Another Sherman - SUPER!! **FINISHED**

[planecrazee]

24 minutes ago, Hewy said:

 Looking good so far kris , it looks a nicley detailed kit too ,I didn't  know if it was a weld seam on the turret either, so I'll  hold off doing mine till i see your update then i can parrot yours😋

Thanks @Hewy - much appreciated. It is a nicely detailed kit - can't comment on overall accuracy as I'm not an expert on the type. The figures provided are really nicely done for the scale so I'll definitely be adding those too. I should have my update out either today or tomorrow so keep a look out. From what I can see there's a weld seem along the back of the turret underneath that's been moulded in by academy. I'm presuming this is correct whereas the seem created by joining the two turret halves together wouldn't be a seem on the real thing. That's what I've gone with and have smoothed off that join seem and used the Mr surfaced technique as mentioned in a previous post to add some texture. Once I post the update you can let me know what  you think 

Kris

[edjbartos]

That is starting to look fabulous...

 

Ed

[planecrazee]

8 hours ago, edjbartos said:

That is starting to look fabulous...

 

Ed

Thanks Ed - very much appreciated. I'm getting there - update to follow tomorrow 

[CharlieNZ]

There was a prominent weld seam where the rear bustle section of the turret attaches. This modification was to accommodate the weight and recoil of the 105mm gun.

Academy managed to copy the texture of the museum tank they used as a basis for the their kit, unfortunately it wasn't so much the cast texture as the layers of peeling paint! This is pretty obvious in places on the turret and the hull, so it definitely makes sense to add cast texture to cover up the slightly odd paint texture academy replicated.

[planecrazee]

On 4/10/2022 at 3:56 AM, CharlieNZ said:

There was a prominent weld seam where the rear bustle section of the turret attaches. This modification was to accommodate the weight and recoil of the 105mm gun.

Academy managed to copy the texture of the museum tank they used as a basis for the their kit, unfortunately it wasn't so much the cast texture as the layers of peeling paint! This is pretty obvious in places on the turret and the hull, so it definitely makes sense to add cast texture to cover up the slightly odd paint texture academy replicated.

Thanks very much for that information @CharlieNZ - really useful.  That's what I've ended up identifying on the kit turret so have managed to leave the weld seem in place and then add the necessary texture around it.  Also big thanks for the back story as to the texture on what are meant to be the cast pieces of the tank on the kit as I wondered why there was an odd look to the texturing so that explains it perfectly.  I think my Mr surfacing job has toned this down a bit so it blends in a lot more now 

Kris

[planecrazee]

Right then folks - here I am finally with my next update as promised 

 

I'm now pretty much at the stage where all the main elements of the tank are together and have been titivated where necessary so I'll be ready to start getting some black primer on her as a dark base coat and also to help identify any last little touch ups that will be needed.

 

So what have I been up to - well one of the main jobs since my last update has been to hit the tank with Mr Surfacer on both the turret and the main body to try to replicate a bit more cast texture.  I think we've bottomed the question regarding the weld seem with the turret and identified where it should be (which you can see in the pics) so as of right now - this is how the turret is looking:

 

 

 

You can see above the weld seem that was moulded in on the kit which seems to be correct and any seem line there was from where the two turret halves were joined has now gone and has been covered in Mr Surfacer to blend the whole turret in together as one:

 

 

 

As you can see in the pics above and the closer up one below - I've had the milliput out and made some adjustments to the blast cover over the mantlet.  This is literally the only area of the kit where I found a fit issue as the rest of the kit has been superb from a fit point of view.  The blast cover piece just wasn't the right shape at all and would never have looked right just as it was.  So I decided to do a bit of sculpting and have blended everything in to make it look like the blast cover fits where it should and doesn't leave any gaping holes.  It's far from perfect or completely accurate and needs a bit more sanding and tidying but it's definitely better than how it was:

 

 

So as I said, as well as the turret, the main body of the tank was also given the Mr Surfacer treatment so here's how we're looking right now:

 

 

 

 

 

So with the turret and main body all Mr Surfacer'd - I was able to add all the last smaller pieces to both of them to get them ready for priming so they're good to go.  To keep me busy while the Mr Surfacer was curing, I busied myself with making up a crew for my tank.  The kit comes with three potential figures but I opted for two who will both be very visible on the top of the turret.  So with them all glued up and their seem lines sanded, here's where I am with my very willing and able crew:

 

 

The figures are really nice I think with some excellent detail for them just being straight out of the box.  Hopefully I'll be able to do them justice when I come to paint them up 

 

So with all that work now completed, here's a taster for you of what all this looks like when it's brought together and an idea of what the finished article will start to look like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main gun is just the kit part and has cleaned up fairly nicely. It isn't glued in as of yet to assist with painting but I couldn't resit dry fitting it to get an idea of what a monster it is - just hadn't grasped how over-sized it looks until it was physically in the mantlet 

 

Also, just for some context, the crew figure who seems to be representing the tank commander doesn't have a sore arm - once everything's brought together and painted up, he'll be leaning on the open hatch which explains his strange position 

 

So onwards and upwards folks.  As I say, next stop should be to start getting some primer on her and then concentrating on bringing her all together and top coats of paint so hopefully that should be the next update for you.

