Sure man? Easy 8?

[KonaDawg]

hello all,

Apologies for the possibly confusing title but I'm at a fork in the road as it were.  I was intending to build this Tamiya 1/48 m4a3e8 as an end of war example possibly near the Reichstag..... I think that might be too ambitious on reflection as my building and diorama skills are still growing.  I really like the shape of the easy 8 and wanting to try a bit of historical accuracy, I began the research on colour etc.  I gave up 😕.  The subject of olive drab still fascinates me as I'm sure it does many of you good people but it's a tricky old topic with a multitude of correct and almost correct conclusions.  So, I painted the tank in an undercoat if Tamiya NATO black.  The OD was vallejo modelair OD which I found a bit gray but not to bad. Nowhere near the shade I'd Pullman Green........ Reference?😊.  Anyway, I bought some Windsor and Newton oils (yellow ochre and black)  and did what DuPont did and got OD.  I used this more as a light weathering and highlighting medium but I like the result so far

 

I'm still working on the weathering and detailing etc and have a long way to go.... Regarding the odd title of my post, I got to wondering if maybe I could expand my frontiers a bit and go down an alternative reality route with this build.....im thinking spaced armour, a few futuristic touches....?

I got this far

 

So not very far then... Going to work on the base and see how that goes.  Thanks for wasting a few minutes of your day in here 😊

[Badder]

Hi KonaDawg,

I too love the look of the Easy Eight. It's hull shape, wide tracks, the large gun, side skirts, the slab-like frontal armour and the suspension all add together to make this an imposing beast. I've never made the Firefly, but the Easy Eight has to be right up there with it on the 'looks' front.

 

You've done a grand job so far, and I wouldn't worry one iota about the colour of the OD. Anything from browny-green, grey-green, blackish-green, and yellowy-green will do!

 

There was a M3/M4 STGB a couple of years ago now which might be a great source of information for you. I will provide the link below. I myself did something similar to what you seem to be intending, and that was to make an 'upgraded' Easy Eight with additional armour plating bolted and welded onto the turret cheeks and the glacis. In fact, the glacis basically had an another 'reclaimed' glacis bolted on top of it. It was based on WWII photos and I tried to copy the added armour as closely as I could, but I winter whitewashed mine as there seemed to be suggestions that the original vehichle had been whitewashed at some point.  I have since seen other models in books and on line where other people have based their models on the same set of photos. They are WAY better than mine! There's some great Shermans and associated AFVs in that STGB and my personal favourite is a M4 chassis which was converted to carry and transfer shells to one of those enourmous rail-guns.

 

So, follow the link:

This will take you to the Gallery of completed entries.. but from there you can navigate to the WIPs and those builds which didn't quite make it to the finish line.

 

 

I look forward to seeing your progress and what you end up with diorama-wise.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

Edited October 24, 2019 by Badder

[KonaDawg]

Hi Badder,

Many thanks for your kind and helpful comments!  Also the link, really useful   I was actually thinking about a sort of Sci-Fi alternate reality sherman.  In that context, I'd be adding reactive armour, enhanced sights and possibly a power source   I dont know yet.  I like your suggestion of a late war 8 with bolted on armour and I've seen a few images of such.  I actually have the old Dragon 1/35 Thunderbolt easy 8 and this has the additional armour....Got me thinking now thanks!  Just started work on the base so depending on how that turns out, I'll make the choice.

 

Cheers!

[DalekCheese]

An alternate reality, completely different from our own...? How about a Tiger that could move for more than 200ft unaided, or has a decent radio?

[KonaDawg]

On 12/19/2019 at 3:09 PM, DalekCheese said:

An alternate reality, completely different from our own...? How about a Tiger that could move for more than 200ft unaided, or has a decent radio?

Ah Sorry Dalek! I just spotted this comment.  I think Tigers got a pretty good deal from tank fate....Eh?  Tank fate....Ok.... Not sure what that is even though I just thought it up. I still havent made any progress on this but thoughts of enhancing sherman bashers are not front and center in my small brain  

[KonaDawg]

Apologies for the lack of progress but managed to find some time to work on this.  Still a lot to do on it but getting there 😊

Added some ..... Things that look a bit like sandbags.  Made them from Daz air drying clay. Paint will follow.  Think the diorama is going to be outskirts of Berlin so need lots of stowage which I'm also trying to fashion.

 

As always, if anyone has tips to help me improve, they will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers for now.

[KonaDawg]

Had a go at making some tarpaulins.  Came out OK I think.

 

[KonaDawg]

Had a go at making some tarpaulins.  Came out OK I think.

 

[KonaDawg]

Started on the diorama base and got to here

 

I haven't built a military diorama for a ling time so need to spend some time looking at the excellent builds in here for inspiration.

[dcrfan]

With the sandbags so high I do wonder how the driver and co driver are supposed to see to the front to be able to drive and shoot.  Sorry I'm an AFV crewman so this sort of thing stands out to me.

[KonaDawg]

On 2/25/2020 at 5:35 AM, dcrfan said:

With the sandbags so high I do wonder how the driver and co driver are supposed to see to the front to be able to drive and shoot.  Sorry I'm an AFV crewman so this sort of thing stands out to me.

Good point!  Maybe they value their heads more than their view of the battle... 😊  I went with some piccies from late war Sherman's and they seemed to have sandbags covering as much of the tank as possible.  Periscope would probably have cleared the sandbags. Possibly.

[KonaDawg]

At the moment...

 

 

 

[Badder]

Ow do chap?

I've been 'away' for a short while and have missed a hell of a lot. Good to see you're making progress. The sandbags look smart. I'm liking the texture. The raggedy bits of grass/straw look good too.

 

Referring back to the sandbags and the high-up positioning of some, I too have seen period  photos of Shermans where one suspects that the driver and MG gunner/radio man wouldn't have seen a thing when they were closed up. Now, I am just guessing here, and I stand to be corrected, but it seems a reasonable explanation and may actually have happened, or it didnt' but you can say that your Sherman's crew DID do it, and who could argue otherwise, so feel free to use it, but at the stage of the war when the Easy Eights were being used, the enemy was on the back foot for all but the B.o.t.B, and drivers and MG gunners felt reasonably safe to drive around heads up. Then, when things got scary, and they needed to close the hatches, the 'high' sandbags could be pushed forward and down the glacis (maybe left to hang on ropes) allowing viewing through the periscopes.

 

Problem solved.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

Edited March 12, 2020 by Badder

[KonaDawg]

Hey Badder, Thanks for the comments! Always good to get critiqued   I think a bit more adherence to realism from myself is definitly on the cards. In my defence, I..... I have none.  Yeah, late war was probably more about avoiding mines and panzerfausts and snipers.  If it was me in that thing though, I'd surround myself with a suit of sandbags as well as pulling them up around my exposed head as much as was feasibly respectable. I mean, a sandbag is gonna be way more effective at stopping a 7.62 round than a tin pot right?  The more I look at that image, the more I realise it needs work.