here are some pics of the wading trunks so far. First pic shows some of the parts in progress. The odd shaped part is the lower rear wading trunk. I used a peice of cardstock to cut-fit-measure-cut-fit-cut-fit, untill i had the right size. There was no way i could know all the measurements to draw up plans as there were too many variables, including space betwen the rear plate and trunk, angle of trunk, length, angles of lower adaptor, etc.

The part was cut from a single peice, scribed at the joints, and then the joints reinforced with taymia tape for "hinges" while i fit everything just right.



here is the finished foward trunk...the easy one. The two upper portions of the trunk were identical, so those were easy to draw plans up and cut from plastic.


a pic of the rear adaptor. I still have to add the sides (more cut-fit-cut-fit), but its just about done.


well, thats it for now....in case i dont get another post up before, Merry Christmas everybody!
Andy

Time for a quick update...
Both the stacks are on and cleaned up. Just have some detail fittings to add to them. Ive also assembled the main parts of the turret, and assembled a few of the main parts of the dozer. I had to trim and shim one of the arms to get it to line up right.


Here is a close up of the scratchbuilt bracket and bolt heads. Bolts were sliced from Plastruct hex rod, then after they were glued in place and dry I filed them all down to the same height with a flat file.


The add on armor was short-cast on the sprue and had this huge hole in it. No big deal, I just put it on and have filled with milliput putty already.


Next up will be buliding the M17 mounts on the turret, finishing out the parts for the Dozer, and then we will dive into adding details!
comments welcome, and Happy New Year!
Andy

it looks brillant i reli like the wading trunks and the dozer blade =]

Great looking Sherman Andy. Very nice work indeed. Can't wait to see some paint on this one.

I started detailing and assembling the dozer blade. A sad kit for the $$. If it was ½ the cost it would be worth it. It would be at least nice if they cast the parts a bit cleaner. All the grey you see in the photos is taymia putty used to fill in the imperfections (some pretty major). I also had to shim and cut the left arm a bit so the thing will be square and level. But that is what modeling is all about right?

Here is the rebuilt bracket. I carved away the blob, and rebuilt this using sheet plastic and a bit of wire.


As I started looking into adding missing details, I noticed that the plates on either side of the elevation cylinder housing are actually the end mounts for a large bar hinge that passes through the large triangle mount behind the blade. Understandable that the bar isnt included (they could have at least provided holes to put the bar through), but the plates are not even lined up with the hinge! So I used a chisel blade to cut them off and filled in the resulting gouges where I dug too deep.


Happy accident though…digging a bit deeper allowed me to reuse the plates. I sanded them down a bit, and repositioned them. Some brass rod carefully measured and bent made the hinge bar (in 3 parts due to the lack of holes in the hinge, and no way to get a drill in there to make holes). While at it, I made some lifting loops from copper wire, and glued on a data plate from plastic sheet.


Well now I have to tackle the alignment of the elevation cylinder to the mounts on the hull front….should be fun!
I’ve also started adding photo-etch parts to the hull, but pics on that later.

Have a good Monday!
Andy

just a quick question, where did you find the references for the size and length of the wading trunks??? howd you curve the styrene, i always end up splitting mine in half when i do that, exceelent work, keep going, i would love to see this finished

Calvin,
I didnt have any plans for the trunks, so just eyeballed it using close examination of photos. the base on the forward trunk was easy to figure out (fits over the engine deck), and the trunk was slightly smaller than that, so that determined the width of the trunks. Hieght was just guessed at (eyeballed again). The rear base was a lot of cut-fit-cut untill it looked right.

for the curve, i curled the plastic around a exacto knife, held in place with clothespins, and dipped quickly in some boiling water. When pulled out it held the shape enough to be glued on the side parts of the trunk. Its not perfect (the edge is a bit wavy, but its sheet metal in real life so maybe got a bit dinged). If i did it again, i would use thicker plastic and just thin the edge of the opening. .....in fact, before its all said and done, i might redo them...maybe...

thanks for the comments!
Andy

A quick update: I have started adding the details to the hull and turret, starting with hatches and light guards. Im making the semi-educated guess that DT-7 had the “later” style M4 hatches with the springs, so I added these and other bits, such as periscope guards. Also, the radio operators hatch is closed, and the taymia hatches are molded with the periscopes all down and closed up…which didn’t make any sense for a closed hatch. So I carved off the closed covers, made the upper bit of the periscope from triangular strip, and the covers came from the Aber PE set. On the drivers hatch, I added the inside details from the Eduard PE set and other bits.




Here is the Commanders hatch. I used some leftovers from a Dragon Sherman because they had some really nice casting numbers on them. Periscope detail is from Aber PE set, handles from wire.


And an current overall shot… Lots more detail to add still!


Comments always welcome, have a great evening!
Andy

(im starting a new thread for this build while I finish it over in “constructive comments”)

Here is an update…only a few more minor details to add, a tow cable, and im waiting on some Dragon DS rubber chevron tracks to come in

Canvas cover is milliput mashed out into sheets and sculpted/folded and blended. Tools are from Formations, and the rest is various scratchbuilt bits (such as the mounts for the turret rocket launcher.

I also tried using craft paint for weld beads on the dozer and skirt brackets. I found if I mixed in a little water based wood filler (Elmers brand), it worked even better. It filled in the cracks a bit better and gave a nice bead. That is all the bright green spots.

Well hopefully ill have time to start painting this baby in the next several weeks…
Comments welcome!
Andy

Great sherman with dozer the detail looks superb

it should look superb with abit of pain on it