Great work and posts everyone !

@ Tom - I like the wheel snapping procedure Must try it soon !

@ Michaeil - nice work there on those sponson covers - very clean and neat !

@ Richard - do you have a good picture of thise 3 bogies holes ?

Keep posting team !!

Paul

Hi Paul ...it's 4 holes and three (well six if you want to go nuts) bolts (go nuts with bolts )

I was talking about the three bolts at the bottom of each bogey in the middle ..(3 in the front and 3 in back too)



Rick

Got ya Rick !

Thanks, wasn't sure if you meant the 4 or the three

Cheers (Woof, woof)
Paul

I wasn't able to get any bench time Saturday evening after work, but I did get to build all day today!

Here's where I'm at this point.







Looking at references I decided to add the rebar water can rack on one side.



And the wading trunk base is on as well.



Thanks for all the tips. My bogies are built and have the requisite number of holes. (That'd be four )

G

Man, I ALWAYS forget where this is.

BUT, this time my memory was working overtime (on this particular bit of information, anyway )

HELP FOR TAMIYA SHERMAN SPONSONS:

http://www.archertransfers.com/WEB%20pictures/ShermanFix.pdf

As I recall, they need some modification at the rear depending on the version, I think these are for the M4A3. They work on the M4, but need a little retrimming to get around the different rear hull layout.

Hope this helps those guys at this point in their Tamiya builds! I know it's helped me in the past! And thanks to Norm Samuelson for doing the work and Archer for putting it out there for all of us!:-)--<

Michael

hey guys Im gonna be building a Tamiya kit with the 105mm howitzer for this one. should be starting on Friday. the current build are all looking good.

Right, I've taken snaps of my bogies! (Not often you can say that in polite company...)

The first shot is of an "uncut" Academy bogie on the left and a "cut" Italeri one on the right. (Both use the same rocking-horse suspension arms as designed by Italeri 30 years ago, as do the Dragon Shermans I have seen.)


Next up is a shot of the tools used...


I saw through the axles, then use the file and/or knife to round off the edges so the wheel slips on easier. I find that slipping a bit of paper on each side lets me push the wheels into place with minimal paint scratching - just pull the paper out and the stump "snaps" into the hole in the wheel.

With the Italeri bogies I also add the missing bolts at the bottom, and the bolts that hold the skid in place. The former are lengths of Plastruct hex rod inserted into carefully drilled holes then filed to a level height, while the latter are short bits cut from slightly bigger hex rod and glued in place. Note that the Academy bogie comes with the lower bolts, and I haven't got round to adding the skid bolts yet.


Finally I drill four holes in the bogie face. One of these days I'll make a brass jig so they all come out even...


Here endeth the lesson!

Tom

Just to let y'all know---

TankRat came through on the Aber PE. He was busy with IPMS Nationals. I shoulda' thought about that! DOH!

Tom, Thanks for the Toot! I'll definately use that on Shermy #2.
Justin, who'd a thought huh? LOL! This is the second time IPMS has had the Nats within easy driving distance from me and the second time I could not take any days off.

Here's where I'm at as of now.





References seem to indicate after landing very little was actually carried in the way of tools. So I just used a pry bar, track wrench, and a shovel.



We're having gorgeous weather here with little humidity, so some masking, primer and paint to come tomorrow.

G

Hi G ..Good stuff all over ...One thing I noticed is the tow cable attachement point at the back end is a bit too far forward and it should be about even with the lifting hooks ..


Rick

Yeah, well, I uh measured once and, uh, cut twice..................

G

Tom, great little tutorial - have to remember that! Shame my bogies are already assembled

@ Tom- I started punching holes in my bogies last night-- I'm definitely going to make some sort of jig, because mine look TERRIBLE! The Mk.1 Eyeball just doesn't work on such tight tolerances.

@ G- That's lookin' great man!!! That PE really is gonna make that thing stand out. Can't wait for mine to come in.

I'm about a 12 hour drive from Phoenix. I was tempted-- I could have caught some of the Cardinal training camp too. The wife wasn't thrilled about me driving that far though.

BUMMER!

Some good stuff getting done!
Tom, that's an ideal method for retro-fitting the bogey wheels. I'll try it for sure...

To let you all know where I'm at, the Sherman I am mushing along the most with at the moment is the DML US M4A1 DV. I have plans for a small scene with a couple of crewmen swabbing the guntube. I want to get it all lined up and then I will sculpt the figures to suit. I'm aiming for an MTO scene. I tried sculpting a cat/kitten last night to add a little something different to the scene. My aim is to have it in a typical relaxed cat pose laying on a folded tanker jacket on the rear deck or similar...
Anyhoo, some photos will come soon. I have just primed the turret which has some additions by way of PE and casting numbers.
Kind of sums up my favouritism, with the turret already primed whereas the suspension has not even been assembled yet
Brad

Thanks all. This is my first attempt at this many PE parts. I'm liking the results even though I cannot use a ruler....

