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


PlaStix

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On 05/02/2018 at 19:48, Badder said:

......and that's why I still haven't fixed my upper and lower hulls together. And as I mentioned elsewhere, I may not bother gluing them at all.  I can still remove my tracks if I need to.

But I'm sure you'll manage weathering yours and do a fine job as always.

Rearguards,

Badder

Hi Badder and thank you. I agree - under normal circumstances I wouldn't have glued the upper hull to the lower hull together until much later. In this case, however, Eduard's photoetch front mudguards had to be attached from the undersides of the sponsons - which were part of the upper hull - to the top corners of the transmission cover - which was/is part of the lower hull. I didn't think I'd be able to successfully get a neat joint if I left them until later so the upper and lower hulls had to be joined early. The paint on the tracks wasn't damaged that badly and will be easy to sort and cover with mud!! I fixed the tracks in place basically because they were almost done but would have got more damaged removing them and then refitting them. 

 

On 05/02/2018 at 21:32, wimbledon99 said:

Cracking job with the decals, Stix! Particularly the '2' on the RHS of the turret :clap:

 Hi Nigel and thank you. I can't take credit for the number 2 - Eduard provide the decal in two parts - so once I'd cut more of the backing film away it was even easier to fit. the hardest bit was trying to get the two parts of the 2 lined up together!

 

On 05/02/2018 at 21:38, Hewy said:

Typically high standard has been very well  maintained here i see, your modelling and painting always come straight out of the top drawer stix

Glynn 

Hi Glynn and thank you - you are very kind!

 

On 07/02/2018 at 12:20, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Nice work getting your decals down over the cheek armour so neatly, looks like that might have been a chore.  :coolio:

Hi Sarge and thank you. As I said to Nigel above - I can't take any credit for the decal going over the added armour - some sensible decal design from Eduard did the trick!

 

On 07/02/2018 at 20:13, Ozzy said:

Nice progress Stix, she's coming together nicely 

Hi Ozzy and thank you.

 

I have to say I am really looking forward to doing more on this over the weekend. I'm hoping to get on to starting the weathering properly on the upper surfaces.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

 

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, PlaStix said:

 

Hi Ozzy and thank you.

 

I have to say I am really looking forward to doing more on this over the weekend. 

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

 

You and me both.

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On 09/02/2018 at 17:44, Dads203 said:

That's one sweet build mate, top job :yes:

Thank you! :thumbsup:

 

Well I had a fairly productive weekend but didn't get chance to post any photos - so there are a few.

 

First off I got the hatch doors and aerial mount attached to the turret. Then I began the weathering process by applying Humbrol's thinned Gunmetal to a variety of edges which, when dry, I over-washed with very thinned Revell's Anthracite. Next I used very thinned RailMatch Light Rust in a variety of corners and created a few runs. With Citadel's Nuln Oil I created a few oily runs. Then I used Humbrol's Dark Earth and Desert Yellow which were applied extremely thinned with a stippling brush over various areas.

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Then I did the upper hull in a similar way:

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Then, just to check both seem to match in terms of weathering:

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After all the weathering I felt like doing some assembling - first off I fitted the turret machine gun and support unit for the main barrel:

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While waiting for the glue to set on the above I fitted the front lights:

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The front machine gun:

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The front U shaped tow hooks:

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When I looked at the first tow hook to be fitted I thought "That's going to break when I fit it" and sure enough it snapped. The U shaped bit of plastic is very small and the pins inside - to go into the holes on either side of the mount, are quite big. Trying to stretch the first to go over the mount snapped it at the bottom of the U. I ended up cutting off most of the pins to leave just a trace. The U shape itself is quite snug anyway. If you make this kit just be aware.

 

The back U shaped tow hooks:

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Two overall views at this stage with the main gun barrel glued in place:

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Next I tried a test fit with the .50 cal:

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I fitted the front hatches and then it was time for some mud! I used Vellejo's European Thick and their Mud and Grass product:

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Once the mud was dry I started adding more weathering - in this case some very thinned Revell's Anthracite applied with a small stippling brush around some of the detail:

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Later in the evening yesterday, I attached all the tools - I took some more photos but I'll put them in a separate post in a while.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix  

 

 

Edited by PlaStix
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Absolutely wonderful Stix,

 

That mud and the weathering is top notch indeed. The washes with the powders are so subtle, but obviously make a difference.

I love the tracks as well, and especially with the rust.

 

I have to say that this is the first model I've seen you do which I would not be able to pick out of a 'Which one is by Plastix?' line-up

 

It doesn't have your instantly recognisable 'fingerprint', but that's not a bad thing.

 

This is, in my opinion, your best ever model!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

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1 hour ago, Badder said:

Absolutely wonderful Stix,

That mud and the weathering is top notch indeed. The washes with the powders are so subtle, but obviously make a difference.

I love the tracks as well, and especially with the rust.

I have to say that this is the first model I've seen you do which I would not be able to pick out of a 'Which one is by Plastix?' line-up

It doesn't have your instantly recognisable 'fingerprint', but that's not a bad thing.

This is, in my opinion, your best ever model!

Rearguards,

Badder

Hi Badder. Hope you are well. As always, thank you very much for your kind comments. It's odd you saying about it being different from my usual style - I've been looking at it over the latter part of yesterday trying to decide if I was happy with it. I think, because of the shape and design of this Sherman, there aren't as many things to 'hang' my usual weathering from (if you know what I mean). There's very few bolt heads, corners, exhausts, fittings, etc. to weather and have stains, runs from etc. Perhaps that's a good thing but I currently look at and I'm not sure. There's still a few things I'm going to do in terms of weathering - finish off some missing mud areas, etc. and then I'm going to add some stowage and a couple of figures. I also want to make a muddy base for it but haven't decided on a scene yet. I'm going to do it as it might have been in the week between when it landed at Normandy on June 9th and then took part in the Battle of Bloody Gulch near Carentan a week later. A kind of getting ready for battle setup.

