Hi there
Has been a while since posting any works, so here is a quick abridged version of a build I am currently immersed in...

It is the DML M4 (75mm Normandy) kit 6511.
I won't go into the pros and cons here, but just want to get some progress photos out of my sand bagged glacis plate. It is representing a 3AD tank along the Siegfried line circa August 1944.

I'll start with the product used... As per my normal sculpting, I used Magic Sculpt



The near completed tank kit, and the rolled out putty sausage (50/50 mix)



The trick is to not have too big (or small) bags and I kept scale and consistency with a steel ruler and a scale figure. This figure is from S&T and is on the shorter side in 1/35 scale. (I highly recommend this figure; excellent sculpt details)



The putty segments. The flattened off ends are a by-product of the #11 blade being pressed into the putty and is a desired result to get a good shape.



The positioning of the bags onto the tank. The trick here is to imagine they are weighted at full size and to place them accordingly, so as they would 'mesh' together and stay put. Some detailing was done when in place, by adding some seams on the bags and some light surface texture which was actually my own finger prints...



Further additions...






This particular tank is roughly based on a well-known photo and does not show any lumber/timber plank support across the transmission housing and I followed suit.

Thoughts/queries/critiques welcomed
Brad

Hey Bradley!. Great sand bags! thanks for the tip on how to make them! .
Your finger prints have actually given them a distinct texture to them!

Great work buddy!

Nice work. The sandbags look convincing, did you use a cloth or tee shirt for texturing the bags?

Chris

very good job on the sand bags, the detail work , the texture markings on them, very well done. i saw you mentioned there was no plank to hold em in place. i am just very curious how they stayed in place during travel? thats all. but like i said above you did a great job on molding them, really looks great.

Hey thanks for the feedback lads.
Chris, the texture was merely from my fingers when handling and finishing. It sort of cross hatched and produced not too bad a finish...
William, unless my eyes deceived me there was nothing in the pic, so I guess the interlocking placement of the sandbags proved enough? That said they are on a sealed roadway in the pic
Brad

Good idea - thanks for sharing it

Fantastic sculpting Brad, they look great. Nice process to share as well, may have to give it a try one of these days. You've certainly made it look easy!

Thanks again, looking forward to seeing more progress. Cheers -

Tim

Great sculpting, i think i will have a go. I have put sand bag armour on one of my kits, i bought the 'legend productions M4A3 Sandbag Armour set LF1117' but only used the hull parts not the turret, as i used it on a rocket launching varient. it looked very interesting.

great job.

Great inspiration, you make it look soo easy.

Cheers

I'm, curious about the end that the bag was filled through, did you just twist the clay or did you add a clump? Are you going to add ties for the closure, and if so what do you plan to use? I want to take a DML M4A3(76) and add a formations 75mm turret, and some sandbags would add a lot to the build. Great work BTW!

John

Thanks for all the support again! I don't know about making it look easy per se, as this is kind of a visual 'abridged' version of events. I kind of work to the credo of knowing what appears wrong and avoiding it, as opposed to knowing what looks right...
John, the tied off ends were separate and added lastly where accessible. They were tiny balls of putty which I held between thumb and forefinger whilst gently pointing a #11 blade tip into the 'open' end. When positioning, I added a couple of folds in the sides above the tie point. MIght not be apparent at first, but I tried to place the bags in such a way that most of the tied ends were covered/obscured by another so as not have these small blobs overpowering the layout... As for what to show them tied off with, well I haven't thought about it...
Brad

Thanks for the info, and thanks for showing us this technique.

John

Wow, great sculpting on those sand bags! Very nice!

Hey Brad,
Great job with the sandbags !!
Mine never looked as good as that, you should consider doing a feature on the technique.
Cheers

jjumbo

Thank you Mark and John.I like to make the bags sit as naturally as possible
Ok better late than never huh!
Some progress...

Added some texture paste to represent mud either spattered or caked-on.

Really nice sandbags. These have to be some of the best I've seen. Make sure you add some mud spatter on the side of the drive wheel and bogie assemblies.

To follow this, a quick SBS on how I make the hatch springs. I know this is such a miniscule part of a Sherman, but I feel that they are never done justice in plastic, and belying their appearance are not really that difficult to create.
Firstly we need a pin vice with small bit (sorry, cannot give you the gauge) and some wire For this I use fuse wire, with the 8amp a suitable size.



The culprit. I am going to recreate the separate parts that are shown moulded together here.



I wind the smaller 8amp wire around another drill bit (I think this was a little too thick for absolute accuracies sake, but makes it a touch easier to do) making sure it is super tight and the coils are tucked in well. Make at least 12 loops.



The components. The spring itself is about 10 coils thick and the extra couple are shaped to be hooks, both flattened to be perpendicular to the loop direction, but both at 90 degrees to each other. This makes sense when you view the plastic part below and how it connects to the 'U' shackle and pin on the hatch.



Now here is the newly assembled hatchspring in place, with the plastic component above for comparison.



All for now!
Brad

Scott, thanks for the encouragement, and yes there will be extra on the running gear. They are the last thing to be put on the tank, and I will treat them with the right mud application such as getting trapped under the track skids etc. I have plans to 'polish up' the teeth of the drive sprocket and the bogey rims et al. All the places that would come into contact with the guide teeth...
Brad

Just an observation, but from experience driving north to Baghdad if the sandbags arent supported somewhere they're going to fall off. First ones fell off on the first pothole 10 minutes out, within an hour of leaving Cp. Buehring, the road was littered with them. 3 days later none of the vehicles that didnt put up some support still had Soft Armor. The Vibrations would loosen the lower ones quickly,

The Sandbags look beautiful, especially the tied off necks and seams. And the Hatch springs, I would never have thought of that for something that small, superb.

Hey B3A Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad you like the details added.
Normally I'd be inclined to agree with you regarding the sandbags and would model the vehicle as such, but the reference pic does not (at least to my observations) show any support for them? Check below



What do you reckon? Doesn't appear to be anything on the transmission cover...
Brad

Nice work. Looks like those new DML Tank Riders might be just the ticket.

I see Brad has this Sherman on the road again.
Can you step on it bud cause I ain't gettin any younger you know.

Tony the Mutt

hehe thanks Rob
I'm actually in the process of sculpting a couple of figures which will have the M41 jackets on as opposed to the M1943 uniforms on the DML set. A slow process, but one which will hopefully prove worthwhile...

And Tony, it is gaining in rapidity

hwy brad, great work on the sandbags, i just cant force myself to put on my shermans because im afraid ill mess them up. the pe looks really well bent. particularly the headlight guards.

Hey Calvin
Thanks mate. The guards for both headlights and taillights are not PE but actually flat brass bar. I carefully bend them myself, and being thicker than the PE offerings but thinner than the plastic kit versions I think they measure up pretty well...
Brad