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1/35 M4A2 76mm "Wet" Sherman


Nigel Heath

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On ‎03‎/‎03‎/‎2018 at 20:52, Nigel Heath said:

 

Oops, I thought it was a light :blush:. I'm sure I can work on it to make it into a horn (the horn does not appear to survive on many preserved examples - I did look).

Don't worry Nigel - you're not on your own - I did exactly the same thing on my Firefly :doh: we live and learn everyday on here - BTW - lovely job - something to aspire to in the future

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I did get a little done yesterday but modelling time was limited by various domestic tasks which had to be attended to and it wasn't worth posting. I have got more done today, so here's an update. I used white Milliput to fill the guard slots and have added the travel lock:

 

P1150802_zpsj163zd5t.jpg

 

My plan is to finish off the guard slots with some stretched sprue weld beads.

 

I have also assembled the spare track link blocks. I think these will be best painted separately so I drilled a hole in the back and mounted them on cocktail sticks ready for painting:

 

P1150803_zpszjciymdz.jpg

 

I have also started work in earnest on the turret. The main parts have been cleaned up and I have filled and sanded the min barrel as well as starting some assembly:

 

P1150804_zpsquojehrz.jpg

 

I should have more time tomorrow so hope to get quite a bit more done then.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

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Today I have been exclusively working on the turret. The frame for this side hatch had some nasty ejector marks, I thought the best solution for the top ones was to plate them over with some thin card patches:

 

P1150808_zpsuufyyocm.jpg

 

The hinge bosses for the hatch were missing so I added them using some 1.25mm rod:

 

P1150810_zpsa8uof88l.jpg

 

This is what the hatch should look like (I think, you never know with Shermans):

 

w_sherman_arro_10.jpg

 

As per the above reference the hatch surround should be a continuous casting with the turret so I filled round the perimeter ready for blending later:

 

P1150811_zpsrerhdxkf.jpg

 

Next I added the final parts to the interior part of the gun and did some work on the turret hatches including adding a brass handle using my bending jig and some 0.5mm rod:

 

P1150813_zpsinxf3yib.jpg

 

Does anyone know what colour the interior part of the gun should be? I think most of the interior should be white but I'm not sure if that includes the gun.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

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Today I have been mainly cleaning up parts and adding them to the turret. I did glue on the aerial base after drilling a central 0.3mm hole but it wasn't very secure so I removed it and will pin it with a metal rod once it hardens up again. I spotted the upright rods on the sticky out bits at the back so added them using some 0.5mm black plastic rod. I also cleaned up and drilled out the MG barrel: 

 

P1150816_zpsul2fubcv.jpg

 

The ammo box for the MG is hollow which won't do so needs filling with Milliput, the gun is also now finished ready for some paint:

 

P1150817_zpsep3hgqeb.jpg

 

The pivot for the gun is a nice snug fit so I have left it unglued, I will do the same with the gun itself so it will be a fully movable feature.

 

These spare track link blocks had very thick gates so I removed them using a razor saw, heavy gates seem to be a feature of this kit in places. There were also some tricky sink marks to deal with:

 

P1150818_zpsripxhftw.jpg

 

I have completed quite a few filling jobs which can now harden up overnight:

 

P1150819_zpsqimrezrf.jpg

 

I have worked out that all the interior should be white, including the gun so I will be working towards getting that applied tomorrow so I can close up the turret.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

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Well there was nothing on the telly tonight after Masterchef finished so I cracked on with a bit more modelling. By now the Squadron Green filler was set so I cleaned it up, a gentle scraping with my Mission Models micro-chisel was pretty much all I could use on these:

 

P1150823_zpszxrwdrlc.jpg

 

We'll see what they look like under a coat of primer.

 

After cleaning up all these seven spare track links this was my set up for getting them glued together:

 

P1150821_zpsya1hy2zq.jpg

 

While the glued joints were still pliable I draped them over the relevant part of the turret:

 

P1150822_zpsyxlsfbcu.jpg

 

I reckon that's another part that can be mounted up for painting.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

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On 14/03/2018 at 7:06 PM, Nigel Heath said:

(I think, you never know with Shermans)

You are catching on!  :lol:

 

Great stuff Nige, you are doing a wonderful job.....Nice work on the pistol-port (side-hatch), even that isn't a constant feature (deleted briefly in 1944 IIRC), consequently I'm only about 66% sure my own M4A1s will be correct on this front!  :rolleyes:

 

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This morning I cleaned up all the filler I had applied yesterday including the Milliput on the ammo box. I thought this would benefit the application of a handle so I bent up a scrap strip of PE:

 

P1150824_zpsrpfkgvwd.jpg

 

Here's how it looked installed:

 

P1150825_zpsboeleiqx.jpg

 

Test fitting of the gun to the turret had revealed a slight gap so I glued in a thin strip of plastic to close it off:

