1/35 Sherman 75mm (WIP)

wing_nut wrote:

Never been a huge fan of the Sherman.., then agin... I was building armor 'til recnelty, but this does look interesting.  I will eventually run out of German armor how did you add the texture?  Looks good so far.

I covered a paper plate with alluminum foil then put a blob of the grey Tamiya putty on the foil. The next part is smelly...you take a bottle of Testors liquid cement and dip a medium sized round tipped brush into the glue then brush into the putty. The glue will dissolve the putty long enough for you to paint it onto the model. It takes some practice not to leave brush marks, but it is not to difficult.

The glue will also clean the brush after you are done, so no ruined brushes.

Use plenty of ventilation as the glue will start making you see two models after a while.

Ryan

I'm not a Big Sherman fan, but your build looks pretty good. I like the cast texture. Very well done, this coming from a guy on the other side of the isle Keep posting and I'll have to build one of these Shermies to see what all the fuss is.

It looks good,

best regards and happy modelling

Looking good.  Despite its age, the Tamiya M4A3 kit has a special place in my heart being that it was for such a long time, one of the few Sherman kits extant.  One quick and easy fix you might want to do is to fill the seam where the transmission cover abuts the bolt strip affixed to the glacis.  That bolt strip was integral to the trans cover and not to the glacis.  Hope this helps.

(From toadman's site) 

T26E4 wrote:

(From toadman's site)

Hey Roy, the HVSS one in your picture has those side mirrors hanging out the front glacis.  Is that a common thing?  I think I entirely missed those in all the pictures I've looked at. 

 Thanks Roy, I did fill that seem although not really visible in this shot because of the light source. Thanks for your input, I was wanderin' how that was attached in reality.

Thanks Manstien, I would be happy with just "A placer"

Ryan

T26E4 wrote:

Looking good.  Despite its age, the Tamiya M4A3 kit has a special place in my heart being that it was for such a long time, one of the few Sherman kits extant.  One quick and easy fix you might want to do is to fill the seam where the transmission cover abuts the bolt strip affixed to the glacis.  That bolt strip was integral to the trans cover and not to the glacis.  Hope this helps. (From toadman's site)

Rob Gronovius wrote:

Mirrors were a post war addition. I believe to assist the crew when maneuvering on streets with civilian traffic.

 Hi Rob: I have wartime photos of some M4A3E8s that clearly show the mirrors in place (folded away to protect them of course) 

The 3rd Placer wrote:

Make sure to fair in the port framing on the turret as it was one with the structure. 

                                                                                   DISASTERMASTER
 

Different question: I've never seen a Tamiya Sherman in tan plastic. Different release or market? Same as what we get in the states?

BTW, looks like a great build.

disastermaster wrote:

The 3rd Placer wrote: Make sure to fair in the port framing on the turret as it was one with the structure.                                                                                     DISASTERMASTER

You lost me Disastermaster...what do you mean?

RBaer wrote:

Different question: I've never seen a Tamiya Sherman in tan plastic. Different release or market? Same as what we get in the states? BTW, looks like a great build.

It is green, poor lighting.....

Ryan

The 3rd Placer wrote:

disastermaster wrote:  The 3rd Placer wrote: Make sure to fair in the port framing on the turret as it was one with the structure.                                                                                     DISASTERMASTER   You lost me Disastermaster...what do you mean?

  Some people call it the pistol port and some call it the shell ejector port..... in either case, I'm refering to the square hatch on the side of the turret (located in this picture near the lower bottom right quadrant).

 The framework is cast with the turret, not as a separately added part.  

                 Hope this clears it up.

Also, there is a area of "silver-shine" on the recoil area of the main gun which is inherent to the Sherman, Lee and Grant series. Of course this replication comes later on in the build process.

                                                                                     DISASTERMASTER
 

disastermaster wrote:

The 3rd Placer wrote:  disastermaster wrote:  The 3rd Placer wrote: Make sure to fair in the port framing on the turret as it was one with the structure.                                                                                     DISASTERMASTER   You lost me Disastermaster...what do you mean?   Some people call it the pistol port and some call it the shell ejector port..... in either case, I'm refering to the square hatch on the side of the turret (located in this picture near the lower bottom right quadrant).  The framework is cast with the turret, not as a separately added part.                    Hope this clears it up. Also, there is a area of "silver-shine" on the recoil area of the main gun which is inherent to the Sherman, Lee and Grant series. Of course this replication comes later on in the build process.                                                                                      DISASTERMASTER

Crystal clear, thanks

Ryan

Question for All,

Up till know I have left the road wheels and the return rollers movable, I have discovered a little play in each unit.....Should I glue the wheels so they are tight to the face of the unit or the rear. I don't dare leave them movable...a lot easier to paint fixed.

Thanks Ryan

Here's a pic to help clarify what Disastermaster was talking about re the "pistol port"

http://data3.primeportal.net/tanks/greg_smith/m4a1/images/m4a1_17_of_18.jpg

It should be faired smoothly into the turret side, not appear as a discrete frame around the port.

Phil_H wrote:

Here's a pic to help clarify what Disastermaster was talking about re the "pistol port" http://data3.primeportal.net/tanks/greg_smith/m4a1/images/m4a1_17_of_18.jpg It should be faired smoothly into the turret side, not appear as a discrete frame around the port.

What a picture, yes it seems I have a little more work with my toxic texturing soup before painting.

Thanks Ryan

Hello All,

I have re-textured the turret to better represent the single casting detail at the spent shell chute....pics to follow.

I was noticing other builds and it seems I am missing the periscope assembly...I see one on the tree, is that to go on the inside of the open commamders hatch? The directions do not mention this.

Thanks Ryan

Here is the new textured shell ejector chute door, I did some subtle texturing...I still wanted to see the outline of the part somewhat.

I aslo painted the interior white after a base shading coat of Nato Black.

I had planned on using the commander figure included with the kit. I made this figure painting rig from a block of wood and (2) 1/16" diameter metel rods. I sunk the rods about 1" into the wood and epoxied them tight.

The rods are from a grab bag set purchased from Micro Mark.

The figure went together fine, I rescribed the elastic detail on the collar, arm cuff, and the bottom of the jacket. the molded in detail was a little soft to take painting, so I carved here and there to make some features stand out more. The grey is thined Tamiya putty to fill in the arm seams etc. I drilled a hole in the torso and here you are....

The commander seems pleased. I haven't painted a figure in many years this should be interesting.

Getting closer to paint.....I have arranged the stowage pattern I am going to go with.

It is mixture of kit items and a VP set. The tracks went on perfectly, with no splay at the rear end. I cut up one of the drivers periscope included with the kit and used it at the commanders hatch.

Note some of the stowage is not finished yet, some parts need pcs. glued on, and the resin needs some sanding and refinement.

Thanks for looking

Ryan

One more....stowage close up.

Ryan

 Man this is looking really good 3P. This will be a big help for when I do a rebuild of this kit. One thing you might want to do is shave off those nasty molded on grab handels and replace them with some made from wire it will really make a big differance.