HI all.

Not sure if this is the right forum but will hope for the best.

Just returning to the hobby after a long hiatus, working on a 105mm tamiya Sherman I had gathering dust in my basement. I'm looking to add some casting texture to the appropriate areas since the model has none essentially.

I read you could stipple tamiya putty thinned with thinner on the tank to replicate texture, but I cannot find more a more in depth how to then that one sentence. People just mention in passing that's how it was done.

Any help or suggestions would be REALLY appreciated.

Take care, and a cowboy for your time.



Jeff

Hi,

I would use Mr. Surfacer 500 instead of the Tamiya putty and thinner trick as there is no thinner involved in the process (other than for cleaning your brush, of course). Stippling Mr. Surfacer 500 on turrets, etc, yields really good results.

This site will help answer most of your questions regarding Mr. Surfacer:

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Surfacer.html


And here is a useful link about cast texture:

http://cs.finescale.com/FSMCS/forums/p/114495/1142189.aspx

HTH,

Rob

I am currently building the Italeri M-47 Patton and used the old school method of applying liquid model glue where you want the cast texture, and then stippling it with an old paint brush with the bristles cut down to about a 1/8 of an inch or so...the effect looks great and compared well with the factory texture on a DML Sherman I have on the bench as well. I would post pictures but I am currently on TAD away from home and the wife has the digital back there.

I agree with FireCap4 above. I use the same technique and think it comes out great. You can see it on an M48A3 here.



Good luck.

I find there is no one technique that works all of the time.
My main four are:
1. Bouncing a steel cutter, either spherical or barrel shaped (situation dependent) on the model.
2. Taking slices off with an X-Acto blade, like cutting off thin slices of cheese.
3. Stippling/smearing putty.
4. The liquid cement approach.

In the photos of this M48 below, you'll find various different textures all on the same turret which can all be replicated using all of the methods above.
Note also the dreaded pinhole effect usually associated with resin casting. Even the real deal isn't always perfect.






If you look closely, you can find all four situations in this one photo:

Hi Jeff,

This is a link to a build I finished a couple of months ago:

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/158659&page=1

All of the cast texture on the turret, final drive, and driver / co-driver's hoods is done with thinned Testor's Green Stuff putty. Also, all of the green colored weld beads are also done with thinned putty. (The "whitish" weld beads are Milliput 2-part epoxy which is easier to form around tight radious and for very small welds.)

I use Testor's Green Stuff thinned with laquer thinner and Testor's liquid cement (about 3:1 laquer thinner to cement). I mix the putty with the thinner to a consistancy of warm honey for weld beads and about twice that thin for cast textures. I use a tooth pick (cocktail stick) carved to a chisle end and wetted with laquer thinner to texture the welds followed with liquid cement.

I apply the thinned putty using an old nylon brush trimmed to a rough point and clean it in a separate jar with laquer thinner. I use old Teator's liquid cement glass bottles to mix the thinned putty in.

Common blue painter's tape works well as a mask to keep the thinned putty off of areas where you don't want it. I also use two parallel pieces of the same tape to mask the sides of the weld beads made with the thinned putty. Pull any masks up before the putty dries so that it doesn't cause chipping along the edges.

I like the versatiliy of thinning the putty myself since various viscosities are useful for different applications. I've been using this method for a long time (since before Mr. Surfacer wasn't even a gleam in the eye of the Mr. Color company - in fact probably for about 20 years before Mr. Color company was even thought of). Besides which, none of my local hobby shops carry the Mr. Color line of products.

It's a tried and true "old school" technique, but as always, your "mileage may vary." I'd suggest whatever technique you try to experiment with it a bit before you try it on your actual project.

HTH and good luck,
Mike

Mike, I really dig your Sherman build. Here are my own meager efforts in a current build I've been asked to do for a cast hulled M50. I've used three of my four methods so far, although it may not show up well in the photos.

Very cool, Robert!

I actually do use all of the techniques you listed in your earlier post, too. Those very heavy cast textures are particularly hard to replicate, especially the ones that show a lot of "carving" and other hand work on the sand molds.

Also, the welds that are "layered" with several lines of parallel beads are pretty tough to do well, and all of those hard to do textures need technique combinations, as you pointed out.

I am liking that M50, though. Very nice. Are you posting progress regularly anywhere? It'll be nice to see it when you get it finished.

So, with a call sign of "18B" and home location of Colorado, you don't happen to work over in the Emerald City on FCCO, do you?

MIke

Mike,
Some builds I post ongoing Blogs, but for certain ones that will ultimately not be mine the closer I get to finishing the less I show. However, it's essentially Shep Paine's build with the benefit of a ready made turret and gun. (And both tracks running the right way)
I'm not concerning myself too much with welds on this one. Uncle just ascertained last month that while deadly from 800m, I'm pretty much blind at hand's length. I'm guessing it wouldn't be pretty...

As for the boys on Bad Toelz Road, I got my start with them when they were at Devens in '83, but find myself mostly working with 1st now. Plus an impending transfer to the schoolhouse. You?

Thanks so much, this has been incredibly helpful. I'll try posting pictures in the next little while to show how it went.

Take care,

Jeff