Looks real good to me!

That's a mighty fine looking Sherman, I like the weathering and the stowage is a nice touch.The figures skin tones are really good, did you use a mix or straight from the bottle

Hey dude, that's a mighty swift Da/\/\|\| build you got there......... way to go. It looks cool and I really like it.

Thanks guys! I have a hard time looking at my own stuff without seeing nothing but the flaws.

Tojo: The skin tones were a base of Testor's MM Acrylic 'Leather' with a thin black wash. I then used a few layers of Vallejo to build up the highlights - I don't remember what exact colours I used now though but they were the same paints I use for the shadow tints on a white figure.

DM: Thanks and I did remember to paint the inside of the friggin' muzzle on the 76mm this time!

Nice Build…..now thats a cool Sherman. I'm not sure where to start, the washes, the dusting, the paint, the texture, the chipping, the stowage, the track, the articulated wheels, the base, decals, the figures. Awesome.

Awesome build Gamera. I really like the rust effect and casting effect. You are gonna have to come to my house and teach me how to do that. I have had the same problem with putting on a matt finish on a figure and having it look shinny. Gonna have to get me some more dull coat I guess.

Is this a model of one of the actual tanks in the 761st.?

Doug

Thanks guys!

Terry: actually you comment about the articulated wheels made me notice they're a little um 'floatly' here- I should have screwed the model to the base since the leading and trailing road wheels have been pulled up by the rubber tracks. Oh welll...

Doug: Yeap, she was an actual tank. As I said I did use the wrong tracks but I figure they could have been replaced at some point so hey? And the storage I improvised.

The only photo I found, it is copyrighted and I'm not sure it's kosher to use it here but I'm not trying to make money off it so I hope it's ok. 

The casting is just a heavy spray of Mr. Surfacer over the turret and transmission cover which was then roughed up with a heavy brush. 

Cliff

I think its sitting pretty good except for a little in the rt rear. It looks great..Nice work on the grass too.

Thanks Terry, it's not that big a problem- all I need to do is drive a screw though the bottom of the hull into the base and tighten her down and the road wheels will confirm to the base. Keep 'er from sliding off if anyone picks it up and tilts it too. I should have taken care of it before snapping the photos.

Not only a nice build but some great history to go with it. Can't beat that!

Thanks Bill, I didn't know about it till I selected those decals just because of the cool crew names on her.

Gamera, That's a REALLY nice build. Just the right amount of weathering and dusting. And the subject is fantastic. Thanks for sharing this. Barrett

Great work Gamera!  A tip that a professional figure painter shared with me was to use purple paint as a wash for African skin tones. just an FYI.  Great to see a model of one of that unit's tanks

Hey wow, thanks guys!

And thanks Roy for the tip, never thought to use purple as a wash, will try it next time.

Well done!

Thanks!

This is a great tribute! And a subject crying out for a movie. I have both Tuskegee movies and it's about time the 761st's story got widespread notice. "Brothers in Arms" would be a good starting place. Thanks for posting a good build and great subject! Bob

Thanks! I thought it was a pretty interesting thing to learn about myself. Hopefully maybe if new 'Fury' movie is a hit someone will give a movie about the 761st a green light.

hi Gamera - wow, where did you pull this one out - I think you're warmed up and ready for your entry to the War in the West GB.   Seriously nice work you have presented here.  

I agree about the tip Roy  passed on.  Purple is the complimentary colour of yellow, and complimentary colours make one another look more vibrant.  The purple also doubles as the shadow colour.

Not sure why the figures still have a sheen.  If they were handled a lot before the flat coat, could be residual oils from your fingertips.  I've also seen too heavily applied flat coats that are enamel base, still have a lingering sheen.

regards,

Jack

Thanks Jack! I will definably give the purple wash a try! I hit the figures last night with a coat of Alclad matte varnish and it seems to have worked much better than what I was using.

Thanks for posting your model pics As a young lad, I remember reading this book about the 761st in the early 80s - www.amazon.com/.../055323126X   It certainly gives an interesting look into the US military before integration, as well as detailing life in a WW2 US tank battalion.

Outstanding work, Gamera! Looks fantastic!

Thanks guys!

MJames: Interesting book there, I'd been curious about picking up 'Brothers in Arms' but hadn't heard of that one.

Bantam had a pretty decent line of relatively cheap  paperback military books back then, that were easy to find at the Waldenbooks™ in the new fangled shopping mall in our town. I remember it was one of their editions that I first read Rudel's 'Stuka Pilot'...

Hmmm, I read 'Stuka Pilot' back in the late '80s, I don't remember if it was the Bantam issue or not. I remember reading paperbacks about The Battle of Midway and the V1 and V2 as well, again not sure if they were Bantam or another publishing house.