Egilman

"The Job is done.... Vive la France !" I think that would be a good title for this one...... Beautiful work.......

That shade of Flat Earth Green look very close to Olive Drab...., some of them are too greenish..... Looking good Tom...

An early war long barreled cast hull sherman tank.... Sicily, (with a short barrel) Italy, (post '43) comes to mind. With the T-48 (square pad) track and the offset return rollers strongly indicates Sicily and perhaps early Italy campaigns.... (there were still some floating around after D-Day in France but probably not with square pad tracks) By 1944 the T-48 track and 75mm gun was out of service. (although there were still a few 75's running around that hadn't reached a service depot yet) That's where you should look for references..... And Ken gave some of the best advice anyone could.... And don't be afraid to ask questions.......

You bleed off way to much energy trying to turn tight, both to get away and to attack.... Especially in jet aircraft... The aircraft maintaining speed always has the advantage..... Olds was so acutely aware of ACM and what was going to happen when they issued gun pods for the F-4 that he refused to allow them to be mounted on his squadrons aircraft. He KNEW what his younger pilots (many of them korean war vets) would do if they had them..... Basically go get themselves killed... (the F-4 was not the F-86) Which was aptly demonstrated by every other USAF squadron flying the F-4...... He saved many a pilot by insisting on (and providing for his pilots) ACM training even though it cost him his career.....

The Culin Hedgerow cutter..... And a different style... The first one is an early DV ported short barreled Sherman and actually after the hedgerow battles. Its been re-tracked with T-51 tracks.... The lower pic being a long barreled A-1 cast hull Sherman without the direct vision ports, probably during the breakout.....

Yep, a couple of Stens in the front seats and an MG34 in the back..... They actually represented this in the movie "The Great Escape" The coburn character "Sedgwick" is in paris trying to look small when he is saved by a cafe keeper when a couple of german officers sit down..... A car like this one pulls up and machine guns the german officers then screeches away and Coburn takes the chance to connect with La Resistance'...... Powerful scene, and is what came to mind as soon as I saw the MG34......

Beautiful kit, it was derived from the Phantom II kit. the II is available in the 60-70 dollar price range but the III, when it is available, easily runs 100.00 bucks more..... The difference between the two, the II is an open coach cabriolet body and the III is the sedan version... Entex also made a III in the same scale, (I don't know if it is a panto or if they acquired the molds) that runs in the 120-130.00 range when you can find one.... Beautiful kits..... all of them...... (and unfortunately I don't have one in my stash) (a bit envious here)

Yeah it's the long barreled 75mm so it's right smack in the middle of sherman production you could pretty much do almost anything with the hull as far as detailing for a diorama, sandbags come to mind... {chuckle}

That was true until Robin Olds arrived on the scene, he corrected that perception of the younger pilots.... But then again, Olds learned his craft (became an ace) flying P-38's against FW 190's over northern Italy, Austria and southern Germany..... there was no greater Boom & Zoom aircraft than the P-38.... Which the Germans nicknamed the "Fork-Tailed Devil" The Japanese had a nickname for it also but I don't remember it...... Robin Olds was the last true old school fighter pilot..... (and an air combat tactical genius)

Looking good my friend....

You sir, definately have the license..... (I haven't renewed mine in a long long time)

It is still non spaced VVSS with return rollers and T-51 rubber chevron tracks without duckbills, that makes it early French operations.... (although I do believe that Tamiya didn't include duckbills on any of their pressings) It could be as early as D-Day itself but the chevron tracks weren't issued to very many shermans until after the invasion....

No, more Operation Cobra or Falaise pocket stuff.... It would have to be first army though by that time Patton's tanks had the 76.2 installed..

My pleasure, BTW... The FS number for RAF Sky is FS34504.....

I think some people have missed my point, you do not put Acrylics over FRESH lacquer.... you HAVE to wait till the lacquer is completely dry. And yes that means it has to pass the smell test.... just simple dry touching will not cut it...... Even though the surface will be touch dry and your fingers will not stick, it is still outgassing and that is what causes the problem.... Craig is telling you true..... Me, I don't have the problem with it cause I do not use acrylics, don't own them and never will... So I don't have to worry about it and sometimes I forget to fully explain.... Thanks Craig for picking up where I dropped the ball...

Brother the pantone color code for Sky color is #d6e4e5 that give you the range of colors and manufacturers that make it.... RAF Sky is a pale green color... The closest I can come to it is RAL 170 90 05..... RAL 170 90 05 On your side of the pond you can get it from here.... Yourspraypaints.com They will make you up a spraycan.... EG

Resistance is futile......

They were used extensively during the war as communications carriers and light patrol vehicles....

