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'FACE OFF' CONTINUED....


Badder

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pYQKbT8.jpg

 

 

GMWsEJE.jpg

 

Looking at the rear, I can see now I need to add more mud and grass.

XQ9FkIO.jpg

 

5rGnhAt.jpg

 

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szMlvrT.jpg

 

With this done (apart from needing some more mud and grass on and around the exhaust deflector) I will now be moving on to the stowage and the figures.

 

TFL

Badder

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Hi Badder. Hope you are well and having a good weekend.

With the right background behind some of those photos it would be possible to believe that we were looking at the real thing. Awesomely realistic worn whitewash effects!

Great job!

Kind regards,

Stix 

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1 hour ago, PlaStix said:

Hi Badder. Hope you are well and having a good weekend.

With the right background behind some of those photos it would be possible to believe that we were looking at the real thing. Awesomely realistic worn whitewash effects!

Great job!

Kind regards,

Stix 

Hi Stix,

Yesterday I overdosed on chocolates and so had sky-high blood sugar - which is never a good idea! Loads of insulin did solve that problem, but I had terrible heartburn and acid reflux all night and didn't sleep well. However, I did feel better today and it's been a good day all round, thanks for asking.

 

Thanks for liking my worn whitewash! I'm fairly pleased with how it looks. Messy, but realistically messy, I hope!

 

After the work above I tried tidying up a few bits and pieces. I re-drilled the barrel of the .50cal, getting it properly central. Unfortunately I had to take 1mm off the length of the barrel to square it up after a bit of a boo-boo with a hot needle. I thought about replacing it with the .50cal from my Sherman 105mm, but when I compared them, they were actually the same length, so that was fortunate!

I also made and fixed the aerial in place. That wasn't so easy either. I used a guitar string instead of my usual carbon fibre pole-float stem, thinking I could heat that up and just stick it into the mount. I had problems getting that central. It took me a length of time I am not prepared to confess, but I got it done eventually. I have to replace the very top of the mount though as I cut that off, leaving a 'collar' with a greater diameter in which to stick the aerial. Replacing the top of the mount should be easy. I will just slip a fine nylon cylinder down the aerial and onto the collar. This cylinder will be a 'rubber' used in angling to hold pole floats on the line.

 

Then I have to re-drill the bow MG barrel, because that's off centre... ho hum!

 

Once that's done I will crack on with the stowage. I believe I have the US Tank Crew set, with the ammo boxes etc. I will have to check. Bit of a problem if I haven't! Perhaps some craftily shaped tarps will 'cover things up'. :D

 

Rearguards

Badder

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Good to hear your doing well Badder, glad the insulin did the trick. Given the time of year and atmospheric conditions, a tarp over the stowadge would be welcomed by the crew as nobody likes soggy rations.

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I have a choice of figures for the crew.... I may try a bit of cannibalism to get a pose I am particularly wanting. There's a few ammo boxes with the Tamiya kit, which is handy.

li71HKA.jpg

 

 

The troublesome guitar wire aerial:

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I tried drilling a hole in the tip of the aerial mount, but that proved too difficult for me. I then tried melting a hole instead. That wasn't very successful either. So I removed the tip of the mount, leaving the wider collar to play with instead. Eventually I got a satisfactory hole melted into it and fixed the guitar wire in place. The tip of the mount can now be re-built around the base of the aerial.

 

A tip for anyone using guitar wire as an aerial: Mine was slightly curved and had a bit of a kink in it. I straightened it by clamping each end in a pair of pliers, pulled it tight and then heated the entire length over a candle. I didn't relax the tension on the wire until I had removed it from the heat source and had let it cool fully.

 

TFL

Badder

 

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First things first, I've extended the mud/staining upwards on one side of the added frontal armour. It seemed to me that the mud stopped fairly abruptly at the join with the bolted plate and didn't look right.

 

Now onto the stowage.

As well as the figures, the Tamiya kit comes with 3 ammo crates for the .50cal and 2 for the .45cal bow MG. I've given the crates coats of the required colours and coats of gloss in readiness for the decals. Each crate has 4 decals. Some are tiny, so I expect to ruin some!

 

MiniArt's kit comes with nothing but the figures (unless I lost a decal sheet which I was not aware it had) The details are better than those of the Tamiya kit, but the poses are a bit lame, with no 'action' poses.  With 11 figures in total, I'm hoping I can cannibalise some of them and make something more interesting.

I will only make 4-6 figures, so I should have enough decals to do them all justice.

