Hello people
These are the first figures ive done.They are 1/35 ww2 us army--from the m4a3 sherman 105mm howitzer kit. I need tips/advice on what to do next, should i add a wash or sumat else need doin before/instead All comments & critisism welcome.

Not bad so far. You do need to scrape down the seam lines on their legs and arms though. They stick out pretty bad. I would add a wash and some shadows and highlights and you will be set. Also work on making the eyes smaller. I do my eyes in a cross pattern as opposed to round dots. First put thin horizontal white lines across the eyes. Next put a thin vertical line in blue or black for the pupils. Lastly, shape the eyes with flesh paint into small ovals.

Good job so far. Keep us posted on the improvements.

Also, an M4A3 Sherman is a tank, not a howitzer. Unless it is the 105mm howitzer support tank, but it is still a tank. A howitzer is used in the indirect fire role by artillery units, not armor units.

Looks good. As Gino said, make sure to sand the seams. Also, paint the caps of the canteens. They should be black or silver. I would tone down the scratchng on the helmets too. The actual shell of the helmet wasn't prone to do much chipping due to having well apllied paint.

Thanks for the advice HeavyArty
yes the sherman is a 105mm ,cheers for spottin that -ill change it. I will remove seam lines and see what i can do with eyes,they are so small and hard to paint

It looks like the eye sizes are okay to me. Take a very fine brush, 10/0 or smaller with a fine point and mix a noticeably darker shade of flesh and carefully edge the bottom lid.

Gino's right about the seams. That needs to be a first order of business.

Also, check the white balance on your camera . Looks like you shot under incansecent light bulbs while on a daylight setting.

I agree w/all that's been said.

Couple other things:

The butt plates on the rifles should be metal.

Slings on the weapons would be nice as well.

After whatever washes/highlights you do, do some serious dullcoating.

A little bit of steel color after that to metal items (I like to do slight chipping around the rim of the helmets as well) and you should be good to go.

Rob

Yeah, what they said.

First, fix the seams.

second, I would be concerned about the shine. Clothes worn in the field were not shiny. They were very flat, and usually dusty and faded. Try hitting them with some MIG pigments of the appropriate color or pastels. Pastels will also work to highlight and lowlight the skin and clothing.

You might also want to try out the wopnderful Archer Fine Transfers for some rank insignia and unit patches.

It sounds like I'm really nitpicking your work, but I'm not. You have a good base to work from there. I am encouraging you to take these figure to the next level. I think you can do it. Good job

THANKS TO ALL - FOR ADVICE
You guys really know your stuff ! I will get to work on these figs and try taking some better pics, what do i use for slings, or can you buy these Thanks again, Andy

You can use masking tape or precut evergreen strips, available at your LHS.

Hey Gino it is the Tamiya 105mm howitzer Sherman M4A3, kit #35251 that these figures come from.

Andy, you have a great start here mate... The others have offered good advice, and in addition to this (if my memory serves me correctly) a couple if not all of them have woollen gloves which I think should be Olive drab?

Cheers
Brad

Use tin foil for the gunslings, Andy. You can shape them to hold a particular position much better than tape. For instaance, if a figure is running, the rifle sling will probably swing out with the movement of his arm. You can dupicate this well with foil.

Also, always start with the eyes being the first thing you paint on a face. That way, you don't have to worry about the whites. You can just put in a swipe of white, though of course you'll have to take care and be neat with the pupils, and then shape and narrow the eyes when painting the flesh tones.

David,

You use regular aluminum foil from you kitchen for the slings? Who knew! What else can you use it for? I've heard of ship modelers using it for blast bags on battleships.

Jim

Ok guys, I think i got rid of them seams now,painted canteen caps-gloves-helmets & gun butts. Not done faces or shadows yet but hopefully looking better now