 

Thanks for looking in and following my progress and any questions, feedback and comments are always welcome 

 

Thanks

 

Kris 

[Bertie McBoatface]

I like the texturing you've been doing. It's very neat and tidy. 

 

The figures remind me of pilots discussing their recent dogfights

[planecrazee]

7 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

I like the texturing you've been doing. It's very neat and tidy. 

 

The figures remind me of pilots discussing their recent dogfights

Thanks for the feedback @Bertie Psmith

I think sometimes neat and tidy is my arch enemy though and is usually the reason why I don't build anything like as many kits as quickly as I should lol 

The figures definitely seem content so I can see exactly what you mean 

Kris

[PlaStix]

Hi Kris. Looks like your progress has been going very well. Lovely work with the texturing. And the figures do look great.

Kind regards, 

Stix

[planecrazee]

4 hours ago, PlaStix said:

Hi Kris. Looks like your progress has been going very well. Lovely work with the texturing. And the figures do look great.

Kind regards, 

Stix

Thanks Stix - your feedback is much appreciated. I'm getting there bit by bit 

[planecrazee]

Good evening folks,

 

Can't believe it's been a month since my last update - where does the time go 

 

I have, however, been busy within that time working on the Sherman but just haven't had a chance to get anything posted - not helped by being off work recently and gallivanting off to Germany for a fantastic city break in Munich 🇩🇪 

 

Anyway - you don't want to hear me waffling on about what I've been doing - you want to see what I've been doing with the Sherman.  So since my last update, I've pretty much managed to get all the main elements painted up and get her to the stage where she'll be ready for all the final assembly and weathering stages.

 

So this update will be fairly pic heavy I'm afraid (nothing fresh for me) but there's a fair amount to capture.

 

So here's some pics of the main hull of the Sherman all painted up in it's top coat with the return rollers and idlers painted and in place and the spare road wheels and jerry cans added:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also got all the bogey's painted up which was a fairly time taking task but I got there in the end - painting road wheels never seems to end 

 

 

Then there's the turret.  She's all painted up and good to go.  The mantlet cover seems to have come out better than I expected after my DIY repair job and I did a little scratch build job on the lamp by adding a glass cover with clear sheet styrene as there's nothing provided in the kit for some reason.  I know when I checked the instructions for the Tamiya kit it was there so I though I'd best add something.  I also painted up the main machine gun while I was at it:

 

 

 

 

And here's a couple of pics of the hull and the turret being married together for demonstration purposes to giver you an idea of what she'll start to look like:

 

 

 

 

So with all the bigger stuff out of the way as far as painting was concerned, I thought I'd best make a start on the smaller stuff so I spent some time getting all the tools and water cans painted up ready to be added to the hull and then subsequently weathered once in situ:

 

 

 

I've made a start on the stowage too - a couple of crates and some wrapped up blankets, tarps etc so I'll show those at a later date.  I've also made a start on painting the two figures but haven't got very far so again will show these in a further update.

 

So that's the state of play as of today.  Next steps are to get the tools added and eventually the bogeys and also the tracks which are about the only things I haven't worked on yet. 

 

As she's only at the painted stage, she's looking very bare and lifeless at the moment so I'll also need to get on with the initial weathering beginning with some chipping.

Then, after a gloss coat and the very few decals are added it will be down to pin washes etc and then getting a flat coat on for the subsequent oil weathering stages to dirty her up.

 

So I've made progress but still plenty more to do - mainly in the weathering so hopefully all being well I'll be able to get her across the finish line in time 

 

Hope everyone else is making good progress with their builds - I can see we've already got some crackers in the gallery with plenty more to come so keep going everyone - can't wait to see all the finished results.

 

Hopefully get the next update out sooner than this one was 

 

Best wishes

 

Kris

[edjbartos]

Beautiful detailed work Kris, It's looking fabulous already...

 

Ed

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Well thats looking good, I always like Israeli armor. 

[planecrazee]

1 hour ago, edjbartos said:

Beautiful detailed work Kris, It's looking fabulous already...

