nice so far liked the pics

Ron

Thanks ron. Glad you liked the pictures

Looks good so far. I just barely see the rain streaks but I can see them.

Thanks jetmodeler! 

The rain streaks were really visible before I put a thin coat of OD/buff over the kit to lighten it a bit.

For those of you interested in this kit, it does have a complete radial engine, drive train and transmission, as well as a hull floor. However, when it is all buttoned up you can't see any of it.

Hercmech

For those of you interested in this kit, it does have a complete radial engine, drive train and transmission, as well as a hull floor. However, when it is all buttoned up you can't see any of it.

Really. Which kit is it?

Italeri make it...here is a review of it. Pretty much sums it up but I did not have the issue with the tracks that the reviewer had.

Looks good, but I would recommend that for a model this small, you ditch the bright blue background for the photos--it's really overwhelming the colors of the tank and obscuring the weathering or any shading that you might have presented.

. Try a white background, or at the very least a paler blue; you'll really get a much truer color fidelity in your photos.

Thanks for the tip doog! I will try it with white next pictures

Hercmech

Thanks for the tip doog! I will try it with white next pictures

jetmodeler

Hercmech:

For those of you interested in this kit, it does have a complete radial engine, drive train and transmission, as well as a hull floor. However, when it is all buttoned up you can't see any of it.

 

Really. Which kit is it?

It's a rebox of the very ancient Esci M4A1 Sherman; an excellent kit that was the bane of Braille scale Sherman modelers for years. There was often debate about whether the turret/hull combination was a valid one (beyond Duplex-Drive Shermans). Photographic proof eventually appeared and Sherman modelers decided that the combo did exist, but was uncommon.

In the early 1980s, the one piece vinyl tracks were replaced by one of the first link & length tracks available in 1/72 scale. Italeri added both options to the rebox.

Rob Gronovius

 

jetmodeler:

 

 

Hercmech:

For those of you interested in this kit, it does have a complete radial engine, drive train and transmission, as well as a hull floor. However, when it is all buttoned up you can't see any of it.

 

 

Really. Which kit is it?

 

 

It's a rebox of the very ancient Esci M4A1 Sherman; an excellent kit that was the bane of Braille scale Sherman modelers for years.

Very nice dio...mine will be just a plain Jane build. I do not have the patience/skill/space to do dios. I love looking at them though.

Here are some more pictures. The first set is with a Mig filter coat. The second is right after I added oil dot filters. I have cleaned up the yellow on the front. Again...I am not an armor guy so be gentle.

With the dot filter:

Next up...some pigments for dirt, adding the boogies, tracks, painting the lights, adding the ma deuce and then wrap it up.

Thanks for the tip on the white background Doggs!

Here is the completed model. Over all I really enjoyed the build except the tracks.  Also the pigment looked great and then it just disappeared. I don't know what went wrong with them. 

This was the first kit that I really used filters, pigments, and my dremel.  

And this one is for scale:

That's about as fine a braille-scale Sherman as you can ask for, Hercmech! The paint and weathering are spot-on! The tracks and the rear hull are really nicely done.

If you sealed your model with any kind of sealer--Dullcoate, perhaps?--pigments will disappear. It's a reaction to the sealant. You should seal your model first--if you like to use sealers--and THEN add pigments and fix them in place using regular mineral spirits, by capillary action. They will darken slightly but stay on more reliably than if you don't use anything.

Nice work on the braille-scale Shermie!

the doog

That's about as fine a braille-scale Sherman as you can ask for, Hercmech! The paint and weathering are spot-on! The tracks and the rear hull are really nicely done.

If you sealed your model with any kind of sealer--Dullcoate, perhaps?--pigments will disappear. It's a reaction to the sealant. You should seal your model first--if you like to use sealers--and THEN add pigments and fix them in place using regular mineral spirits, by capillary action. They will darken slightly but stay on more reliably than if you don't use anything.

Thank You Doog! Means a lot..

I didn't add a coat after I did the pigments. I sealed the model, then added the pigments then added alcohol to set them...didn't seem to do a good job so I added mineral spirits. I guess between the two it was too much.

Thanks again for the tip on the white background...that really helped.

Bill: Thank you for stopping in for a look and for the comments!

Hercmech,

I meant to mention that the white background really perked up your photos! It really looks superb!

I would agree with you too, that the double-shot of alcohol and spirits probably zapped your pigments. And hey, be careful with rubbing alcohol; that stuff is a lot more powerful to some pigmented mediums than you might think, and can actually "frost" unprotected acrylic paint jobs. You should dilute it a bit with water if you ever use it for washes or the like. Wouldn't want a catastrophic event to happen!

Thanks for the tip on the alcohol. I almost always use an acrylic finish...that would explain why I did notice on the bottom a bit of frosting. I used oderless mineral spirits on the rest of it. Would you say it is worth buying some of the pigment fixer or just keep using the mineral spirits?

Hercmech,

Ooh! Yeah, you WILL front acrylics with rubbing alcohol--I learned that the hard way.

I would get some of that pigment fixer, because it makes your pigments permanent.The "Thinner for Washes" also affixes them, but they can still be manipulated with some more thinner if you want to. The Fixer actually kinda glazes them into place, and they become permanent and unalterable.

You can also seal them in to a degree with regular mineral spirits; it will act like the "Thinner"; i.e., the pigments would still be manipulable with more thinner. Just remember, you don't want to seal them with a spray, like Dullcoat, because that tends to make them fade into near invisibility.

Thanks!!! I will pick up some fixer. It will just break my heart to buy more model stuff...not

Excellent results!

Hope to see more 1/72 scale tanks being tackled.

SuppressionFire

Excellent results!

Hope to see more 1/72 scale tanks being tackled.

Thanks for looking and taking the time to comment.

I have another of the kits so you will see at least one more from me. I think I will be doing it in the green/tan scheme

Nice work!!!  I am afraid I am too old to build a braille scale.  Wait a minute I am only 42 years old... thanks for sharing your work here! 

deafpanzer

Nice work!!!  I am afraid I am too old to build a braille scale.  Wait a minute I am only 42 years old... thanks for sharing your work here! 

 

Thank you for the comments...yes it was hard on the eyes but it was pretty dang fun.

Herc,

Really nice model, paint and weathering look great! If I may nitpick she looks to me like you've got a few 'floater' road wheels that aren't touching the treads. Or maybe it's just the angle of the photos. Just pointing it out because a couple of judges at shows killed me over doing that sort of thing.

Gamera

Herc,

Really nice model, paint and weathering look great! If I may nitpick she looks to me like you've got a few 'floater' road wheels that aren't touching the treads. Or maybe it's just the angle of the photos. Just pointing it out because a couple of judges at shows killed me over doing that sort of thing.

Thanks Mr Turtle!

The roadwheels have all sorts of problems...all induced by me and my excitment to put on the tracks. Being as they were the "rubberband" type they were really tight and I did not let the glue set long enough before I put them on and they really tweaked those wheel assy.

The kit does come with the other type of tracks and I will give them a go on the next build.

Thanks again for commenting and helping me be a better builder.

As a side note...all the issues (paint/pigments/etc)  that the pictures glaringly show really are not too prominant on the kit cause of the small scale.