Don't call me Fat.... Meng 1/35 M4A3E2 Jumbo

[diases]

Hi guys.

Due to RL, modelling has been non-existent, but as I had signed up for this, I thought I'd better provide something.

 

History.

254 Jumbo's were ordered, as Standard Shermans were deemed a bit weak against German Armour. So this up-armoured version of the M4A3 was developed.

 

The Kit.

 

Looks nice on the sprue, but I'd no expert.

Comes with Individual track links, or Rubber band tracks. Metal springs for the suspension units, and a turned metal barrel.

Nice touch is the printed Jack Daniel's / Chesterfield's on the Spring packaging, which can be cut out and glued.

 

Aftermarket.

Plaster Base I picked up a few years ago at Telford.  I also have a Miniart Base which I may steal some accesories from.

 

Black dog set. Although its for a A2, I'm hoping to use it.

Not standard for a Jumbo, but early users carried on adding armour until they Knew the Tank better.

So a bit of artistic license will be employed.

 

Hope everyone Enjoys their builds

Paul

[diases]

Hi Again.

Confession time.

As I am building the Individual link tracks, as they are fully functional when assembled.

I may have started prepping them.  OK, I have started, no maybe in it really.

But In my defence here's the amount of sprue gates to clean:

78 links per side recommended my Meng.

2 pads per link, 4 gates x 156 links = 624 clean ups.  Nice flat surface so no biggy.

2 connector plates (?) per link, 4 gates per plate = 1248 gates.  2 are Flat surface, But 2 are on Curves Doh!!!

1 Duckbill per connector. 156 x 1 gate      Flat surface, easy

So approx 2000 clean-up's required.

 

Will keep me busy for the next week, and avoid starting anything else.

 

Paul

PS. thank God for single blade nippers.

[Bertie McBoatface]

45 minutes ago, diases said:

Hi Again.

Confession time.

As I am building the Individual link tracks, as they are fully functional when assembled.

I may have started prepping them.  OK, I have started, no maybe in it really.

But In my defence here's the amount of sprue gates to clean:

78 links per side recommended my Meng.

2 pads per link, 4 gates x 156 links = 624 clean ups.  Nice flat surface so no biggy.

2 connector plates (?) per link, 4 gates per plate = 1248 gates.  2 are Flat surface, But 2 are on Curves Doh!!!

1 Duckbill per connector. 156 x 1 gate      Flat surface, easy

So approx 2000 clean-up's required.

 

Will keep me busy for the next week, and avoid starting anything else.

 

Paul

PS. thank God for single blade nippers.

 

Good man! That seems very sensible to me. In fact I'm rather surprised I haven't done mine already, except that I've been busy on other things.

 

That resin stuff looks very good and every Meng kit I've made has been a joy to me. I'm sure you will have a great time with this build. 

[Longbow]

It’s all good 👍

This is another of the stash kits I have, but feel intimidated by the parts count 🤣

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Welcome aboard nothing wrong with a Jumbo. 

[PlaStix]

Hi Paul. 

Welcome to the GB. Great to have you here. I haven't seen this kit before so I'm looking forward to following your progress. 

Kind regards, 

Stix

[Jasper dog]

Great choice, the Meng M4 is a brilliant kit, even with the tracks. Once you get into the rhythm they do actually go together ok. 

 

Good luck

Darryl 

 

 

[diases]

Quick update.

So, three sprues of Track parts equals:

 

and

 

I have seen another Meng Sherman which has a coil of wire, which you straighten and cut to size.

But I think this later kits pre-cut wire pins are a much better option. Straight and quite stiff, and from the first trial build a perfect length with a tight fit into the connector piece.

 

So after cutting the parts off the sprue the two part Pads have been glued together and cleaned up (more to do). rough coat of Tamiya rubber Black has been applied

Inside face of the Connector plates got a coat of Tamiya Dark Iron, 

Followed the instructions, and with the supplied jig (clear glass as well, so you can see the alignment), got:

 

Duck Bills still need fitting, but from first build up, they look really good.

Fully articulated and not to slack between links, so give a nice feel while moving if you know what I mean.

