Bullbasket

This is the part of the build that I'm really interested in as I've got one in the stash. We used to have one of these when I was in Germany in the 60's. Very nice work on the engine and chassis. John.

Very nice of you to say. Thanks very much Mark. John.

Many thanks to both of you for your comments. They're much appreciated. John.

This arrived today, courtesy of Jadar Hobbies. Now all that I have to do is resist the temptation to start it before I've finished my current build. John.

Just taken delivery of the MK.ll kit and I can confirm that although not required for the builds that is intended with this kit, as Jack said, the auxiliary turret is included. The upper hull has the opening for the turret blanked off. Not a problem for me as I have two Mk.l kits, so I'll just substitute the Mk.l upper hull for the Mk.ll. John.

As far as I am aware, there is no longer a conversion for a Sherman V/M4A4. I built three many years ago, when the excellent Fighting 48th conversion was available, but sadly it is no more. Firefly 1c = M4, Firefly 1c Hybrid = M4 Hybrid and Firefly Vc = M4A4. John.

Many thanks Ben, and I hope that you enjoyed your coffee also☕. John.

OK, this is going to be a fairly long update, but it will be the last before painting starts. The two rear aerial bases were missing (sound familiar?), and the only way that I had to fill them was to slice off a piece of one of the spare return rollers. Once they were cleaned up, the LH one had an aerial base plate added to it, and the RH one also had a base plate added, only this one was cut from card and had four bolt heads added before gluing the bottom of the aerial in place. I decided to use the two hatches from the Meng M4A3 that I had. This kit has been raided several times in the past, so there was no chance of me actually building it. Also, they are far superior to the ones from the Dragon kit. Having said all that, I found that the commander's hatch was missing from the Meng kit (I must stop cannibalising kits), so in the end I had to mate the Dragon hatch cover with the Meng cupola. They went together surprisingly well. I planned on leaving the commander's hatch open with a figure in it to block out the view of an empty turret, but for the loader's hatch, that would remain closed. The loader's hatch was assembled and glued into place, but I decided to do all of the necessary work on the commander's hatch, paint it and then position it once the tank itself had been painted. The reason for this is the clear plastic inserts for the optics. I wanted to insert them into the cupola after painting, and then glue the hatch into place. I detailed the hatch cover by adding the locking handle, which I bent from a piece of scrap etched brass and the squared ring which I bent from .31mm nickel silver wire. Other items added were the lifting rings (Dragon), the spotlight, commander's aiming sight and the crutch for the barrel of the AA MG to rest in. These last three items came from the Tamiya Sherman M1 kit. The MG barrel rest is surprisingly well detailed. I used the Tamiya aiming sight, rather than an etched brass one, mainly because the kit's plastic one is more to scale. Looking at close up photos of the real thing, it's quite a chunky lump of steel. The only down side to the kit item is a lack of detail, so I drilled a hole through it. There should be four, but that would be pushing it. Final jobs. I glued the 76mm barrel in place, using the Dragon one because I believe it is slide moulded, and once the attachment points are removed and cleaned up, the gun is very good, including rifling. And the very last item (unless I or someone else finds something that I've missed. Still not sure whether the two brackets on the rear of the turret should be there or not), was the tow rope. The one in the Meng kit was absolutely useless. Because at the factory they had tied it up in a circle, it had kinks in it which couldn't be removed, so therefore I used the one from the Dragon kit. The two end connectors are from the Meng kit and I have to say that I prefer their way of moulding them, as opposed to just about every other manufacturer's method. Instead of a slot on the underside for gluing the rope to, Meng make them solid, but with a hole at the end. This just needed careful enlarging, and the tow rope slotted in. Job done. That's it for this update. Not much further to go now with the build before I start the painting. I just need to find out as to whether this tank's turret had the two angle iron brackets fitted at the rear. As always, thanks for looking and comments are appreciated. John.

Very nice finish on the paint job. It looks first class. John.

Funny that you should say that, but I was considering doing just that on the first M51 that I ever built (I now have four in the collection). I'm sure that I can improve on what I did about ten years ago. But I digress. Thanks very much for your comments Beefy. Glad that you like it. John.

That's a complicated looking paint job, but you've done it very well. Nice work. John.

I haven't received the kit yet, although according to the tracking, it's "in transit." I do know that Italeri includes the turret in the Mk.1 kit, as well as a blanking plate so that it can be built with or without. John.

Late or early, all comments are very much appreciated. Thanks a lot Ivan. John.

Yes, they're there, and very nice they are too. Good work. John.

Thank you very much gents, for your encouraging words. John.

All great work Jim, but I especially like the Leopard and the LRDG. Great job(s). John.

That's an excellent cammo you've achieved there, and the canvas tilt is very convincing. Nice work. John.

A really good finish Simon. Nice and dusty. Just one thing, if I may (I could be wrong) but I'd paint the muzzle of that main gun black. John.

Thanks a lot Ed. Trouble with detail work is that it does slow down the build. But I'm getting near to adding some paint soon. John.

That's looking excellent now that the masking tape is off. Nice work with the leather seat. John.

It certainly looks like it. Thanks very much for that Nenad. John.

I know that the quality of this photo isn't great, but it's all I've got to go on. I have a couple of questions if anyone can help. First off, am I right in assuming that there is a painted white stripe, just under the midway mark on the gun barrel? When I did this in 1/48th scale, I completely missed this off. Also, any ideas what that white(?) vertical marking is towards the rear of the hull, just below the camnet? It seems to be too precise for it to be something like a fuel stain. And finally. What is the likelihood of this turret being fitted with the two L shaped angle iron brackets on the rear of the turret? The French tank "Champagne" has the same turret as this tank, but according to the Shaddock site, it most definitely wasn't fitted with them, although there are photos of other tanks with these early T23 turrets, that show them fitted. Any help appreciated. John.

Many thanks Darryl. Surprisingly, that aerial was quite simple to make. I wish that it was all that easy. John.

It's amazing just how that weathering has brought it to life. I especially like the rust on the silencer. Great work Simon. John.

That is a beautiful model Rob, and the sea looks very realistic. Excellent work. John.