Dang you Lukas...IS-7 build.

[DrupeluRC]

Already know i'm going to love the turret texture!

[tankme]

Made some progress on the IS-7...

Here is how she sits today with working turret hatches and the machine gun mocked up. I also have a lot of the body work done on the 3D printed surfaces and they look pretty good now. I didn't like how the turret periscopes kinda sat on the turret. After watching vids and looking at pics of the real IS-7, I drilled out the stock mounting points and sunk the periscopes into the turret almost flush. I think it better represents how they are actually mounted. The machine gun ammo doors are just pressed in place as I still want to add LEDs to all the (possibly 7) machine guns. The top turret MG has a fiber optic rod inserted into it.



Still lots of detail work to do.



I wasn't going to get rid of the print lines on the bottom of the hull since no one would see them...that idea didn't last long. Still needs a little work before primer.



Poured some resin I had in the bottom hull to add a little more rigidity to the bottom and ensure that the fasteners/glue would never come loose.

[tankme]

I know this is a Russian tank, but Putin had noting to do with this tank so work continues on it.

Some of the weld beads done (using Apoxie Sculpt this time instead of Miliput). Still many more to do. Mocked up the tow cables using the cables from my IS2. They are just the right length to hit all of the holders. Added the post to support the driver's hatch. Not shown are the upgraded motors before even trying the 280s out that came with the kit. I've mounted some 370 motors to the gearboxes that came with the 280s. Probably didn't need to, but that's just how I do things...



Added the track jacks and holders. Started mocking up the fake hinges for the bins which run the length of the lower hull. The rear two bins on each side contain a collapsible auxiliary fuel bladder. Still need to add more weld beads and the machine gun barrels. Still need to create a fender support and mock up the fuel hoses going into the side fuel tanks. I actually filled all the holes on the rear deck and repositioned all the deck bolts according to pics/video of the real IS-7. Added all the lifting eyes for the engine deck.



Got the functional barrel travel lock mounted. Had to fabricate the mount as I wasn't fond of eye bolts supplied. I used them on the front of the tank for the cable mounts instead. Fabricated handles on the rear engine hatch and got the external fuel barrels mounted. I also scored the side of the hull to represent the side storage boxes which still need detailed.



I also added some cross supports to the larger engine deck grills. As soon as I get the lower hull done I'll detail the turret. Planning on trying out the Smooth On XTC-3D resin on the wheels to remove the print lines. The drive train is basically just mocked up right now to check alignment. Oh, and I lowered the turret by like 1 or 2mm. Had to put some spacers under the turret ring bearings. I'll have to mod the turret gear to accommodate the change.

[DrupeluRC]

Perfection! Great progress and really good mods to the kit, just make sure when lowering the turret you can still do a full rotation

[HERMAN BIX]

What a wonderfully ugly beauty Mr Tankme !!
Sure is a hell of a no-frills example of utilitarian form-follows-function.
Top job

[tankme]

Perfection! Great progress and really good mods to the kit, just make sure when lowering the turret you can still do a full rotation

Thanks. Only had one little issue with one of my lifting hooks so I moved it like 1mm and it cleared.

What a wonderfully ugly beauty Mr Tankme !!
Sure is a hell of a no-frills example of utilitarian form-follows-function.
Top job

Thanks. Being only one example left in the world and no really good pics of the deck under the back of the turret there is a little "creative license" on some areas of the tank.

Had to order some mini bolts to finish up a few things, but there is plenty of work to be one on it until they arrive.

[tankme]

I was getting my Heng Long ZTZ-99 ready for next week's battle day and had it on the bench next to the IS-7. The IS-7 looks big, but it's dwarfed by the ZTZ.

[DrupeluRC]

Trully it is,

IS-7: 7.3 m x 3.3 m x 2.4 m
ZTZ: 7.6 m x 3.7 m x 2.35 m

Difference is +20 tons for IS-7:))

[tankme]

Forgot I worked on the IS-7 just a little also. I wanted to make the idler adjustment better. It was originally a brass tube, two M3 eye bolts, and an M3 nut to do the adjustment:




It works fine, but I was afraid if I took the tracks off the brass sleeve could come loose so I redesigned it just a tad. I ditched the brass sleeve and replaced it with a brass square standoff. I did have to grind a small notch in the stand off to get it to fit just right. I reused the M3 nut to act as a spacer under the hull mounting screw. It's just a little more solid now:




I did get my shipment of scale bolts so I can get back to work on the fabric mantlet cover. Been working on most of my other tanks to get as many ready as I can for big battle day in June that also coincides with an RC airplane event. This one is pretty far from being done do it's a little lower on the priority list (trying to knock out the low hanging fruit).

[wibblywobbly]

The IS7 is an impressive animal. I used to play WOT and it is a formidable opponent.

As for smoothing 3D printed parts, I can recommend this stuff. Just paint it on, its self levelling, wait for it to dry, and bingo, a gloss finish. It's great for tanks as if it is not sanded you get a slightly smooth cast finish. If you want parts super smooth it is easily sanded. You can paint straight over it.

I have turned some rough prints into very presentable models using it. It also strengthens fragile parts which is a bonus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSKxycs3kPg