This is a "speed blog" on my Sherman M4A3 105mm HVSS. I didn't have a clue about Shermans when I started this project, but I gave it a shot anyway, I've always liked this tank. Here goes...
Some progress on the bogies, idlers and drive sprockets. The bogies in this kit were kind of a kit themselves consisting of 28 parts per bogie. Kinda p.i.t.a. to put togheter but I think they turned out allright.
Nice cast numbers on'em too.
When checking some refs I found that the road wheels lacked the grease nipple. So I drilled a hole in each of the wheels inside the nipple housing, which was present, and added a tiny piece of brass wire to simulate the nipple. I actually dunno why I bothered doing this on 24(!) road wheels since it definately won't be visible when the model is finished. But anyways now the nipples are there. You can barely see it in the pic.
Here's everything so far, with the wheels sprayed in a rubber color ready to be mounted after the O.D. color is sprayed sometime in the future.
Got some weld seams applied to the front and rear. Made a bit more texture to the upper hull with some Mr. Surfacer 500, great stuff btw.. I also got some PE and tools mounted.
Small detail on the rear lamp here too.
I had to move the gun travel lock fasteners a bit down due to the fact that they were molded to high up for an M4A3 105mm
PE weld under the lifting eye.
Some tools...
This thing was kinda tricky to put togheter, because it is supposed to be movable. I had to make sort of a split rivet out of brass to make it work. But I got it togheter and it moves.
I also found out that the Sherman's got loads of tie downs, this unit alone has 8 of them, and they're really tiny and a p.i.t.a. to mount.
Some straps and buckles, a drain hole drilled is also visible in this pic...
I need to clean up the glue around all those tiny tie-downs and make'em look like weld spots.
Tedious work but I think the end result will be worth it.
Started the PE periscopes...
Added chain and a handle on the fuelcaps, drilled a drain hole and added a weld seam on the inside of the armor protecting the fuelcap.
Here's the fuel cap and drain hole on the other side...
Details, details...
I used the PE fenders that came with the Dragon kit. Banged them up a bit before I mounted them. In addition I used some fender parts from the Aber set to complete the fenders, the profile on the transcover and the vertical profile on the fender. I this pic you can also see the front tow cable shackle.
Various protection on the front of the hull.
The fenders on the right and left side. To complete the fenders I just have to mount the fender support braces.
I filled the gap between the "bolt strip" and the front glacis plate, and I also gave the transcover a Mr. Surfacer treatment for some serious structure.
Nice little hook for the gun travel lock...
I chose to have one hatch closed and one open to show some of the detail inside the open one.
The closed hatch with the periscope in the upper position.
The open hatch with the periscope removed from the "holder", and some additional details.
Protection on the rear lights and a little wire for detail.
Last pic is the shackle for the tow cable at the rear.
I'm closing in on the paintjob on this one soon. Just gotta get all the yankee stash loaded on to the rear of this Sherman. Not a big fan of that but I think it's needed on Shermans.
Finished the fender supports and turret. Brushed and stippled some Mr. Surfacer 1000 for some structure on the turret.
Here's a few pics...
I banged up the front fender supports a bit to go with the miss-aligned and banged up fenders. On the left side I removed the front support completely. I drilled a hole in the fender where the bolt should have been, and added a small PE bit on the hull to simulate the broken mounting point.
On the right side I bent the bracket and added another small PE bit on the hull to simulate the broken mounting point on that side.
Inside the commanders cupola a standard M6 PE periscope was mounted. I used some small plastic tubing cut in half to simulate the pivot points on the periscope. The hatch shutter mechanism consisted of three parts that where quite fun putting togheter. In addition to that I drilled and hinged the hatch to make it moveable, I think this look better too
In the rear of the turret I fabricated the missing foundry symbol of letters shaved from a piece of sprue. I also added a weld seam to the .050 transport bracket, and I added another small tie-down.
.050 barrel bracket...
Some turret details in the next two pics...
Loaders hatch and periscope detail. I made the hatch springs because the molded on ones didn't look very nice.
Here's the hook that holds the loaders hatch down while in open position.
