Lol, yeah as Jack said they're 'trademarks' cast on the original tank!

You know if you look on the bottom of the Sherman there's a trademark that says General Motors, Ford, Dodge, Baldwin Locomotive Works or whoever built it.... 

Ok I'm joking....  NOT REALLY!!! 

Got my PE in the mail today, it's probably going to be the most PE I've ever done on a model.

I also ordered FSM's Building and Detailing Realistic Sherman Tanks and Squadron's WWII US Sherman Tanks in Action, I'm not skimping on my research this time.

That Tamiya kit is a really nice one. Not as detailed as the Tasca kits, but very good nonetheless (and far more affordable). I'm sure you're going to have a blast building it!

Hey Ghostrider, please let us know how the FSM Sherman book is, I've got the Osprey modeling book on the Sherman and much of it is over my head.

I have the FSM Sherman book, good stuff. It's more of a modeling book than straight-up Sherman facts, but it's been a good source of inspiration. Jim Wechsler has done some mighty fine work for it.

Pershing progress: Tracks on for the last time, return rollers on, hull MG, gun travel lock on, and some more painting on Belton (the figure- thought I might as well give him a name....)

I don't know who had too much coffee this morning, me or Belton, but he's kinda shaky.

Gamera

Hey Ghostrider, please let us know how the FSM Sherman book is, I've got the Osprey modeling book on the Sherman and much of it is over my head.

I got the FSM book in the mail yesterday,  There's some useful stuff in it, but I wasn't very impressed.  The author walks us through building four different Shermans (3 plastic kits and 1 resin one).  Some useful techniques, but most of it is stuff I already knew.  The whole back half of the book is a gallery of models of every possible Sherman variant. which has some neat stuff, but I usually try to avoid using pictures of models as reference shots (Sure they look good, but the accuracy is limited by the modeler's interpretation of their own references).  I think the Squadron book is going to prove more useful here.

On the model front, I've been laboriously adding PE grab handles to the hull and filling unneeded locator holes.

Thanks guys for the reviews, I think I'll see if I can find a copy and flip though it before making up my mind. To be honest I've bought several modeling books and the only one I use that much is Steven Zaloga's 'Modeling US Armor of World War II' anymore.

RBaer: Nice, she's really coming together now.

Ghostrider: Now that's some serious dedication, I tend to get lazy and just cover up any issues with the engine deck with storage!

Which reminds me I really need to get my Jumbo back up and going. She's close to done, some problems with the dio though- just can't make up my mind which way I want to roll there.

And btw Merry Christmas guys! 

Ah, Shermans make me happy.

Here's the direction I'm going now, Belton looking and thinking: "A little adjustment and it's time to add some more armor"......

The hammer is intentionally oversize, kind of like the hammers I made up for my own use when I had my own shop, a couple of 12lb sledges on 14" handles, my favorite tools.

wow, good work on that Pershing.

I got the Shermans in action book in the mail, it should prove more useful then the FSM book.  This kit probably is going to have the most AM stuff I've ever had to deal with, I noticed that the Eduard frets have brackets for a tow cable, so I picked up a resin and wire tow cable set from ET models.

  Be careful, once you dive into the Sherman pool, it's really hard to get back out......

Nice work everybody, been away from the workbench for a while.  Got work started again on my Cargo truck, ran in to a problem with the wind shield.  I glued the clear plastic in, then masked and painted.  When I pealed off the mask the paint bleed through.  So I removed the clear plastic and placed the wind shield frame in a cup of 91% Isopropyl Alcohol to remove all the paint.  99% came off paint came off easy.  My next plan is to mask the frame where the clear plastic gets glued, then prime and paint then dullcoat.  Then glue the clear plastic in.

Also finished the fuel drums, one coat of primer, two coats of model master olive drab, one coat of future then a final coat of Testors Dullcoat.  Have not dullcoated the truck yet.

Ack Dan, that's one reason I like armour, no friggin' clear parts to mess with!

Looks like you've got the matter in hand and the truck and drums look good. Actually looks like maybe Patton had her waxed to impress the Germans!

Hey Dan, the truck looks great; which brand of OD paint did you use on it?

Update on the M18 - I finished the interior and added the suspension and road wheels. I was quite surprised when the instructions called for the interior to be white, but research seemed to support this, so white it is. I initially overdid it with weathering, repainted, started over, and overdid it again.   It'll be visible through the hatches I plan to leave open, but probably not much. Fun kit so far, I'm enjoying it a lot.

