61-K Anti-Aircraft Gun
and
Heavy SPG ISU-152

by Ilya Grinberg

 PST's ISU-152 is available online from Squadron

Who said that small-scale armor is dead? If you look at the impressive array of PST company of Minsk, Belarus' http://www.pstmodel.com/, you will understand that a small army is being getting ready for battle!

I would like to describe two recent 1/72 scale releases from this manufacturer: 37-mm antiaircraft gun 61-K and a heavy self-propelled gun ISU-152.

The 1/72 scale 61-K 37-mm antiaircraft gun (item # 72028) is made from dark-gray plastic and consists of 69 parts. There are two major subassemblies: a platform and the gun itself. The platform could be assembled in two variants: combat position with the wheels elevated and support legs engaged, as well as the marching position with the wheels down and support legs up.

I started with the gun subassembly. I drilled a whole in the barrel, thinned the plastic of the crew seats, and thinned control wheels so that to cut plastic between the ribs. I decided on the platform in the combat position. I substituted the struts of the support legs by metal tubing cut to size. The wheels were modified: I used Dremel tool to take off plastic from the inner side of the wheel rims and than cut the wholes in the rims. In the kit the rims were too thick and the wholes were just pointed on the surface. A nice touch in this model is that the rims are given separately from the tires, which greatly simplifies the rims modification and further painting.

The model was painted in green color (FS 34051), which corresponds to 4BO Russian Green, washed, and drybrushed. The assembled model results in a very delicate structure and looks very realistic. I received a second place in the ordnance category, all scales, at the IPMS Buffcon this year.

Many very nice words have been spoken about PST tanks and I have exhausted my imagination trying to add some more. This kit (item # 72004) is molded from soft gray plastic and consists of 190 parts. Several versions could be made from one set: ISU-152, ISU-122, ISU-122S, and ISU-152-1. I decided on ISU-152 because of its hawkish look with a relatively short but large diameter gun.

The molding really impressed me. It could be easily compared with it's larger scale counterpart from DML. I started with the lower hull and followed instructions all the way through. Because of the soft plastic and small size of the wills care was taken to cut them without damage (the sprue is rather thick and merges with a large portion of each wheel). However, I managed to do just right without major problems: soft plastic allows sanding the access of the sprue to the shape of the wheels with no problems. Moreover, few more extra wheels were available in the kit.

After that I assembled the upper hull. All external parts were glued on. I drilled a whole in the horn and thinned its inner walls. I also cut exhaust stacks that are given separately. I was tempted to open the hatches, which are given as separate parts but decided not to do so since I was too lazy to detail the interior. External fuel tanks are very well engineered as their front and rear parts are done as separate details and are not a subject of sanding. I substituted kit's had grabbers by thin wire. Few sink marks were present in front of the lower hull but they were easily removed with the putty.

The model was painted in green color (FS 34051). Then I followed the instruction and assembled the tracks. They are made of plastic are of the link and length variety. The only problem is that the individual links are slightly thicker on their outer edges then those in length. Some trimming was necessary at this point. Putting the tracks together was tricky and time consuming but the result is worth all the time and effort. The tracks are from hard plastic but it is possible to band them with a finger to replicate tracks sagging. The model was washed, drybrushed, and weathered appropriately. Decals were applied with no trace of film visible. These are one of the best decals I ever worked with.

I highly recommend these kits (as other tanks and guns from this manufacturer) because of their accuracy, excellent engineering and great value.

Model, Text and Images Copyright © 2001 by Ilya Grinberg
Page Created 16 July, 2001
Last Updated 26 July, 2007

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