The BM-13 Katyusha rocket launcher, also known as 'Stalin's Organ', was a fearsome and iconic weapon used by the Soviet Union during World War II. It was a truly formidable weapon that left a lasting impact on the battlefield. The sudden, overwhelming nature of its barrages, creating chaos, destruction and psychological distress among enemy forces must have been terrifying.
This, then, is one of those units that I would consider 'uniquely' Soviet and a 'must have' for the collection. There were several options available, but in the end, I kept with 'Warlord Games' in the thought that it would be a relatively easy build as compared to perhaps a 'Rubicon Models' kit, but when I unpacked the box, I was left with this...
I have to confess, I was initially put off by the sheer number of parts some of which were cast in soft metal whilst the molded, resin elements had some warping that would need addressing. Slowly and with some considerable filing and filling, the finished model emerged!
Now knowing that I could work with the dark green undercoat spray, the startling appearance of the freshly primed model didn't hold the same terrors as before. In fact working with primarily a dry brush the initial painting took less time than the actual construction. By far the most complicated area was trying to paint the rockets themselves given that I had glued them in place before priming. Weathered and detailed, I am pleased with the final outcome, although I remain nervous at the fragility of certain elements like the support legs at the rear.
The model comes with a couple of crew members, one of which received a quick head swap from the plastic sprue and angled as if following the trajectory of his screaming rockets. Their bases given that all important 'wintery' treatment to tie them into the rest of the unit and with that another, devastating addition was added to the collection.
Fantastic looking vehicle and crew Michael, kits that use multiple different materials can be a pain, but you've done an excellent job getting it all together. If your worried about certain parts being fragile, could you fit it to a base to help protect them ?
ReplyDeleteThank you Dave and not sure why I hadn't thought of a base before now, especially when I have based all the support units? I have been trying to reduce base profile with my models and where possible have switched to 20mm bases for individual troops so only assume it has been a hang up from there?
DeleteAnother lovely daedly soviet stuff!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful looking Katyusha!
Thank you so much Michal.
DeleteAnother excellent addition, at least the Rubicon kit would have been all plastic? Still the final result is splendid, I would echo Dave's point about basing, I base my vehicles in 28mm as it gives them a certain degree of protection, lovely finish!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain caveadsum1471
Thank you Iain and I think a base is definitely the way to go.
DeleteA lovely model Michael and as you say a must have to Russia WW2 it does like a little fragile more a model than a wargaming vehicle, I often remove bits just so I don’t break them !
ReplyDeleteThank you Matt. I need to keep an eye out for those rear stabilisers as they already came of during the build.
DeleteLovely finish
ReplyDeleteThank you Dave.
DeleteGreat work
ReplyDeleteThank you Martin.
DeleteGreat work. This one my benefit from a base, just to help with the fragility.
ReplyDeleteThank you, a suitable base is now being looked for.
DeleteVery nice indeed!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much.
DeleteBeautiful work on this nasty little beast, Michael. I was about to say something about a base, but I think we have it covered from the previous comments. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Curt, yes a base is clearly the way to go. ;)
DeleteWow - inspirational stuff! I've been tempted by 28mm WW2 for a long time and this isn't helping! Nearest I got was a bunch of Black Tree Russians and Germans for a Dr Who scenario involving Rutans and Sontarans on the Eastern Front, which never saw fruition XD
ReplyDeleteSterling work building the model and I love your weathering. I feel your pain having put together a Black Tree Gaz truck - and that was all metal and not as many parts!
Thank you so much, really lovely comment. I fought off WW2 for a long time, but more recently I have thoroughly enjoyed dipping my toe in the period. I think a love of film and military history is helping.
DeleteAnother cracking addition to your Soviets, Michael, and despite the prep time it took to assemble the piece from so many parts, it really does look the business - so time well spent imho. Great to see you being so enthused with the hobby again.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Simon, it really was a labour of love and one of those units that I was desperate to see through to completion.
DeleteThey look great Michael but I might have gone with Rubicon....I don't particularly like plastic kit construction, but prefer it to working with resin and metal...the old FoW models were bad enough, but as scale increases, I find the issues with resin get worse....
ReplyDeleteThank you. I do like Rubicon kits, but have memories of them having quite a lot of fiddly details that were prone to breaking.
DeleteGreat looking kit and figures, Michael. Rubicon makes very detailed, with minimal parts, kits.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dean, not sure that I have found a Rubicon kit with that many minimal parts. The 88 I did a few years back was a tremendous model, but my goodness me, it made me rant.
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