 

BTW, I now have a powerful desktop lamp, just like the wife's, thanks to an early birthday present from the in-laws.

 

TFL

Badder

TFL

 

Pics later.

 

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Nice antenna, I'm hopeful you will find a crew out of the eleven figures Badder. Glad to hear you got a useful present off the in laws.

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Hi Badder,

I found a WIP thread with a model of yours, yesterday I was trying to catch up with the STGB, but "too much information", to see and comment, I had to end up leaving behind because of lack of time.

Today, I have seen your project in more detail, you already have 16 pages of work / comments, Starting with the first one until today, I just have to say that your work is very meticulous, with scratch, trying to recreate a historical / real model, that adds difficulty to work.

Very well got the effect of the grass, mixed with mud, I thought sometimes do something similar with some kit of mine, but I would like the grass was matte, and with the appearance of real "moss", I do not know if I explain .

Buy a jar of Vallejo from Weathering effects, which was "crushed grass", but what came in the picture of it did not correspond to what is inside. It's more like what you've done.

Maybe that product would have made your job easier.

 

The winter camo has also improved since the "Nashorn", I would say that you feel more at ease with it ...

15096_rd.jpg

Keep up the good work

Cheers Badder :cheers:

39028690974_d0c5ee828e_o.jpg

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3 hours ago, FrancisGL said:

Hi Badder,

I found a WIP thread with a model of yours, yesterday I was trying to catch up with the STGB, but "too much information", to see and comment, I had to end up leaving behind because of lack of time.

Today, I have seen your project in more detail, you already have 16 pages of work / comments, Starting with the first one until today, I just have to say that your work is very meticulous, with scratch, trying to recreate a historical / real model, that adds difficulty to work.

Very well got the effect of the grass, mixed with mud, I thought sometimes do something similar with some kit of mine, but I would like the grass was matte, and with the appearance of real "moss", I do not know if I explain .

Buy a jar of Vallejo from Weathering effects, which was "crushed grass", but what came in the picture of it did not correspond to what is inside. It's more like what you've done.

Maybe that product would have made your job easier.

 

The winter camo has also improved since the "Nashorn", I would say that you feel more at ease with it ...

15096_rd.jpg

Keep up the good work

Cheers Badder :cheers:

39028690974_d0c5ee828e_o.jpg

Hi Francis,

Always a pleasure to have you comment on my work.

Yes, I think the whitewash here is better than that on the Nashorn, which had less patches worn away but was overall much 'dirtier and looked more of a dirty grey. By that I mean that the whitewash on my Sherman may be worn away more, but what's left is much whiter.  (In the photos the Nashorn sometimes looked sandy/grey, due to poor lighting!

 

As for the mud and 'grass' it's more mud and straw, but I've called it grass just because I used static grass. It would have been matt if I hadn't given it a coat of gloss varnish. I wanted to have the Sherman driving through puddles, mud and melting snow so everything from the side skirts down is wet, and therefore glossy. There are a few patches of dry/matt mud here and there - higher up on the frontal armour and the upper rear of the hull mainly.

 

The pot of mud and grass you've pictured is not one I've seen before. I saw some other such products on a WIP somewhere, which had 'moss, lichen, algae' and on the box it looked fantastically real, until I realised that the photos were of REAL moss, lichen and algae!

 

I'm not sure if you meant you wanted 'moss' on your tanks as that would have to have been one long-serving tank to get moss growing on it, but having said that my mate used to drive a white Ford Ghia Estate, and THAT had moss on the bonnet!

 

Anyhoooooo,

Thanks again for your comments.

I'm in the process of finishing the stowage and will be moving onto the figures very shortly

 

Rearguards

Badder

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On 12/29/2017 at 8:11 PM, Sgt.Squarehead said:

EasyEightWinter-4

 

EasyEightWinter-5

Uparmoured Easy Eight of 11th armored Division (Patton had discouraged the use of sandbags as improvised armour, so Shermans in his force often took an 'alternative route').

Badder as i believe this is the model/basis for your build. I am curious will you be hanging the M1 Carbine from the barrel as well ? I think that would be a great touch. 

 

Dennis

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On ‎21‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 7:59 PM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Badder as i believe this is the model/basis for your build. I am curious will you be hanging the M1 Carbine from the barrel as well ? I think that would be a great touch. 

 

Dennis

Hi Dennis,

Yeah, that's the one I based mine on, though mine is more a homage than a copy.

