Mig Eater Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) I going to be away house/dog sitting for a friend next week, I cant drag all the stuff I need for my main build with me, but I though I'd take a few basic tools & this little cutey with me to stave off boredom 😋 I can't upload any photos while I'm away, so you'll have to wait until I'm back home to see any progress. There aren't many parts & most of them just click together though, so there wont be much to show anyway. The parts come pre-coloured but I plan to paint it, adding some shading & scratches etc. It will still be pink & purple with cat decals though 🐱💜 Edited March 22, 2022 by Mig Eater 7 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arfa1983 Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) Those rubber tracks are no good. Need AM for sure, otherwise not realistic! Edited March 22, 2022 by arfa1983 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) I'm not exactly aiming for accuracy with this build 😅 I could replace the drive sprocket with a spare & 3D print some new tracks though... Edited March 22, 2022 by Mig Eater 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Excellent choice Mig Eater! It's going to be a wonderfully bright entry for this GB!! Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted April 9, 2022 Author Share Posted April 9, 2022 (edited) I'm back from house sitting, in the end I didn't feel like starting on this build while I was there. My friend's doggo shared my level of apathy & we spent most of the time on the couch binge watching TV together 🐶 Once I was home it took me awhile to get back into the model making mood too, but I've finally made a start on the build. Thus far I've removed & cleaned up all the large parts that can simply click together. The only things that are left are the smaller lamps, hooks & tool parts etc that will need some glue. I still need to clean up a few mold lines & fill some gaps between the upper-lower turret & the four hull parts. There are a few parts I want to modify too, so I'll sort all that out before I start adding any of the remaining parts. Edited April 10, 2022 by Mig Eater 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Nicely chilled doggo, your little pink sherman looks a fun kit 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 I wouldn't be able to resist texturing those castings 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted April 10, 2022 Author Share Posted April 10, 2022 (edited) I'm debating with myself if I should add cast texture to the hull & turret, on one hand it might ruin the cartoony look, on the other it would help me hide the mold lines & modifications that I made 😝 Edited April 10, 2022 by Mig Eater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Be a pity to loose that colour with cast texture ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted April 10, 2022 Author Share Posted April 10, 2022 Oh I've already ruined the pink plastic with filler & sanding 😝 I'll (re)paint it pink with some shading & highlights though so that's not a problem. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 I do like these Meng kits. Yours looks to be going together well. I made the boring Olive Drab version for the Blitzbuild GB back in 2017. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Kind regards, Stix 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted April 11, 2022 Author Share Posted April 11, 2022 (edited) I have several of these Toon kits in my stash & have thought about building one of them in a Blitzbuild GB a few times, as they seem like the perfect kit for such a challenge. It has taken me 4 days to put the hull together on this build though so maybe I'm not up for such a sprint 😅 Edited April 11, 2022 by Mig Eater 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 On 4/10/2022 at 1:39 PM, Mig Eater said: it might ruin the cartoony look Not id you over emphasise it like a Russian assault gun from 1945. That sort of texture would look MARVELous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted April 12, 2022 Author Share Posted April 12, 2022 I'm spending way more time on this build then I had anticipated, but thus far I'm enjoying it more then my other T31 build in the GB 😅 The hull is made from four large parts that fit together extremely well without any need for glue, but unfortunately there were some rather noticeable gaps between them. The gaps were filled with some "sprue glue" filler which is made by melting down some random bits of sprue in Tamiya extra thin until it's a runny glop that can then be applied to the gaps. Once it's dry your are left with a strong bond that can be easily scraped & sanded, as it's the same material that the kit is made from... For some quirky reason Meng decided to add an extra pair of lifting loops to the sides of the model kit, the real Sherman didn't have them & they look ugly IMO 😕 So to fill in the large locating holes I instead added the loops to the inside of the hull, sanded down the ends of the locating pegs & smoothed it out with a bit of help with some more sprue glue filler. The turret had some noticeable slide-mold lines that need to be cleaned up, gluing the two parts of the turret together also left a big gap around the bottom (you can see it in @PlaStix's photo above) that was filled in & smoothed down. The turret features pistol ports on both sides of the turret, which triggered my inner rivet counter! The real Sherman only had one on the left side or in some versions none at all, so the one on the right side was sanded down & filled in. The same for the commanders cupola, it originally came with view ports on both sides of the hatch when it should only be on one of them, so one of them was sanded off. Due to overwhelming demand (i.e. @Bertie Psmith 😛) I'll add some cast texture to the hull & turret with some Mr Surfacer next. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 3 hours ago, Mig Eater said: I'm spending way more time on this build then I had anticipated, but thus far I'm enjoying it more then my other T31 build in the GB 😅 The hull is made from four large parts that fit together extremely well without any need for glue, but unfortunately there were some rather noticeable gaps between them. The gaps were filled with some "sprue glue" filler which is made by melting down some random bits of sprue in Tamiya extra thin until it's a runny glop that can then be applied to the gaps. Once it's dry your are left with a strong bond that can be easily scraped & sanded, as it's the same material that the kit is made from... For some quirky reason Meng decided to add an extra pair of lifting loops to the sides of the model kit, the real Sherman didn't have them & they look ugly IMO 😕 So to fill in the large locating holes I instead added the loops to the inside of the hull, sanded down the ends of the locating pegs & smoothed it out with a bit of help with some more sprue glue filler. The turret had some noticeable slide-mold lines that need to be cleaned up, gluing the two parts of the turret together also left a big gap around the bottom (you can see it in @PlaStix's photo above) that was filled in & smoothed down. The turret features pistol ports on both sides of the turret, which triggered my inner rivet counter! The real Sherman only had one on the left side or in some versions none at all, so the one on the right side was sanded down & filled in. The same for the commanders cupola, it originally came with view ports on both sides of the hatch when it should only be on one of them, so one of them was sanded off. Due to overwhelming demand (i.e. @Bertie Psmith 😛) I'll add some cast texture to the hull & turret with some Mr Surfacer next. Yay! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted April 17, 2022 Author Share Posted April 17, 2022 Construction is now finished, I stippled a thin layer of Mr.Surfacer onto the hull & turret to add some subtle cast texture. It was quite fun a build overall with minimal clean up required, if your not a sloth like me then you could build this kit in an afternoon (as evident of @PlaStix 24 hour build). All the parts have unique locating tabs so you cant really get them mixed up too, I only flicked though the instructions when I first started & never needed to look at them again. A noticeable detail missing on the model IMO was the strip of bolts that attach the drive cover to the hull, I scribed a panel line & then used a punch to make indents for the bolts. In hindsight it looks a bit out of place having such a small detail where as everything else on the model is oversized in comparison, but it's done now. Next is some primer & then I get to have fun mixing up a bunch of different shades of pink 😋 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted April 18, 2022 Share Posted April 18, 2022 16 hours ago, Mig Eater said: In hindsight it looks a bit out of place I think it looks fine. Like fingernails on a baby, you need some fine parts to contrast with the overall blobbiness. I'd love to see a 1/35 Sherman on a jungle path followed by a 1/48 and then this one. Like the Elephant's Parade from Disney's Jungle book. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 Coming together nicely ME. I like the extra detail. Looking forward to seeing it with the paint going on. Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 I managed to get some black primer on the little Sherman but my sleeping pattern is currently flipped (I have a sleeping disorder 😴) & I dont think my girlfriend or neighbors would be happy with me using an airbrush/compressor at 3am 😅 So I'm not sure when I'll be able to get some more paint on this kit. For now I'll return to the T31 demo tank build that I started the GB with. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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