The history of battles has recorded many victories ... from the pyrrhic to the great.
They are often long, drawn-out affairs, mostly won with the help of the following:

• Meticulous planning (time)
• Numerical/matiriel superiority
• Territorial advantages
• Allied support
• A willingnes to accept high casualties

Taking these factors into account, one can weigh up and compare them in relation to each other as to which was the greatest.

Bearing in mind that I'm talking about BATTLES here ... How many can you think of that were won when these advantages were NOT on the side of the victor but on the side of the vanquished?
Taking this a step further dear reader, how many WARS can you think of that were won in this light?

To my mind there is one war that stands head and shoulders above all others ... the Middle- East War of '67.  By using the only advantages available to them - a national will to defend their land,

a well trained/tested military force and last but by no means least the best 'weapon' of all time - the element of surprise.

The Israeli '67 pre-emptive strike against it's Arab 'neibours' has become legendary, and I could not think of a more fitting scene to sum up this most famous of Middle-East conflicts ...

... the burnt out hulk of a cold war dinosaur: The infamous JS-3m (Pike).

I've always wanted to build this model but as the Tamiya JS 3 had the wrong engine deck, I shelved it.
When the Trumpeter version came along, I took a stab at scratch building the interior as I was informed,  that the Jaguar up-date was too inaccurate.
It was tough going as I only had one (out of scale) drawing of one side of the breech block, a few b/w and museum pictures.

Still I'm glad I put some effort into the 'belly of the beast' as one can see almost everything with the naked eye through that large open roof ( note some cracks in the weld seams, a great weakness in with the JS 3's).

The Israeli IDF (Zahal) figure was 'bashed' from Tamiya's old U.S. Combat Group Set complete with a DiY UZI mg.
As I was a little disappointed at not being able to display the Egyptian vulture decal on the turret (they were removed before active service), I decided to build my own.

At this point I would like to introduce 'Wally':

... the Neophron Percnopterus (aka: White Scavenger Vulture or Pharaoh's Chicken).

By placing him on a high and mighty perch, I made him look down his beak - as it were - into the eyes of his conqueror. I think it gives the diorama an 'I'm still here' atmosphere!
Well, he may not be up to much to you but he means a lot to me ... he's my first 100% (wire and Milliput) sculpture.

The Israeli victory was total,  their loss of men and materiel dwarfed that of the Arab states and firmly established the Jewish nation as a force to be reckoned with.

My little Dio of one front took almost 3 months to finish ... the IDF fought on three  ...and did the job in 6 days!!

Completed: Dec. / 2015

Stage 1:

03.10.'15

Stage 2:

...as you can see, the Miniart 122mm ammo did not fit with the Eduard etch magazines (two cradles of which were missing).The fitting required some drastic cutting before being modelled into the fleshed-out walls of the turret. Thankfully this 'Jack the Ripper' correction cannot be seen through the hatch!

10.10.'15

Stage 3:

Anyone for a portion of fried 'Pike'? Internals wrecked and sealed & the figure is on it's way.

A last minute job here ... turret armour brought up to thickness. So, i'll er.. 'shut up' now and concentrate on the external details ...

15.10.'15

Stage 4:

.... and my 'aquatic battle' continues with this particular 'river monster'.

The problem with this build is, that the Eduard photo etch set is more of a curse than a blessing, so I've had to do a lot of 'scratching' via various original photo's. What complicated things even more is that I've not seen two of these JS 3m's that are the same as regards small details,

hope you er ... enjoy the 'scaley bits'.

Here's the 'mock-up' or diorama composition.

I prefer to use the word Stageing myself, thinking of a Dio as a stage with actors, scenery and plot (all liable to change) is not only flexible but very apt. What is also very apt, is how this 'gunbucket' got it's picean nickname ... take a look of the front hull and upper glacis in the last picture. If you guess Moby Dick then you'll at least get second prize!!

25.10.'15

Stage 5:

Here's the missing detail on the gun mantlet. The figure is still missing a few nips and tucks but that, as they say, is about the size of it. 'Watch - Da - Boidie' ...

02.11.2015