cambridge Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 (edited) INTRODUCTION so the kit is the following: wich in fact is the old Italeri M4A1(76) but with shitty decals. a little background. World of Tanks is a free online videogames about tanks, you can download it and play it for free ( but i suggest to try war thunder, a similar game that i believe is better under every aspect ). Italeri has a partnership with the game apparently and has released this series of kits named "world of tanks". The kit itself is intended to those who are familiar with the videogame but not with modeling, you can tell it because: - the tank is presented as "sherman", there is no indication of variant anywhere on the box or in the manual. Actually the one depicted on the box is not even the one in the box. - the manual is very specific in explaining you even the easiest things to do. - There are no real color scheme suggested just custom ones. - there is a world of tank manual giving you tips about how to use the tank in the videogame. - the decal sheet is rubbish. it has all the custom decals present in the game but no real decals that you can use to make an historical model, not even a basic one. I know that sucks but apparently the intention is to give you the ability to ricreate the tank you use in game, not an historical tank. So the big question: why you bought it? honest answer: i found it for like 8$ less than the regular one, at around 20$ it was the cheapest sherman i could find in 1/35 scale. If you can find the regular one at the same price, buy that one. KIT DESCRIPTION the actual kit should be just a reboxing of the classic M4A1(76) italeri sherman. It's an old kit with old quality standards. It comes with: vertical suspensions VVSS and T51 tracks and T23 turret this will mean something to those who are into shermans. it has goods and bads, goods apparently is enough detailed and accurate to make it a good kit, i've heard people say you can come out with good looking result starting from this kit. The bad is some details level is weak compared to today standards. For example the many parts of the tanks that in real life were casted don't have a casting texture and are simply smooth and shiny. The sherman has serial numbers casted on all its parts, these are not presents in the kit, if you want all this you have to add that in some way. The tracks, i've heard people complaining a lot about them. they're quite rigid, they feel more plastic than rubber. The detail is not best but is acceptable. many people say they are too rigid to be used, i'll try to feet them when the wheels are on, i'll see if with a bit of heat they could fit on. THE GOAL At the moment i'm still undecided. I'm going to realize a european sherman. No africa or pacific one. I'm still undecided between a summer 44 version with hedgegrow cutters or a winter camouflaged ardennes version. I'm planning also to realize with milliput or something some additional details like side logs and baggage stuff to place on the back like boxes and cans. I'm not planning to add extra figures at the moment or sandbags on the front. i will start the building still undecided, when it will be time for painting i'll pick one. Feel free to suggest me something Edited April 3, 2017 by cambridge 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 3, 2017 Author Share Posted April 3, 2017 (edited) so let's start. In no particular order: 1st thing i've done, taken all the rubber wheels and have them roll over my electric drill in order to simulate worn out rubber. It probably won't even show in the final model but, hey, you know it.... the cupola. The cupola was one piece with the turret part in the kit. Also the cupola windows were solid. I decided it was better to drill them out and add later some acetate to simulate the glass ( there are no glass parts in the kit at all ). this is a piece of the back panels. the kit comes with sideskirts. I don't like them and they were almost never used so i had to cut out the sideskirt part. i left a tiny part to simulate the support with holes where you're supposed to mount the actual skirt. than as i said, there is no cast texture to the kit. I don't like that. So here's my approach. i've taken some tamiya putty, put it on my finger and fingered randomly the parts that are supposed to be casted in order to obtain an irregular surface. when this is done i will pass some sandpaper in order to level the surface but still mantaining the irregularity of that. here is the first part of the process and here is the final result, on the gearbox hull. It may seem "too much" ( you can reduce the effect applying more sandpaper ) but actually after painting and dirt it will look good i think. Making it "in scale" would make it disappear when it is over. another thing i've done is adding serial numbers to the turret. The Sherman was built modular and every part has its serial number casted over. I decided to add the numbers on the turret since they were particularly visible. To do that i've simply "peeled off" with a cutter the part numbers from a sprue and glued it over the model. The result is the following and here how it looks after sanding and primer. The pistol port frame was a separate