Mikey and Mike, thank you very much. I am pretty pleased with it. I do need to put it on a base though.

BK

Don't ever be afraid to make your armor this dirty. It looks like it's been in the thick of things and if put together on a muddy base with some shrubbery you'd have a fantastic display.

This build looks like it's really been outside in the dirt, being a tank.

This is an awesome finish. Be proud!

That Sherman looks outstanding. You mentioned that you were going to build more and thought I would recommend a Squadron/Signal book called "U.S. Armor- camouflage and markings WW2" by Jim Mesko. If you don't have it already. It's got some decent drawings and info about Shermans in different schemes other than simply OD. 

Keep up the great work buddy!

Thanks for the kind words, Gents. The next one won't be this dirty, I promise.

BK

Nice finish.

Yeah, I've never had the guts to dirty up a tank that much. Your results look amazing!

Fantastic job!!!

Dayum, Brandon! This is excellent! You're experience betrays the fact that this is your first tank build. 

I'm afraid you can't claim ameture status buddy lol.

Brandon, the dirt and oil on the bottom of the tank look seriously amazing!

That turned out great Brandon.  The mig stuff is great.   That is one dirty tank!

Well, gents, I'm gonna go ahead and stop here. I wasn't intending at first to make such a dirty Sheman. But, I have a book that had a wonderful, original color photo of a Sherman that the crew had crawled all over with muddy boots and hands. It was a mess to say the least, and one of the dirtiest I've ever seen. So, I took the chance and decided to practice some techniques with Vallejo and Mig pigments and emamel mud products. It was a learning experience, but the more I did the better it looked and so she kinda came out this way as a test. I think I looks overly dirty, but I don't feel too bad as the photograph is just as bad. My next one won't be this dirty, but I learned a ton about what works with what and in what order, what to mix and what to do dry with, and so on. 

This was a blast to build and I hope you like it. I put some AM stoage on it for the look, and AFV rubber tracks to help with install. I also scratch built the antenna as the kit part is just wrong. Other than that it's OOB. For my first attempt at armor I am pretty pleased with the result.

Vallejo paints and pigments with Mig emamal mud effects and washes.

BK

If the modulation can be seen by the naked eye, but doesn't show up in the camera, then you've done a dang fine job of modulation.

Those are the results a strive for with my larger armor builds. The modulation is tricking your eyes perfectly lol.

Well done!

Thanks Gam. I'm gonna have to set this aside for a week or two while I await the arrival of some AK supplies. Till then I'm off on other kits.

BK

Your first piece of armour!?!?! I think you're feeding us a line of guff... 

It took me years to get anywhere near that good results! 

Bravo Brandon!!! 

I am now done with the oils and I am pleased with the weathering thus far. I am now moving onto the mud and dust portion and also the track weathering. I took the pics in natural light as I hope this will show the color modulation that the eye can see and the camera doesn't seem to pic up.

BK

RBaer

be aware that Italeri uses very stiff material for their Sherman tracks

I found this out early on and have since aquired a set of AFV replacements. They are quite rubbery and stretchy. I've began painting them with acrylics and the mud and dust will be going on likely tomorrow. Thanks for the guidence and help.

BK

Assembly and paint looking great! I would throw in one thing: when it comes time to mount the tracks, be aware that Italeri uses very stiff material for their Sherman tracks, and mounting them without breaking suspension pieces can be touch and go. It's good that you've left the bogie arms loose, it may help in getting the tracks on. I've also heard about people who gave the tracks a dunking in very warm water (so soften them) before mounting them. Me, I use Dragon, Asuka or Tamiya tracks, all made from a more pliable plastic, and if I use only acrylic paint on them, I have no problems with them hardening or breaking, even years later.

That came out great!!! 

I know some people don't like it but plain jane olive drab just looks sorta dead to me without some colour modulation, filters, etc. Love how yours is coming! 

Thanks, Chad. I am truly enjoying this one.

I have the oil paint work done now, streaking and more color modulation. I have to wait at least 24 hrs to let that dry before I flat coat it overall. I also went ahead and painted up the tools and lights. I changed over to Vallejo for my armor paints and I have to say this is amazing to hand paint with. Super good paint. I will begin working on the tarps and packs for the back as well as the tracks. I should start adding mud and dust before Xmas.

BK

Armor sure is a welcome break from aircraft every now and then! I sure do love a nice Sherman.

Thanks guys.

At this point I have given it an overall filter with Mig filters of various tones as well as a pin wash for detail and I added some chipping and a few scratches just to give it some interest and break up the uniform finish. It's probably more than one would see during use but we gotta add interest somehow. Next I will do some streaking with oils. I'm still waiting on my stencils, but if they don't show soon I'll gloss coat and add the decals instead.

BK

I applied two more coats to Mig filter. Here is a shot with the lighting so you can see the tonal variations.

Love that subtle modulation, Brandon! That's excellent.

That looks good! A pin wash would really bring out the detail- interested in seeing how the filters work out. 

And yeah, there's enough variations of the Sherman with different options you could model nothing but M4s... 

I love it! Have fun

stikpusher

Are you going with a simple overall OD, or one of the late war camo schemes?

Stik, on this one I'm gonna keep it simple and just go with overall OD and some weathering. I will be building tons more Shermans, so plenty of schemes to do in that regard. I'm thinking an early Africa Sherman would be cool, and maybe a "Fury" build too. Then there's the one with a blade, one with a hedgerow cutter, one with a rocket launcher...etc, etc. I think I'm hooked on this armor thing. There goes my stash again.

BK

Looking good Brandon. Some tidbits on texturing armor. Yes, it’s a good touch, but there are different types of armor plate and their textures. Rolled armor plate, like on the hull is more restrained in its texture, while cast armor pieces, like the turret has a more pronounced texture. 

Are you going with a simple overall OD, or one of the late war camo schemes?

Thanks Gam.

The texture is indeed, very subtle. I painted the kit black primer and then used Vallejo US Dark green to panel line shade, lightly. Then Olive Drab all over followed by Light green grey to hit panel highlights and point up top that would catch the most light. I'll let this dry a day and then get to the Mig filters and further modulate the color. It's hard to see in these pice but the three tones look really good together. Hopefully my mask set will arrive soon as I want to paint on the stars.

BK

Brandon: You've got a good start there. The texture on the turret and hull looks nice. And the cool thing about a Sherman is no masking at all- just load the airbrush with olive drab and hose the whole thing down. 

I will note though that I tend to leave the tools, tow cables, etc off till the end and paint them apart from the model itself. But then I end up losing stuff, so you're probably better off just attaching them as you did.