Refugees, ISU152

Awarded: Silver

By: Eyal Reinfeld

Manufacturer(s): Italeri

Modifications: Weld marks from putty, also mr surfacer for casted hull. Wire for handles, and the cable from Eureka with putty details. The model was painted with acrylics and weatherd with oils.

After-market parts: AB figures, Preiser figures, Silflor grass matt, Eureka metal cable

Description: The scene shows refugees returning home in WWII, as the red army advances to the west. I hoped this will be light hearted and positive scene even while using refuggees figures.

Judge 1: Vehicle and Figures: the vehicle is well made and you've done a good job on the cast texture, the home made weld seams on the main panels are good but are a bit messy around the grab handles. It would have been nice to have at least one photo of the other side of the tank and some more close ups (8 photos were allowed this month). The preshading adds some interest to the paint but overall it lacks tonal variation and would be enhanced with some stronger fading and streaking. I would also expect to see a lot more in the way of chips and scratches, particularly around the crew access areas and for a vehicle at this late stage of the war, being constantly on the move I would expect to see a lot more dust on the running gear and horizontal surfaces. Adding some oil stains and runs on the wheel hubs, engine deck and fuel tanks would certainly add some more life. The figures are very well painted with good colours and nice shading and highlighting, although I'm a bit surprised to see heavy winter uniforms on the tank crew. As a side note I think the woman pulling the cart has her arms at a strange angle but I really like the old man with the crutch and the pregnant women. Overall very well done. Jason.
Judge 2: The idea of the diorama – to show in one composition the image of the war and the image of the forthcoming peace – is very unusual. And the author fulfilled this uneasy task very well. The antithesis of the large vehicle, the incarnation of the brutal force, pointing in one direction and the weak exhausted people, mainly women, moving in the opposite direction works well and immediately involves a spectator. The diorama shows that the war is still on the wide road, while the piece is on the narrow path. The diorama retranslates this impression from all angles of sight, so good work here. Though the author intended to make the scene lighthearted, looking at the refugees one can easily imagine what they’ll see soon when they come back – their homes ravaged or may be no homes at all… The single portion of critic is about the uniform of the Red army tankers – they are dressed too warm. Great coat, sheepskin short coat and fur hats were designed to withstand extremely low temperatures and it’s strange to see someone wearing them in late spring (or early autumn).
Judge 3: I like the terrain with two levels veri well done. There are a good variation of brass although the coloration could be more variegated. I like the road with different granule and also here I can that less some more tone variation on the color