part, there was a gap between it and the turret, using the putty gave also the opportunity to seam such gap ( that wasn't there in the real tank ) in a very smooth way. the serial number trick should be done to many more parts. Problem is on many of them ( suspensions for example ) the numbers are so small i don't have sprues good for that. So i think i'll just leave them without it. I may decide to add it on the gearbox but it would be actually in a place hardly seen so it would be pointless more or less. Edited April 3, 2017 by cambridge 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 3, 2017 Author Share Posted April 3, 2017 this is the part of the back i shown before mounted on ( i still have to cut them right a little bit. this is the cannon. It is a two part half shells and it was casted the wrong way ( it's shown in 3 steps while the 76 was just a smooth cannon ) so i'll have to putty the seam line, putty the step lines and sand it all. i've also added numbers and cast marks on the cannon shield. I still have to finish sanding and priming it, i'll add pictures later. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 The Italeri M4A1 (76) can, with a bit of work, be built into quite an acceptable model. The well known historian and modeller, Steve Zagola, did an article for Military Modelling some years ago and spoke quite highly of it, especially the turret. Apart from the gun, which took on an oval shape once sanded down, the other thing that needs replacing are those awful VVSS units which for some reason, Italeri split in half length ways. Good luck getting rid of the join lines on those! I built this a few years ago. Let me know if you want to see the model and I'll put a couple of photos on here. Regards, John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 3, 2017 Author Share Posted April 3, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, Bullbasket said: The Italeri M4A1 (76) can, with a bit of work, be built into quite an acceptable model. The well known historian and modeller, Steve Zagola, did an article for Military Modelling some years ago and spoke quite highly of it, especially the turret. Apart from the gun, which took on an oval shape once sanded down, the other thing that needs replacing are those awful VVSS units which for some reason, Italeri split in half length ways. Good luck getting rid of the join lines on those! I built this a few years ago. Let me know if you want to see the model and I'll put a couple of photos on here. Regards, John. i'll sure like it, would be awesome if you have them on your pc. i've also found this article that suggests some hacks to do on the model to make it more convincing, don't know if it has something to do with the article you mentioned http://www.usarmymodels.com/MANUFACTURERS/Italeri/italeri225.html on the VVSS i'm honestly not that much concerned. I mean the top part is completely hidden by the track, the side without the roller is easily accessible ( should actually add some plasticard and bolts there to be 100% accurate ) and the side with the roller, well i think it would be fair to cheat a little bit adding some mud and dirt to hide it, i think realistically that would be a critical point where dirt would stuck Edited April 3, 2017 by cambridge 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 7 minutes ago, cambridge said: i'll sure like it, would be awesome if you have them on your pc. i've also found this article that suggests some hacks to do on the model to make it more convincing, don't know if it has something to do with the article you mentioned http://www.usarmymodels.com/MANUFACTURERS/Italeri/italeri225.html That's very useful. Just about covers it all. Bear in mind that these tanks could be armed with three different types of main gun. The early ones had the M1A1 unthreaded gun. Then there are the threaded version (M1A1C) and the M1A2 which was the one with the muzzle brake. I think that they are the correct designations. I'll put a couple of photos up in a little while. Back soon. John. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 4 hours ago, Bullbasket said: The Italeri M4A1 (76) can, with a bit of work, be built into quite an acceptable model. The well known historian and modeller, Steve Zagola, did an article for Military Modelling some years ago and spoke quite highly of it, especially the turret. Apart from the gun, which took on an oval shape once sanded down, the other thing that needs replacing are those awful VVSS units which for some reason, Italeri split in half length ways. Good luck getting rid of the join lines on those! I built this a few years ago. Let me know if you want to see the model and I'll put a couple of photos on here. Regards, John. Very useful information, I have one (but old, really old ... lol), waiting for 15 years in the closet, to see if aglun day I encourage, by the time I enter the "contest" to build Sherman in forum..., cheers John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 OK, as promised, a couple of photos of my Italeri M4A1 (76). It's supposed to be crossing a river in Italy. Changes made were replacement tracks, VVSS units and a main gun. John. