Semper Fi War in the Pacific

Oh ya , the Bronco tracks do not fit the Tamiya drive sprocket !!!! I dont know if they will fit the Italeri or what others ....................

Rob , well thanks for the info , , cripes i may have to go back to the Tamiya M4A3 then with the kit tracks ..............thats what the dozer blade was made for anyway ..................

Bill , thats a really cool way to get the fabric look into the plastic !!!!

Here's the picture i'm using for an example .

Thanks for the feedback guys.  Will continue with the painting as is.

BILL - Superb update  Very nice engine details and I like all the additional wiring both on the engine and firewall.  I too like that trick for the seat texture.  Is that the same method you use for the texture on the palm trees?        I didn't know you were a gang banger Bill

CARL - I'm not a 100% sure about the Composite Hull, that info is just what I know or have seen.  That really stinks that those tracks don't fit.  I wonder what kits they will fit?  Is there no way to modify any part to make them fit?  I have one other possible solution.  Went looking in the spare part box and found some old Dragon Sherman tracks

Believe there is enough here to make a set of tracks.  Did some looking and found pictures of M4A1, M4A2, and M4A3 that were USMC and they had these tracks on them.  Can send them to you if you would like to give them a try?  Just let me know.May also have some sprockets that I could send, will have to look some more.  I have both styles of the outside plate with the teeth for the sprockets, just not sure if I have the center. 

Is that pic of the dozer blade M4 the one you were thinking about doing?

Rob , your offer of sending me the tracks is realy very , very much appreciated .

Let me see if these Bronco tracks will fit a Italeri or a DML kit that i have in my stash first .

I came across that pic of what looks like a M4A3 today . The title was "Sherman Dozer Pacific " . Looks like it could be Iwo Jima to me . I'm going to just go with the Tamiya kit M4A3 for this build like i originally planned . I have a lot of Shermans by DML and Italeri but  the Tamiya M4A3 is the only one that will work for this G.B.  I got some paint on the figure tonight and he is looking more like a Marine . What do you think ? I'm not sure about the helmet camo . He will have a wash and some dry brushing tomorrow . Let me know so i can change any mistakes .

Carl,,   thanks,,     credit where credit is due pal,,,     !          And, I am actually going to let the hood loose. I have a tiny piece of 2-sided tape holding it down now, as I've been painting and weathering a bit.        Damn,, sux about the tracks. I hope they will work on your alternative choices.  I'm glad you are going to do the dozer though,,,  I know you were contemplating a change,,,,   I would enjoy watching that build!            ...         Your figure is coming along just fine,, he's lookin better every time. I think if you tone down / dirty up the helmet a bit, it will hit the spot.

Rob,,,    much obliged!            oh yeah,,  ha,,  - gang banger....          The palm tree method is not the same as the seats....   I'll send you a message as it is sort of boring and I don't want to crud up the post / thread. 

I will try to get some more progress pics up soon.

Bill , yes i was surprised about the tracks not fitting . Nothing on the kit box says what they will fit . good idea on the hood , dont want hide all of your detail . I took your advice on toning done the helmet and started to remove the camo dots with glass cleaner since they are painted on with acrylics ...............and look at what happened , I think i like the effect and will leave it as is . What do you think ?

Oh yeah,,    much better              Nicely done!

PANZERWAFFE, those tracks look incredible, looking at the nearly complete set is encouraging me to pull out my 1/35 LVT.  The LVT is looking good too, especially the welds on the armor.  I like the green but am undecided on the camouflage, only because it hard to picture the whole model based on only the port sponson.

Shellback, that figure is impressive, a challenge I have yet to tackle on any of my builds.  He will look god when finished and fixed to that even more impressive jeep.

Finally getting some time to work on Mardi Gras and stumbling across inaccuracies as I go.  Dragon was thoughtful enough to provide a tit on the port bulkhead to align the bilge discharge tube, unfortunately the LVT-4’s bilge discharge was from the forward bumper and not atop the port sponson.  A detail they neglected to provide for their LVTA1 and LVTA4 kits, both of which had the bilge discharge atop the port sponson but position is left to the modeler’s best guestimate.  There is also a glaring gap between the hull and top deck, hence the plastic strip affixed for sanding and proper fit.  I will be sanding away the putty that is covering the vision block locators, hatch cuts, glacis cuts and towing eye also lifted from the donor LVTA4 after today’s errands.

