Build Complete #9 Cyber-Hobby Orange Box Sherman M4A4 75mm WIP

 VERY nice Edmund, I like all the gear on the engine deck, very busy but not too overdone.

Rob

Thanks a lot for the reply Edmund. You MAY see one of my builds with similar looking tracks in the future!

Nate

Very nice....the details look great.

Rounds Complete!!

~Beautiful work~Dig'in it. You are at the funnest part,,,,the detail painting. I love this part.

Model on!

Edmund, this is coming along great! I love the paintwork.......especially the tracks. What is the main color? I'd like to try that out on a future build. Keep up the great work.

Nate

Build Update Stowage Complete:

I finished painting up the remaining stowage today.  I am done for today but will start prepping figures tomorrow.

Enjoy!

LOl!  You are not going to believe this Bob but I meticously checked the direction of each track as I assembled and I made one complete run for each side like I do with Magic Tracks but I believe because the Shermans had a live track when I tried to thread the entire run it started to shred on me so I had some surgery to do and lessons learned for next time. In that process I mounted one of the tracks on backwards and after hours of making it "right" I had to saw it off and redo it!

dupes wrote:

Schnobs - that looks GREAT so far! Wow, man.

Thanks Dupe this one is coming slow but I really like how it's coming out.

bbrowniii wrote:

dupes wrote: Schnobs - that looks GREAT so far! Wow, man. .  She is purty...  (I'm all about the cowboy today...)

Awww Shucks it twernt nothing sir.."my cowboy impression"  Also I am not goign to hit you.  The hell I'm not!  "Cowboy impression Number 2"

Citadelgrad87 wrote:

<p>The tools look as good as I have seen, as we discussed, JUST the right shade for tool handles, I was able to get a nice &#39;wood&quot; effect on my sherman and other tools to date, but those look just like the tool handles I have seen.</p><p>My tool painting techniqu just changed...again.</p><p>Bill</p>

Thanks Bill and thanks again Rick for passing on the technique. Yes my wood technique has changed with every build!

The tools look as good as I have seen, as we discussed, JUST the right shade for tool handles, I was able to get a nice 'wood" effect on my sherman and other tools to date, but those look just like the tool handles I have seen.

My tool painting techniqu just changed...again.

Bill

dupes wrote:

Schnobs - that looks GREAT so far! Wow, man.

.  She is purty...  (I'm all about the cowboy today...)

Looking amazing Ed, simply amazing.

Gee your tracks are on correctly..........LOL

Bob

Build Update:

I finished painting and mounting the Pioneer Tools.  I broke about half of them getting them of the Formation resin blocks so it's a mix of styrene and resin.  They are really nice but so difficult and fragile to get off that I will not be going down that path again.

Thanks Rick L. for the "wood painting tip from your Rolls Royce Armored car WIP.  I tried it out on the wood handles on the Pioneer tools and I liked how it turned out.

I also manged to position the remaining stowage that I have left to paint.  I think it looks natural enough.

Thanks Utoshita!

wbill76 wrote:

You've been busy while I was gone Edmund, making good progress on this one. You're a brave man to tackle the indy-links on a Sherman build!

Thanks Bill the results were well worth the $ and time.

Citadelgrad87 wrote:

I hate that you had to go through the crucible of the Panda tracks, but MAN was that worth it! The tracks just scream "METAL!!" OK, OK, the party's over.  Let's move on to more weathering.  Bill

Glad you like them Bill.  I now have to finish the Pioneer tools and the remaining stowage, paint up the crew, and start some serious weathering.  I have some rock walls that would look good on a base as well.  Still churning on that....

I hate that you had to go through the crucible of the Panda tracks, but MAN was that worth it!

The tracks just scream "METAL!!"

OK, OK, the party's over.  Let's move on to more weathering. 

Bill

Hey Rob,

I finished assembling and painting the tracks today.  I had some troubles with mounting because I chose to make an entire run and try to feed it theough the drive wheel and things didn't go very well.  I will make straight runs combined with runs around the idler and drive wheels going forward.

Hey Edmund nice to see you back in full force after being sick, hope your over it. That a nice set of drill bits. The Sherman is coming along nicely and you know I'm wiating for the weathering .

Rob

hughes2682 wrote:

Edmund, Thank you for the idler info. The tracks/links look good. I may have to try a set of these. If you haven't tried a set of MK for Shermans AND you need to make an offering to the OCD Beast within then, and only then, I would suggest giving them a try. There are 9 parts per link on the T54E1 track set. Get this, they are workable if you put them together CAREFULLY! Cheers Dave

My pleasure Dave.  So far I have been very impressed with Panda Plastics.  The cleanup is minimal but does take time.  THese are wrokable as well.  Research indicates the typically there are 79 links per side for the M4, M4A1, M4A2, M4A3, M7, M10, and so forth.  The M4A4 uses 83 links per side becsue of the extended hull.  Interestly enough the DS tracks are exactly two links two long being 85 links long.  Here is a dry fit of 83 links.

Michael:  You are so right about indy links being like nitting for modelers.  Very true my friend very true.

I also received my package from the UK yesterday which was a set of 50 Micro-drills which I ordered after reading a review about them they are quite cool and made of hardened tungsten.

Looking gooooood.....ahhhh the knitting of armor modeling....indy tracks. Looking nice.

Rounds Complete!!

What's this?!??!  An active 9 page build log slipping off the first page?  Oh no you DIND"T!

Back up you go so we can ll track Ed's meticulous magic. 

Tracks look daunting, Ed, good thing you are German, I can relax and know you wil finish them.

I'm off to a movie to get myself back on an even keel.

BIll 

Thanks Dave and yes the rear idlers are steel.

I received my Panda Plastics T-62's today so I started that Odyssey damn DML DS tracks to the 7 Rings of Hell! 

They are actually pretty cool.  The lion share of the work will be cutting each piece off the spruce and sanding any imperfections.  They have a friction fit or you can glue each one.

I made a short run for example purposes.

Thanks Jim I figured you were busy with school starting and winning contests and stuff!

Citadelgrad87 wrote:

Antennae look perfect from my angle, all that beefing, and you crank out perfection. I'll call you tomorrow, no matter what! Bill

Cool!

dupes wrote:

Wow, man...looking awesome. Shoelace holes!

Thanks Dupes yeah they are cool and the shoe laces tying them together and interwoven through the leather tie down straps are amazing.

Build Update:

I used Floquil Weathered Black for the rubber ont hte wheels.  It is an amazing color.  My wife walked in after I painted them and actually thought I had replaced the wheels with rubber and that I was going to far.............

Wow, man...looking awesome.

Shoelace holes!

Antennae look perfect from my angle, all that beefing, and you crank out perfection.

I'll call you tomorrow, no matter what!

Bill