69 Russian 122mm Barrel, R-18 Schackle for Russian Tanks

Voyager Model – PE 35221 WWII Russian JS-2 Tank Basic

Friulmodel – ATL-14

Eureka XXL – ER-3509 Towing Cable

Tank – A-66 Soviet 12. Heavy MG "DShKT"

Military Modelcraft International – May 2010

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