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Sgt.Squarehead's 'Shermanicus Genericus'


Sgt.Squarehead

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So, bogies:

 

OTTBogeysMuch

 

Tips for those also using the UM kits:

 

Relieve the holes in your road wheels.....Don't even consider dry-fitting them before doing so, you will destroy the bogey trying to get them off again (ask me how I know).  :wall:

 

Getting the return rollers off the sprue undamaged is a nightmare, patience & luck are all I can suggest here.  Make sure to have the surface with the two little dots (& less damage) facing outwards. 

 

Removing the VVS springs from their sprues is a complete total & utter nightmare (with a tin hat on) and cleaning them up afterwards is even worse!  Do as much as possible while they are still attatched to a section of their sprue and remove them only when needed (cleaning up the 'final cut' is horrid).  Remember to give the flat bottom surface of the springs a light skim with a sanding stick too, or you can knacker the bogey trying to get them in (once again, ask me how I know).  :wall:

 

You will need to clamp the assembled bogey units while the glue cures too. 

 

 

 

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Cheers Andy.....They're passable parts, but all the tiny extra bits offer SFA to the look of the finished model, as fitting them is pretty much the last time you'll ever see them. 

 

I've got to build seventy-two of these bogies in total.....So far I've done six (I'm 'soft clamp limited')!  :mental:

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Cheers Stix.....I don't actually have to do it and I think building all twelve thirteen** UM Shermans in my stash might be a bit more than I can manage for the GB, I'll be more than happy if I can complete four or five! 

 

I'm adding exactly nothing to these models, they are now going to be straight UM, OOTB all the way, although they will get some stowage as they are nominally for the table-top, eventually, one day.....Probably.  :unsure:

 

PS - Have built the first lower hull tub.....None of yer flash slide-moulding here, it's a multi-part flat-pack affair like the old Airfix kits, which is what the process of assembling it feels like too.  The fit's kinda vague and it could easily go very wonky if you ain't careful (I was careful) and the process is not helped by the instructons referring to a rear plate that does not in actuality appear to exist.  Will take some photos in a bit when it's set up properly and I can stick the bogeys on it (freeing up my clamps for the next six).

 

PPS - Forgot to say that the first two Shermans will be built to the pattern of example #1 above.  :nerd:

 

** Just discovered a UM M32B1 that I didn't know I had, which brings me up to thirteen kits with seventy-eight bogies between them.....Purgatory!  :o

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First 'morale building mockup' of the thread:

 

FirstMoraleBuilder

 

Just dry-fitting the sub-assemblies, nothing is permanently fixed (unless you saw it already) which is probably a good thing considering the general level of wonkiness in that picture!  :o

 

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Remember building 3 or 4 Airfix Churchill's back in the late 70's for wargaming, those twin wheel bogy's were a nightmare, trying to trap them in between the 2 halves of the hull sides was tricky! I'm putting together some 1944 NWE 15mm Brit and German stuff at the moment, much easier 'Battlefront' mini's with one piece track/suspension parts!

 

Good going anyway.

 

Davey. 

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Little trick for future Airfix Churchill builders, the spacing of the bogies on the sprue is pretty much identical to that in the sponson, IIRC you can almost use 'em as a jig.  @Ratch can no doubt give more details.  B)

 

By dint of sheer good fortune, I've picked exactly the combination of Unimodel kits that I need to (eventually) build:

 

4xM4A1

1xM4A1 Aunt Jemima

5xM4

1xM4 Dozer

1xM32B1 TRV

1xM4A2/M4A4/AMX-13 Egyptian Hybrid Super-Sherman

 

Which is exactly what I wanted!  :yahoo:

 

I thought I was an M4/M4A1 engine deck and rear hull plate short, but there's one of each in the M4A4, the rear hull plate's marked for use, but that's wrong and mine's going to have a M4A2 rear hull plate anyway IIRC:nerd:

 

This lot (with the exception of the last one, obviously) will eventually be painted OD with black disruptive markings and combined with some of the ESCI kits to give me the best part of a post Cobra tank company (or parts of two) and some interesting optional extras.  With increasing numbers of M4A1(76)W in the mix and suitably vague markings these vehicles should be usable right up to 45, alongside my late-war M4A3s.

 

Then there's my Dragon & Heller kits.....(I've got even more of those).  :mental:

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All the things that you've said, are just some of the reasons that I gave up with 1/72nd armour. That and failing eyesight. 1/35th and the occasional 1/48th from now on. Although I must say that I enjoyed building the Mirage kit of the M3 Grant, many years ago.