 

P1150826_zpsbju7jdgn.jpg

 

Here's how it looked from the outside before any cleaning up:

 

P1150827_zps66qu3var.jpg

 

In readiness for painting the interior of the turret I masked all the seam edges with 1mm masking tape:

 

P1150828_zps7rmwjnb3.jpg

 

I then had a little airbrushing session getting Alclad white and then grey primers applied to this lot:

 

P1150830_zpspuutadda.jpg

 

Next I unmasked all the mating surfaces:

 

P1150831_zpsqrrmhedp.jpg

 

Then I applied a Flory Dark Dirt wash to the gun:

 

P1150832_zps8erap64i.jpg

 

It's not terribly visible in the now assembled turret but at least it's a gesture:

 

P1150833_zpso93ctov4.jpg

 

The turret joint was somewhat visible so I applied a brushed coat of white primer of it:

 

P1150837_zpstw4oeolc.jpg

 

I then cleaned up and assembled a few ancillary items. I felt the Jerry can would benefit from some homespun locator pins, added using some 1mm square rod: 

 

P1150829_zpsr7abbwut.jpg

 

Next I decided to tackle the weld beads on all the guards. I started by making a quadrant section on some grey sprue:

 

P1150835_zpsmzxlipcz.jpg

 

(I needn't have bothered doing this, round section would have worked fine.)

 

That was then stretched into a length about 0.3mm thick. I thought I'd better have a practice go on a scrap part (actually one of the cabinets left over from my GMC tanker build). I basically flooded the sprue with liquid poly and then gave it some weldy texture with a fine round file dipped in water to try to prevent sticking:

 

P1150838_zpsu0y4zrgc.jpg

 

Here's how the first actual weld looked:

 

P1150839_zpsgsydbjim.jpg

 

The second one:

 

P1150840_zpssewnxqf8.jpg

 

Right 17 more to go.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

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Quick note regarding paintwork, the colour of the inner surfaces of any hatches in the fighting compartment should match the exterior paintwork, this goes for the pistol port too.  :nerd:

 

PS - The commanders sight (immediately to the right of the periscope on the left in this image):

 

P1150827_zps66qu3var.jpg

 

Might be an excellent target for your skills with metal.....It should look like this:

 

m4a375w_36.jpgm4a3vane.jpg

 

Note that these are fitted to a 75mm turret, so the mount is different, compensating for the curve of the turret, the flatter mount in your kit is correct.....If I can find a decent image of the sight on a T-23 turret I'll add it here.

 

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I have not got a lot done today as I've been mainly working in the kitchen making bread and marinating a pheasant breast for my dinner as well as prepping a lamb breast for dinner tomorrow. Yesterday I filled the main seam on the turret, today I got that cleaned up:

 

P1150843_zpsigzptls3.jpg

 

I have also refilled the ejector marks on the hatch.

 

All the guard welds are now done:

 

P1150844_zpsaiy5gadc.jpg

 

P1150845_zpshdafe5hu.jpg

 

I have also built up this little stowage shelf for the rear which I will paint separately:

 

P1150846_zpspwfgsija.jpg

 

I'm not sure about the rolled up tarp supplied with the kit, it might be better to scratch something myself or at least replace the moulded in buckles.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

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Well Photobucket is playing up again so it was back to Flickr for tonight's photo upload. I was surprised by how much filler was required to sort out the previously sorted (I thought) ejector marks on the open hatch: 

 

P1150848

 

I have finished cleaning up and assembling the Jerry can - looks quite cute I think:

 

P1150850

 

I have now cleaned up, filled where necessary and mounted ready for painting, all the tools and what not:

 

P1150855

 

Except, awwh god, there is still this lot to deal with (plus the associated track links):

 

P1150856

 

I really only have next weekend to get this build finished before the GB ends, I wonder if that is possible....

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

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The first job of the day was to make the third and final periscope guard and get that attached to the turret:

 

P1150864

 

In trying to get the hull halves mated I realised that the interior protrusion of the horn guard was causing a foul condition:

 

P1150865

 

I must also sort our those ejector marks.

 

After snipping most of it off the remaining stub was dealt with using a grinder in my motor tool, being careful not to generate too much heat:

 

P1150866

 

I have decided to leave the back end as it is as its very shrouded by the exhaust deflector and won't be very visible of the finished model (plus it is the part Italeri supply for the job):

 

P1150868

 

P1150867

 

While I had the above picture I decided to take reference shots of the rest of the tool positions before removing the raised lines:

 

P1150870

 

P1150871

 

The lower hull was obviously originally designed for a different upper hull as these triangular infill parts are required but they still leave some gaps which will need sorting:

 

P1150872

 

I think the back end needs to be painted before the hull is assembled as access is so restricted  so I masked up the joint edges:

 

P1150873

 

Well that's as far as I've got today. If I can crack on with painting tomorrow I should at least get the hull halves together. I am also making progress on the tracks in the background, 104 done so far 54 more to go - plus the links.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

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Hi Rick,

 

The motor tool used for this job was this rinky dink little number:

 

P1150880

 

I bought it in 1981 so it has given nearly 40 years of faithful service. It does require a 12V DC Power source - I built my own:

 

P1000289_zps5f4be41d.jpg

 

 It came with this range of drills, burrs and grinders;

 

P1000290_zps6651e303.jpg

 

Of course it is now long out of production but Expo are still going and offer some similar items.

