06/24 Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Followers of my many started, rarely finished builds will know that I am something of a dilettante, flitting between scale, genres and subjects, and rarely achieving completion. Very much a jack of all trades, master of none. Nonetheless, I do have certain common themes, although these may not be immediately discernible – and they recur regularly in my chaotic progress – and 1/72 scale planes and armour are regular topics, with the latter generally focussed on “the Great Crusade”, as Eisenhower dubbed the D-Day landings and reconquest of western Europe. So this portmanteau thread is intended to capture my various efforts in this area, and share my success and failures as I wrestle with tiny tanks and aging eyesight. So what have we on the bench at present? Well first up is a real quick build – the surprisingly convincing Italeri wargames jeep. Not the finesse of its Heller or Airfix counterparts, both of which wait in the wings, nonetheless these little kits are a joy to assemble. Out of the box, the wheels might be too narrowly spaced, buts that’s easy to rectify, and there is a wealth of extra detail and refinement that could be added, but if you wanted a robust little 4x4 for the wargames table, then you couldn’t go far wrong with these. Jeep 1/72 Italeri by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr Jeep 1/72 Italeri by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr Jeep 1/72 Italeri by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr This one is destined to get hood sticks, a replacement steering wheel and maybe extended wheel hubs to better reflect the prototype, but it was a fun few minutes getting it to this stage. Alongside the jeep, I have a small platoon of Shermans on the go. First, a Heller M4, one of a pair, this will represent Intruder II, but the turret with added cast in armour is destined for a model of Hurricane. 1/72 M4 by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr No surprise that I’ve picked the two tanks on the Heller decal sheet. There are photographs of both online, Hurricane being loaded (I guess?) onto an LST with wading trunks in place (and later in the campaign in the well-known shot of it receiving an engine change. I will model it with trunks as shown here: M4(75)_Sherman_with_Deep_Wading_Gear by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr The scratch built cast in armour is possibly a little on the bulky side, and may yet get sanded down some more. Apparently this tank also lacked the pistol port/shell ejection hatch on the starboard turret rear quarter – if so that will need shaved off the Italeri donor turret (or I may start again with a spare Heller turret.) As well as the pair of M4s from Utah beach, I have a trio (currently, more may yet appear) of M4A2 Sherman IIIs of 27th Armoured Brigade, 13th/18th Royal Hussars, several of which feature in well-known photos taken by Sergeant James Mapham. THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 1939-45. © IWM (H 38970) IWM Non Commercial License THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE NORMANDY CAMPAIGN 1944. © IWM (B 5425) IWM Non Commercial License THE BRITISH ARMY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 1939-45. © IWM (H 38998) IWM Non Commercial License D-DAY - BRITISH FORCES DURING THE INVASION OF NORMANDY 6 JUNE 1944. © IWM (B 5110) IWM Non Commercial License Fortunately Dan Taylor Modelworks offer transfers for the Brigade, making modelling them easier. Italeri quick build tanks are basic, but reasonable, starting points for quick and cheap hacking and practice. To model the ARV in the background of that last shot, I have one of Mr Taylor’s conversion kits and a Heller M4A2 donor standing by. 1/72 M4A2 Italeri by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted October 3, 2018 Author Share Posted October 3, 2018 Heller's QC seems pretty poor, of the two M4s both were missing the second page of the instructions, and one was missing the tracks. Fortunately i have spares. (Tracks, not instructions). I made some more progress on Intruder II tonight, I replaced the weedy, undersized Heller barrel with one from the Italeri kit (unfortunately i broke the other Italeri one, but I have a couple of RB models turned brass ones I can use) and added the bogies. The wheels are not the type noted in the instructions, as the only photo i have found of Intruder appears to show the dished type. M4 Sherman Intruder II, 1/72 Heller by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted October 6, 2018 Author Share Posted October 6, 2018 Progress on Hurricane: M4 Sherman “Hurricane” from a mixture of Italeri and Heller 1/72 parts by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr The lack of detail on the replacement M34A1 shield and the dummy barrel replacing the broken Italeri one, will be hidden by the canvas(?) waterproofing which I will add from milliput. Dry run, the Italeri tracks are not going to be used on the finished model: M4 Sherman “Hurricane” from a mixture of Italeri and Heller 1/72 parts by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr M4 Sherman “Hurricane” from a mixture of Italeri and Heller 1/72 parts by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 I've pressed on with the bogies and track for Hurricane. Ideally I would have left the track separate until after painting but my pig headed determination to utilise the Italeri bogies and sprocket, just to see if I could, meant I had to glue the track runs in place. T41 track by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr T41 track by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr T41 track by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr T41 track by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr The last photo shows how I used lengths of florists wire across the hull, to align the bogies before fixing. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 Looking at the photos, those Italeri sprockets just aren't going to cut the mustard, so they and the tracks are off again, and I'll use a Heller sprocket. I could have used the Heller bogies and wheels but I liked the very open look of the Italeri spokes, even if they are, unfortunately, all oriented the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted October 7, 2018 Author Share Posted October 7, 2018 That's better: T41 take 2 by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr and progress on Intruder and a British M4A2 M4 by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted November 7, 2018 Share Posted November 7, 2018 Aha.....Found you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted December 21, 2018 Author Share Posted December 21, 2018 A general lack of time and enthusiasm means the Shermans have stalled. However the Panzer IV group build has provided a kick up the backside. Easing myself back into things, I've started to knock together a PSC CMP truck, these are super quick to build, although glazing may proved a challenge. All the sub-assemblies are just dry fitted for now: PSC 1/72 CMP 15 cwt lorry by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr PSC 1/72 CMP 15 cwt lorry by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr PSC 1/72 CMP 15 cwt lorry by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr PSC 1/72 CMP 15 cwt lorry by Jon Gwinnett, on Flickr 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingsman Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 It's perhaps a bit late for the 3 M4s in progress, but if you're thinking of any more you might want to look at the UM kits. They kit just about every major configuration variant of M4 (and many M4-based vehicles) and they include interesting details like separate drivers' hood areas with different types. Their M4A2 kit has optional DV, welded and cast hoods for example. But, strangely, their M4A4 kit seems to be DV only although the VC has the larger hoods. But mix and match between different kits is entirely feasible as the 47deg hull is a common part and the A4 hull has the same hood inset area. Tracks are link & length. At about €8 a go they're affordable for donor parts. About 10% cheaper if you get from Ukraine and pay in Grivna as the £/UAH exchange rate is better than £/€. If you are looking for any, I can recommend this supplier in Kiev - but they can be a little slow if you're in a hurry. You may end up having to pay UK VAT if Border Agency rummage your parcel. This is their UM page, and there are sprue shots of most of the kits. https://www.hobby.dn.ua/unimodels-umt-m-30.html These guys also do a lot of other stuff you don't see much in the UK. If you're not confident with that, you can get them from Der Sockelshop or Modellbau Koenig in Germany or Jadar Hobby in Warsaw - but expect to pay about twice the Ukrainian price (i.e. a lot more than the 20% VAT, which you may get away without paying). Depending on the Brexit situation the VAT picture after March 2109 is entirely unclear. The way things are going, the EU may become a VAT-free zone - but Border Agency have nowhere near enough people to cope with everything coming from the EU being taxable as well as the rest of the world. They'll have to raise the minimum rummage value from the current £15, I imagine. If we ratify the "deal" and the 2-year transition period applies then things will carry on as now until at least 2021. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted December 22, 2018 Author Share Posted December 22, 2018 The UM Shermans are certainly on the radar - thanks for the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SA80A2AR Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 like the shermans 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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