Asuka 1/35 Sherman III w/ Some accessories from ResiCast

[The_Lancaster]

Hi All,

 

My second build for 2023 is Asuka's Sherman III with deep-wading trunks as supplied by Asuka. The decals are from Star Decals. 

 

The conversion set was very well made, with the only issues being from trying to make the rigging for the release mechanism to drop the trunks once no longer needed as there was a risk of the engine overheating if left on for an extended time. 

The Rigging was made from 1mm plastic rod supplied with the conversion set, and was glued to turnbuckles to create the articulation of the mechanism. The trunks themselves were folded photoech, with the covers over the exahust being supplied in resin. It was refereshing to use an otherwise drop-in conversion set with the only actual kit modification being the fact that i needed to drill a slight indentation into the extractor fan cover to accept the main wire for the trunks. Otherwise everything else was a drop-in or straight replacement. The only other modification was the rear deck bustle, made from brass rod. 

 

The vehicle was painted using Thinned Humbrol Enamel 155 Olive drab, which was then drybrushed and washed with oils. Following this the vehicle was weathered furhter with oils and enamels. The stowage is mainly from Tamiya and Blackdog Models. The Track is AFV Club rubber-band style, as i'd already commandeered the kit track for another project. 

 

The vehicle is finished in the markings for the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, which is the subject of a number of books such as James Holland's excellent 'Brothers in Arms', David Render's 'Tank Action' and Stuart Hill's 'By Tank into Normandy', which for all i couldn't recommend highly enough if you want inspiration for British Subjects in the 1944-45 NWE theatre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Sam  

 

 

[HL-10]

Superb!

Great work, very impressive!

[Bullbasket]

That's a great, busy looking diesel Sherman. Nice work.

 

John.

[Pete Robin]

Spot on. Well done.

Regards

Pete

[FrancisGL]

Hi Sam,

Another nice Sherman, very well complemented by the equipment, if anything, it would be convenient if the front jerries were attached with some string or strap.

Good Job

Cheers and TC

Francis.

 

[Keeff]

Nice Job. 

Lots of detail and subtle weathering ...

 

Keith  

[Kingsman]

In a similar vein to your other recent Sherman, the generally good effect is spoiled by the same odd base colour. 

 

To reiterate, Shermans arrived in US OD No9 and were rarely if ever repainted unless converted.  OD is a brown, being made from ochre and black. It is at the greenish end of brown but is a brown nonetheless.  Although a modern repaint, this tank below is a pretty good match for OD.  Even if the tank had been repainted that colour would have been SCC15, which was a green but much darker than yours.  The wading trunks were all finished in that darker SCC15 and so would have been a different colour to the tank itself.

 

Going back to fuel stains from the other post, this is a diesel M4A2 with 7 filler caps.  At the front of the engine deck the outer 2 for diesel, the front 2 for lubricating oil and the rear 2 for water.  Plus 1 for petrol for the Homelite generator inside the left rear of the turret spash rail.  There would be spills, and you did get manky dark stains from the oily diesel fuel and lube oil which didn't evaporate very quickly - or at all - didn't wash off easily, clung to the paint and tended to atract dust and dirt.  The diesel and radial engines used a fair bit of oil - the diesels were 2-strokes - so a 5-gallon oil can was often carried.

 

Shermans fitted for wading had the hull MG cover fitted and waterproofed.  I thought Resicast gave you that.  The bolted joins around the final drive cover were generally covered in waterproofing compound.  So were the edges of the mantlet cover, which fitted flush.  The Resicast part doesn't fit Asuka turrets well: I had to do a lot of adjusting on mine to get a reasonable fit and still had to fill the edges with thick paint which represented the sealant.

[HL-10]

Looking at the photo's posted by Sam of his Sherman, the base colour changes from picture to picture, no doubt due to lighting conditions when the images were captured, so I don't think any comments can be made regarding the "accuracy" of his OD.

The British army did repaint their Shermans with their own version of OD, so lets not open the "What does OD look like" can of worms, and just appreciate the work put into a model by the builder, rather than bombard him with petty pedantry! 

[The_Lancaster]

8 hours ago, Kingsman said:

In a similar vein to your other recent Sherman, the generally good effect is spoiled by the same odd base colour. 

 

To reiterate, Shermans arrived in US OD No9 and were rarely if ever repainted unless converted.  OD is a brown, being made from ochre and black. It is at the greenish end of brown but is a brown nonetheless.  Although a modern repaint, this tank below is a pretty good match for OD.  Even if the tank had been repainted that colour would have been SCC15, which was a green but much darker than yours.  The wading trunks were all finished in that darker SCC15 and so would have been a different colour to the tank itself.

 

Going back to fuel stains from the other post, this is a diesel M4A2 with 7 filler caps.  At the front of the engine deck the outer 2 for diesel, the front 2 for lubricating oil and the rear 2 for water.  Plus 1 for petrol for the Homelite generator inside the left rear of the turret spash rail.  There would be spills, and you did get manky dark stains from the oily diesel fuel and lube oil which didn't evaporate very quickly - or at all - didn't wash off easily, clung to the paint and tended to atract dust and dirt.  The diesel and radial engines used a fair bit of oil - the diesels were 2-strokes - so a 5-gallon oil can was often carried.

 

Shermans fitted for wading had the hull MG cover fitted and waterproofed.  I thought Resicast gave you that.  The bolted joins around the final drive cover were generally covered in waterproofing compound.  So were the edges of the mantlet cover, which fitted flush.  The Resicast part doesn't fit Asuka turrets well: I had to do a lot of adjusting on mine to get a reasonable fit and still had to fill the edges with thick paint which represented the sealant.

Thanks again for your comments!

 

Personally, didn't have a problem with the mantlet cover, fitted like a glove once properly cleaned up. It slotted into place with some superglue being run into the seam from inside the turret and that was that. I did drill out the mating point between the barrel and canvas though just to ensure it sat straight and was a bit stronger, because I find CA can go a bit brittle and knowing my clumsy self I'd probably knock it off at some point!

 

In regards to the MG Cover, I had it supplied with the Resicast set, I just elected to use the canvas cover only. I personally liked the look of that more than anything, and there are accounts of the bow sometimes being more handy in certain scenarios as well as the commander using his iron sights to aim the main armament as well as using his overide to fire the gun. Both of these scenarios wouldn't necessarily require the removal of the canvas cover over the mantlet I suppose. Either that or the crew for some reason have been disturbed part way through removing such covers, whatever wider context fits better I suppose. 

 

The Sealant in all fairness I omitted again through personal choice, might try it in the future though. And in regard to the different coloured trunking, again, maybe something to try in the future. 

 

Sam

[Muchmirth]

I know jack about Sherman’s but I like yours. It has more interest with the trunking etc and I like your streaking too. 
All the best,
Paul

[LankyPanky]

Loving this, giving me some great inspiration for my own Sherman Project!

 

JC