 

I also have a full size Dremell but it's generally too large and powerful for modelling tasks.

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I bought it at a modelling engineering exposition at the Wembley Conference Centre in London, a great little tool - highly  recommended. If you want one maybe you could find one on e-bay?

 

I have got a bit more done tonight, bearing in mind the impending GB deadline, I cut out a goodly piece of lead sheet and mixed up a substantial quantity of five minute epoxy, liberally applied like so:

 

P1150875

 

This should help the running gear to settle down nicely:

 

P1150876

 

The lead actually got quite warm from the exothermic reaction. :devil:

 

While that hardened up I looked to other issues, I filed off the horrid moulded buckles from the tarpaulin wrap thingy:

 

P1150877

 

I have a cunning plan to improve the straps round it with some painted Micropore (TM) tape:

 

P1150878

 

I cut out plenty of straps and placed them on a old SIM card ready for painting as well as drilling out the tarpaulin so that it could be mounted up ready for some primer to see how it looked (I'm  still not sure if I will use it but would like to, why not?): 

 

P1150879

 

Next I worked on the turret, getting it ready for some exterior paint, I wrapped tape around the open hatch and then cut out a circle of foam to blank the opening:

 

P1150882

 

With the foam inserted it looked like this:

 

P1150883

 

There was then a similar but larger scale operation on the underside of the turret: 

 

P1150884

 

P1150885

 

Right, now things are in place for some serious painting activities in the morning.

 

Today I also made some pickled okra:

 

P1150881

 

Sadly I have to wait for three months before trying but I am sure it will be nice (it's a Delia recipe after all).

 

I also made a batch of lamb stock from roasted bones but that's another storey.

 

Track pads now up to 120!

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

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Eagle eyed viewers may have spotted that the base of the aerial mast had snapped off, I did what I should have done before and added a 0.5mm metal mounting pin before re-fixing it in place:

 

P1150886

 

I then had a major airbrushing session applying top coats in the following order after first applying grey primer. First a light yellow to the wooden tool handles as a base for later wood grain effects:

 

P1150887

 

Then the main OD colour to a number of parts starting with the track skids and joint on the bogies:

 

P1150888

 

Then the various ancillary parts:

 

P1150889

 

At this point the Aqueous Color ran out so I switched to the equivalent Mr Color colour, which turned out to be quite a different shade (but you can't really tell in the above photo).

 

Finishing with the rear ends of the hull:

 

P1150890

 

Then some dark green on the Jerry can:

 

P1150891

 

Then another shade of olive drab on the tarpaulin and ammo box:

 

P1150892

 

A mid grey on the tarpaulin straps:

 

P1150893

 

Tyre black on some of the spare tracks:

 

P1150894

 

Finishing the whole thing off with matt black on the remaining tools and guns:

 

P1150896

 

Before I can mate the hull halves I need to paint the exhausts, I managed to locate a suitable brown shade and proceeded with the awkward masking job:

 

P1150898

 

One of my punch sets was invaluable for producing the masks for the basis of that. I realise that I am timing out on the deadline for this GB but I might be able to get some done during the evenings, especially with the new lighter evenings. We shall see...

 

Tonight I made myself a spinach and four cheese pizza:

 

P1150897_zpsyzfr7ufs.jpg

 

Dressed with chilli oil it was very nice.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

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With the lighter evenings I was indeed able to paint the exhausts, I used this ancient Humbrol Authentic Colour RLM 79 enamel as a base for the rusty, burnt metal effect (as it's basically all I had available at the moment). It didn't airbrush very well as there was lots of lumps which kept blocking my airbrush but I got there in the end:

 

P1150904

 

The next stage of the weathering was to apply a brushed on layer of MIG Old Rust dust

 

P1150905

 

I think I will seal that in with a coat of matt varnish before proceeding any further.

 

I have also finished cleaning up all the required 158 track pads. The tolerances on the fit of the tracks is quite critical so to avoid removing significant material from the pins, when I cleaned up the seam between the pins I superglued some 1mm tape on opposite sides of this square file; an uncleaned up pad is in the foreground:

 

P1150903

 

Now I just have to deal with all the track links. Two down, 156 to go.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

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