M4A3 Sherman w/ 105 mm Howitzer & 75 mm Long Gun tanks by Jack12477 - 1:35 scale - Tamiya - FINISHED

[Jack12477]

Thanks. 

 

I have some ideas for a diorama, just need to think it thru. Course getting raw material for it during this lockdown will be challenging.

 

All my previous armour which I showed you all in the other forum was done with an airbrush using Floquil paints. I still have the airbrush but not having any good results with these new paints.  Was never able to get Tamiya paint to work for me in an airbrush, still can't.  Hand brushing works but can't get the same effects as with an airbrush. Still experimenting tho.  

[ASAT]

I imagine you have tried thinning tamiya paints with mr. Color leveling thinner? That’s what I used and this is my first time airbrushing and it seemed pretty easy.... for military paint jobs anyway, they ain’t no show car...😎😀

[Jack12477]

Have not tried Mr Color brand, only Tamiya brand thinners.  Thanks for the tip.

[Canute]

EG, I like the icy roads theme. My Dad wad a 3rd Army MP directing the armor north from Metz, in France, toward Bastogne. I wandered that area when I was stationed there. Heavily wooded, some old stone bridges and a high crown on the road. Yeah, they would have slid off into the ditches.  Brr, just thinking about that.

 

Got any jalapenos for those nachoes?  😁🤣

Edited April 12, 2020 by Canute

[ASAT]

59 minutes ago, Jack12477 said:

Have not tried Mr Color brand, only Tamiya brand thinners.  Thanks for the tip.

I used it pretty thin too, about the consistency of whole milk..... color and thinner probably close to 50/50..... multiple light coats...

[Egilman]

46 minutes ago, Canute said:

Heavily wooded, some old stone bridges and a high crown on the road. Yeah, they would have slid off into the ditches.

Yep, there's film of just such happening on the web, or there used to be.... what would happen is almost like a car you could get it going straight you could get it moving. as soon as you tried to change direction, the tank would turn, but it would keep going in the same direction you were trying to turn away from until the crown of the road pushed it off to one side or the other. When that happened, your down for the ride. It didn't stop until it reached the dirt shoulder where the track would catch and the tank would spin around till one whole track was in the dirt then it would stop....

 

This is the reason all those back forest roads during this period had broken down pavement edges and shoulders that were nothing but mud, cause the tracks quickly learned that they needed to keep one track off the cobblestones to maintain control....

[mtaylor]

5 hours ago, lmagna said:

I have been here stalking you from the overhead rafters Edward, (My favorite hangout at these events)!

I thirded it. MUST HAVE DIORAMMMMMAAA!

From the overhead?  You're either a sniper or a bat.  

[lmagna]

6 hours ago, Old Collingwood said:

How about a knocked out Tiger mixed in also  that would be super duper.

One thing to remember OC. The Sherman was primarily an infantry support tank and as such performed quite well. Even the Russians seemed to like it even though they has access to their very capable T-34. The Shermans also did quite well against the earlier German tanks from much the same design period like the Panzer IV. Later, after Normandy when faced with the Tiger and Panther not so well, at least not when confronted 1:1.

 

It was considered a good tank over all which is why it was still modified and used by many countries until well after WWII and all of the way through the Korean war by the US. They were still in use by some countries as late as 1980.

[Old Collingwood]

10 hours ago, lmagna said:

One thing to remember OC. The Sherman was primarily an infantry support tank and as such performed quite well. Even the Russians seemed to like it even though they has access to their very capable T-34. The Shermans also did quite well against the earlier German tanks from much the same design period like the Panzer IV. Later, after Normandy when faced with the Tiger and Panther not so well, at least not when confronted 1:1.

 

It was considered a good tank over all which is why it was still modified and used by many countries until well after WWII and all of the way through the Korean war by the US. They were still in use by some countries as late as 1980.

Thanks Lou,   I remember seeing the difference in films like Kelly's Heroes  when the Sherman tried to take on a Tiger.

 

OC.

[ASAT]

Wow.... 40 posts and nuthin’ is even glued yet? I think you boys are waxing a bit sentimental over this ol’ Sherman......😀😇

[Old Collingwood]

31 minutes ago, ASAT said:

Wow.... 40 posts and nuthin’ is even glued yet? I think you boys are waxing a bit sentimental over this ol’ Sherman......😀😇

Getting all the essential  nibbles in first  - Mark is leading with his cupboard on wheels  with popcorn,   I'm making some  hot dogs  but  the hob is on low  - dont want the dogs getting to warm before the rest turn up.

 

OC.

[Jack12477]

38 minutes ago, ASAT said:

Wow.... 40 posts and nuthin’ is even glued yet? I think you boys are waxing a bit sentimental over this ol’ Sherman......😀😇

And plenty of discussion on history of tank and its role in Battle of Bulge, how best to display the finished model, and overcoming painting issues. All very important to a successful build. 😁

[ASAT]

6 minutes ago, Jack12477 said:

And plenty of discussion on history of tank and its role in Battle of Bulge, how best to display the finished model, and overcoming painting issues. All very important to a successful build. 😁

Crap! My builds are doomed! I’m pretty much stuck in the overcoming issues of many kinds department....  Oh wait! So far all my builds depict planes that all fought on the same side....!! 😁

[mtaylor]

20 hours ago, lmagna said:

One thing to remember OC. The Sherman was primarily an infantry support tank and as such performed quite well. Even the Russians seemed to like it even though they has access to their very capable T-34. The Shermans also did quite well against the earlier German tanks from much the same design period like the Panzer IV. Later, after Normandy when faced with the Tiger and Panther not so well, at least not when confronted 1:1.

