I've been away from this thread for a while due to another project but I just want to congratulate Bill on a job well done! You've come a long way on this one sir and the end result looks very nice indeed! Kudos!

Bill, very nice job. You captured a very common look in a very effective and true to life way. It looks true to life.

Thanks for all the feedback.

Don - Yeah, this one was more painful than expected. How have you made out with your Panda Plastics tracks? Your glue tip worked perfectly on mine. In fact, handled delicately the tracks were as workable as Friuls. But I can't see myself making another set any time soon ... trimming and cleaning up (roughly) 160 links and 320 connectors is too much drudge work.

Eric / Tom - I mostly followed Adam Wilder's article on this site to make the dry and damp mud. The process is the same for both, but starting with the dry mud, I mixed some Tamiya dark gray, red brown, and buff in a cup until I had a light brown color, then added MIG pigments and plaster of paris. I mixed it until it was wet and lumpy, then used an old brush to stipple it on. To get some texture, I kept stippling it with the brush as it dried. Then I used air from the airbrush to create a spattered mud effect. Some of the spattering came out too large for scale, though, so next time I'd thin the mud more. I repeated this process for the damp mud only using darker pigments.

The thing I'd watch out for is the plaster, which may cause your mud to dry MUCH lighter on the model than what you see in the mixing cup. I used regular old white plaster and the first time around my mud dried almost white. After my heart rate came back down, I repeated the process using a LOT more pigments.

The last steps were to stipple on small amounts of dry pigments to tie the dry and damp mud together and to add Tamiya gloss mixed with dark pigments to the centerline of the track runs.

Voila, goo Gormley-style.

Jim, the kit I was originally building for this campaign was the Dragon kit #7274 M4A3 (105) VVSS. The PE wading trunks are from the Dragon kit #7330 that I have reviewed here on Armorama. As I stated in an earlier post, it's my first time trying any PE and I was prepared for a disaster. Up to this point my skills with PE are extremely limited. I mention in the article that the PE part will prove to be extremely difficult for newer modellers and I can now attest to that.

There are no connecting tabs or anything on the panels and the instructions are so vague that it's unclear on how surfaces should mate. There are also discrepancies between the numbering of some parts in the instructions and the part numbers on the fret. I've refolded some parts so many times that they end up breaking and in the process breaking the bonds of other parts. I work for an hour or so, get totally frustrated and then leave the thing for a day or two.

Anyhow, this is what I have so far. The lower exhaust trunk is finally done and one trunk that now appears to be the air intake one also. The base over the air intake was a virtual nightmare to fold due to the tiny nature of the ends and a complex angle. Nothing is glued (except the joints on the individual pieces) at this point, just placed on the tank.







I have started on the exhaust upper trunk and it's taken about 20 tries (bend, flatten, bend, flatten...) to get the curved part half way proper. Still four or five tiny parts to add and the exhaust top to the lower part. As I mentioned, I am calling this an experiment. If it doesn't work out (and I won't hold my breath) I'll just complete it as a trunkless Sherman.

I hope that everyone else's builds are going smoothly.

Cheers,
Jan

Hi all,

After many months languishing in a box, here is evidence that my Sherman III is getting paint...

First up was a base coat of Chaos Black as primer, then a coat of Tamiya OD followed by highlights of OD cut with Buff to lighten it. The pic is bleached by flash, but I'll get better pics as the markings go on.

I plan to add lots of Archer markings so will not add too much gloss. These get "faded" with thinned OD before the weathering begins. I'm determined to actually finish a build for this campaign!



Tom

some more lazy progress.... the lighting is not that good so color a bit look like olive but the color is the same as before...

i just added oil washes and vertical streaking.....some dust all over the surface. Replaced the missing headlamp with AM stuff...

comment are welcome






more work after this...

This the Academy M4A2 76. It's not a bad kit though the fit is clunky and there are some inbuilt errors- all of which I have hopefully corrected. One or two welds and stowage to add before paint.

great work so far guys..keep it up..

some update from me...

painted the jerry cans, bags, ammo box (mixture of tamiya, academy, royal models, legend prod.) still not 100% completed ....


add dusting to the side and bogies....
i used pigment and AK product... still not satisfied with the effect..will add some more











and trying the storage configuration... which is better?? There are a few more bags which didnt included in the photo, but i was thinking to put them at the back of the turret.

1.


2.

3.

comments are welcome.....

Thanks

Regards,
Zaidi

Very nice Zaidi. I'm jealous.

Greetings everyone!

