Jumbo Sherman finnished

The turret is fairly decent OOB, but the transmission cover needs to be replaced. The Jumbo had an up armored transmission cover.

I just got this kit a couple months ago! This thread will be intresting for me to wach.

Another Sherman from Bodge, cool, I'll be watching. I'll be building a Sherman this fall for the Wings and Wheels show next year so I'm hoping to learn a thing or two about Shermans.

 

Rob

p.s.  You know how I'll be building it right.

scratchmod wrote:

p.s.  You know how I'll be building it right.

....wouldn't want it any other way.

I plan on doing the hairspray and salt on this one , not for rust but for a chipped whitewash  version.

Bodge, the DS T48 w/EEC tracks would really help this one, or if they're easier to come by, Academy also supplies them in its M4A2 PTO kit. TWS does a trans cover that works nicely also...

Personally, I would be careful on the weathering, since these tanks were realtively late arrivals in the ETO and wouldn't show a lot of chipping, if any, since the whitewash was water-based,  but that's just my take on it. Maybe rubbed off instead of chipped....however I'm very interested in what you come up with. Model on, Garth!

I think that casting texture is going to look a treat when you get it painted

Agreed.

I try to keep at least one of these things in the stash, easy now since they're cheap at the vendors' tables. 

Bodge, here's an example of what I was talking about regarding the tracks. The first pic is a jumbo with the Acad tracks, the second pic is a Tamiya-based M4A2 76 (w) with the Tamiya tracks. The Tamiya tracks are accurate for some vehicles but all jumbos had EECs fitted from the factory on T48 tracks. I haven't seen anything else so far. Not a major issue, but characteristic of jumbos.....

Hope this helps.....the jumbo also has a TWS trans cover and turret.

RBaer wrote:

VERY nice job there too.

Thanks for the imfo , i will have to put this on the back bench now as i thought i could build out of the box and i have so many kits that i cant warrant spending out for tracks and transmision cover at this time as im saving for another hols, sorry guys this one will have to wait. If i could of used the tracks i would have handled doing the trans cover .

I wanted somethink quick and easy to build, i have a famo on the go but this one is a bit involved with loads of PE and so i only do when im in the mood. As i exspect some of you will have noticed im a bit lazy on the construction side of Armour and consentrate on my favorite bit the painting and weathering. i like straight forward building and im not that keen on PE although i do like scratch building some details.

D-Master, thanks.

Bodge, hate to see you shelve it..... I've got one in a dio that has the kit tracks, totally OOB, and looks fine. Also, the Dragon DS tracks are only like $14 US......

If its ok to use the kits tracks i will carry on with it and just uparmour the transmision?

Bodge wrote:

If its ok to use the kits tracks i will carry on with it and just uparmour the transmision?

I don't see anything wrong with the tracks as it looks the same as in one of the pictures below.

I built the same kit a while back and I just modified the tranny cover. Actually the turret is also off in shape so some modifications are needed as well.

Yes, the steel chevron tracks were also used on Jumbos. The rubber chevrons were just more commonly seen. In both cases the duckbills must be used. The biggest shortfall of the Tamiya kit is the transmission cover. After that, the rest of the fine tuning is up to you (adding bottoms of sponsons, raised weld beads, texturing, etc)

Excellent! I'd never seen a pic of the steel chevron tracks on a jumbo! Now I feel better about this one, totally OOB:

Get moving, Bodge! 

As for the turret shape you may refer to this drawing

If I remember it correctly, the weld lines on the top of the turret in the Tamiya kit ran through the commander's hatch as compared to the drawings where the weld lines just touch the edge of the hatch. This could be easily fixed by beefing up the sides of the turret and re-routing the weld lines.

Dwight,

You are sharp man, I just pulled my Jumbo out of my shop and you are correct the weld lines actually intersect right at about where the hinges are on the commanders hatch and if you look at the actual Tamiya turret the weld line is a lot closer to the loaders hatch hinges than in your drawing. Actually the weld line comes a lot closer to the edge of just about every detail on the actual Tamiya turret than in the drawing. I also notice the angle of the turret right above the mantlet cover is steeper than on the drawing by maybe as much as 7-10 degrees. However as I hold the turret up to the drawing the front, side and rear view look good? A drawing with actual measurements would help, I am sure there is one out there somewhere!
Maybe its me I am getting a little old and can't see very well anymore but what exactly is wrong with the transmission cover that needs changing, I saw one photo of a Jumbo like at a tank museum that looked like it had a large bar of steel maybe 8"x6" running across the top but otherwise? I guess I can't see it!

