Interesting comparison, Dave. I guessed wrong except for the rubber bands. I actually like the rubber band tracks on the outside although the solid guide horns really give them away and makes them much less detailed.
Interesting to see the tracks on and painted.

I have started on my build. I am going old school with the 1/72 ESCI Sherman Calliope. I have build this kit some years ago without the Calliope launcher. I will try to see if I can add some more details although it will be difficult in this scale. We will see how it goes.

Constrcution has already progressed past the pictures, so more updates soon.

The main construction is now finished. It is very straight forward and the kit is really well enginered and goes together with no problems.
Next is a little detailing. I will drill out the gun barrel, drill out the lifting eyes on the hull and add some wiring to the rocket launcher.

More to follow.

So just posting a quick update after a long hiatus due to work and real life interruptions.

Most of my Sherman was done except for the sandbags. After studying some of the great work done here and getting some good advice from Don and a few others, I finally worked up the courage to give it a go this past weekend.



Not as good as some of the great work on here, but considering it's my first effort and I can't sculpt to save my life, I'm OK with it. The wiring holding the bags in place didn't come out as I'd like but It'll have to do.

Now comes the painting and I'll post a follow up then.

As always, all comments welcomed.

Just posted a small update to my Battlewagon M4A3E8 ETO

BUILD LOG

Enjoy

Now I have finished my 1/72 ESCI Sherman Calliope. A great little kit that comes together well.

Comments welcome

That little Sherman looks great, Jesper. Better than what I had expected from ESCI.

I finally made some progress on the PE for the wading trunks. I have been fighting with it forever. Glue, breaks, glue and reinforce, breaks, file, sand, ...you get the idea. All the pieces of the exhaust stack are finally attached and just need a bit of filing to smooth the edges. The intake stack is another matter. there is one piece left that wraps around the base and it is failing to co-operate. I sprayed the green paint on things so I could see what needed to be filed. This PE set is not for those in a hurry or for the faint of heart.





Cheers,
Jan

My first attempt at air brushing a whole model, and I'm getting some bizarre results. I thought it looked good, until I took a picture, and then I see these thumb prints! I'm using Tamiya acrylic. Should it be sealed or something?

Help!

Nice job painting the crew. They look terrific. Who makes them?

Brian

Brian,
Not sure if you are talking to me, but if you are, thank you and they are from Verlinden's US Tank crewmen mix kit and DML's US crewmen set with Hornet heads. Decals by Archer.

And now I sound like an advertisement.

G'day Guys, not long to go now. Keep posting your progress and make sure you post your completed builds in the Gallery prior to the end of the Campaign.

@ Dave - Thanks for posting the comparison of tracks, those images really to say a 1000 words !

@ Jasper - very fast work and a nice little Shermie there too. Thanks for posting !

@ Raul - great shading and wonderful figures, well done my friend. The sand bags are coming along really nicely !

@ Jan - keep working away at those wading trunks they are going to be a great addition when finished.

I'm weathering my Sherman V, I have added a neutral wash, and now plan on weathering with Oils.

Cheers

Paul

Thanks Raul. Sorry for the confusion. They look great.

Well!! I have been kind of busy lately, but here is my M-51



this is an all time favorite for me, this is the reason I went back to armor modeling.

Regards

Byron

So I painted the sandbags as pictures below.





I'm mostly satisfied with the look of the sandbags for my first effort. Not perfect, but at least I don't think I screwed it up as I feared. I do wish I had planned their layout a bit better. I tried to add a spare wheel somewhere but it just didn't fit. I will have to wait for my next Sherman.

Almost done except for the tarp atop some of the stowage on the back. I tried using some "Yellow/Blue" stuff this weekend, but didn't really come out at all. Probably cause it was my first time using it and it was a disaster. I expected a consistency like Magic Sculpt and it was actually quite different Alot more sticky and alot more delicate in a way. So another try will take this coming weekend and then after a few finishing touches, I'm declaring this one done.

Raul, great job on the sandbags. Turned out really good and add a nice extra dimension to the model. Really like your figures too.