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 3, 2017 Author Share Posted April 3, 2017 Hey, i think i saw the picture you used as a reference for this diorama, i remember the detail of the rear skirts! Anyway this is a remarkable building, if i end up with something this level i'll be very satisfied with myself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 3, 2017 Author Share Posted April 3, 2017 i modified the air filters, the kit provide rounded shape ones but square ones are the correct one to make. I'll sand the greenstuff when it's hard. Since i've prepared more green stuff than needed i've also added some detail here and there with the extra putty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackMax12 Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Like your casting texture idea. That's a different approach, well to me anyway, and it turns out great. The serial numbers are another good idea and they look pretty impressive. I'll be following this one. Take care, Lloyd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 couple of pictures more. given a first hand of primer to the body. you can see the difference withing the casted parts and the plates like the engine cover ( i've used a very low light to highlight the effect ). drilled some holes and glued some detail here and there. added a line of bolts to the front transmission using sprue plastic melted with the lighter made a gas mask to use as a decoration later with extra green stuff and a first dryfitting with tracks on just to have an idea of the overall result. the tracks are a bit stiff, i'll need to soften them up later, i'll try with some hot water maybe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_Sinclair Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Ha! Love the decal sheet! Would be tempting to use that on my T29E3. Good luck with your Sherman. -matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 (edited) 8 hours ago, M_Sinclair said: Ha! Love the decal sheet! Would be tempting to use that on my T29E3. Good luck with your Sherman. -matt that decal sheet is truly poo-poo, the icons are so awful you can't even go and re-use them on future projects. I mean, i get it, the product is intended for the video game players, i guess it make sense to give them the option to ricreate for real the virtual tank they use in the videogame with the same kind of customizations they have in the videogame. But wouldnt it be better for them if they exploited the occasion to try to hook some people into true modelling? Someone may discover a new world and become a new customer. Instead, the whole box is just a nonsense, the picture on the box is not the tank that is inside ( different cannon, different gearbox, different skirts ) they don't even tell you what tank it is ( and believe me, there are some true tank nerds in that videogame, many will be wee weed off by such a choice ) , they don't even give you realistic decals, it would have been enough to add the option to make one historical tank adding an inch to the decal sheet with a couple of realistic roundels and writings. Or be generous and add the original decal sheet they put in the original M4A1 kit, how much would it cost them? i've just given a look, interestingly the decals present in the original box are not even historical themselves. For example "al capone" is presented as a D-Day Sherman while in fact 76mm weren't used during D-Day. At the same time "lightining" wasn't a 76mm sherman. Well at least i could have used the stars and the serial numbers, The funny thing too is that the place where they print this, according to the black writing is like 5 km from where i live. Edited April 5, 2017 by cambridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_Sinclair Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 (edited) You say it won't get people interested in "true modelling". I'm not sure what you mean. The kit parts need to be removed from sprues. Built using glue. Painted. Then decalled and finished as desired. Sounds like true modelling to me! -matt Edited April 6, 2017 by M_Sinclair 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 (edited) 4 hours ago, M_Sinclair said: You say it won't get people interested in "true modelling". I'm not sure what you mean. The kit parts need to be removed from sprues. Built using glue. Painted. Then decalled and finished as desired. Sounds like true modelling to me! -matt i don't intend this as a "religious war" where we are the true modellers and they are the heretics. When i say "true modelling" i just refer to the 95% of the kits you find on the market that are historical kits. I just make it a strategic point for Italeri. let's say 90% of the kits they sell are "regular kits" and 10% are the "world of tanks kits" ( i'm making up numbers here, i have no clue about the true percentage, may be more, may be less, this is just to make the point ). I think Italeri interest should be other then selling these kits to try to hook up new customers into buying also the regular kits. now, consider it from the point of view of the customer. I've never built a model, it's my first one, i'm totally clueless ( they give you even a 5mm glue to start ). Maybe i've not even bought this box, maybe my parent bought it at christmas