 

Ed

Thanks very much for your kind comment Ed - it's getting there. Will start to all come together once everything has been fully assembled and weathered in 👍

[planecrazee]

27 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Well thats looking good, I always like Israeli armor. 

Much appreciated @Corsairfoxfouruncle- glad u like the progress so far. Yes, I know what you mean, I also have a keen interest in Israeli hardware, especially that used during the Arab-Israeli war, Six Days War and Yom Kippur War

[PlaStix]

Hi Kris. Great to see all the fantastic progress you have been making on this. Your paintwork is looking awesome and  I am well impressed with all the tools, etc! Lovely job!

Kind regards, 

Stix

 

[planecrazee]

Thanks very much for your kind comments Stix - my armour models will never be in the same league as yours but I appreciate getting some positive feedback from the expert 

 

Kris

[PlaStix]

On 20/05/2022 at 17:58, planecrazee said:

feedback from the expert

No expert!! Just a keen amateur! Yours does look excellent!

Kind regards,

Stix

[planecrazee]

Good afternoon folks,

 

I'm finally able to get back to you all with an update on the M51.

 

In my last update I'd pretty much got all the main elements painted and was looking to start to bring everything together so that I could crack on with the weathering.

 

I think I've ran away with myself a bit since then so apologies that it's only now I'm doing an update as I should have done one sooner although a recent bout of covid didn't help with things there 

 

The model is now right up to the stage where the next steps are to give everything a flat coat and then add the tracks and do the final weathering steps such as oils/pigments/oil stains etc and get her nicely dusted up. She's already had a gloss coat and washes added to highlight details as well as chipping to help give her that well used look.  All the stowage has been painted and added as well as the machine gun so painting the figures is now the only painting I have left to do 🖌️

 

As I say she hasn't received a flat coat yet so please ignore the sheen that the model has at the moment and also the glass on the searchlight isn't meant to be blue - that's just masking fluid to prevent the glass being covered in matt varnish in the next step - that will be removed afterwards 👍

 

So here's a good few pics with the latest progress to date:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So all being well my next update should be my last one for this project and all being well I'd like to have her pretty much finished by the end of this week which should have me over the finish line a good week before the GB end date.

 

Once the flat coat is on it's really just going to be a lot of extra little details to finish, mainly weathering like dust, a few subtle rust effects, engine exhaust staining etc, but also as I said previously the tracks are to add, figures to finish, and radio antenna to add etc.

 

So my next pics should find her in the gallery and ready for final inspection.  Well done to everyone who's got their builds in the gallery so far - there really are some cracking builds and such a good variety too.  Keep going to those of you who like me just need to get their model finished off and lets get as many as we can into the final gallery 

 

Best wishes all

 

Kris 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Looks great… I do love the look of these with the big old honking gun and muzzle brake

Edited June 8, 2022 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[planecrazee]

@Corsairfoxfouruncle - I couldn't agree with you more. The gun definitely looks like it means business!

Kris

[planecrazee]

Good evening folks,

 

Well that's it - I've finally made it to the finish line and with another week to spare so proud of that if nothing else 

 

I've literally just finished adding the crew to my M-51 and taking the photos.  My very capable crew, Avraham and Yitzhak are now the proud owners of the M-51 Super Sherman.

 

I was really quite impressed with the figures in this kit - much better moulded and defined than you often find which is why I wanted to add them so hopefully I've been able to do them a bit of justice although I'll never profess to being a figure painter 

 

So since my previous post, I was able to get everything ticked off the list including adding the final matt coat, adding the tracks, bit of dust weathering, adding the figures, the radio antennae etc etc - just any finishing touches I could think of before finally calling it a day.  One of the things I still need to learn when it comes to my models is when to stop fiddling and faffing and just get it finished and move on 

 

So I've added 5 pics into the gallery - they're in there now as we speak so here they are along with some more pics to try to show off as many views as possible:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Massive thanks to @PlaStix for his hosting skills on what has been a thoroughly enjoyable GB - again it's given me a perfect excuse to do some more armour modelling which I don't do as often as aircraft but always really enjoy it when I do 👍

 

Also, well done to everyone who took part in the GB - there's some fantastic builds in the gallery and hopefully some more to come before next week comes to a close 

 

Best wishes everyone and I'll look forward to your next GB @PlaStix

 

Kris

[edjbartos]

That's a very nice looking model Kris, nicely finished off and the figures just add to it all. Good work...

 

Ed

[planecrazee]

Thanks very much Ed - glad you like it - really appreciate your feedback 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Grand finish on this one.