 

John.

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Back to it with more bogies, no pictures for now, just go back and look at the last lot, these are much the same.  :rolleyes:

 

I've noticed a peculiar little cut-out in the front of each bogey and it seems to me that just a wee bit too much of the VVS spring is visible from the front.....I am becoming fairly confident this was the location point for an etch part (with the four bolt-holes) that never made it onto the fret.  I need to add something to fill the gap, but I won't even be attempting to add the bolt holes!

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On 02/01/2018 at 21:25, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Quick comparison shot of the UM (livid green) and Heller (gris clair) running gear.....Both kits provide both spoked and stamped roadwheels, but the UM spoked wheels are no use as they have six spokes (that's one too many):

 

RunningGearComparison

 

Clearly the detail on the Heller parts is much better so that's (almost certainly) what I'll be using (assuming they will fit the UM bogeys), haven't decided exactly which combination I'll go for, but as these are generic builds, it really doesn't matter too much at all.

 

My Tamiya Extra-Thin has evaporated, thus I'll be using Limonene until the postie can bring supplies.....So no guarantees that anything I stick tonight, will remain stuck tomorrow!  :winkgrin:

 

PS - Possibly worth noting this little part for benefit of other UM builders:

 

ReturnSkidJig

 

Cut it off the sprue, clean it up and glue it to a flat section of platic card.....Presto, a jig for your track return-skids:

 

JigAndEtch

 

I know it looks a bit crap, but I can vouch for it's utility, I used one with the DTM etch parts on the Airfix M4A2 I posted in the chat thread.  B)

 

BTW - The part to the left of the return-skid jig in the sprue-shot is a second jig, this one for your headlight-guards (there's a third for the tail-light guards, somewhere on the sprues too).  :nerd:

 

 

Cheers Sarge - useful to know as I have a few UM Shermans in the stash.

 

Luckily I also have a few sets of calibre 72 wheels as replacements (not sure I have enough, or the right ones but thats a problem for another day)!

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The stamped wheels are OK regardless of which kit you have and my recent purchase confirmed that UM have fixed the issue with the spoked wheels in later releases of the earliest kits, so it's a matter of when you bought them. 

 

If you pick up a couple of each of the Heller Shermans you will wind up with a plethora of nice spares.  :coolio:

 

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I like the jig sarge, keeps it all orderly, well done to um there, and it  looks like a rat tail file is the order of the day with that flash, what the lord giveth, the lord taketh away

Glynn 

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Yup some of it's a bit vague and that's a fact, but I reckon I can scrape a Sherman or two out of these kits yet.....Worked out I have fifty-seven Shermans in the stash at present and that doesn't include any for the Soviets, they're all US or British & Commonwealth (& Poland).  :whistle: 

 

PS - (& France).

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14 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Worked out I have fifty-seven Shermans in the stash at present and that doesn't include any for the Soviets, they're all US or British & Commonwealth (& Poland).  :whistle: 

Wow sarge, I've got 1 in the stash. I've got some catching up to do me thinks.

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Third Army will certainly be represented.  ;)

 

One of the tricks I'll be using is to model a few well known vehicles from distinguished units/actions, my theory being that if one sees a known vehicle or two it's easier to assume all the others are from the same unit (even though their tactical markings will be deliberately obscured).

 

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Trivial:

 

HullApplique

 

But surprisingly time consuming to make.....Fairly sure they'll need some more mucking around & knocking back before I'll be happy to fit them.   :rolleyes:

 

I think I'll probably add the turret cheek armour with Milliput.

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Cheers fella, the welds on that first one are a bit chunky, but they're in the right place.  On the second I got the scale about right, but mucked the positioning up.....Still it is what it is (as I've frequently been known to say at about this point in a build):

 

SubAssembliesSoFar

 

Seems like an awful lot of faffing about for not many bits!  :rolleyes:

 

The bogies look unpleasantly like something from the old Matchbox 1/76 kit at the moment, but adding the return skids should fix that.  :nerd:

 

PS - Doesn't show in that shot, but I've textured the transmission cover/differential housing/whatever.....Stop snickering, I did not spill my glue, I use Tamiya for gluing, this was done with Humbrol Liquid Poly, deliberately!  :nono:

 

PPS - Just look at the stress marks in the ends of the swing-arms on some of those bogies, that's from forcing the wheels to snap into position, even after they had been relieved with IIRC a 1.6mm drill!  :o

 

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