I just posted an update to my Battlewagon M4A3E8 ETO BUILD LOG

Enjoy!!

I am building Italeri's M4A4 Jumbo in 1/35. I apologize for the quality of the photos.




This piece was not wide enough to fill the gap. I glued it to some styrene strip to remedy the problem.



If I have time, I will be using the Verlinden Crab Flail conversion.

Hey, looking good guys. Nice work.

Here's mine, ready for paint.


Since I'm working with the very basic tool selection my wife sent, I had to leave off the more complex PE stuff. That meant leaving off the attachments for the tow cable and using a different MG mount/ammo can. I'm not a big fan of PE anyway.

She'll have the airbrush in the mail in the next couple of days, and I have paint on order. Hopefully I'll be able to have propellant sent out here. If not, I'm brush painting.

By the way, here's a new technique I learned: a 5.56 round has a good taper to shape the PE headlight guards!! Necessity is the mother of invention.

Chris

Italeri don't make an M4A4 - they make what they call an M4A2 Jumbo which is neither a Jumbo or an M4A2 but an M4A3 with an M4A2 engine deck included. It also has all the mistakes of the Italeri T-23 turret such as the step in the gun bvarrel and the sunken Pistol Port.

It's not suitable for a Crab conversion

Hey great work abounds...
Pat, your tweaks look about spot on for me! A real beauty she'll be...
Zaidi, you have gotten a nice finish to your M4A1. The stains and dusting look really good.
There are a few things you can tweak for next time. There are a few points on the pioneer tools that are tie downs with straps, whilst the others are part of the hull being welded in place. Picture the shovel for example being removed for use. It would leave a 'D' shape which the handle fits over, and the curved band which the shovel head fits under. On the rear overhang, the engine crank has the two horizontal points as metal loops welded to the hull which the crank slips through, and the other point on the vertical section of the crank is supposed to be a strap/buckle. They are poorly represented on plastic kits. The Formations tool set is probably the most accurate out there.
Your rear lights (at least the left side) should be rotated to have the lights horizontal with the ground not parallel with the rear hull curve or similar. Oh and the engine access doors on the rear plate appear to be missing the grab handle?
Brad

Pat, you are correct it says M4A2 Jumbo on the box. Guess I'll have to get a Dragon kit for the Crab conversion.

Greetings fellow Sherman-o-holics I've made progress on the wading trunks but am still undecided as to if they will be good enough to use. The exhaust trunk upper part turned out to be a real bear to bend. I also had to re-bend its lower portion that the two pieces would mate better. It's been quite the learning experience. There are still three PE pieces to be attached to where the upper and lower portions of each trunk meet. Everything else is on hold until I sort out if this stuff will work.

Progress pictures with the PE parts placed but not attached.





Cheers,
Jan

Wow! There's some great modelling going on here! Kinda makes me feel guilty about my own slow progress...

I spent a gruelling six hours yesterday adding numbers and other stuff to my Canadian Shermie using a handful of Archer sets - handling and rubbing down individual numbers for the six-digit registrations on each side was a real treat! Still, it's done, and now I can move back to the spray booth for fading & some dusting. I'll try to grab a pic or two, and write an update on my dormant build log.

Tom

Finished... phewwwww.... This is DML M4A1 Sherman DV...
add some goodies at the end... hope u all like it...

to all other, good luck mate

















thanks for viewing....

regards,

Zaidi

It looks great, Zaidi. Nice job on the weathering.

Chris

Hi gang,

It took a while, but I've added an update to my own Sherman III build log. I've added the markings from Archer's fine sets, and it is starting to look like a tank!



After Zaidi's excellent work, I felt a little guilty...

Tom

Other than the egine deck, what are the differences between a real M4A2 and Italeri's kit? I plan on covering the rear deck with stowage, so it won't be noticeable. I am willing to do some scratchbuilding to turn the kit into an M4A2.

Matt, the visible things are the engine deck and the rear plates of the hull. To see exactly what you'd need, take a look at my Sherman III log, since that's what the British called their lend-lease M4A2s.

Personally I'd just build the Italeri kit as an M4A3 - since that's what it really is.

Tom

Anything I need to change to make it an M4A3?

From memory the replacement deck is ok but the kit lacks the grouser covers and the rear hull plate and exhaust.

Also bear in mind that US force never fielded this variant - only the Marines used the M4A2 and all theirs were the 75mm version.

Couple more in progress shots from my Soviet M4A2/76










Still a lot of weathering and filtering to do