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M4A1 “Goldie” Normandy 1944 - Eduard/Tasca 1/35 - Finished -


PlaStix

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Hi Stixs just been checking some of my reference material and you mention of bolt heads on the wheel rims if you are using the pressed steel type then these were rivets around the outer edges not bolt heads and also a grease nipple  

 

IMG_4549.jpg

 

To make these on my past projects I have used thick tin foil the type you get from take away food outlets ( MMmm Curry)  :phew:

 

I punch out the small bits of foil using the reverse end of a drill bit and then use gator glue to secure it this is fairly quick to do this when you have only 144 of these to do   :hypnotised:

 

HTH

 

beefy

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Great work Stix, especially with the PE.

 

I'm debating whether to use the PE fenders on my kit they are pretty thin anyway.

 

I'm liking the MGs as well. Nicely metallica. I mean metallic.

 

Looks like I've some catching up to do!

 

Reaguards

Badder

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On 02/01/2018 at 15:02, fatfingers said:

Aye up Stix.

Thats comming along a treat. Nice work with all them fiddly brass bits!

Look forward to seeing more.

Regards

Steve

Thank you Steve - the PE has tried my patience a few times! More PE added to the hull

 

On 02/01/2018 at 15:53, Ozzy said:

Looks like Eduard have improved an already good kit, your PE work is commendable Stix.:goodjob:

Yes they added a pretty good selection of fine PE parts to this base kit and thank you.

 

On 02/01/2018 at 16:08, robw_uk said:

nice work... looking at mine, i have my "light"? (the piece in the angular frame inboard of the main lights) further inboard... wondering if it is in the right place now. might leave off the PE wiring. I am now on the MG - quite fiddly PE but there are plastic alternatives then I believe its all done. Left the bogies/wheels off for ease of painting but that means I have o leave the tracks until much later

Yeah it was a bit annoying that the instructions don't mention about the holes underneath for the horn frame. The position you put yours in looks fine - from the photos I was looking at before finding the holes underneath there didn't seem to be one fixed location.

Like you I will leave the wheels and tracks off until later.

 

On 02/01/2018 at 17:10, Hewy said:

Ohh nice, you've  set the bar high again stix, 

Glynn 

You are very kind as always Glynn.

 

On 03/01/2018 at 01:05, Sgt.Squarehead said:

BIG.....But beautifully done.  :D

I know, I know. You missed seeing the 1/72 Dragon Sherman I built for the Radial Engine GB. 

 

On 03/01/2018 at 09:20, wimbledon99 said:

Looking very nice Stix! :)

Thank you Nigel.

 

On 03/01/2018 at 12:00, nick32 said:

Great work! And amazing stuff with the brass bits, i gave up on the really tiny stuff, just couldnt do it!

Here's mine - 

35296618063_0aa058f69f_z.jpg 

 

 

Hi Nick and thank you very much for posting photos of your build. You did a great job with yours - it looks excellent! As soon as I saw it I remembered seeing it before. :thumbsup:

 

Kind regards,

Stix

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On 04/01/2018 at 12:11, beefy66 said:

Hi Stixs just been checking some of my reference material and you mention of bolt heads on the wheel rims if you are using the pressed steel type then these were rivets around the outer edges not bolt heads and also a grease nipple  

 

IMG_4549.jpg

 

To make these on my past projects I have used thick tin foil the type you get from take away food outlets ( MMmm Curry)  :phew:

I punch out the small bits of foil using the reverse end of a drill bit and then use gator glue to secure it this is fairly quick to do this when you have only 144 of these to do   :hypnotised:

HTH

beefy

Hi Beefy and thank you very much for the information and suggestions. I will have to give that idea with the foil a try.

 

On 04/01/2018 at 12:15, stevej60 said:

Great work with that PE Stix,what a difference it should make to the overall finish.

Hi Steve and thank you and I hope so! Some of it is so small I'm not sure it will be that noticeable!

 

On 04/01/2018 at 23:00, Joss said:

Looking really good Stix!! She's going to look a corker when she's done!

Watching with interest :popcorn:

Regards

Joss

Thank you very much for your kind comments Joss.

 

On 06/01/2018 at 14:46, Bullbasket said:

Great work there Stix, especially the lips on the exhausts.

John.

Thank you very much John. They were fairly straightforward to do thankfully.

 

On 06/01/2018 at 16:20, Badder said:

Great work Stix, especially with the PE.

I'm debating whether to use the PE fenders on my kit they are pretty thin anyway.

I'm liking the MGs as well. Nicely metallica. I mean metallic.

Looks like I've some catching up to do!

Reaguards

Badder

I now have the fenders in place and they do look good but how much better than the plastic ones look is difficult to judge. And I’ll take Metallica - great band! 

 

So.......weekend update.  First thing I decided I wanted to do was get the PE fenders on - they were bothering me in case I couldn’t get them to fit properly. I used CA glue and fortunately they were a bit fiddly but went on without too much of a fight - first one:

39512612072_aa2e4104d0_b.jpg

 

.....and then the other:

24674572527_8a42334fce_b.jpg

 

Then it was a case of getting more PE parts added around the hull:

25671701828_08cdce9008_b.jpg

 

24674574637_0a29a43844_b.jpg

 

39512611152_d27c832463_b.jpg

 

Plus there were some tiny bracing bits added on the fenders:

24674575317_8342a510f6_b.jpg

 

I next did bits of filling here and there and some tidying up so the hull was ready for painting.