Detail , thanks

Good to see your LVT is comimg along , and it looks like a lot of detail and research has been going into it .

Bill , ok then i'm going to call the helmet good and apply a wash of burnt umber to the rest of the figure .

Rob- details on the tracks look good.  Looks like they require a lot of clean up?

Carlos- Yes your figure look like a marine now. Great work!  Too brave you are...

Deattilio- MARDI GRAS?!?!?!  wait a minute I don't see booze, beads and boobs!  Nice porcess on your LVT!

 Bill- Outstanding work on vintage jeep!  . Thanks for the great tip how to fabricate texture on the seats. Will definitely try that one day. All of my screens here are fiberglass... I smell another trip to the hardware soon.

Carl,,,  it does look good,, yes,,     will look for the finished fig pics too..

Deat,,   looking good!

Andy,,    thanks,,,,   I will post some pics of the finished effect on the seats using the screen. I would think that if the fiberglass is tight enough, it should work as well....  you can always press one way and then another way,,  sort of cross pattern,,, which actually works very well..   give it a test run on a piece of scrap.

Carlos .............? Andy i almost didnt read it , i thought it was for someone else . I had a neighbor in California that would call me that . Thanks for your comment .

Bill , thanks again .

I'm calling this figure done . Except for the E.G.A. on the left *** pocket . I'm going to try drawing that in with a pencil ...maybe tonight .

Hey guys i just tried the Broco T 49's on a Testors / Italeri M4A1 drive spocket and they fit perfectly !

DEATTILIO - Nice to see you back at it.  Just a little sanding and your there with the cab.  Great work so far moving the hatch and glacis.  For me it was all down hill after that.  The gap at the joining of the hull and deck is also on the 1/35 model.  After dry fitting all the pieces I decided to fill what gap could be seen with putty after the hull and top deck are permanently together.  Reason being, and thankfully, once the added armor plate is put on the bow most of the gap will be covered and not seen.  Only on the two ends will it be seen and need filling.  Your approach is probably a more solid solution.

The weld beads are very easy to do.  Just glue stretched sprue in place.  Then put some Testors liquid cement (pink bottle) onto the sprue.  Use an old hobby knife blade to cut, push, and poke at the sprue and you will get a weld bead.

CARL - Man you are fast!  You have him done before I was able to comment.  My comment, He looks GREAT!  The helmet looks nice and I really like how the blouse came out!  Super job!  You did really good on the face and skin tone also.  You sure this is your first figure?

Archer also has some nice decals for Sherman's if interested.  They had a few different sheets, one of them had those stars and bars like in that picture of the dozer in the pacific.  I'm searching for decals for my LVT and may also get a decal sheet for my M4A2.  Might try those E.G.A. decals also?

Well talk about a fun day.  Woke up and we here started cleaning the house.  After that it was time to do taxes.

Starboard side done.  Used the same process as on the port side.  This side the salt removed very easily and the chipping may be to much.  I'm just going to keep going and dress things up as I go along.  Too answer your question about the hair spray Carl.  First this whole process is suppose to be used with acrylic paints and the hair spray is sprayed on before the final coat of acrylic paint.  This is to make the paint remove easily when scrubbed to produce the chipping effect.

That is a really nice fit on the sprocket.  They really look good on there and I know there better than Italerai tracks!!  So what does this mean for your build?

Carl,,,  that fig does look good, congrats!   I too would be inclined to think you have built quite a few figures...  I'd say, with how good this one looks, you best be including in many more of your builds!   Glad you stabalized those tracks too,,    great rebound.

Rob,,   you are doing a great job on that baby...  personally I don't think the chipping is too much. I figure once your weathering is added, it will really tone down the effects......   looks great!

PANZERWAFFE

That is a really nice fit on the sprocket.  They really look good on there and I know there better than Italerai tracks!!  So what does this mean for your build?

Rob .......well .........................Here's something interesting . The Italeri kit i stoled the final drive sprocket is an old "M4A2 Sherman Jumbo " according to the box but when its opened its a 47 degree M4A3 hull with the turret from their M4A1 . I tried the turret from the Tamiya kit and it fits exactly into the Italeri hull ! This turret can be used as the "wet sorage " by leaving the applaque armo off .There's is a big difference in the two turrets so i will want the Tamiya turret for this M4A3 . That will solve the problem with the T49 tracks fittting the Italeri kit . The road wheels on the Italeri kit are spoked and i believe the M4A3 had solid pressed steel road wheels . So maybe a swap will work . The tracks in the Italeri kit are those stiff and hard old rubber band type . I've known this Italeri kit was a complete joke since i bought it a loooong time ago . I didnt know what it was good for but know it has a purpose . This will be interesting bashing these two kits .I looked up the T49 tracks and they were an option on the M4A3 , so thats good .

