Bullbasket Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 The Tiran is on hold at the moment, so in the meantime, as I have a lot of the build on my laptop with me, I'm going to do mini WIP on a project that I did a couple of years ago. Being one of those modellers who is forever raiding one kit or another for parts, I tend to find that I'm left with several boxes with incomplete kits in them, usually Shermans. So every so often, I try and use them up and build a complete model from what's left over. I did it before when I built the French M4A3 Champagne and I'm going down a similar route when I build the same tank again, only as it is today. This WIP is about the Israeli M50. Not exactly as the picture on the box depicts as that's HVSS. I'll be doing an early VVSS version. I won't be doing the usual and posting photos of the sprues etc, for obvious reasons, so instead, I'll give a little background to the tank. After the founding of the modern state of Israel, the IDF acquired many second hand Shermans from several different sources. These held their own against the surrounding Arab nations for a while, but it soon became apparent that the 75mm armed tanks were being outclassed, so a search was made for a more powerful main armament. The outcome of this was that they fitted the gun from the AMX-13, the CN75-50 which itself was a development of the German 75mm Kwk42 L/70 of the Panther. The first 50 M50s were converted using VVSS. They were based on M4A4's but the Chrysler Multibank engines were removed and Continental R-975 installed as at this time, the IDF standardised on this engine for all Shermans. Unfortunately the additional weight of the gun and the counterweight on the rear of the turret proved to be too much for the engine and suspension, so all subsequent M50s were converted using HVVS and Cummins diesels. So to the build. I had the Dragon M50 kit and from this I used the upper and lower hull and the turret. The first job was to add the eight bolts on either side of the hull, just in front of the forward suspension back plate. These I punched out of card with a hexagonal punch and die set. Next up was the transmission housing. This came from the early Dragon kit of the Firefly 1c Hybrid. Once the final drive humps were in place, some filler was required around the joints and in some ejector pin marks on the bolted flanges. More tomorrow. Thanks for looking. John. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris B Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 Interesting project. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clive_t Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 Watching with interest! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted June 29, 2017 Author Share Posted June 29, 2017 (edited) 1st Update. Comparing the Dragon lower hull to drawings it was clear that it was too long, so I removed 5mm from the rear of each side with a razor saw. As this was going to be a VVSS tank, the base plates came from the Dragon M4 Composite kit. The rear hull with the engine doors, came from the Dragon Firefly 1c Hybrid. The idler mounts and adjustable shafts, came from the unused sprue in the M50 kit which is for an M4A4. The two side plates were made from 20thou card and the two exhausts came from the Dragon M4 Composite as did the air cleaners. Final job in this part was to fit the mesh grill from the Eduard set for the Firefly Vc and then finish it off with one of the 3D printed exhaust deflectors from Shapeways. VVSS units required for this build were the intermediate production type with the horizontal return roller bracket with the additional bearing block that raised the return roller. The Dragon Firefly 1c Hybrid kit provides two different types of suspension units, one of them being the one that I wanted. It also had the stamped pattern road wheels with raised spokes. I didn't have any track skids in any of the cannibalised kits, but I did have a set in the Aber etched set for the M4 so these were bent to shape and installed, along with the four retaining bolt heads. The four bolt holes on the front of each unit (missing from just about every kit makers VVSS units) were drilled using a .5mm drill bit. There is a join on the rear of the unit which is very difficult to get rid of so for me, the simplest solution was to glue a piece of .5mm X .5.5mm card over it. To this was added four bolt heads which represent the bolts which hold the return roller bracket in place. All for now. Thanks for looking. John. Edited June 29, 2017 by Bullbasket Correction. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Interesting stuff! Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris B Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Boogies well done. Just fill the gap with liquid filler on the wheels when the insert join the rubber band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted June 29, 2017 Author Share Posted June 29, 2017 41 minutes ago, Kris B said: Just fill the gap with liquid filler on the wheels when the insert join the rubber band. If you mean the thin gap between the rubber tyres and the wheels, that disappeared once the paint and weathering went on. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris B Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin56 Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 My favorite Sherman John, be interesting to see what colors you use for the paint job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 1 hour ago, Gremlin56 said: My favorite Sherman John, be interesting to see what colors you use for the paint job Tamiya mix, but I'll get to it later. Many thanks. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 2nd Update; Upper Hull Front. A problem with the drivers hoods is that they are too wide. One solution to this problem is to fill the insides with a filler such as Milliput, and then sand them down to the correct width. The alternative, and this is the way that I went, is to remove the whole of the centre section of the glacis plate, including the hoods and bow machine gun, back as far as the turret splash ring. This was carried out using a razor saw. The replacement for this was the corresponding piece from Tamiya's M4 kit, which received the same razor saw treatment. The glacis on the Tamiya kit is more akin to an M4A4 than it is an M4. Two pieces of thick card were then glued between the sides so that the hull's dimensions side to side, would remain constant from front to back and not distort. These would also act as a support for the Tamiya part. Before gluing it in place, I filed the sides so that there would be a gap of about 1mm each side, and I also deepened the weld lines with an Olpha P cutter. The Tamiya part was then glued in place, and once dry, the gaps down the sides were filled with Milliput and textured to represent weld beads. The same was done to the weld lines that I had deepened. I was originally going to keep the Dragon radio pot, but something about it didn't seem 100%, so I cut it out and substituted the one from Tamiya's M4. Once it had dried, Milliput was applied around the circumference and textured to form a weld bead. When I fitted the Tamiya glacis in place, there was a discrepancy between the heights of the two turret splash rings, so I cut a strip of card, glued it in place and then blended it in with Milliput. To finish off the front, various etched brass items were added from Eduard and Aber sets which included the front track guards, headlamp and periscope brush guards and hatch securing tabs. The spring assisters on the hatches were made from thin wire twisted around a small drill bit. The appliqué armour in front of the hoods and the foul weather strip around the bow machine gun came from Tasca's El Alamein Sherman ll. The machine gun is RB Models. Thanks for looking. John. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clive_t Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Super work John, loving the surgery that's going on here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris B Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 And there is new Sherman version - Frankenstein. Good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 36 minutes ago, clive_t said: Super work John, loving the surgery that's going on here! 4 minutes ago, Kris B said: And there is new Sherman version - Frankenstein. Good work. Thanks a lot. This is the kind of modelling that I enjoy the most (apart from scratch building). John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancisGL Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Wow!!, That advanced is already the kit, as always, magnificent attention to detail, looks very nice already ... Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 36 minutes ago, FrancisGL said: Wow!!, That advanced is already the kit, as always, magnificent attention to detail, looks very nice already ... Cheers John Many thanks Francis. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 3rd Update. Upper Hull Rear. I used the rear hull plate from the Dragon M50 kit and cut off the lower extension. All of the detail was removed with a blade and the holes filled with stretched sprue and filler and then rubbed flat. All of the weld beads on the hull were scraped flat and then masked off with tape and replaced using thin beads of textured Milliput. I considered using Archer Fine Decals weld beads, but after trying it out on an old model I decided against it as it resembled a zip! The front part of the engine deck, complete with armoured cover, came from Dragon's Firefly 1c Hybrid. The rear portion was cut from 20thou card and glued in place with Milliput weld beads down the sides and along the rear. The extra filler cap that the IDF fitted came from the Tasca Sherman ll and the gun cradle is from the M50 kit with some card additions. The rear, folding stowage holder cam from the Aber etched set, but I left off their fiddly hinges, preferring to make these from card and punched bolt heads. I strengthened it with two pieces of card, which would not be seen in the finished article as it would be covered with stowage. The spare track holders each side of the rear hull plate, came from the Dragon M4 (105) kit. I detailed them with etched parts from the Aber set and the track links were spares from the Panda Plastics set. Beneath the folding stowage tray is the holder for the gun cleaning rods. I made this from card and the rods are Slater's 40 thou rod, and it can be seen in a previous photo. Also to be seen is the infantry telephone box to the right. Final jobs on the hull were as follows. Pioneer tools are a mixture of Dragon and Tasca, all held in place by Eduard etched fittings and straps. Ventilator and grouser vents from Tasca. Rear lifting rings, Tasca, front ones Dragon. Both were fixed to pads before gluing in place and given weld beads from Milliput. The tow rope was made from about half a dozen strands of thin wire, twisted slowly in the chuck of a variable speed drill, and finally. The strip along each side for the sand shields came from the Aber set and the four grab handles each side, which are unique to these early M50's, are soft brass wire bent to shape. As always, thanks for looking. John. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Nicely done! Granto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clive_t Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Wow! Just keeps getting better and better! I bet you end up sneaking a kitchen sink in there somehow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 29 minutes ago, Valenstitch said: Nicely done! Granto 15 minutes ago, clive_t said: Wow! Just keeps getting better and better! I bet you end up sneaking a kitchen sink in there somehow Many thanks to you both for the comments. Kitchen sink.......hmmm....I suppose it could go on the stowage tray. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris B Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Nicely done. If I can suggest something do not make same mistake I have done on my Sherman. For me was to late to correct it, byt for you is not. The long crowbar have a different mounting then the most of the kits doing. Look on the photos : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 Thanks Kris. I'll check my references tomorrow when I get back home. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valenstitch Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 This might be a bit random, but in my time in the Army the only time I ever remember any kit or tools being properly stowed in the brackets intended for the specific item was on Chally 1 where there were no alternatives, no bins, nothing! We used to put the scoff in the compartment where the TOG`s should have been but the early vehicles didnt even have it when they were issued! I guess it`s just one of those things that I immediately focus on when I look at completed models, the vast majority of modelers seem to fully stow their models with all the correct tools and kit as if they have just been issued brand spanking from the QM, yet during my service most of the time we had substitute kit, substitute tools and some times substitute vehicles! Granto 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Etienne Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 (edited) Hello John, another very detailed and intersting build The only problem is that I'll be obliged to hold you responsible if I get a Sherman-mania !! so I'm looking forward to seeing the next steps ... Cheers, E Edited July 2, 2017 by Etienne 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoine Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 Splendid! So far, you used no less than: Dragon Firefly Ic Hybrid Dragon M4 Composite Hull Tamiya M4 Tasca Sherman II El Alamein Together with the original M50 box, that's five different Shermans! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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