It's a solvent based nitrocellulose lacquer as is Tamiya's brand they are just formulated a bit different as far as the mix of components.... The first thing one needs to understand about Enamel Paint is that there is no generally accepted definition or standard for use of the term enamel paint, and not all enamel-type paints may use it. but in general there are two types, Vitreous Enamels, (those that need to be fired in a kiln to coat and adhere) Powder Coating is an example of Vitreous Enamel....... On the other side is Acrylic Enamels, which an acrylic medium in usually an oil base carrier. the types of Enamel Paint are all over the map and usually with a significant amount of gloss in them, however recently many latex or water-based paints have adopted the term as well. By far, the type of Enamel Paint in most widespread use is Alkyd enamels of which category most model paint falls into, the same as most automotive and common house paint sold at big box stores. Acetone will destroy the base of any of these paints. Today, what is known as Lacquer is actually Nitrocellulose paint, yes, still being used today despite it's toxicity and volubility, and is what I refer to as modern true lacquer. Examples of Enamel paints..... Floor enamel – May be used for concrete, stairs, basements, porches, and patios. Fast dry enamel – Can dry within 10–15 minutes of application. Ideal for refrigerators, counters, and other industrial finishes. High-temp enamel – May be used for engines, brakes, exhaust, and BBQs. Enamel paint is also used on wood to make it resistant to the elements via the waterproofing and rotproofing properties of enamel. Generally, treated surfaces last much longer and are much more resistant to wear than untreated surfaces. Model building - Xtracolor and Humbrol are mainstream UK brands. Colourcoats model paint is a high quality brand with authentic accurate military colours. Testors, a US company, offers the Floquil, Pactra, Model Master and Testors brands. Nail Enamel - to color nails is also called as enamel and it comes in many varieties for fast drying, color retention, gloss retention etc.. Epoxy enamel, Polyurethane Enamel etc used in protective coating / industrial painting purpose in chemical and petrochemical industries for anti corrosion purposes. The term "Enamel Paint" today, means "hard surfaced paint" and usually is in reference to paint brands of higher quality, floor coatings of a high gloss finish, or spray paints. Most enamel paints are alkyd resin based. Some enamel paints have been made by adding varnish to oil-based paint. It's a generic trade term and is no longer considered a specific formulation....

Correction, we will be honored to watch you work.... And very pleased that you allow us to comment on such..... That is a privilege we greatly respect....

Sorry Roger, this is going to come across hard but it's not meant that way, it is meant to educate...... There are basically four types of lacquers. the earliest types have been around for thousands of years.... Urushiol-based lacquers; Ancient, they go back 10's of thousands of years. they come from the resinous sap of a specific tree that grows in Asia.... when the resin dries, (loses it's water content) it becomes a very hard shell coating over whatever it's put on.. The Chinese Red and Japanese Black lacquers are of this variety. they need careful handling cause they are very toxic when wet.... We do not use these for model building..... Nitrocellulose lacquers; Developed in the 1800's they are solvent based lacquers containing nitrated cotton or other cellulose type materials. These were used for the coating on brass instruments and other decorative metal items and tools to preserve the polished finish. In the 1920's fast drying versions were developed for automobile painting, the most common color being black. The first colored lacquers were produced in 1923 by duPont for automotive paint the first color offered was blue "Duco" branding applied to GM's Oakland brand of cars. The rest of GM followed suit. By 1924 Nitrocellulose lacquers were being applied to anything metal requiring a shiney hard painted surface...... It is toxic and highly flammable when wet, it also brought about the extensive use of spray painting equipment. It is a close relative to the nitrocellulose used in explosives. Acrylic lacquers; Developed in the 1950's acrylic lacquers are thermoplastics, in most cases a polymerization of acrylic acid. these types of acrylics are also used in enamel paints because they dry to a hard shelled shine. These were used in the automotive industry until the three part polyurethane system was adopted for automotive finishes... (AKA Clear coat finishes) Water-based lacquers; More and more water-based colored lacquers are replacing solvent-based clear and colored lacquers in under hood and interior applications in the automobile industry and other similar applications. (like model painting) Water based lacquers are used extensively in wood furniture finishing as well. Water based lacquer has a tendency to be highly sensitive to other fresh finishes such as quick dry primer (excluding waterborne lacquer primers), caulking and even some paints that have a paint/primer aspect. Basically they react with most solvent based lacquers. Once it happens, there is no easy fix as the lacquer is so reactive to other products. Also it is generally softer than the other types of lacquers..... The fact of the matter is, Lacquers are not and never have been plastics suspended in acetone..... Most of this is my paraphrasing of Wiki information with lots of accreditations..... EG

I remember building a few of those in my youth.... You do have an airforce.....

As far as MacArthur, tactically, he was the closest thing we had to a classic field marshall..... pure genius, the only general we had more tactically capable was Patton. that being said, MacArthur was political and that was both good and bad.... with how he handled the allied forces yes, with how he handled Japan after the fighting was over, pure genius...... One thing he couldn't handle? Was Ike becoming president... He always thought he was smarter than Eisenhower.... (thought he was smarter than Truman also and disobeyed both him and Ike in Korea to all our dismay) That was the political side of MacArthur..... Strange guy that General Mac......

Acrylics on top of lacquer primer and lacquer paints is a different beast altogether. The lacquer primers and paints have a lot more filling compounds/tint carriers and thinner than does clear overcoats which contains a lot more real lacquer. Especially the gloss lacquers... Generally I allow 24 hours for enamels and lacquers to dry, (very thin coats) and usually in the case of lacquer, I spray a section on my overspray table cover so I can test the dryness with a finger before I touch the part particularly for all gloss and clear products. If when you touch it with a finger and it feels sticky, it is still curing.... Sometimes, in the case of ultra smooth glossy heavy lacquer it can take as much as a week to fully cure.... I've read on other forums that sometimes heavy lacquers like alclad black base for chrome, has never fully cured..... (probably not thinned enough) The issue is that the lacquer has to have a way to completely degas, (which it eventually will) and if you cover it while it is degassing it will fog the finish, heat accelerates the process..... so it dries the acrylic and forces the lacquer to degas faster at the same time... giving you what you saw.... Straight, fully cured lacquer is so tough that it is next to impossible to sand, (almost like fiberglass resins) and takes polishing very very well because it is so hard.... Paints and primers cannot function correctly if they were that hard. Best practice with high gloss lacquer finishes, leave it alone for however long it takes and paint/spray a test spot for checking it's cure state..... In modeling, if it hasn't cured in 72 hours, you probably need to strip and redo it, more than likely it is an improperly mixed, bad batch of lacquer.... EG

The model railroaders standby, paintable, sprayable all purpose diorama adhesive.... The Woodland scenics molds are the best when it comes to reproducing rockfaces and outcroppings....