War in the Desert - African campaign GB - 12/9/07 to 5/13/08

Finally completed my re-painted Sherman III. Not particulaly happy with the final result. I seem to have a blind spot with shermans, ive built 2 and im not happy with ither of them. Ive got 3 more to build though so plenty of chance to get it right.

Any comments or suggestions welcome. 

Nice Sherman Saddler.  A little too clean for me, but nothing wrong with a Parade finish if that's what you like.

Regards,  Rick

saddler wrote:

It is pretty clean but then I was basing it on a photo taken during a rest/ refit period. The Sherman was repainted shortly before the picture was taken in time for a parade!

Parade finish is OK, especially with a historic photo reference, but I like mine grubby .

Regards,  Rick

rjkplasticmod wrote:

saddler wrote: It is pretty clean but then I was basing it on a photo taken during a rest/ refit period. The Sherman was repainted shortly before the picture was taken in time for a parade! Parade finish is OK, especially with a historic photo reference, but I like mine grubby . Regards,  Rick

LOL!  Define "grubby" in regards to armor, Rick.  You know as well as I do some of the true-blue armor guys would call yours "clean"!

Both look quite nice, IMHO. 

Progress report: I have the upper camo colors applied now, so it's time for some touchup and then assembly of the landing gear.  Slow and steady.

Saddler, Definitely I must be missing something about Corston because it looks correct to me. It has a beautifull hard edge camo which is always hard to make and the kit is 1/72nd scale, right?. I agree and believe a bit of extra weathering would fit very well and that red rust shade on tracks does not work well to me, but I consider you have some good reasons to be happy with your work.

Rick, Good work on your Shermie too. That one looks the Tamiya 1/48 model, Am I wrong?. As for the AOW figures in the States you surely can get them in the Michigan Toy Soldier (http://www.michtoy.com/) or canadian Track 48 shop (http://www.track48.com/).

Tamiya 1/48 scale Universal Carrier

Here you have it finally.

I am working on the small desert scene now.

Lu

Lu... Thanks for the source info on the figures & for the comments on the Sherman.  You are correct, it's the 1/48 Tamiya kit.

The UC is simply breath taking.  Truly excellent work.  Really looking forward to seeing it in the desert scene.

Regards,  Rick

Greg:  Nice work on the Spitfire and, as Rick's already pointed out, the preshading looks great.  Can't wait to see more progress pictures!

Lu:  Outstanding job on both the Universal Carrier and the figures!  The washes, dry-brushing, and other work really make everything stand out.

T-rex:  Your Hanomag looks great!  I agree with Arki30 in that I prefer the 'before' over the 'after,' but it's whatever makes you happy that counts.

Saddler: I don't see anything negative about your Sherman, and I'd be very happy to have mine come out as nice!  Rick's looks great with the weathering, but I understand your rationale for keeping it clean.

Mark 

T-Rex, I would have to agree with others that I think you've overdone it a tad on the dust.  IMHO if you removed a lot so that only rested in the natural places dust collects, you'd have a real winner.

Saddler really nice looking work on the Sherman III, I presume this is the look you were going for

Btw, care to share exactly what colours you went for in the end?

Luciano thanks once again for explaining your techniques and showing us another fabulous model from start to finish, I'll look forward to seeing this kit in a magazine really soon .

Progress on my 1/48 Panzer III has slowed a tad as I'm trying a new (for me) painting technique called colour modulation.  I don't know how it will turn out but I'll post some pics soon.

Cheers

If it is'nt too late I would like to change my entry to Tamiya's 1/35 German BMW R/75 Motorcycle w/ Sidecar (kit no. 35016) if that would be ok.

Thanks,

Chris

Sure Chris, that's fine.

I've been thinking of doing a light (easy) vehicle as well since I've got so many other builds that I might not be able to finish the Sherman in time...and I had better finish something since it's my GB...

Hermes, I'm also thinking of switching builds.  I have been struggling to convert Dragon's M4A1 to an early version, but have hit snag after snag, most likely due to my lack of experience with kitbashing and resin conversions.  I probably bit off more than I can chew with this one!  None of the mixed parts I'm using want to go together correctly (lower hull, upper hull, tranny housing, fenders..etc, etc.)  ARRRRGHHHH!!!   The only way I see getting this conversion done correctly is to order replacements for some of the resin parts I'm using, but they could take some time to arrive.   With your approval I'll take a look at what I have in the stash and see if there's something else I can build....OOB!! 

Some progress on my Spitfire.  Basic painting is done & she's Futured waiting for decals.

Sorry about the pic quality, my fill flash decided to malfunction & I see I have some dirt on the camera sensor.  The bane of the DSLR camera.  Cleaning time.

Regards,  Rick

Thanks guys.  Decals started today...Getting close.

Regards,  Rick

Nice work, Rick!  What paints did you use for the topside colors?

Mark

Thanks Mark.  The paints used were all Model Master enamels... Middlestone, Dark Earth on the top sides & Azure Blue on the lower.  Some references show the lower surface as Mediterranian Blue, but Azure would have been more likely IMHO.

Regards,  Rick.

rjkplasticmod wrote:

Thanks Mark.  The paints used were all Model Master enamels... Middlestone, Dark Earth on the top sides & Azure Blue on the lower.  Some references show the lower surface as Mediterranian Blue, but Azure would have been more likely IMHO. Regards,  Rick.

Thanks, Rick.  Those are the same paints I used on my kittyhawk, but our two airplanes look so different (to me at least).  It's amazing how much different cameras, lighting, etc. can affect a photograph.

Mark

Right you are Mark.  That's why you have to be very careful using published color photograohs as Bible references.

Going back & looking at your pics, I'd say the main difference is in the type of lighting used & the White Balance setting on the cameras.  Mine were taken with Flash, but my guess is you used incandescent.  If you set them side by side in natural lighting, they would likely be very close to the same in color.

Regards,  Rick

Great looking Spitfire Rick, you've really nailed that camo especially the hard edge demarcation lines.

As a note on the underside color of those DAF birds, the only time you can see (or guess) that one may be Mediterranean Blue vs. Azure is when you have a photo of several aircraft together and you can see that the underside of some of the aircraft are much lighter than others. 

Thanks Darren.

Got the decals on the Spit & sealed with another coat of Future.  Won't be this shiney when finished.

Regards,  Rick

Sorry I haven't commented on the excellent builds being displayed here-a bit busy, but that's no excuse.

Saddler-fine job on the Sherman.  Very nice looking.

Lu-wonderful job weathering the UC.  I'll be reviewing your techniques for future builds

Rick-as always, an excellent build in progress.

I'm about 95% done on my Spitfire.  I still need to do an oil wash on the wheels & struts, add some exhaust & gun stains, but here she is:

Overall, this Tamiya kit is very forgiving.  A lot of detail that one more skilled than myself could take to the next level.  I buggered up the canopy (the masks bled thru) so after some cleanup, I decided that the 'open canopy look' hid some of the imperfections.  Missed a seam here or there, but overall, a fun, easy build.  I'll be adding another on to my stash.

Thanks Bob.  Kudos to your Spit.  Very nice.

Regards,  Rick