 

It was considered a good tank over all which is why it was still modified and used by many countries until well after WWII and all of the way through the Korean war by the US. They were still in use by some countries as late as 1980.

At the time it was built early one, it was the best.  Sadly, it was also the only one at the time they ship overseas easily.   We and the Brits had the docks and equipment that could load and off-load bigger tanks but no place else did.  The LCT's couldn't handle anything bigger.  

 

1 hour ago, ASAT said:

Wow.... 40 posts and nuthin’ is even glued yet? I think you boys are waxing a bit sentimental over this ol’ Sherman......😀😇

Ah.. well, yes.  We do discuss the histories, etc. also do it on the ship model logs. 

[Old Collingwood]

9 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

At the time it was built early one, it was the best.  Sadly, it was also the only one at the time they ship overseas easily.   We and the Brits had the docks and equipment that could load and off-load bigger tanks but no place else did.  The LCT's couldn't handle anything bigger.  

 

Ah.. well, yes.  We do discuss the histories, etc. also do it on the ship model logs. 

Yep we like our chatter  us lot do.

 

OC.

[ASAT]

Well I’ll just keep reading then and learn something, about modeling and the real deal! Guess I’ve alway been more of a visual kind of guy.... 

[mtaylor]

Well, from my perspective, one should not just like a model but have sense of it's history.  When I did Licorne, it was not only the lines, etc. that drew me to it but the history.  Others... maybe not so much on the history and that's ok too.

[Egilman]

4 hours ago, mtaylor said:

The LCT's couldn't handle anything bigger. 

The LCT was specifically designed for the Sherman Tank.... If they had issued Pershing's when they first had them, they would have been designed to handle those instead.....

 

[Egilman]

1 hour ago, ASAT said:

Well I’ll just keep reading then and learn something, about modeling and the real deal!

Yep, that's why some of us call it a journey......

[Baker]

Hurray, a tank. I follow

 

I built some sherman's myself on scale 1/72  (I am using an excel file. Otherwise I don't know what I built )

[lmagna]

1 hour ago, mtaylor said:

Well, from my perspective, one should not just like a model but have sense of it's history. 

I'm 100% with Mark. Ever since childhood learning the history of the model was paramount, except possibly those periods where I liked building Sci-Fi models.  Without the history the model is just an exercise in material assembling. While the act of building something nicely is certainly attractive to me, the choice of what to build will always be history related, even if the only information is a book out there somewhere. 

[cog]

Patrick, you are Advertising M$ Office. I take offence

 

By the way, how many Sermans did you build

[Baker]

1 hour ago, cog said:

Patrick, you are Advertising M$ Office. I take offence

 

By the way, how many Sermans did you build

Sorry 

 

About 30 models on the Sherman chassis

[Jack12477]

3 hours ago, Egilman said:

Yep, that's why some of us call it a journey......

And along the way we make new friends thru conversation.

 

32 minutes ago, Backer said:

About 30 models on the Sherman chassis

Nice ! I have about the same number, but mine are all different tanks 

 

 

I'll be posting some updates later today.

[Jack12477]

Okay, moving along with the build (thanks for all the chit-chat guys, enjoyed it).

 

First of six track roller assemblies. There is a left side and right side to these sub-assemblies

 

Bottom half with front and rear parts installed

 

 

Right and Left side assemblies

 

Tank's upper half dry fitted

 

 

Turret assembly with gun tube that actually raises and lowers thanks to Tamiya's  clever poly-caps

 

I've given everything a coat of Tamiya Olive Drab paint before I start attaching other small parts. And I am just about out of that color.  So re-order time.

 

[Jack12477]

Some more updates for a rainy, windy day in the dungeon.

 

For some reason I have 2 sets of spruces which are exact duplicates 

 

Duplicate set #1

 

Duplicate set #2

 

 

And then a "main sprue" with the driver and commander figure which are slightly different than the same figures in the sprues above.  Notice the torso from the knees to head.  He's the one included in the instructions and the only one which will fit on the insert platform. Not sure what the other figures are for. But if nothing else they will end up in my stash box of assorted figure parts.

 

So after painting and test fitting them in place I have this dry fit assembly.

 

 

Some touch-up due on the faces. 

 

But there is a slew if detail stuff to add to this tank. I could go really wild

Edited April 13, 2020 by Jack12477

[Egilman]

I don't know why they gave all the extras, probably for the people.....

 

(Historical note: they should all be wearing the leather tanker helmet when in the tank, the reason is the steel pot was too large to wear while in the tank, it kept clunking into things. Eventually, most crews just ditched them)

Edited April 13, 2020 by Egilman

[Jack12477]

 

10 minutes ago, Egilman said:

Historical note: they should all be wearing the leather tanker helmet when in the tank, the reason is the steel pot was too large to wear while in the tank, it kept clunking into things. Eventually, most crews just ditched them 

Yea, I knew that.  But only a couple of figures have the pre-molded on leather helmet, everyone else is helmetless, you have to glue on the steel pots. The one standing figure with leather helmut is too tall to fit on the platform that gets installed inside the tank for them to rest on. I figure the driver has the correct helmet and the 2 in the turret are exposed to fire so they need a steel pot. The driver figures are torso only, no legs.  

Edited April 13, 2020 by Jack12477

[lmagna]

WOW, that is really moving along Jack. You have gotten more done in a day than i have managed to do in two months! Keep this up and you will have it done by tomorrow!

[Edwardkenway]

2 minutes ago, lmagna said:

Keep this up and you will have it done by tomorrow!

He keeps turning them out, I don't know where he finds the time 😂 what with all the chit-chat😁.

It's turning out well tho' Jack 👍