Speedman Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 This shall be a first for me, an armour kit bash! It all started during my Sturmpanzer IV build in Oct/Nov 2013 (The Obsolete Kit Group Build) when I happened to mention that I had bought the ESCI M4A1, and that I knew it need work to turn it into an accurate variant of the Sherman. Sgt.Squarehead advised: "If you stick a 76mm T-23 Turret on the ESCI 1/72 M4A1 it makes a decent M4A1(76)W.....I've been using Eduard Turrets from their M4A3(76)W, as you can then put the ESCI turret on the Eduard hull for a late M4A3(75)W." A few weeks later I managed to find the ProfiPack release of the Eduard M4A3(76)W going cheap on eBay, so I snapped it up and stored both away until I could find a group to build them in. The spares from this build will be used to make a pet projects I've been wanting to do since I was a kid... Oddball's Sherman! The box art for both kits. That's a LOT of parts And some very small etch. I'm going to be detailing the engine bay and having the hatch open. I prefer the sprockets and idlers on the ESCI kit. But the road wheels on the Eduard kit look better than ESCI's. Eduards track looks better as well. And I think I'll be swapping the hatches over as well. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 SPEEDMAN, WOW....this should be one armor build to watch.. Good luck....She looks quite a beauty .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitz23 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Love the fact there's a buildable engine with the esci kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smuts Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 looks a good kit... Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I built a lot of Esci Shermans as a young lad. You will have to find some special 'paint' shells for the Oddball build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 This looks like an interesting project! I now make it that this GB has got Shermans in 1/72, 1/48 and 1/35............ we seem to be covering the bases here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Oddball and the radial engine - a doubly cool build! Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedman Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Oddball and the radial engine - a doubly cool build! Well the radial engine will be present but sadly Oddball's Sherman will not be making an appearance as it's fictional. I don't know when I'll get around to building it but I will post up some photos in the armour RFI section when it's done. I've managed to make a dent in part preparation and construction today... Lots of parts cleaned up and I've built up the lower hull and turret. I opened up the ESCI turret ring to take the Eduard turret using a scalpel, half-round file and some rolled up wet and dry. A few bits put together. Looking at some photos, the Eduard idlers are a better match to the real ones, so I grafted on some rod and drilled it out to match the original ESCI parts. ESCI suspension with Eduard wheels and the ESCI skids cut off and replaced with the Eduard PE parts. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryS Posted February 6, 2015 Share Posted February 6, 2015 Speedman, nice looking build. Is the ESCI Sherman the same one that was marketed many moons ago by Humbrol? My version was spoilt by a warped hull and spent many years on the shelf of doom. I am attempting something similar with an Airfix M3 and Nitto M4A1in 1/76, but have hit some serious issues that will limit the accuracy of the final model. I shall follow this build with interest. Regards Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedman Posted February 7, 2015 Author Share Posted February 7, 2015 Is the ESCI Sherman the same one that was marketed many moons ago by Humbrol? Yes, Humbrol repopped a few ESCI armour kits starting in 1981. The Sturmpanzer IV build that led to this build was a Humbrol kit. Slowish progress on this one at the moment as I check and recheck reference photos and documents before removing or attaching anything. I've stripped the hull of tools and the horrible "solid" moulded in lifting rings and fitted the Eduard rings instead, fitted the differential cover, modified the pistol port to look more like the real thing and started in the PE for the M2. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caszerino Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 This looks fantastic. I'm still bumbling along on my aircraft builds but hopefully I can get cracking on my Tamiya T34/76 soon. This is certainly inspiring me to do so! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedman Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Cheers This build is coming along slowly (Unusual for me!) because I'm correcting the inaccuracies of the ESCI kit that my research has revealed. I'm really enjoying the build though and it's given me a lot more knowledge about the Sherman. I cut off the two vents and plugged the ridiculously deep indent in the hull with some sprue and card. Once it was set I used my Dremel to grind a more accurate one. I'm going to use the undersized original vents to plug mould some new ones. I used Mr Surfacer to create the turret weld. Mr Surfacer dabbed on with a brush to give it a nice "cast" effect. This is what 2½ hours of fiddling with 14 separate parts looks like... The Eduard barrel had a slightly oval cross section so I replaced it with some copper wire and made the end out of plastic rod. Did I mention it's small..? Some more details added including the hatch hinges. I've sanded down the cast effect a bit & I'll remove a little more before priming it. I've also removed the Mr Surfacer from any machined surface. I had to correct the machine gun housing as it had neither the prominent bulge at the top or the beading (I don't know what it's really called) around it. Many layers of Mr Surfacer and some thin wire sorted it out. And this is where I am with it. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robw_uk Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 man thats good... and where do you get oversize 1p pieces from??? that MG is rathe tidy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedman Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 where do you get oversize 1p pieces from??? I vacform them... I've tackled more of the PE today. The ammo belt and the base mount are on the .50 now, all of the tools have been fitted along with various handles and periscope guards. So far there's 168 parts in this beast. (including the suspension & engine etc.) I think that's the most parts I've ever used for a single build! I've worked out it'll be approx 240 by the time it's finished 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedman Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Not a big update due to working a ridiculous amount of hours over the last few weeks, but it pays for more kits I've been detailing the engine and engine compartment. I've a few things to refine before assembly and painting, but it's getting there. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I just can't imagine p/e in 1/72...good grief - my Panzer II etch was bad enough in 1/35...good work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Looks like some excellent progress there. The detail looks fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Outstanding modelling, beside the nice details and the engine, the rough effect on the surfaces looks impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedman Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share Posted March 14, 2015 Thanks guys I've done a little more over the last few nights, I'm getting close to getting some primer on it. I've drilled out the MG mount attached to the rear vent along with the pickaxe head, fitted the PE light guards, finished the turret hatches by fitting the missing hinges, corrected the MG mount on the loader's hatch and adding various PE parts to both hatches. I've corrected the rear bulkhead and added new side panels to it as well as fit the handle to the engine compartment doors. I've also plunge moulded 2 new vents to replace the undersized moulded on parts from the kit. Once removed with a scalpel (which I did a month ago) I used the kit parts as a pattern for moulding 10 Thou sheet, this gave me the correct size I needed for the replacements. I used some 10 x 15 Thou strip to make a three legged under frame for the vents and glued them in place. Once set I trimmed the excess off and glued them in place, the lugs of the frame leave a gap between the hull and the vent just like the real thing. Pattern (on cocktail stick), one of the spare forms, under frame (not glued), frame fitted, finished vent next to kit part. Fitted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Looks great, can t wait to see paint on your surface. Great modelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedman Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 I've managed to get the primer on (Photos later) but for the last 2 nights I've concentrated on getting the engine bay & engine painted and assembled. I've got a little more weathering to do and I'll get some photos with my camera instead of my tablet so they are clearer. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Wow, there's a massive amount of work going on here and the results are outstanding. Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Outstanding is a fitting term for your build. The detail work is really amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedman Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 It's been slow progress over the last few weeks due to work commitments. I'm on holiday now, so the next 10 days are going to be filled with lots of modelling! As promised some better shots of the engine. And some exterior shots. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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