I think that connecting the sections together will require the jig to be modified, as the two halves don't sit correctly with links over the ends

 

But there has been a casualty. 

 

While removing the connector plates from the sprue I tried a tight cut between the connector and Sprue Ident plate (?), must have twisted the nippers while cutting. Useable but shorter now.

Luckily, I have just received a set of Master Tool nippers, so no biggy.

Guess the Karma gods are punishing me for starting early.

 

Much more cleaning up to do, but the results seem worth it so far

 

Cheers for looking

Paul

[diases]

So, we have offically started.  I have found the tracks to be not too bad, a bit fiddly, but once cleaned up (the biggest problem) they are OK to build.

The pins are not glue'd at the moment, as they are a tight fit, and once positioned on a diorama, I think they will be fine.

Just made up 3x 11 link lengths so far, but everything is prepped, and will continue to build them over the next week.

 

The Hull.

 

Loverly fit with no drama's, sprue gate's are easy to clean up as well positioned.

Base of hull had 2 tiny raised spikes which took about 10 seconds to clean up, and all the parts have fitted nicely

Towing points will need a tiny bit of filling on the underside, but thats it so far.

Cast texture looks good on the nose piece.

The louvre'd section on the back is made up of 6 piece's which needed careful study as they can be fitted the wrong way round.

The unit is only dry fitted at the moment, as I'm not certain of the correct angle. I'll glue after building up the upper hull and test fitting.

 

Cut the wheels off the sprue and cleaned up, but I think I'll work on the upper hull next, rather than the suspension units.

That's been my morning, I'll update later with the afternoons progress

 

Cheers for looking

Paul

[Ted]

Those tracks look great, quite good design and quality that they include the steel pins.

[Jasper dog]

Nice progress,  wish I'd had the metal pins instead of the roll of wire, the wire was anything but a snug fit.....

 

Atb

Darryl 

[Robert Stuart]

A good start
Those are the nicest looking plastic Sherman tracks I've seen

[PlaStix]

Excellent progress Paul and looking very good so far!

Kind regards,

Stix

[diases]

Bit later than expected, but here's a update.

 

 

Upper hull started and glue'd to lower. Once again the fit is good, with minimal clean up.

I have the Mr Color, Color Modulation Set Olive Drab.

So thats the OD Shadow colour on the lower section, I'll use the other colours on the upper surfaces.

 

These are the parts for the suspension bogies(well, 2x bogies).

Painted up the wheels and upper arm/springs as quite well hidden

 

Here's one I made earlier. and they are fantastic, Fully functioning and even the wheels rotate.

If building, watch for the writing on the tyre wall, as it's easy to fit reversed and not see it.

 

Built up the three left side bogies, and I'll paint them up before final fitment.

 

I was going to use the Blackdog set, but test fitting shows a massive difference between a A2 and A3, so I wont be using it on this one.

Another thing is the base. I was going to use a cobbled street, but with the functionality of the suspension, I have another base which would show it off much better.

I'll post about that later, after some more painting.

 

Cheers for looking

Paul

[PlaStix]

That's really impressive progress Paul. Lovely stuff!

Kind regards, 

Stix

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

The tank is looking good but I was confused for minute. The tan plastic threw me as Im used to seeing Tan in resin. I had to do a double take thinking you were building an entire resin kit. 

[diases]

Quick update.

Last night while watching war of the world's, made up the breach and the shelf thingy for the rear.

Today, the 3 left side bogies have been installed, but mostly been building tracks.

First run is built up, with duckbills still to fit. Going OK, but getting there.

 

I'll post a better update tomorrow

 

Cheers for looking

Paul

[diases]

The Good, the Bad and the Progress.

Time for a proper update.

 

 

Left side bogies are sorted, not bad at all. There is movement to each wheel and they look the part.

 

While test fitting the tracks, my no glue tight fit approach failed. while handling some of the pins worked free and the runs broke into two parts.

A easy fix, but decided to put a spot of superglue (applied with a cocktail stick) to each pin on the connector plate, seems to have done the trick, and the tracks are still flexible.

