The Forgotten Hunter - ISU-152 — Scale Model Tales

Many years ago, while visiting the Military Museum in Bucharest, I got the chance of seeing several tanks up-close for the very first time. Nowadays, I can fully appreciate the experience, but back then, they all looked the same to me. I had no chance of telling apart a Soviet and an American tank, nor was I able to understand why some vehicles were small and cute while others were big and bulky. Nevertheless, one particular vehicle stood out for me, with its sheer size, ferocity and ruggedness. A machine which I would later find out was the museum’s very own SU-100, a Czechoslovak-produced Soviet-designed self-propelled gun that used to be part of the Romanian Military’s armored divisions.

The Czechoslovak-produced 55D13 SU-100 in 2011 at the National Military Museum “King Ferdinand” in Bucharest

After my passion for WWII tanks, airplanes and other machines kicked-in later on, I got the chance to visit the museum again. By now, apart from the hero above, I got to enjoy being up-close to some other gems, such as their well-preserved Panzer IV, T-34s, as well as a Romanian tank based on the T-55, the TR-580. In the meantime, the SU-100 had gotten a fancy visual restoration, as can be seen below. I was also able to distinguish between the designs and be that annoying know-it-all guide for my friends.

The way the 55D13 SU-100 looks today, after being repainted

What’s the deal with the SU-100?

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. You’ve built an ISU-152, but here you are talking about SU-100’s, what’s that all about? Well, funny thing, inspiration, it comes when you least expect it and rarely does it make a lick of sense. I had a Zvezda ISU-122 kit in my stash for the longest of time and had always wanted to convert it into an iconic ISU-152, but never got the energy to start it. A recent visit at the museum pushed me to build it, inspired by my old friend, 55D13. It also helps that in the 1950s, alongside 70 SU-100 (renamed to AT-100), Romania got 20 ISU-152’s to enhance its anti-tank capabilities. I wasn’t able to find any pictures online, but it isn’t difficult to imagine how the heaviest SPGs to be part of the Romanian Army would have looked parked alongside the 55D13 SU-100 in 2011.

But that’s not the only relation between these vehicles, with the ISU-152 being the spiritual successor of the SU-* series of self propelled guns, some based on T-34 chassis, others on KV chassis, such as the SU-152. With the T-34s and KVs going out of production, the logical continuation of the SPG program was moving them to a different platform, that of the up-and-coming Joseph Stalin tanks, the IS. You can see the notable differences in the running gear and overall hull shape.

A multirole “beast killer”

Being able to mount such a large diameter gun of 152mm made the ISU-152 a highly versatile design, especially for a huge machine with no turret. It managed to combine three battlefield roles, as a self-propelled artillery, a tank destroyer, but also an assault gun. Its powerful gun, coupled with a strong armor platform meant it continuously provided a reliable battlefield performance, whether it was used as a siege weapon in assaults on Berlin and Budapest, or fighting off German behemoths such as the Jagdtiger or the Elefant. Following the end of World War II, with the advent of the Main Battle Tank, there was no place on the battlefield for such vehicles as the ISU-152, but nonetheless, it remains one of the most eye-catching machines to ever roll into combat. If you have the opportunity to see one in a museum, be sure to not miss out on it.

The Zvezda ISU-122 kit

It’s probably no secret that any modeling company has its champions and its duds, even the likes of Tamiya, one of the most well-regarded model manufacturers out there. This ISU-122 has been designed by Zvezda in 1995 as part of their initial product offering. It might not seem like a lot, but that’s 27 years ago, basically a different era of mold-making technology and by God, does it show. The sprues are really simplistic, there’s a lot of missing detail, a lot of flash, large seam lines, simplified parts, horrible rubber tracks, absolutely no photo-etch and just a small unusable decal sheet. But you know the old saying, “when life gives you lemons… make some orange juice”. And what is sweeter than upgrading the gun from a rather small 122mm to the whopping 152mm ML-20? Not much, I’m telling you.

Working on this kit, there was a saying that kept popping into my head, “like putting lipstick on a pig”, which basically means trying to disguise fundamental failings of an object with superficial changes that ultimately result in failure. Well, I took this as my counter-mantra and went to town on trying to make this low-budget kit stand-up to its wealthier siblings. If you throw enough money at a problem, it goes away, right? So I invested in a top-notch set of metal tracks from Master Club, a 152mm short metal barrel, an Eduard photo-etch set and also planned ahead on what features I would have to add on top - missing details, texturing, weld lines, markings etc.

Wrapping it up

When it came time for the color finish, I had to remind myself that I wasn’t replicating an operating vehicle, but a hunk of steel that had been sitting outside probably for the past 30 years or so, subject to the elements. As such, things like mud splatters and engine smoke trails were out of the question, with caked rust, static dust and earth effects being way more realistic. Throughout the process, I had the chance to work with some new products for me, the AMMO Shaders, as well as Abteilung 502 oil paints. Great products, highly recommended. Regarding the markings, these were my first attempt at masking instead of decals and, considering the end result, it was more of a miss, but nonetheless, I consider it a worthy learning experience. Especially since it pushed me to buy a Silhouette Portrait cutter in the meantime, which should help with my marking ambitions.