Sherman M4A3 105mm HVSS ** Finished!! Pics on pg. 6 - 12/06/08 **

Stampede wrote:

Hmm... Seems like I've gotten kinda stuck here in the dark zone. Haven't quite got the inspiration to build a car model after being done with the StuG IV. So I decided to do some more armor . . . .

Once you go track, you never go back!  Looks like you're off to a good start.  Never mind about the grease fittings- you know they're there, and that's what counts.

Be careful when fitting the rubber tires to the wheels, you may have to scrape some paint (on the wheel, the tire inner surface, or both) to avoid them splitting when you do the installation.

Off to a good start!

wbill76: Thanx for the tip, I'll keep that in mind.  

A little progress to the 105 this weekend.

Got some more weld seams applied to the front and rear. Made a bit more texture to the upper hull with some Mr. Surfacer 500, great stuff btw.. I also got some PE and tools mounted.

Small detail on the rear lamp here too.

I had to move the gun travel lock fasteners a bit down due to the fact that they were molded to high up for an M4A3 105mm

PE weld under the lifting eye.

Some tools...

This thing was kinda tricky to put togheter, because it is supposed to be movable. I had to make sort of a split rivet out of brass to make it work. But I got it togheter and it moves.
I also found out that the Sherman's got loads of tie downs , this unit alone has 8 of them, and they're really tiny and a p.i.t.a. to mount.

This is the under side of the stowage shelf with the gun cleaning rods.

Feedback are always welcome...

Fine work you have going there!  One thing to know: DML made a mistake with the crank handle behind the rear "luggage rack".  It should be omitted completely.  It was only a feature of radial engined Shermans (M4, M4A1s).  Also, when you mate the upper and lower hulls, make sure you blend in the bolt strip that you've already glued to the lower part of the glacis.  This bolt strip was integral to the transmission cover and not to the glacis.  Here's a pic from Toadman's galleries:

One final nitpic: the rear corner lifting lugs should be perpendicular to the ground, not to the angled rear plate.  Maybe tilt yours inwards a tiny bit?

Thanx for the nice comments guys, highly appreciated!

roosterpelo: I applied the Mr. Surfacer with a paint brush, small sections at a time, and dabbed it with a stiff brush until it was dry, which was really fast. I then blended the next section into the already dry one with the stiff brush during the next application.

T26E4: Thanx for the cudos! 
Thanx for the pics and the tip regarding the blending of the bolt strip, and the crank handle is now a gonner, and I've tilted the lifting lugs inwards.

Been kinda slow progress on this Sherman for a while now due to too much sunny weather up here in Norway. And sunny weather is show'n shine time for my 1/1 car.
But I've gotten some more PE applied, nothing much but I'd call it progress...

Some straps and buckles, a drain hole drilled is also visible in this pic...



I need to clean up the glue around all those tiny tie-downs and make'em look like weld spots.
Tedious work but I think the end result will be worth it.

Started the PE periscopes...



Added chain and a handle on the fuelcaps, drilled a drain hole and added a weld seam on the inside of the armor protecting the fuelcap. 

Here's the fuel cap and drain hole on the other side...


Hopefully more progress in a while cause they say the rain's coming...

Details, details... :)
I used the PE fenders that came with the Dragon kit. Banged them up a bit before I mounted them. In addition I used some fender parts from the Aber set to complete the fenders, the profile on the transcover and the vertical profile on the fender. I this pic you can also see the front tow cable shackle.

Various protection on the front of the hull.

The fenders on the right and left side. To complete the fenders I just have to mount the fender support braces.

I filled the gap between the "bolt strip" and the front glacis plate, and I also gave the transcover a Mr. Surfacer treatment for some serious structure.

Nice little hook for the gun travel lock...

I chose to have one hatch closed and one open to show some of the detail inside the open one.
The closed hatch with the periscope in the upper position.

The open hatch with the periscope removed from the "holder", and some additional details.

Protection on the rear lights and a little wire for detail.

Last pic tonight is the shackle for the tow cable in the rear.

More will follow cause I'm in da groove...  ;)

It's looking good so far- you've got more patience for all those little fiddly bits of PE than I do.  Those are the first PE periscopes I've ever seen- were they as much of a PITA as I imagine?

I look forward to the finished product.