 

I'm currently weighing up all my options for a suitable diorama and nothing has been ruled out yet, so maybe there will be a rifle hanging on the barrel. But then, I am me, so anything I decide now is likely to change at least twenty times. 

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

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13 hours ago, wimbledon99 said:

Whilst this is such a superb build, I have to agree that the M1 on the barrel would be the icing on the cake. Go on, you know you want to ;)

It depends on whether the Sherman is stationary or not. I don't imagine it being there if the Sherman was moving. And I'm not sure whether my Sherman is stationary or not.:wonder:

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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I've just made a kit bag to hang from the gun travel lock, similar to that shown in the photos above, only a lot smaller. In fact, the one I've made is probably more of a non-military issue bag, or sack, most probably 'appropriated' and used to store freeze-dried clothing. (??:D) The Milliput I used is rather old though and I have a feeling it's not going to set rock hard, but more fragile, and crumbly. Time will tell.

 

Meanwhile the jerry cans need painting, the ammo boxes just need a coat of matt and the .50cal needs the hand grips finishing off and can then be fixed in place. But while I've a couple of spare helmets I can use to hang on the turret stowage rails, I am lacking in other stowage though and may have to purchase something suitable.

 

Pics later.

 

TFL

Badder 

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3 hours ago, Badder said:

I've just made a kit bag to hang from the gun travel lock, similar to that shown in the photos above, only a lot smaller. In fact, the one I've made is probably more of a non-military issue bag, or sack, most probably 'appropriated' and used to store freeze-dried clothing. (??:D) The Milliput I used is rather old though and I have a feeling it's not going to set rock hard, but more fragile, and crumbly. Time will tell.

Ah, well.  Assuming it does set, you can give it a non-standard colour, to show it's not US Army issue!

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22 hours ago, Robert Stuart said:

Ah, well.  Assuming it does set, you can give it a non-standard colour, to show it's not US Army issue!

I figure it was pink with yellow Polka dots, but the crew dyed it OD by boiling it up in a horse trough with their sweaty socks.

Whatever, it just needs a wash, a dry brushing, and a matt coat and it'll be done. I used a strip of paper for the strap and a bit of PE for the buckle/fastener around the neck. I won't be fitting it until the end of the build as I have to separate the upper and lower hulls to do a bit of interior work.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

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I've painted up the stowage to look as though it had a rushed and very thinned whitewash.

 

My thinking is that the Sherman (and the ammo crates and jerry cans) were whitewashed a while ago, (given the amount of wear) and in that time the ammo and fuel had been used up. The replacement ammo crates and jerry cans would have been 'clean' then, and in the circumstances were given only a cursory going over with the whitewash, given the freezing weather conditions and the difficulties in 'brewing' the stuff up.

 

No, these are not glued down yet.

pyXjTO7.jpg

I've left a new crate of ammo 'clean'. I may have this being manhandled onto the rear deck.

Again, it depends on whether my Sherman is going to be depicted as stationary, or moving.

 

The crew's 'freeze dried underwear bag' and 'extra large Chamois leather polishing rag' stuffed behind the gun travel lock to stop it clanking on the glacis.

tknIq8e.jpg

The bag needs some more work.

 

TFL

Badder

 

 

 

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I would certainly tie down the stowage on the rear if showing it in motion otherwise they'll end up losing the lot! :)

 

This is looking really good, especially like the worn finish and the weathering effects, something which is worrying me somewhat if I manage to get mine finished! 

 

:goodjob:

 

Davey.

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2 hours ago, Robert Stuart said:

Looks promising Badder

 

pyXjTO7.jpg

 

It might be a bit picky of me, but I wouldn't want to be in that crew - not if they have a habit of  storing the gas right next to the spare ammo?

Hi Robert,

Worry not. Firstly these are just positioned for display purposes and they may be positioned differently.

 

Secondly, and more importantly, a full jerry can won't explode if hit by a bullet - not even a tracer round.  Any 'fuel' needs oxygen in order to ignite. A full jerry can contains no oxygen and a bullet penetrating it would be enveloped in liquid, starved of oxygen,

 and there would be no fire or explosion. The same applies for a half-empty jerry can where the bullet penetrates the bottom half. 

Petrol (gasoline) will not ignite unless it exists as a vapour and at a 'critical' mix of 'air to fuel vapour'. So, the container would need to be virtually empty of liquid fuel, but full of the correct air (oxygen) and fuel vapour mix, in order to ignite, and even then the penetrating round would have to be hot enough to trigger that ignition.