 

I didn’t fancy starting the painting at that point so I moved on to the turret and before too long:

39559789501_7b131598ea_b.jpg

 

27783580299_0bf182e157_b.jpg

 

So painting on these is next.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

 

Edited by PlaStix
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Hi Stix,

I'm always impress by how clean your work is, whether it's the painting or the gluing. Do you work in a hermetically sealed clean room and wear white overalls and a mask? And are you applying your CA with a hyperdermic syringe? I can't see a single grain of dust or a sign of any glue anywhere! ;)

 

Great work with the PE.

 

Rearguards

Badder

 

 

 

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Magnificent work as always fella, this looks a lovely kit.  :coolio:

 

Is there any chance you could scan the 'Hellcat' profile from your instructions for me and if there are any applique armour parts specific to that version, could you take a snap of them please?  :pray:

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3 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Magnificent work as always fella, this looks a lovely kit.  :coolio:

 

Is there any chance you could scan the 'Hellcat' profile from your instructions for me and if there are any applique armour parts specific to that version, could you take a snap of them please?  :pray:

Hi Sarge. Thank you and I've sent you PM with the images.

Kind regards,

Stix

 

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On 07/01/2018 at 22:26, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Looking great Stix :thumbsup:

Thank you!

 

On 07/01/2018 at 23:38, Badder said:

Hi Stix,

I'm always impress by how clean your work is, whether it's the painting or the gluing. Do you work in a hermetically sealed clean room and wear white overalls and a mask? And are you applying your CA with a hyperdermic syringe? I can't see a single grain of dust or a sign of any glue anywhere! ;)

Great work with the PE.

Rearguards

Badder

I know what you are trying to say and it's probably true!! ;) I do tend to clean up as I go! Thank you for your comments! The PE has been relatively straight forward so far......

 

On 07/01/2018 at 23:45, Joss said:

Hi Stix looking very nice! The photoetch looks top notch what did you use to get that curve on the front fenders? It looks spot on!

Regards

Joss

Hi Joss. thank you for your comments and I'm sorry I'm too late with my answer about the fenders - I've seen you have yours done and they are in place. I ended up bending mine over the handle of a suitably curved household paintbrush.

 

On 08/01/2018 at 13:47, fatfingers said:

Aye up Stix.

Lovely job :yes:

Regards.

Steve

 Thank you Steve! :thumbsup:

 

On 08/01/2018 at 19:41, Ozzy said:

Nice work on the PE Stix, seems a shame to put a coat of paint on. 

Thank you Ozzy. I have frequently looked at some models and thought how good they look at this sort of stage. Ah well......

 

On 09/01/2018 at 13:37, wimbledon99 said:

The PE looks brilliant Stix!! :thumbsup:

Thank you Nigel - I've seen how excellently you have done yours!! :thumbsup:

 

On 10/01/2018 at 19:26, Bullbasket said:

The etch looks good Stix. It makes such a difference to a build.

John.

Hi John and thank you. Yes - I think if the etch is done well by the manufacturer it does add to the basic plastic version....but it can be a lot of extra work!

 

Thank you to everyone who has taken time to comment.

 

Really looking forward to getting more done tomorrow.

 

Kind regards,

Stix

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Well the first layers of paint are on the bigger parts - about three thinned (with water) layers of Acrylic Humbrol 155 - Matt Olive Drab:

38953391444_5b66db9aa0_b.jpg

 

27883564399_61ff9f7356_b.jpg

 

39662425371_612986d6fa_b.jpg

 

38953390354_73d3dbc3f6_b.jpg

 

I'm sorry they’re a bit dark but it's still very early here and the colour didn’t look right at all under the electric light.

 

I'm going to start weathering these next - concentrating on the lower areas before I attach the running gear and tracks.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

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A tidy job as usual Stix.

Do the running gear first. , You know you want to!;) 

I did mine first and it was a big weight off my shoulders!

I lie, I did it first because I'm scared of the PE!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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nice work Stix. must noticed I missed the 2 grab handles off the rear turret! am sure I can paint them and add them later... not decided if i will weather mine - think I will see how yours comes on before I decide.

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12 hours ago, Badder said:

A tidy job as usual Stix.

Do the running gear first. , You know you want to!;) 

I did mine first and it was a big weight off my shoulders!

I lie, I did it first because I'm scared of the PE!

Rearguards,

Badder

Hi Badder. Thank you and yeah I decided I ought to do the running gear today. I started by getting all the parts painted and weathered on the sprues. No photos yet as I didn't get finished until very late on. I'll take some in the morning.

And I understand what you mean about the PE - sometimes it does seem a bit  problematical but mostly it does improve the appearance. Just take it slow and stop for a while when it gets agrivating! 

 

2 hours ago, wimbledon99 said:

Very nice Stix! Do you still use a brush on such large parts?

Thank you Nigel. Yes. - still done with Humbrol flat brushes and very thinned paint. This one is about three layers of paint in most places. I find, if I'm careful, most Humbrol and Revell paints brush very nicely these days. However there are some more recent batches of Humbrol paints which are quite oily and difficult to apply evenly.

 

1 hour ago, robw_uk said:

nice work Stix. must noticed I missed the 2 grab handles off the rear turret! am sure I can paint them and add them later... not decided if i will weather mine - think I will see how yours comes on before I decide.

Hi Rob and thank you. Good job you spotted the missing handles. There's no location points on the turret so you'll need to look at photos or the painting guide to find a suitable place to fix them. I have started weathering my Sherman - I usually do weathering before fitting all the extra parts on so they don’t get in the way of the weathering processes or damaged - by the dry brushing, etc.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

Edited by PlaStix
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Stix I've zoomed in and as usual there is no sign at all that its been brush painted,  an absolute inspiration, like badder said earlier,  perfect, building, pe,  painting, its a thumbs up from me. 

Glynn 

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