Justin I feel your pain. 5 hours is doable, 12, eh, passable.

I did a 14 hour motorcycle ride once, Vail Co. to Las Vegas NV. Had to get to Vegas. Got my phone call and started a new job 2 days later.

I started in St Louis!

Bradley, I waited and waited before I built those bogies. As soon as I got them done, I log on and see the tutorial. Oh well I have two more in the stash.

Does anyone make USMC tank crew figures?

G

Well, I suppose I oughta make Matan & CMOT happy by turning it into a Feature...

Tom

Tom, I put off building the bogies forever (because I hate roadwheels) and naturally there's the toot!

I think we'd all love seeing some more tricks and tips!

G

Oh Jeezuz, this campaign has plowed on while I've been away!! Man... How many participants are we already, Paul?

And I've noticed, while I've been on my plane-campaigns, there's a Jumbo-build going on already.
That's bad news, you look like pro, Martin. Awesomely clean build!

I'll try nevertheless. Here's what my wife brought me to bed on Saturday (well, she got it from the mailman, but hey...):



Formations is my mekka!!!!

Big problem for me though: I can't seem to dig up any decals.
I would have loved to do Cobra King but now I maybe have to resort to generic numbering or something.... Awww, sheesh....

What is it like to build a sherm kust with formations-stuff?

Hi Leo ..other than using cyano glue ,there is hardly any difference between Rob's kits and a regular plastic kit ...I've built a few and loved them..






As for Cobra King ..Bison used to have a decal sheet with those markings but they are no longer available on the site ..it's number 35031 .You might be able to find it somewhere on line ...

hth
Rick

Richard that's real nice!

Ok here's where I'm at as of tonight. There's much speculation as to just what color these tanks were painted. I believe they came from the production line in plain old OD, then were repainted as necessary after campaigns (if they survived).

References clearly show the add on armor was painted a different shade after being welded on. That and the field expedient wading gear leads me to believe what ever shade of green or OD that could be found was used.

With that in mind here's my take on DEMAGOG, a 3rd Battalion warrior on Iwo Jima.









Weathering to come after this sets a while. I'll be off the net for two weeks due to work. But I get to travel!!!

G

Ok, got my Tamiya 1/48 Firefly, RB barrel and Toro decals. Going to do this oob except for the barrel and decals, I just need to finish something to get me going on my other ideas.



When I start painting, what color would a Polish Sherman be? US OD or British SCC whatever it is?

I've been away for a couple of days as my Laptop hard drive failed

Luckily all has been recovered, and I'm back on line

There have been many great posts in that time - keep up the awesome work guys, this is such an awesome Campaign. "Shermaholics" rule !

@ Tom - Thanks for the "Bogie clip method" tutorial - it is a fantastic idea and you've explained it perfectly !!

@ Justin - I'm happy TankRat came through with your order !!

@ Wayne - the PE looks great on your machine, as does the scratched styrene all around, I love the Jerry can holder on the rear, well done !

@ Leo - welcome back mate. 111 starters now, lets get to 150 and beat the 'Big Cats Campaign'
I love that Formations Jumbo !!! Mine is on the way

@ Richard - sweet build, thanks for posting those pics mate ! Yes Rob's resin is the best - definately !

@ Jimmy - looking forward to seeing you get stuck into that Firefly ....

As far as "Oddball's" Beast goes, I've marked the beads on the welds, drilled the drainage holes, and I've just purchased the brass rod for the handles that are being replaced on the rear hull.

More pics this weekend

Woof, woof !!

Paul

Hey Jimmy, a Polish FF would be British SCC.

Paul

Hi all.

I forgot to mention my plans for this great and wonderfull campaign as you all did way back. So, here comes:

1) Jumbo with formations kit and DML M4A3 76w. It's the recomended basis for the conversion which I got for almost nothing as the new Tasca was anounced

2) M4A3E8 Paper doll. I got the DML kit of Thunderbolt seven and the archer decals. A few things of formations magic ingredients will be stirred in.

Who's Rob of Formations BTW? Is he here on the Forum? I'd relly like to meet him...

Well, the Bison sheet i know of but i haven't been able to track it down. But thanks for the tip, man.
You seem to know everything there is to know, so: what Registratioin Numbers are possible for Jumbos? Maybe i'll use eduards masks do do at least these...

Hey David,

looking forward to that one. You can use a lot of the advise posted here on Tamiya kits.

Cheers

Paul