I tried to simulate the cast seams on the turret with Mr. Surfacer. One of the seams can be seen below the turret lift ring.
I've noticed something typical on the pistol ports of the Sherman on all pics I've seen, it's a kind of "punch mark". Usually we remove these marks when building, but I added this one on purpose with Mr. Surfacer and an aluminum tube.
Last detail shot is the gunners periscope and the commanders vane sight. (I think that's what it's called)
And finally some "full figure" shots so far.
I found a picture of this periscope on the net so I repositioned it farther in and lower, in the armored cover. I also made the tubes for the headlight socket covers with the chains.
I also started to work on the stash and the Browning .050.
Some pics...
The Periscope...
The covers...
The Browning parts...
32 parts in all on this one was a challenge itself to get togheter, quite a bit of soldering I tell you, but I'm quite happy with the result if I may say so.
It'll be exiting to get some paint on this one too. The ammo belt is just put down in the box for "illustrational purposes only". I'm replacing it with a belt from The Barrel Store.
Here's some pics from all angles and more...
Checking refs isn't always a good thing when you want to finish a model in a timely fashion.
I'm officially not certifyable anymore, I'm adding casting numbers!
Dragon was kind enough to include some of the numbers molded to the kit, but a ref check revealed that more of them was needed.
Here's some of the numbers I've added so far, and according to my refs there will be more. But, detailing kits are fun...
I front of the gun shield...
On the turret top...
Here's the last addition of casting numbers on the inside of the drivers hatch. I copied these from a ref pic I found online.
The fun has slowly begun...I'm painting tracks!
Airbrushed a coat of Panzer Aces Track Primer...
Masked of the outsides and the guide horns...
Airbrushed a coat of Panzer Aces Dark Rubber...
Then a couple of washes with Abteilung 502 Light Rust Brown. I added some Light Rust pigments to the last wash too...
The outside
and the inside...
I also used some MIG Black Smoke pigments on the rubber portion of the track to get a bit more greyish black color to it, and also to simulate wear.
Made a mix of MIG Europe Dust, Light Dust og Brick Dust and applied it with an old brush and worked it into the tracks.
I then drew a soft bristeled wide brush over the tracks in one direction to simulate "movement".
Then I used an ordinary HB pencil and some MIG Gun Metal pigments to get the metallic sheen on the outside and on the horns.
Here's the result...
The outside...
The inside...
Here's a couple of shots of the Sherman so far, nothing fancy yet. Just the Tamiya Surface Primer and a preshade coat of Tamiya XF-61 Dark Green. I've applied the dark green to get a nice dark base for the shadowed areas of the vehicle. I will subsequently lighten and fade this base color. First step is to spray the OD from above to get it to blend in with the Dark Green in the lower areas of the vehicle, I hope.
Well anyways, that's next, here's some pics...
The surface primer...
The XF-61 Dark Green
Hopefully more coats of paint will follow with success...
...and one more thing, remind me the next time I'm building a Sherman to hold back on mounting the suspension until after painting the first base coat!
What a p.i.t.a to get inside all those nooks and crannies! (Newbie mistake I recon...)
Quite a challenge to paint these mono colored vehicles.
Here's some pics after the first three transparent coats of OD and two transparent coats of OD mixed with Tamiya Sky in a shade I thought looked ok. I tried to apply the lighter shade of color along the edges and where the light would fall naturally. I used a lamp as a "sun template" in front and slightly elevated over the vehicle to notice the highlights when airbrushing.
Then I airbrushed two coats of MIG filters, first Green for Light Green and then Grey for Bright Green. I applied the grey to try and fade the OD even more.
I then made a mix of Abteilung Faded Grey and Odourless Turpentine and brushed it over the entire vehicle. Left this to dry for a while and used the same mix and a flat thin brush on edge to make some rain streaks, you can barely see them on the turret here. More of these streaks will be applied when the weathering starts.
I decided that the vehicle should belong to the "Tiger Division" 20th Armored Infantry Battalion, 10th Armored Division in Germany spring/summer 1945.
I put the decals for this unit on with Solvaset and I think I steered clear of the dreaded silvering.