Nice, sharp detail work. Hats off! One cool detail- I dunno if this was on all Shermans- are the cover holders for the headlamp and horn ports (?) that are attached to the side of the brush guards:

(also on loan from Toadman) 

When the lamps, horn are in position, there's a cap in the holder with a chain attached. Before action, the lamps and horn were removed, I believe, and the caps placed in the sockets.

If I'm wrong with any of this information, pelase correct me.

Steve

@Dre: Thanx! The periscopes was kinda PITA but I've done worse, like the clamps for the tow cables on this here Sherman...

@doog: Thanx man, highly appreciated!

@wing_nut: Thanx! Decided to go the whole nine yards with this one. Well, some of the parts are quite tiny, the clamps for the tow cables measure 3mm in total length...

@biffa: Thanx Ron, hope the paint turns out the way I hope it will.

@panzerguy: Thanx! Not all the PE is from the kit, I bought the Aber 35032 kit additionally.

@SteveM: Thanx! I'm working on those covers and holders at the moment.

@Thanx Manny, a shame with that OD huh?

@IA Novice: Thanx! I hate to dissapoint you dude but my hands are of normal size. But, loads of swearing when bending PE goes a long way...

@RBaer: Thanx for the cudos on my PE work, highly appreciated. I hope it'll turn out like a looker in OD.

I'm closing in on the paintjob on this one soon. Just gotta get all the yankee stash loaded on to the rear of this Sherman. Not a big fan of that but I think it's needed on Shermans.

Finished the fender supports and turret. Brushed and stippled some Mr. Surfacer 1000 for some structure on the turret.

Here's a few pics...

I banged up the front fender supports a bit to go with the miss-aligned and banged up fenders. On the left side I removed the front support completetly. I drilled a hole in the fender where the bolt should have been, and added a small PE bit on the hull to simulate the broken mounting point.
  

On the right side I bent the bracket and added another small PE bit on the hull to simulate the broken mounting point on that side.

Inside the commanders cupola a standard M6 PE periscope was mounted. I used some small plastic tubing cut in half to simulate the pivot points on the periscope. The hatch shutter mechanism consisted of three parts that where quite fun putting togheter. In addition to that I drilled and hinged the hatch to make it moveable, I think this look better too

In the rear of the turret I fabricated the missing foundry symbol of letters shaved from a piece of sprue. I also added a weld seam to the .050 transport bracket(?), and I added another small tie-down.
 

.050 barrel bracket...

Some turret details in the next two pics...

  

Loaders hatch and periscope detail. I made the hatch springs because the molded on ones didn't look very nice.

 

Here's the hook that holds the loaders hatch down while in open position.

I tried to simulate the cast seams on the turret with Mr. Surfacer. One of the seams can be seen below the turret lift ring.
  

I've noticed something typical on the pistol ports of the Sherman on all pics I've seen, it's a kind of "punch mark". Usually we remove these marks when building, but I added this one on purpose with Mr. Surfacer and an aluminum tube. 

Last detail shot is the gunners periscope and the commanders vane sight. (I think that's what it's called)
 

And finally some "full figure" shots so far.

I can't wait to start painting this one... 

Great stuff so far!  One thing I noticed is the skewed horizontal volute spring housings.  Make sure that they are straight before you glue everything down.  If I recall, the internal spring makes this problem.  I did away with that on my Thunderbolt M4A3E8 but omitting the springs and gluing everything square.

Keep up the good work

Thanx for the kind words!

I'll be sure to fix the spring housings before I glue them down. Seems like I should've omitted the springs completely and just glued everything in place the first time. Thanx for noticing.  

FANTASTIC WORK!!

T26E4 wrote:

Great stuff so far!  One thing I noticed is the skewed horizontal volute spring housings.  Make sure that they are straight before you glue everything down.  If I recall, the internal spring makes this problem.  I did away with that on my Thunderbolt M4A3E8 but omitting the springs and gluing everything square. Keep up the good work

Dear Lord, not the horizontal volute spring housing issue again!

@RBaer: Thanx a lot! Kinda agree with you on the covering with paint issue, but I cannot go with the factory production look.

@SteveM: Thank you very much!

@Biffa: Thanx a lot Ron! This comment means a lot coming from you, cause your work inspires me! Thanx again.