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00:00 Introduction
02:32 Hull
05:49 Undercarriage
08:20 Turret
11:55 Painting
13:49 Miscellaneous
15:13 Markings
16:58 Weathering
19:34 Presentation
20:45 Credits

Ask any young WWII buff about tanks, and they will doubtlessly tell you about how cool the German heavy tanks were: you got your Panthers, your Tigers, your King Tigers. Immense steel beasts introduced in the middle of the war that terrorized the Allies, who only had medium and light tanks. And to some degree, this is true. No other nation produced and implemented heavy tanks to the degree that the Germans did; America had Pershings only for a few months before the war ended, and the British really only had the Churchill, both of which lived in the relatively tiny shadow of the Sherman.
No other nation, that is, except for the Soviets.
The Soviets employed the Kliment Voroshilov series of tanks to great effect in their Antifa antics, though in small numbers when compared to the ubiquitous T-34. At the time of their introduction, both the KV-1 and 2 were almost impenetrable, and their guns were on equal footing with, or superior to, anything the Germans brought with them. But as the war progressed, guns got bigger and armor got thicker, and by 1942 the KV-1 was starting to lose its edge.
The T-34 was undergoing modernization trials of its own, and when you’re trying to build a heavy tank, it’s best to look at existing heavy tanks instead of trying to drag a medium tank into a higher weight class. While the KV-1 was starting to show its age, and the KV-2 was just a joke, the chassis still showed a lot of promise and the Soviet war department wasn’t keen on trashing production facilities if they didn’t need to. The decision was made to build a new heavy tank on the KV platform, and after a few iterations, the IS-2 was born.
The kit on the bench today is by Zvezda. Zvezda is a Russian manufacturer, and they primarily focus on Soviet or Russian vehicles. Despite the fact I’m essentially a full-on communist at this point, I was never really fascinated with Soviet tanks the same way I was with German or American tanks. I bought this with the intent to do it up in the livery of the Stalin from Girls Und Panzer, but through my research I came to a much greater appreciation than I had before. I took a really deep dive and learned a ton for this one, so break out your Adidas track pants and get ready to invade a Balkan State, we’re building an IS-2.

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SOURCES
1. Milsom, John. Russian Tanks 1900-1970. Galahad Books, 1970.
2. Chieftain and Sofilein IS-2:    • Chieftain & Sofilein - American Herit...  
3. Chieftain T-34/85 Part 2:    • Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: T-34-85...  
4. Soviet tank colors: http://matadormodels.co.uk/tank_museu...
5. Soviet tank colors: http://www.4bogreen.com/colors
6. IS-1 and IS-2 Experiments: http://www.tankarchives.ca/2018/01/se...
7. Heavy Tank Performance: http://www.tankarchives.ca/2016/07/so...
8. Memo on heavy tank usage: http://www.tankarchives.ca/2016/05/he...
9. D-25 against big cats: http://www.tankarchives.ca/2013/03/is...
10. Polar bear marking: http://wio.ru/tank/oz/7gottb-en.htm
11. Polar bear marking: https://www.o5m6.de/redarmy/is2_polar...
12. Engine restoration:    • 38,8 liter V12 tank engine 1st run af...  
13. IS-3 startup:    • IS-3 Soviet Heavy Tank (4K)  
14. Russian site I can’t read: http://army.lv/ru/is-2/shemi/631/546#...
15. Another Russian site: http://bronetehnika.narod.ru/is2/is2....
16. Kolobanov’s Tank: http://www.tankarchives.ca/2015/09/ko...
17. Chieftain ISU-152:    • Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: ISU-152...  
18. Running:    • Czołg IS-2 - pierwsza testowa jazda /...