IDF M51 (M4A3).

[Bullbasket]

18 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Looks good from here too John. That turret ring re-sizing seems to have worked well and the modified engine deck is coming along. I need to get started on another 1/35 AFV, but I'm in the process of finishing two 1/72 AFV's at the moment. A Scimitar and a Light Tank Mk VI. No WIP on those, but they should be ready for RFI soon.

 

Terry

Many thanks Terry. Yes, the turret ring worked out easier than I thought that it would. I'll keep an eye out in RFI for your two braille scale models.

 

John.

[Bullbasket]

The infantry telephone box that comes with the kit is the wrong version, so I made a new one from card, and added a hinge and a the bracket underneath for the signal lamp, plus a nickel silver grab handle. Once it was mounted, I added the securing brackets from strip with bolt heads.

Rear lights and etched brass brush guards added. I think that this is the first time that I have seen in any Sherman kit, the rear lamps depicted correctly. They are not, as every other kit depicts them, identical. And the only one that has a red lens is the left hand one. Well done Tamiya for getting it right.

On the left side, I added a jerry can rack from etched brass. It’s not very strong and took a long while to do. Only another six to go!

I changed my mind and added the folding stowage tray at this point. The side hinges in the kit are too thick so I made new ones from 10x30thou strip and three bolt heads on each one.

 

One last thing. Tamiya supply some nice armoured fuel filler caps, complete with the bent locking pins. Sadly, they wouldn’t fit into the armoured surrounds on the Easy 8, so rather than spoil them by cutting the pins off, they’ve gone into the spares box and been replaced by two from the Dragon M51 kit.

 

Here’s a question maybe someone knows the answer to. A3’s didn’t carry grouser vents as far as I’m aware, but this tank did, as can be seen in a photo. Were they retrofitted by the Israelis when they did the change of engine?

OK, It doesn't appear to be much, but it took longer than I thought. Hopefully, I'll have another update at the weekend.

Thanks for looking.

 

John.

[Andy J]

Love it John bloody great mate 👍 

[Hamden]

 

More stunning attention to detail, another great update!

 

  Stay safe         Roger

[Dads203]

Lovely scratch building work John, it will look stunning with some paint thrown at it fella. 

[Bullbasket]

17 hours ago, Andy J said:

Love it John bloody great mate 👍 

 

6 hours ago, Hamden said:

 

More stunning attention to detail, another great update!

 

  Stay safe         Roger

 

5 hours ago, Dads203 said:

Lovely scratch building work John, it will look stunning with some paint thrown at it fella. 

Thanks a lot for your comments. Paint may be quite a way down the line, given the rate that I work at. It's certainly not "certa cito".

 

John.

[Longbow]

Great work, John !! Love the new phone box !!

[StuartH]

Very, very nice indeed. That Jerry can holder is seriously smart. Would Shermans in WW2 have had such a fitting or was this particular to Israeli vehicles?

[Bullbasket]

3 hours ago, Longbow said:

Great work, John !! Love the new phone box !!

Thanks very much Lee. I was quite happy with that.

John.

Quote

6 minutes ago, StuartH said:

Very, very nice indeed. That Jerry can holder is seriously smart. Would Shermans in WW2 have had such a fitting or was this particular to Israeli vehicles?

Many thanks Stuart. No, Shermans didn't have these holders during WW2. Jerry cans would have been stored on the folding stowage tray at the back, or just put onto the engine deck. These holders are purely something that the Israelis added to the M50 and M51 series of Shermans.

 

John.

[Bullbasket]

And this is where I came up against “SWMBO’s Useful Tips, No.357”. I was removing the moulded on detail from the side stowage bins on the Dragon M51 kit, when the blade decided to take a different route and slice into the index finger of my left hand. “Goodness me”, said I, (or something more appropriate), and called her Ladyship to assist with the blood letting. Two transfusions later, and with the sliced digit suitably plastered, (band aid to those on the left hand side of the pond), she offers these helpful words; “Why don’t you wear a pair of thin gloves when you’re doing that kind of work?” Err!? It’s a Swann Morton scalpel, used by surgeons. I don’t think that a pair of thin gloves would make any difference. But this helpful advice has been filed away for future ridicule reference.

Sorry, no photos. I didn’t want blood all over the camera.

 

John.

[Longbow]

18 minutes ago, Bullbasket said:

And this is where I came up against “SWMBO’s Useful Tips, No.357”. I was removing the moulded on detail from the side stowage bins on the Dragon M51 kit, when the blade decided to take a different route and slice into the index finger of my left hand. “Goodness me”, said I, (or something more appropriate), and called her Ladyship to assist with the blood letting. Two transfusions later, and with the sliced digit suitably plastered, (band aid to those on the left hand side of the pond), she offers these helpful words; “Why don’t you wear a pair of thin gloves when you’re doing that kind of work?” Err!? It’s a Swann Morton scalpel, used by surgeons. I don’t think that a pair of thin gloves would make any difference. But this helpful advice has been filed away for future ridicule reference.

Sorry, no photos. I didn’t want blood all over the camera.

 

John.

 

 

DANG !!

 

Giving you guys sharps is like giving Third World countries Democracy.....

 

It Never ends well.....

[M3talpig]

5 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

And this is where I came up against “SWMBO’s Useful Tips, No.357”. I was removing the moulded on detail from the side stowage bins on the Dragon M51 kit, when the blade decided to take a different route and slice into the index finger of my left hand. “Goodness me”, said I, (or something more appropriate), and called her Ladyship to assist with the blood letting. Two transfusions later, and with the sliced digit suitably plastered, (band aid to those on the left hand side of the pond), she offers these helpful words; “Why don’t you wear a pair of thin gloves when you’re doing that kind of work?” Err!? It’s a Swann Morton scalpel, used by surgeons. I don’t think that a pair of thin gloves would make any difference. But this helpful advice has been filed away for future ridicule reference.