 

I'm sure someone here knows precisely the conditions required for bullets to ignite jerry cans, but I suspect 'near perfect' conditions are required, including multiple penetrations with tracer rounds.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

1 hour ago, DaveyGair said:

I would certainly tie down the stowage on the rear if showing it in motion otherwise they'll end up losing the lot! :)

 

This is looking really good, especially like the worn finish and the weathering effects, something which is worrying me somewhat if I manage to get mine finished! 

 

:goodjob:

 

Davey.

Hi Davey, and thanks.

Yeah, worn whitewash is a scary prospect. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it's THE hardest thing to pull off IMHO.

I'm not totally happy with this one to be honest, but it is my 3rd heavily worn whitewash and I think it's my best so far.

 

Give the chipping fluid a bash and don't worry if you completely mess it up. I doubt anyone ever hit the bullseye first time. You can always save up and buy a replacement (or completely different) model and try again.

 

BTW, of course all of my stowage will be tied down, or hung with straps. I've NEVER been one for 'magnetic' stowage.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

3 hours ago, Ozzy said:

Nice going Badder, she's starting to come to life with the stowage on board.

Thanks Ozzy.

I thought it was looking quite lively before that, but hey! :thumbsup:

It's going to be the figures that make or break this model.

I am going to try oils. Gulp!

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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Hi Badder. Hope you are well. Just looking at your stowage combined with your weathering on the rear deck and thinking how it actually looks like I could be looking at photos of the real thing. It all looks excellent but the Jerry Cans are especially impressive. 

With regards the mud and grass product @FrancisGL mentioned above - it's one of the ones I used on my Sherman - I have found it pretty good.

Looking forward to seeing more. 

Kind regards,

Stix 

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On 26/02/2018 at 8:13 AM, PlaStix said:

Hi Badder. Hope you are well. Just looking at your stowage combined with your weathering on the rear deck and thinking how it actually looks like I could be looking at photos of the real thing. It all looks excellent but the Jerry Cans are especially impressive. 

With regards the mud and grass product @FrancisGL mentioned above - it's one of the ones I used on my Sherman - I have found it pretty good.

Looking forward to seeing more. 

Kind regards,

Stix 

Hi Stix,

I am well thank you.  Unfortutely a very old horse I look after had to be put down wednesday morning so I've been a bit upset. Old Ned had no teeth and survived on a 'porridge' feed, but obviously this froze in the bad conditions and he went down with hypothermiia and colic during that night and was found in an awful state the following morning. My wife's pony Rosie has now witnessed 3 of her companions being put down and hauled away (not a pretty sight) in the past 2 years so she was pretty upset too.

The bad weather isn't all bad news though. I was unable to drive down our lane this morning and so have been given the day off. Work on the Sherman and figures will recommence!

 

Hope you and yours are well. Keep warm!

Rearguards,

Badder

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I'm just finishing off the 'underwear bag'. I had to remove the PE strap as I couldn't get it to look right where it is trapped under the gun travel lock. It's tight under there and trying to get the PE to bend and fold realistically at that point was impossible.

So I replaced it with 'rope' made from two lengths of 7lb breaking strain braided fishing line twisted together. The line is pinkish in colour so I gave that a very subtle dark earth wash then bonded the twists using thin CA.

 

I gave the bag another wash with black then dry brushed with khaki drab, just to bring out the creases more.

 

I've separated upper and lower hulls again so I can work on the interior.

 

And while I was making the rope for the bag, I had the idea to use the same method to make a tow cable.... using three lengths of braided line instead of two.

 

Photos later.

 

TFL

Badder

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6 hours ago, Badder said:

Hi Stix,

I am well thank you.  Unfortutely a very old horse I look after had to be put down wednesday morning so I've been a bit upset. Old Ned had no teeth and survived on a 'porridge' feed, but obviously this froze in the bad conditions and he went down with hypothermiia and colic during that night and was found in an awful state the following morning. My wife's pony Rosie has now witnessed 3 of her companions being put down and hauled away (not a pretty sight) in the past 2 years so she was pretty upset too.

The bad weather isn't all bad news though. I was unable to drive down our lane this morning and so have been given the day off. Work on the Sherman and figures will recommence!

 

Hope you and yours are well. Keep warm!

Rearguards,

Badder

Hi Badder. I am well thank you and I am glad you are too. I am really to sorry to hear about old Ned and the effect it had on Rosie. Condolences to both you and your wife.

I'm also not in work today due to the weather so I look forward to seeing some of your progress later or over the weekend.

Kind regards,

Stix

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