 

As I said earlier I added the tools later on yesterday evening and took a few photos - only they were under electric light so are a bit grainy. The Sherman itself is mostly complete now apart from it needing a tow cable - more on this below.

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So the next thing to add will be the tow cable. As it happens there is a bit of a weird coincidence around this. A couple of weeks back I was looking in the Eduard box to find out what they had supplied in the way of the actual tow cable - looking at the instructions it gives the length but no clue as to what to use. I thought I'd perhaps missed the bit of string but it turns out - looking at the parts list - that they don't provide anything! They provide the ends but nothing to represent the cable. Then just over a week ago I got a PM from @modelling minion saying he was going to be sending me something to try out for my tank builds - he was a bit mysterious about it! :worry: Anyway - you will probably have guessed by now what it was that he kindly sent:

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It's metal, looks really good, cuts quite easily with strong cutters, is flexible and accepts acrylic paint:

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It also looks a good match in terms of size for a Sherman tow cable.

 

I have now painted enough with Revell's Anthracite for the Sherman cable - so I now need to finish the painting and weathering and attach the ends.

 

So a big thank you to Craig @modelling minion - without knowing it you solved my missing cable problem! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

Edited by PlaStix
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41 minutes ago, PlaStix said:

I think, because of the shape and design of this Sherman, there aren't as many things to 'hang' my usual weathering from (if you know what I mean). There's very few bolt heads, corners, exhausts, fittings, etc. to weather and have stains, runs from etc.

I would say you're probably right. With all those curves and rounded shapes, It's the reduced amount of dry-brushing that makes this one look to be painted in a 'different' style. You've got the balance just right though, I am loving the mud and I'm excited to read that you're going to produce a suitably muddy base for it.

 

The wires for the tow cable look the business BTW.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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3 hours ago, PlaStix said:

So a big thank you to Craig @modelling minion - without knowing it you solved my missing cable problem! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

You are more than welcome Stix, I am very happy to have helped one of your excellent builds in a small way.

And your build truly is excellent, the weathering is fantastic, very realistic and I have to agree with @Badder that this is your best build yet, and that is saying something!

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5 hours ago, modelling minion said:

It's called "safe-T" cable, we use it in the aerospace industry for connecting bolts together and the joints on the ends of pipes to prevent them from coming loose.

 

Thanks for the info Craig. Can I buy this in a local hardware store?

 

Jesting aside, I see a small sideline here :wink:

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On 12/02/2018 at 15:23, Badder said:

I would say you're probably right. With all those curves and rounded shapes, It's the reduced amount of dry-brushing that makes this one look to be painted in a 'different' style. You've got the balance just right though, I am loving the mud and I'm excited to read that you're going to produce a suitably muddy base for it.

The wires for the tow cable look the business BTW.

Rearguards,

Badder

Hi Badder and thank you for your comments. The tow cable is now on and I have made some more progress with the weathering.

 

On 12/02/2018 at 18:01, modelling minion said:

You are more than welcome Stix, I am very happy to have helped one of your excellent builds in a small way.

And your build truly is excellent, the weathering is fantastic, very realistic and I have to agree with @Badder that this is your best build yet, and that is saying something!

Thank you very much Craig for your comments - you'll have to check out the cable in the photos below.

 

On 12/02/2018 at 18:31, Ozzy said:

Looking very nice Stix, you've made a really good kit into a fantastic build. Got to agree with @Badder and @modelling minion. It's definitely your best yet.

Hi Ozzy you, like the others, are very kind.

 

On 12/02/2018 at 22:20, wimbledon99 said:

She is looking outstanding Stix!! The rope looks to be picture hanging wire and is really effective. Can’t wait to see this complete :Tasty:

Thank you very much Nigel and it's getting nearer to completion!

 

On 13/02/2018 at 03:16, Hewy said:

Cool, most impressive, lovely bit of weathering

Glynn 

Hi Glynn. Thank you very much. Most kind.

 

3 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Not much to say about it Stix as one word covers it.......superb!

John.

Thank you very much John, you are most kind.

 

A bit more progress - I've done more subtle weathering across the lot, added more mud in a variety of areas, fitted the tow cable (thank you again @modelling minion - the cable works very well) and added the aerial.

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Tomorrow I'm hoping to get some stowage added and start work on some figures.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stix

Edited by PlaStix
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:worthy::worthy::worthy:

 

Stunning stuff Stix. The mud and latest weathering is wonderful.

 

I feel I have to point out just one tiny 'error' which I only noticed just now, and it's best shown in the photo below. It concerns the streaking, and specifically that on the turret just below the periscope on the left where the sticky-up 'tab' thing is.

The streak runs down from the 'tab' and then onto the ledge of the extra armour. At that point I would have thought the moisture would follow the curve of the joint between the turret and the extra armour, all the way down to the number 2, rather than cross the 'ledge' and then continue down the front. A small point, but it just doesn't look right to me.

 

On ‎12‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 2:32 PM, PlaStix said:

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ps, after more photos of your .50cal, I think I'm going to replace mine. Mine looks like a half-chewed jelly baby compared to yours.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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Great weathering subtle but makes so much difference to the look of it just goes to show that a little goes along way 

looking forward to your next lesson in figure painting :yes:

 

beefy 

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