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USMC “Apache” M4a2 Iwo Jima 1945. DEAD ON ARRIVAL


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    Good morning everyone … Stripped the paint off the old turret tonight. I did a little damage to the plastic so tried my hand at re-doing the casting texture. Ive only done this once before on an Dragon T-34 that never did get finished, hopefully it doesn't look too bad ? 2vhRyRL.jpg
 

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Will need to replace the forward upper lifting ring and a couple of other things but nothing major. 

 

 

Dennis

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        Well Family crisis not withstanding, I needed to do some work to get my mind off things. So I opted to finish texturing certain areas I felt needed it. Next I added the stowage to the tank. Now Ive found photo’s of 4 sister tanks to this one. None had the extra armor in front of the driver or bow gunner. None had extra track welded to the hull or turret. And none had stowage on the front of the tank. So that limited my options and in the end this what Ive come up with. 
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If everything sets good tonight should start paint tomorrow. Please feel free to ask any questions, post comments or thoughts. 

 

Dennis

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       Good evening everyone … So after Family issue’s early today, I was able to zone out and do some painting. I used these Tamiya paints. 6zRFZyz.jpg
 

I did use the LP-28 but the color looked closer to what I expect from the dark British green on the Firefly. If you look at the side view here its the lower side of the hull below the sponson’s. iiXkELh.jpg

 

So I then gave the uppers a coat of the light LP-29. Not exactly sure Im happy with that either ? But here is what it looks like right now. Take into account that there is flash from the camera so it lightens up the paint a bit. alvZWHS.jpg
 

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I plan on leaving the darker under coat as a shadow effect as it will mostly be covered with tracks and rolling suspension.

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Next up is the camouflage Brown and black. I know its a bit controversial but the few photo’s including what looks to be original color film stills. These photo’s appear to be authentic and not colorized. Not every vehicle had the extra colors but Id like to think “Apache” did ? Please feel free to ask questions, post comments or add thoughts. 


Dennis

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       Good morning everyone … Right or wrong this is how its staying. I just don't have it in me for a repaint. I was thinking on it and decided it wouldn't likely have been black but Darker green as a contrast. So I went that way with this.  
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I will start to work on the road wheels and such tomorrow or the next day. Now I found that the track is all metal but are the return rollers painted or rubbed clean to bare metal ? Please feel free to ask questions, post comments or add thoughts. 
 

Dennis

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8 hours ago, Retired Bob said:

It certainly looks different to the normal overall OD, nice camouflage painting Dennis. :like:

Thanks I may go back over it with the lighter green and reduce the size of the opposing colors. Maybe separate them into individual splotches ? 

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Sorry for the delay folks, I caught a nasty cold a week ago and am also dealing with a family crisis. My first night back tonight and I built up the entire suspension but have found the tracks to be a failure both the aftermarket set and the kits have the same fault. The tabs you would normally melt to hold tracks together are so short that there isn't enough to melt them together without damaging the tracks. So my one last hope is to find some black thread and stitch them together. If I had a stapler that would open up a second possibility but I don't. If I cant get the tracks together this is literally dead on its wheels. I neither have time nor the money to go for aftermarket tracks. Not to mention any lack of skill at all needed for said tracks.  

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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Hi Dennis. Sorry to hear you were unwell last week and it must be difficult still having the family situation going on too. Annoying about the tracks. I hope you manage to get them sorted. As Michael said, might it be possible to align the join with a part on the running gear?

Kind regards, 

Stix

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  • Corsairfoxfouruncle changed the title to USMC “Apache” M4a2 Iwo Jima 1945. DEAD ON ARRIVAL
9 hours ago, Threadbear said:

What kind of tracks are you after for Apache? Would be a shame for this project to stall at this stage? 

Neither do I and when I can buy tracks I will finish it. I just don't have the $ currently and wont until at least September. Im a bit over extended with everything thats been going on in my personal life and just don't have it right now.  I had the AFV T49 tracks but Ive seen photos of these with both Rubber and Steel chevron types. I think I even found a photo of a Sherman on Iwo that had duckbill’s on it. If I could find a pair of the old school Tamiya tracks that had the long rubber pins (3-4mm). Those would melt down and form perfect rivets which never broke. These AFV tracks and the set that came with the kit are about 1/2mm to 1mm high. Not enough to melt without damaging them. Maybe they're meant to be glued but with what I have no idea. Ive never found a glue that worked on this type of rubber. 

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1 hour ago, arfa1983 said:

Can't you use the old not screwdriver method and then hide that bit with some mud or something? 

Not sure which method that doesn't use a screwdriver ? But both the AFV and Tamiya tracks failed. I tried those as a last ditch after my post last night. I really do want to finish this and I will just not until I can get replacements. The soonest that can happen will be in September. 

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Hi Dennis. I am really sorry to hear about your woes with the tracks! Could you use the damaged tracks and use them as damaged tracks? you could possibly do a small scene with a couple of figures looking at the damage? Good excuse for a little vignette if you have the time?

Kind regards,

Stix

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