I then mixed an even lighter green shade and brush painted the parts sticking out on the vehicle like filler caps, hinges and so on. Not very visible in the pics but it's there.
Well here she is now with decals, another filter coat of Faded Grey filter and a Vallejo Air satin clear applied.
The slow part is finally coming to an end soon. Got all the stowage painted and have slowly started the weathering process. This one is going to get dirty cause most of the Sherman pics I've seen are of dirty ones. Painted the stowage with a combination of Vallejo Model Color and their Panzer Aces colors, and some various MIG washes. Struggling a bit when it comes to getting any variation on the OD, but I put a first aid bag back there and some other stuff with a bit of color on them. Recon I'll put an orange air recognition panel back there too for some more color. The rope has been replaced since the pics were taken with a non fraying one.
I've started with the rest of the vehicle adding a pin wash with MIG Brown wash and more heavy specific washes with MIG Dark wash in various places.
I've also tried to add fuel stains with layered washes around the caps and on the visible parts of the rear deck and hull. More stains and grime will follow later. I also noticed when starting to do the different washes that the work I did with the weld seams around the armored fuel cap shields and turret vents paid off, they are really standing out when washed.
Here's the rear turret vent...
Found a color pic of an M6 perscope showing that the "holder" was painted light grey and the periscope itself in OD, so the "holder" is now grey...with a dark wash
Some front detail...
And here she is, ready for some more weathering. It's time to bring out the oils and do some fading and some dust in the nooks and crannies.
I've started the pigment phase.
Mixed a light mix of MIG P026 Concrete, P028 Europe Dust og P037 Gulf War Sand. Put it on with an old brush and used Pigment Fixer to set it.
First step...
Then I mixed a 2nd darker blend. Applied this too with the old brush and used the fixer to set it aswell. I found it to be smart to re-wet the entire section so that no tide marks were left from the Fixer as it dried. The colors I used are in the pic.
Step two...
Then I used MIG Dark Wash to re-define earlier made oil stains, stains by the wheel hubs, grease nipples etc. Not so visible in the pic, but it's there.
Finally I mixed a 3rd even darker blend to put a layer down low and on the road wheels. Re-wet the entire area with the Fixer, and here's the result. The colors I used are in the pic.
Had to shorten the kit supplied DS tracks with one link, even with the idler in the most rearward position, no biggy, but kinda lame on Dragons behalf.
With that being done it was time to match the weathering on the lower hull with the tracks.
Did the same "layering" with the pigments on the tracks, and I feel it came out pretty good.
I also had a go on the front and rear with the pigments before I mounted the tracks, and I used a bit of MIG Dark Wash to simulate oil stains and stuff.
Here's the result...
I had totally forgot about the Ohio antenna so I had to do a quickie and scratch one, I used some pics as reference.
The base is fairly close to the part as supplied by Dragon, although the two crescent-shaped black insulators are missing.
So, the insulators needed to be added, along with the top part needing to be bent because these antennas were usually tied to the vehicle in some manner.
I used a slice of Evergreen tube, cut into two to provide the two crescent-shaped parts, these where then cemented to the base, allowed to dry, and then carefully drilled.
I also used thin wire wrapped around the middle section of the base to simulate the antenna cord, this wire was also routed through both insulators.
I drilled the top of the base to accept a 0.1 mm brass rod. Although the real Ohio antenna was in 5 sections and tapered, that was going to be too difficult to try and represent in 1/35 scale.
I slipped small pieces of wire insulation over the brass rod at the correct intervals to represent the screw sections. On the Sherman this antenna was about 305 cm so it became about 8,7 cm in 1/35.
I think it turned out quite nice, and I'm sure it'll look even better with some color on it.
I'll tie the antenna to the vehicle in a lift ring or something similar.
Man, it took a while to complete this baby. The pics in this here thread are shot during the 9 months it took to complete the model.
Got the Ohio antenna mounted and tied it down to a lift ring with thin wire.
Seems like the tanker dudes are feeling quite at home, and I think they fit the vehicle well.
Here's some pics of the Sherman complete, with the tanker dudes...
So waddaya think?
If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?