Steve: Very nice work there! I did a little research some years back, I think the interior of the hull is white as you've done and the interior of the turret is olive drab as the outside. I think anyway...

Thanks Gamera, yeah after getting back into the hobby this is the first project I've done with clear parts.

Thanks Raven728, On the truck I used up the last of my Tamiya TS-5 Olive Drab then two light airbursh coats of XF-62 Olive drab.  The drum barrels are Model Master faded Oilve drab, out of both Tamiya and Model Master, Tamiya makes the darker olive drab.  I'll start work again on my Sherman, when my truck gets done.

Nice work on your M18 interior.

Dan: that truck looks good indeed!

Raven: Some nice work on the interior of your Hellcat!

Thanks Schatten Spartan.

After two light coats of Dullcote, gluing in the windshield frame this morning, my cargo truck is done.

That's really nice Dan, fine work!

Dan, you are the man!  What a great build!  Great work!  Which pic would you like on the front page?

Eagle90

Thanks Gamera & Eagle90.  I wasn't able to do any weathering, have not had much pratice yet. 

Forgot to up load this picture, would like this to be posted on the front page.

DantheMan85

Thanks Gamera & Eagle90.  I wasn't able to do any weathering, have not had much pratice yet. 

Forgot to up load this picture, would like this to be posted on the front page.

Hey Dan, well I think you did a spectacular job!  Weathering...oh yeah!  It can be tricky, but I'm sure you'll get the hang of it.  Your figure looks great too and that is my weakness.  Try to avoid them but know I'll have to at some point.    I'll get your pic up now!  Great work!

Eagle90

If you want to add some weathering like dirt or mud you can always do it later.

Thanks Eagle 90:  I plan to get supply's this week and start practicing weathering on a scrap model.
With figure painting, a good detail brush is a must have.  When I brush paint anything, I mix the paint with a little thinner in a pallet.  To me it seems to go on better than just straight from the bottle

Gamera:  Yes I am thinking about going that, and also adding a few more fuel drums.

I should be starting work again on my Sherman soon.

Great job on the truck Dan! That's a fine job there.

Thanks Hoggarth.

DantheMan85

Thanks Eagle 90:  I plan to get supply's this week and start practicing weathering on a scrap model.
With figure painting, a good detail brush is a must have.  When I brush paint anything, I mix the paint with a little thinner in a pallet.  To me it seems to go on better than just straight from the bottle

Gamera:  Yes I am thinking about going that, and also adding a few more fuel drums.

I should be starting work again on my Sherman soon.

Hey Dan, that is a great idea!  I have an old M46 that someone gave me that was already built.  I have carried that thing around for 20 plus years never knowing what to do with it.  When I jumped into armor kits...well, I should take a picture of it sometime!  LOL!  It is a Frankenstein tank now!  I use it to try out anything before I do it on the kit I'm building!  It has at least 3 tries at white wash on it, mud, washes of different colors!  But it has been a great test bed for trials! 

I think I will get a good detail brush as you suggested.  When I got back into the hobby, I went cheap on everything!    Didn't want to ruin or use up anything expensive. 

Great work on the truck and like Gamera said, you can always add some weathering later.

Eagle90

I couldn't agree with Dan more, it's if not impossible but crazy frustrating to paint any detail like a figure with a sloppy brush. The big thing is to take care of the point on the brush, I think it was Shep Payne that said that you're paying for the point on the brush. Personally it might be a little unsanitary but after cleaning the brush carefully I lick my thumb and forefinger and use them to shape the end of the brush into a good clean point. When it dries it seems that the saliva makes sure it dries good and tight.

I've joked about having my DNA all over my stuff in case anyone needs to ID it but I do wash the models and then clearcoat them so they're not a health hazard! 

Some great work in here guys. I love that Deuce Dan! I like it more dirty/dusty myself, but that looks real good.

Thank Stikpusher, right now I'm building Sd.Kfz.143 Pz.Beob.Wg.III Ausf.H Cyber Hobby #9136 as a test bed to practice weathering.  After I've built up my weathering skills, I might add some light weathering to my Cargo Truck.

Besides the Sherman's at the Patton Museum in Fort Knox, KY, this Sherman located in Sandusky, OH is the first tank I've photographed with my Canon EOS T3i.  Serial Number: 12699, M4A4(75), built by Ford.  Not sure how long Billy Boys has been outside.

Cool Dan, very good photo there!