One of my characteristics, as a military modeler, is to adore rare and obscure vehicles.
When I find a picture of one of these vehicles, I´m crazy of will build one.

I think extremely boring the OOTB kits...

But, stop of digressions...

Everything began when finding this picture:



Beautifull !!!!!! Awesome Girl !!!

More research:









Well, I allways have olds kits, true scraps, for this situation...I like to buy friends' badly built kits, because they cost very a little and they are an excellent source of opportunities...

Let´s rock:

Chassi Lee Tamiya painted and scrapped (light green)
Hull Lee tamiya, with scratchs e modifications, from another Panzerserra´s scrap (dark green)
Italeri´s Sherman M4A1 bogies and rear plate (scrap, again)...
Resin kit, an old kit CDL, from Verlinden, the only new kit in this project...
Sherman gun barrel from LuckyModels (Sherman early)
Tamiya´s vinyl tracks ...sad, but available...Remember: this is a very-quick project...
Gun canvas Made in Panzerserra, with paper and white-glue...Acht!!!

Some wires and aluminium stripes....and blood, sweat and tears !!!
Tally-Ho !!!

Well...
The rear was re-worked:

Rear panel from Sherman M4A1, with air-filters and exhaust pipes, Sherman´s too...
The upper rear panel was cut, using draws of the Grants...Mrs. Tamiya ordered in the model industry, without competition, in the seventies....



The resin parts are Verlinden...Very and rare good stuff...I mold the turret, for future versions...


The canvas of the gun was a work of the devils...



some metals and...


This thing will be based on "Giraffe", but it won't be his reproduction. I chose in using the long gun, of Grant I and not the short one, that needs counter-weight...

More steps:

After casting some turrets, I began a parallel project:: Matilda CDL..
In the list:
Churchill CDL
Valentine CDL....

Transforming one Matilda scrap in Matilda CDL :


close-up :

Turret CDL early....It´s nice !!!

Do you know the Grantilda ????


Wow!!!! It´s weird !!!


But, lets continuing to the Grant:





Primmer !!
Finally, the scrap looks like a tank !!!



To perfect is fundamental...Archer casting numbers:



Some use before the primmer. I prefer AFTER the primmer. They are clearer....

and the Grant with paint:




A coat of gloss varnish and ... decals! After the varnish dries, I like to use Future as decal set...




Today, weathering...

Continue linked...

Happy New Year !!!!

Nice work Marcos. You CDL looks great. It would be a pity after all the good work to use those awful tracks though.

Hi Marcus,

Outstanding project, and a really good use of all those spare parts, looks not only excellent but an interesting and unusual subject.

I'd agree with Pat about the tracks, seems a shame after all the excellent work.

Very impressive, thanks for sharing.

Al

Thanks, Alan and Pat...

In this holiday, Grant was drying, but I stayed busy, with a parallel project...

Look here:
http://armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=forums/111574&page=1

regards

This was a fun thread to read. Great subject and wonderful use of cast off kits. Nice build.

Danke, Slodder...
Tomorrow, new stage of this beast ...

regards

Excellent work I am becoming a great fan of your work , its great how you pick interesting subjects and you have great scratch building skills!

Thanks, PanzerMike...

well, Gents, there this: the final of the CDL Grant:

Using the Italeri´s vinil track, much better then the Tamiya´s wrong tracks...
But the´re hard to bend...using superglue...


Work the rollbed of the turret: toillet-paper and silk-paper:


..plus white-glue:


..and paper-tape as belts:



After weathering and other details, I finished my job. Another oddbal version...












and with the Matilda CDL:



Ok, Gents...

regards, from Brazil !!!!

Looks great Marcos, and you made tose Italeri tracks work for you, Well done.

Thanks, Pat...

Really, much better !!!

regards

Another excellent step by step build Marcos, superb work, well done!

Great use of old and spare parts I must say.

I look forward to the churchill version!

James

wow, thats one wierd looking shermy, but you have done it well.

malc.

Thanks, James and Malcolm...

I prefer these bizarre kits to common Tiger, Hetzer, etc....

Each crazy one with your habit....heheheheheheh

Big Hug !!!

Marcos,

I hope you'll allow me to make a couple of constructive criticisms on your Grant CDL build.

I realise that you are using parts of previously built kits, but you should try to fill the seams on the 3-piece transmission cover. The Tamiya kit provides the top bolt flanges as a separate strip and the seam for that is visible on your painted model. In real life the bolt flanges were integral to each of the three pieces of the cover. So there should be no visible seam at the top of the transmission cover.

Similarly the outside faces of the transmission cover were integral with the cover and there shuold be no seam visible behind the drive sprickets, which there is. Prior to adding the drive sprockets, this area should be filled and then thave the exterior edge gently rounded to indicate that it is part of the cover castings.

While there certainly was a stowage box on the right rear sponson, you have used the American pattern box out of the Lee/Grant kit. The proper box can be seen to be a mirror image of the the late British pattern box that normally would be found in the open space over the rear left sponson. I understand that if you are working from bits you have that you might not want to make a new box, but I provide the info for those who may want to go the extra mile. Also, given the evidence of the late pattern stowage boxes, the CDL would probably be fitted with the triangular box that fits next to the hull superstructure at the very front of the right sponson. These were only very rarely not fitted if the other boxes were present. The Verlinden kit probably has this box in there somewhere (but I don't have it so I can't say for sure).

You've used the later M3 gun saying you didn't want to fit the counterweight, but the photos of Giraffe show the even earlier plain M2 with no counterweight, so that option from the Lee/Grant kit would work if you wanted it to.

There should be a second periscope for the driver pretty much right behind the front visor, just slightly to the left of the centreline. And, while the photos of the prototype show open bow MG ports, in service these would almost certainly have been welded shut; at least one of them.

I'm not trying to be nasty or pick your model apart, I just thought that since you had gone to the effort you have to create this version in the first place, you might appreciate a few accuracy points.

Paul

Thanks for the tips, Paul...

regards