Rob , thanks for the explanation on the hair spray .So would you say it works ok with enamels or is it a waste of time ? Gad you went forward with the paint job , it looks just right and i know you have lot of weathering you will be doing to it yet .

Bil , you know the figure came out as good as it did because i enjoyed doing it . I've already learned a bunch from doing it . I tried writting "USMC" on the pocket .................omg ! Thats a tiney area !I may have to cave in and spring for those Archers after all .

Shellback, that is tedious effort on those tracks that is evidently paying-off.  Great patience!

PANZERWAFFE,  the LVT is looking good, really looking forward to seeing the cab and tracks on.  I did the putty-fix on my previous LVT for the bow gap and it was incessantly aggravating in 1/72.  It took a disproportionate amount of time trying to keep the joints sharp without filing or sanding away the edges, my eyes needed resting and my nerves an adult beverage by the time I got to the point I figured it was good enough.

Not bad for a day’s effort, it is finally starting to resemble an LVT, and more importantly I can see it beginning to take the look of "MARDI GRAS."  I plan to do a little more sanding tomorrow and possibly a coat of primer to show the areas of putty that will need more attention.  I have rid the model of most of the exaggerated weld seams but still have several more to sand smooth.

I am the same way Carl...  once I get into "fig-mode" I do enjoy them...........

Detail , looking like a good days effort for sure .Thanks for comment

Bill , only thing i'm surprised at the length of time ot ate up .

Rob.................. "Archer also has some nice decals for Sherman's if interested. They had a few different sheets, one of them had those stars and bars like in that picture of the dozer in the pacific. "............. Under what catergory did you find it ?

Carl Joe- Trust me you will love those dry transfers.  I used them for the first time on my Pz IV earlier.  It even worked great on Zimmerit!  You don't believe me... OK here's proof

Just place the decal where you want it.  It helps if you can use tape to hold it down so it won't be moved when you rub it using sharp pencil. 

The owner told me he will be at AMPS National so I plan to buy sh*t load of his sets.  I promised myself to buy less kits this years but more aftermarkets of course! 

DEATTILIO - Taken shape indeed  Working in 1/72 is a bit more challenging than my 1/35, thats for sure.  At least these LVT's were large vehicles makings the 1/72 not to bad to work with.  How is your fit of the top deck to the hull?  The one I'm doing is not very good.  The locater taps on the hull I had cut back so that I could line up the top deck correctly.  Even with these cuts it is going to be a little tricky with a lot of glue and tape to hold in place while the glue dries.  I envision that there will be gaps to fill once glued in place. 

CARL - Thats going to be fun to watch you bash these two kits together.  Sounds like things worked out well with the solution.  A little extra work but might come out better than a bought kit

I think the salt technique is a very good one for acrylic paint, have seen some really fine builds using it.  With enamels though, starting to think it is not worth the time for the out come.  It's alright but believe it's better to paint the chips on after the finish is put on with enamels.  In the past I had always painted the chips on with a frayed brush and a very fine tip brush had a much better out come IMO and it was quicker.

I'm still shopping around for decals and am about to make an order.  I got lucky and actually found a decal sheet by Bison for the actual LVT that I am doing, A43.  Did not realize someone actually made decals for this vehicle and I was looking for generic numbers and letters.  Being able to get actual decal sheet is very nice   Trying to find someone that sells both the Bison LVT decal sheet and the Archer USMC E.G.A. decal sheet so that they can be purchased in one order.

Carl- Glad the AM tracks fit perfectly!!!  It didn't work out for me when I used Modelkasten tracks on old Tamiya Pz IV wheels earlier... took alot of work to make them fit.

Rob- Nice camo work!!!

ANDY - Thanks buddy.  How are you feeling now?

CARL - Go to the tap US ARMOR - COMPLETE VEHICLE SETS and when that page comes up it will show all the listings.  There are a few USMC sheets in there and are real easy to spot being the USMC stands right out.  The one with the stars and bars is AR35287 "USMC M4A2 Iwo Jima Gun Tanks".

Oh, much better finally.  Thank you Rob!  Worked on my Huey for few hours last night and this morning... it is good to be back.