Sorry, no photos. I didn’t want blood all over the camera.

 

I can laugh John because i got the same very helpful advice from my ladies....my retort was not so helpful however  ........great work on the Sherman mate.

[Bullbasket]

16 hours ago, M3talpig said:

I can laugh John because i got the same very helpful advice from my ladies....my retort was not so helpful however  ........great work on the Sherman mate.

Thanks Steve. Daft thing is, once the plaster was on, I went up and almost did it again! But it missed this time, so lesson learnt.

 

John.

[Tom W.]

You're doing a great job with this Sherman.  If I could make a suggestion, you could drill drain holes at the fuel fillers. It is not too difficult and another detail spot on

[Jasper dog]

On 04/11/2020 at 07:28, Bullbasket said:

Thanks Steve. Daft thing is, once the plaster was on, I went up and almost did it again! But it missed this time, so lesson learnt.

 

John.

Not saying a word, haven't done anything for a while, it can only be a matter of time....

 

Now stop hawking it around looking for sympathy and crack on with the build, which is looking, as we've come to expect, rather nice.

 

Cheers 

 

[edjbartos]

lovely detail on this John, looks absolutely brilliant..

 

Ed

[Bullbasket]

12 hours ago, Tom W. said:

You're doing a great job with this Sherman.  If I could make a suggestion, you could drill drain holes at the fuel fillers. It is not too difficult and another detail spot on

Thanks Tom. I appreciate the comment and the suggestion. Thanks for reminding me. Yes, a couple of weep holes in each one, and some in the rear portion of the turret splash ring.

 

John.

[Bullbasket]

7 hours ago, Jasper dog said:

Not saying a word, haven't done anything for a while, it can only be a matter of time....

 

Now stop hawking it around looking for sympathy and crack on with the build, which is looking, as we've come to expect, rather nice.

 

Cheers 

 

Thanks for the comments Darryl, but just one little query. This word, sympathy. I'm not familiar with it. Is it when, after shoving a No.10 blade into your index finger, the wife says "Serves you bl**dy right!" If that is the meaning, then I get a lot of sympathy!

 

John.

[Bullbasket]

7 hours ago, edjbartos said:

lovely detail on this John, looks absolutely brilliant..

 

Ed

Thanks for the encouragement Ed. I appreciate it.

 

John.

[Jasper dog]

3 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

Thanks for the comments Darryl, but just one little query. This word, sympathy. I'm not familiar with it. Is it when, after shoving a No.10 blade into your index finger, the wife says "Serves you bl**dy right!" If that is the meaning, then I get a lot of sympathy!

 

John.

I'll wager any "sympathy", in whatever form it comes, arrives shrouded in a cunning  cloak of sarcasm..... or is it just me? 

  

[M3talpig]

14 hours ago, Bullbasket said:

This word, sympathy. I'm not familiar with it. Is it when, after shoving a No.10 blade into your index finger, the wife says "Serves you bl**dy right!"

Yes mate thats it, except mine was "oh you bl**dy idiot" and then "serves you right" so i think i got more sympathy than you ..................it's great to be loved aint it 

[Bullbasket]

The first job was to add the fender extensions. This was the only part that I’ve come across in this build so far, which needed some help. Clamps were put into place to hold everything in place until the glue hardened.

 

Started adding items along the sides of the tank. Comparing the kit with drawings/profiles, the support brackets for the fender extensions are in different places, and differ numerically, so it seems that the Israelis reconfigured them. All of the attachment points were either sliced off or filled with putty. I was going to use the brackets in the Eduard etched set, but they appear to be a bit oversized, so the kit ones will suffice.

Started adding items along the sides of the tank. Comparing the kit with drawings/profiles, the support brackets for the fender extensions are in different places, and differ numerically, so it seems that the Israelis reconfigured them. All of the attachment points were either sliced off or filled with putty. I was going to use the brackets in the Eduard etched set, but they appear to be a bit oversized, so the kit ones will suffice.

Moving forward, next were the two spare wheels. They needed the extensions on the back removing so that they fitted flush with the hull side. Again, these came from Tamiya’s M51.

 

The APU exhaust is also Tamiya. I cut the end off of the exhaust and replaced it with a small piece of .8mm stainless steel tubing. The heat shield was a little on the thick side, so this was also replaced with 10thou card, bent to shape. Another jerry can holder over the APU.

 

The final jerry can holder was added up front, so that I could work backwards with the stowage bins. The fender brackets were then added, using the drawings/profiles as a guide.

Next up are the two stowage boxes. I couldn’t use the one from the Tamiya kit as one is slightly larger and the other, slightly smaller. The smaller ones came from the Academy M51 and the two larger ones from the Dragon kit. All of the moulded on latches and clasps were removed (without any further blood letting), and replaced with etched items from the Eduard set.

 

....and now with padlocks. Hasps will be added later.

 

Everything in place. Weep holes drilled and elongated in the skirt around the fuel fillers and the skirt round the turret.

 

BTW. Anyone using these Sabingamartin books should be aware that although they state that the drawings and profiles are to 1/35th scale, they’re not. When comparing the Tamiya kit to them, the drawings are slightly larger, and the profiles are slightly smaller.

Thanks for looking and any comments.

 

John.

[Andy J]

Another cracking update John excellent detail work 👏 👌 

[Longbow]

Great looking Sherman, John !!

[Jasper dog]

Great work John, almost looks as if you've done this sort of work before....

 

Atb