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Tamiya 1/48 M4 Sherman Early Production -- Finished


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5 weeks and 1 day to go, and I'm lookin' to start?

M4-Early-start2.jpg

While crazy for my usual geologic time scale build rate, I have a new benefit on my side, I just retired! Woohoo! :penguin:

 

I'll build Tamiya's 1/48 M4 Sherman Early Production kit. I also have LionMarc's 75 mm Barrel for Sherman (Early).

M4-Early-box.jpg

 

M4-Early-start1.jpg

 

I apparently started on it once before.

M4-Early-start0.jpg

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Thanks! :thumbsup:

 

The kit includes the well-known Hurricane plus another from France summer '44 as well as a Feb '44 subject from Italy. I have Black Dog's T48008 'Sherman deep water wading trunks' so I could also do Hurricane from the well-known Overlord embarkation video. Armo's 48417 'Polish Shermans Pt.1' only includes Sherman II's (M4A1) and an IC (M4 plus QF-17), so I'll use that in a later build.

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Hi dnl42. Welcome to the GB! Glad you could make it! Great to have you taking part. I really like these Tamiya 1/48 kits, and I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with it. And congratulations on your retirement too! :thumbsup:

Kind regards,

Stix

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Looking good!! :thumbsup:

13 hours ago, dnl42 said:

Retirement is grand! It was quite nice to attend to plastic rather than Teams meetings!

No need to rub it in!!! 😜

 

Kind regards, 

 

Stix

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It seems that Tamiya have perpetuated the same glacis error in 1/48 as in 1/35.  That glacis belongs on an M4A4, possibly on a Ford (only) M4A3.  The applique armour patches largely hide the incorrect hood shape but the welds are all wrong.  If that worries you.......

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Cleaned up the rolling bits yesterday and today I primed with thinned Mr Surfacer 1200 and painted OD with Mr Color OD2 C38.

M4-Early-OD.jpg

 

Next I'll use OD Highlights 1 & 2 and OD Shadow (Mr Color CMC01, 02, & 03), to add some color variation.

 

Thanks for looking. :bye:

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Thanks!

 

The bogies are on. I also added the highlight and shadow colors, but I see more work is needed on the upper hull.

M4-Early-Bogies-On.jpg

 

I think these are supposed to be the T48 tracks, but am quite happy to be corrected. Assuming they are, the tracks are painted Mr Color Tire Black (C1137). 

 

Thanks for looking. :bye:

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And the tracks are on. I was concerned about getting this to sit right but Tamiya did a fine job engineering this. With careful placement, they snapped into the right locations with good alignment, ready for a quick swipe of Tamiya Extra Thin.

M4-Early-Tracks-On.jpg

Some touch-up is needed.

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The tracks have been touched up and the tools painted and attached. I used AK Gunmetal and Black for the 50cal and 30cal MGs. The Army Painter Warpaints Necromancer Cloak was used for steel. A mixture of their Oak Brown and Hemp Rope was used for the wooden handles. Their Pure Red and Necromancer Cloak was used for the tail lights. Finally Shining Silver was used for the headlights.

 

I went with "Unit unknown, France, Summer 1944". I have had a strong aversion to Tamiya decals based on their aircraft kits. With no AM decals at hand and only 10 to apply, I tried the kit's decals with their Mark Fit Strong. This worked out very well.

M4-Early-Decals.jpg

I'll coat with MSI Micro Flat once the decals have dried overnight.

 

Remaining are fitting the 50 cal and 30 cal MGs, bolting the upper hull to the lower hull, and adding an antenna from 6 mil ceramic fiber.

 

Thanks for looking. :bye:

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  • dnl42 changed the title to Tamiya 1/48 M4 Sherman Early Production -- Finished

Absolutely fantastic result dnl42!! As Dennis said; it looks bigger. Very smart! :thumbsup:

And thank you for building it in this GB!

Kind regards, 

Stix

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