Duck bills are being fitted to the outer edge, so they will cover the pins. As you can see, they turn out nice, Don't know how sturdy they will be, but I'll find out soon.

 

 

As mentioned before, the breach has been made up (30 cal still to be fitted), and the rear shelf. There is the option to have it closed/flush to the hull, but I like it open more.

 

Well, back to the Duckbills, and the the right side bogie's and other track run.

Hope everybody is progressing well, and more importantly, having fun.

On a side note, looks like I'm off to work in early April, so will miss a few weeks.

 

Paul

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Too bad the pins popped out but Ive always liked the look of duck bills. 

[diases]

Todays Update.

The first run of tracks has been completed, painted up and installed.

The sprocket and idler are on poly caps, so can be fitted after the track loop has been positioned over the bogies, and they look ok. The idler is a bit misaligned, but not really noticeable.

As I'm doing a winter scheme there's still a lot of weathering/snow to sort, so these are just progress shots

 

 

As I had the left side tracks on, I could then fit the small mud guard on that side

 

I'm not certain if its correct, but the kit plastic had a large locator plate which made it look wrong, so sanded it off and settled on this position.

Doh!!! Photo shows I forgot to paint the under side. I'll have to sort that out.😗

 

After yesterdays trackathon, I treated my self to working on the turret.

Gun and inside of turret had a coat of off-white and then gave the breach a wash. Its not going to be visible so not that worried about it.

 

 

External turret details look good, Lots more to fit

The seam between the turret halves is a nice fit but I'll need to sand it a bit more to get a better blend line

Theres also Photo-etch cast numbers to position. 

The barrel comes with the kit, and theres a large plastic barrel included for one version.

 

I'm really impressed with the kit so far, and I'll see if my brush painting can do it justice.

Cheers for looking

Paul

[Matt B]

Got this one in the stash, so looking forward to seeing it come together.  Looking good so far!  I too am a fan of the duckbills.

[diases]

Hi guys.

Thanks for all the nice comments.

 

Update time.

Not a lot of modelling, few small bits added or painted, and worked on 2nd track run. not really worth taking photo's of.

 

Main thing I have been tinkering with is the turret texture.

It's there, but I thought that a bit of enhancement would make it stand out more. As well as masking the turret seam line after it was cleaned up.

So was thinking how to do it, and remembered I had this:

 

I have two versions, as you can see, this is the finer 1/48 or 1/72 version (there's also a 1/35 and multiple colours).

Strippled on with a brush, and acrylic based so dries quickly, I built up a couple of layers, and ended up with:

 

It's hard to get good images, but feels nice and rough.

 

A coat of Mr color CMC03 OD shadow, gives this effect:

 

 

Last picture was meant to show the difference between paint(left side of turret) and unpainted (Right side), but my poor photography skills have shown up again.

I'm happy with the results, but not certain if I'll use it on the hull upper, as the texture there seems OK.

 

So that's where I'm at, all up to date.

More track links today and painting up small bit and pieces, while waiting for my nice slow cooked lamb shoulder.

Hope everyone is enjoying whatever they are building

 

Cheers for looking

Paul 

[Threadbear]

Looks a good well moulded kit. Good work on those tracks. 

[PlaStix]

That really is coming along nicely Paul and looking very good too.

Kind regards,

Stix

[diases]

Hi Guys.

I'm off to the Ship tomorrow, so will be missing for a couple of weeks. So thought I'd update my progress so far.

 

 

If you dont include the Right side suspension / tracks / small fender, construction is complete. Apart from the pile of canvas, everything you see is OOB.

There are some ammo boxes, tow rope and wood beam to add.

I will admit, its been a straight forward well fitting build, apart from the indy track links (remember Rubber bands are included). Metal Barrel has a nice locating slot which makes it sit nice and straight.

50 Cal is a push fit so can be positioned as shown or in the stowage at rear of turret.

 

Paints a bit rough at the moment but I'll polish it up when I get back, Theres still the winter effects to add.

 

I hope everybody is enjoying their builds, and I'll be back soon

Paul

 

PS. Spot the major Boo-Boo in some of the pictures. Couldn't correct it,  Doh!!!