cause they know i play the videogame. Or maybe i buy this kit cause there are also codes in the box that you can use in the game to unlock premium stuff there ( this is actually a very good move ). what italeri gives me in term of regular modelling is very little apart from the kit itself ofcourse. I have actually no clue what i'm building: " a sherman" means nothing considering the sherman platform is probably the tank with more variants ever produced in history. The tank description is there but is less than 20 lines and with very little informations. The camouflage schemes are pictures of the tank in the game. the decals are the one i've shown you. notice that i can say these things cause i know what i would expect, a casual user won't even notice, won't even think they should be there. Since, from the point of view of italeri, i'm introducing you to modelling it would be nice to do it properly. Telling you that usually is good to do some historical research on what you're building, wich is something someone clueless about modelling may completely ignore. Telling you that you may, if you want, try to build an historical tank. Eventually put a picture of it in the instruction sheet, a little story of it, and giving you the color scheme and the decals to follow in order to recreate it. Telling you that is what you might expect if you want to buy a regular kit. the point is, the clueless customer that buy this kit after finishing the kit will still remain clueless about what to expect in a regular box wich to me is a missed opportunity from italeri. I think they made a very good move in re-boxing their old kits in this "world of tanks" line aimed at videogamers and not modellers. I think they're just not exploiting it to its full potential. Edited April 6, 2017 by cambridge 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 6, 2017 Author Share Posted April 6, 2017 by the way, back to the model, i'm molding a couple of spare wheels and tracks sections with blue/green stuff to add as a decoration over the hull, i'll post some pictures when they'll be solid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 (edited) added some detail on the hull including cages and hooks. i've cloned with green stuff a piece of track from the kit track. it will be used for decorations as added armor added skirts mount on the sides added handles to fuel and oil caps than i gave an overall hand of primer. I think it's almost ready to start painting. Only details missing are the lights, and the tools ( hammers, bars, cables ) wich i will all paint separately and add after the overall painting. so here's how it looks from the front the back from 3/4 and side by side to one of its possible enemies, you have to wonder why it was so feared Edited April 7, 2017 by cambridge 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 NIce progress for now..., cheers mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 poo-poo. the engine of my home built air compressor just broke down after years of service. All works are suspended till i find a broken fridge to scavage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 apparently i had a hole in the tank, not a broken engine. this will take longer than expected as i find a tank to substitude. Oh the irony here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cromwell Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 (edited) With my italeri Sherman I grafted the front to the Tamika m4a1 rolled hull to start making a m4ic hybrid firefly using a donated Tasca turret Edited April 21, 2017 by Cromwell Add some photos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridge Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 and while i wait to solve the air tank problem, i'm preparing a Zundap model to add as a decoration to the base i'm gonna put this sherman on. The Zundap is a 1/35 Italeri kit, it comes with 3 soldiers figure that i'll modify with some green stuff to look american and i'll use as tank figures, in the end i just need their torso to pop up from the hatches. i'll use one spared german helmet as decorations over the sherman, as it happens to see in some pictures. Talking about making the most of what you have. The base i will build for this tank is a autumn/winter small base with a muddy road. I'm planning to add on the side a tree. Under the tree i'll put this rusty Sidecar and i'll cover it with some dead autumn leaf. Eventually i'll decide if adding some melting snow too on the base. i've bent the mudguards, added some bullet holes here and there and used a lighter to melt the tyres and make them look deflated. this is just the base effect of rust, i still have to detail it, than paint and depaint over it, than apply effects like dust and mud but this should start to give an idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sairou Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 I'm liking the motorbike and sidecar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cromwell Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 How did you clone the track? sounds like a handy trick to have up your sleeve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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