How many of you have ever considered giving a built model as a gift? A close friend and co-worker of mine once was associated with the local reserve unit during the 50's. They used the M4A2 E8 Sherman as their mainstay and I decided to build one for him for his birthday.
The kit started life as DML's M4A3 E8. The rear of both the upper and lower hulls were modified to the M4A2 configuration. The engine grill was replaced with parts from the Italeri Marine Corps Sherman and parts from the spares box were used to construct the exhaust system. The dust cover on the mantlet was made out of tissue paper soaked in a 50 / 50 mix of white glue and water. The decals are home built using the computer to produce the graphics and then having them printed at a local copier place onto decal paper. The model was built without any storage due to the fact that these were weekend warriors, they never got very far from home. Final weathering and I kept it fairly light too was achieved with a light drybrushing of steel and pastel chalks to dust it up a bit.
The final product represents an M4A2 E8 of the King's Own Calgary Regiment (K.O.C.R.) in the mid 1950's.
The first pic shows the final presentation with the Sherman completely encased.
Hope you all enjoy ..... all comments graciously recieved.
Happy Modelling and God Bless
Robert