Sadly it looks like I won't finish in time. Too many family obligations crammed into this month which have conspired to prevent me from having any real modeling time. I've left myself with too much to do before the end of the month. However, this campaign has been a real joy to participate in. Seeing everyone else's work and following along in the discussions have been well worth it for this Sherman newbie! Thanks to all and congrats to everyone who completes their Shermie and gets the campaign ribbon!

Best of luck to those of you scrambling to make the deadline! I hope you all make it.

Lastly, for those interested, I'll continue to post my updates over in the Constructive Criticism forum rather than here, as time permits.

Cheers.

Don,
Thanks for the compliments on the sandbags, since your Sherman was one of the ones I studied, it means alot coming from you. I'm sorry you won't be able to finish, but real life comes first--or so my wife keeps telling me. I learned alot from your build and definitely be following you on the other forum and pestering you with questions.

G'day Guys !

@ Byron - nice work there mate. Yes the M-51 is the ultimate Shermie

@ Raul - coming along beautifully ! The sand bags look great !!!

@ Don - would an extension help you finish your Shermie for thios Campaign ? A couple of weeks ?

Cheers

Paul

Hi gang,

I've updated my Sherman III build log and am on the home stretch! Still needs a bit more work (graffiti, mostly), but here it is:





The stalled M7 and tractor builds will have to follow on after the campaign finishes...

Final pics in a few days!

Tom

Greetings Paul and fellow campaigners. I haven't given up but the thought has been there at times. The last few PE bits have been a nightmare; as has the mating of the two pieces of the exhaust stack. As of this point, the exhaust stack is joined and the base of the intake stack is attached. One more nasty little four-sided base piece to attach to the latter stack and the PE is done!!!!

One track is placed on to see if it would fit and the other is currently stretching. Both tracks were about two and a half links too short. Once I finish and afix the last of the PE it;s on to decals and then final painting.







Cheers,
Jan

Hi all,

Went to the MAFVA Nationals at Duxford yesterday, and had my Shermie on show.



Hopefully I can add the graffiti tomorrow!

Tom

Ok! Jan and Tom are cheating again with some nice (TOM :tarps) and (JAN :breathing gear) great job guys.

Bob

Tom,
Really nice Sherman. You've got a really nice matte finish with all kinds of subtle undercoats that I'm envious of. Where did you get your decals from? Included in the kit?

I'm also very jealous of your tarp. I'll post some of the tarp I tried with green/yellow stuff that is well, not as nice.

Nice work.

Here are pictures of my tarp made with green/yellow stuff. I decided to give myself a little bit of a challenge because normally I'd either make the tarp out of paper towel and glue/water or out of magic sculpt. I heard alot of good things about green/yellow stuff (i.e. kneadatite) so I thought I'd give it a try.





First I have to say that I found this stuff extremely difficult to work with. It was really, really sticky. I expected it to be like magic sculpt, but this was way stickier. I had to keep both my hands and the material wet in order to work with it; this made it difficult to put on and take off the Sherman when I was fitting it. I also found it much more difficult than magic sculpt to flatten, even when using a big roller. On the plus side, it really does render folds quite nicely and once on, does seem to mimic drapes and folds very well. I could see why it'd be useful when sculpting clothing.

So does anyone have any advice about using this stuff? The brand I used was called "The Green and Yellow Stuff" and not officially "Kneaditite". Is there a difference? Some sites have them looking different. Is there one name brand and then generics? Any info advice would help.

Of course comments on my tarp are welcomed! I think it's way too thick, but too late to really change now. I'm hoping a good paint job will make up for it.

This Sherman is just about done. I'll paint the tarp and the next set of pics should be my finished pics. More then.

Raul, they are a mix of Archer dry transfers from three different sets. The kit decals are fine for a British tank, but I was modelling a Canadian one.

(Nice work on your tarp, by the way!)

And for everyone, here's some inspiration from Duxford last weekend! Allegedly the only running M4A4 in the world, and it was fun to watch...



Tom

Thanks for the comments, Jan and Paul. The Sherman kit is definitely one of ESCI's better 1/72 kits. It even comes with a decent engine.

Byron, great Israeli Sherman. I assume it is the Dragon kit. How is it? anything to look out for? I have just bought this kit myself.

Raul, your Sherman is turning into a master piece. Great work!

I was unhappy with the previous paint job so I repainted my M4A3 and hope that I have enough time to finish.




Bob