Any advice would help as I am also starting this build.

Newarmorman

newarmorman wrote:

Dwight, You are sharp man, I just pulled my Jumbo out of my shop and you are correct the weld lines actually intersect right at about where the hinges are on the commanders hatch and if you look at the actual Tamiya turret the weld line is a lot closer to the loaders hatch hinges than in your drawing. Actually the weld line comes a lot closer to the edge of just about every detail on the actual Tamiya turret than in the drawing. I also notice the angle of the turret right above the mantlet cover is steeper than on the drawing by maybe as much as 7-10 degrees. However as I hold the turret up to the drawing the front, side and rear view look good? A drawing with actual measurements would help, I am sure there is one out there somewhere! Maybe its me I am getting a little old and can't see very well anymore but what exactly is wrong with the transmission cover that needs changing, I saw one photo of a Jumbo like at a tank museum that looked like it had a large bar of steel maybe 8"x6" running across the top but otherwise? I guess I can't see it! Any advice would help as I am also starting this build. Newarmorman

I got this information previously from a member here and I am just passing it around. I am sorry that I don't have a bigger picture of the profile drawings. I know that I was able to get one previously from Shermanfreak (a sherman expert who used to be a member here) when I was building my model but I am not sure where it is.  

Cheers for all the imformation on this one, How did you alter the transmision cover and to what degree?

What I did is just to approximate the thickness and shape based on the pictures (particularly the colored one) available. Probably not the best way to do it but in the end it was better than the original kit part.

The trans cover on the jumbo is actually 3 to 4 inches (can't remember exactly) thicker than the standard, late cast cover that Tamiya supplies in their kit. I'ts a visible difference, since the extra thickness is all on the outside of the cover. It's noticable in my previous post with the jumbo and M4A3/76 pics. It should be raltively easy to do with putty and/or plastic, and I may do so shortly, as I have another Tamiya jumbo in the stash to try on. The TWS part I used on the model in that same post was something I picked up at a show a while back, haven't seen one since.

Thanks guys, i will take note and have a go.

Good to see someone doing this without spending $ on resin, but....
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Tank workshop & Blast models of France have conversions, have a look at the reviews, pics, etc, my TWS set shows the noticable difference in the tranny cover.
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http://www.tankworkshop.com/Shop/agora.cgi?cart_id=937.22702&p_id=TWS0025&xm=on
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http://www.tankworkshop.com/Shop/agora.cgi?cart_id=937.22702&p_id=TWS0069&xm=on
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Blast: Reference BL35017K ~ SHERMAN M4A3E2 JUMBO CONVERSION
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http://www.phpshopxml.com/blamod.shop/CID/8d87c14c149e7aeed31004aff562574f/function/itemPageDisplay/shopItemCode/BL35017K
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Reviews here: http://www.usarmymodels.com/MANUFACTURERS/Tamiya/tamiya35139.html
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http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/usa/jbjumbo/jbjumbo.htm
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http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/blast/bl35017k.htm
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Think i have finnished Sherman in the construction Phase,I have done cast texture on turret ,uparmoured the trans cover ,redone weld beads on turret, hull and mantlet. Added bolts around machine gun cover. Done rolled steel effect on added armour on the side and front of hull. Added bolt hanging bar for side skirts and tie down strap for spare track on rear aswell as arial and cast numbers on the turret.

 

Coming along very nicely there sir!

Looking good Andy! Can't wait to see what you do with it in the paint/finish department.

Put on some colour tonight starting with a coat of dungal gelb then put on dark shadow lines  followed by a overal coat of dungel gelb then i sprayed on highlights and water marks down the sides.

Bodge wrote:

Put on some colour tonight starting with a coat of dungal gelb then put on dark shadow lines  followed by a overal coat of dungel gelb then i sprayed on highlights and water marks down the sides.

I had to read through this twice just to be sure I wasn't seeing things! Better lock your doors at night Andy, the Shermanaholics will be there with pitchforks and torches before you know it to avenge their olive drab honor!  Definitely a sign that you're firmly in the German armor camp, old habits die hard when referring to basecoat colors. Love what you've done with it so far, keep the updates coming!