hay don great build thanks for the help
dave

Spent some time creating fiddly bitz inside the turret. Making part of the interior visible inside the loader's hatch meant first removing a portion of the mounting structure that allows the turret to rotate on this kit. This was necessary because what would really be seen if you look straight down through the hatch is the actual turret ring, not a big flat base. Since my display will be static once I'm complete, I wasn't worried about the turret being able to rotate but removing all that plastic along the entire circumference would mean a very precarious fit since there wouldn't be much left for the turret to sit on. So, I've just removed the excess in the area below the loader's station and added bolts to represent the look of the actual turret ring. The original diameter of the hole in the turret and on the hull attachment point is marked by the red circles so you can more clearly see the area that needed to be cut away.





I already showed the breech that I've put together which will take care of anything seen down the hatch from the left side of the model. To take care of what might be seen from the right side, I've added the ejection port handle as well as the intercom box and wiring.



I also added the bolt pattern on the turret ring and a shelf and SCR-528 radio from Verlinden.



The radio will mostly likely NOT be visible but since I found the kit, I just couldn't resist adding it. Things might look alot different in there once everything in there is painted white and the radio painted OD. Right now it's just in there temporarily since it will obviously need to be painted before installation. Here's a look at what I'll be using for my painting reference:



Lastly, I've been doing some work on a couple of the crew members. The TC is the same figure shown in the placement mock-up I posted a while back. I've finalized the placement of his arms, repositioned his left hand to rest on the cupola rim and added his helmet.



I've recently swapped out the Nemrod figure I was intending to use for the loader for this one from Miniart instead:



As you can see, I had a little trouble adjusting his head after redoing the collar with A+B putty so he didn't look so "cold" (yep, snapped it clean off...strong stuff that putty!). The timeline for the scene I'm doing will be early spring of '45...still a bit chilly so jackets would be needed, but not necessarily cold enough for the collars to be zipped all the way up, which necessitated the change. He's also wearing gloves, but heck, maybe the guy just has a bit of bad circulation? Anyhow, now I get to reconstruct his neck before replacing the head to get it looking where I want it to.

Ironically, I switched figures to alleviate the need for so much interior scratch building and figure modification as this new guy fills up more of the hatch. One of the things that bugged me about that Nemrod model was that it was only a 3/4 figure so in addition to adding tons of detail inside the hatch, I would have had to add legs and boots because of the the way he stood in there...all of it would have been visible. The Miniart fig won't allow as much to be seen further down (so no need to add ammo storage bins in the floor) but in test fitting, the ejection port and intercom will still be partially visible. I'll still have to add the loader's seat onto the turret ring so that he has something to stand on, and a couple things around the radio (stored search light, periscope storage bin) but other than that, I think these mods will do it for interior additions.

Stay tuned and thanks for checking in.

looking good don ! have a question for you how long did it take for you to get the stuff from Tiger Models,i order from them about 3 week ago and hve heard nothing is this normal
thanks dave

Wow - I'm wore out - I just read your whole post again from start to finish - that's some reading!!!!! Model looks GREAT - love it. Stevie.

Dave--Takes about 4-5 weeks if I remember. It says on their site what the expected delivery time is. Don't worry, they are worth the wait!

Stevie--Yep, it's getting to be a long one! I think when construction is finally complete, I'll start a new thread for the paint and display base. Thanks for checking in.

Nice progress Don, Getting closer my freind

Excellent work Don! Keep chipping away on this, I always enjoy your updates!

John and Eric, thanks for checking in and for all your feedback and encouragement. It's taking me far longer than I ever planned but at least I'm back on the case making some progress now.

We're in the home stretch on this build. Last major thing to do is the Panda tracks and duckbills. If all goes well, I should be able to get some primer and paint on this in the next couple of weeks.

Cheers!

Yep, I somehow knew as soon as I hit the "YES" button that I would regret that statement!

It's been over a month and although I have made some progress, I'm still not ready for paint. I've completed the rudimentary interior by adding the loader's seat.



I also finished off the loader fig and have been working on assembling the Panda tracks. The good news is I actually have one track done and have test fitted it for length.





Instructions call for 79 links but 77 makes for a much better fit. The bad news is that like everything else on this build, it's taking me way longer to get done than I had hoped. I don't know where Mr. Steve Zaloga gets off in his book stating that he can get a set of these done in a couple of hours, but that just hasn't been my reality at all!

At this point, I probably have 7-8 hours invested (or many episodes of "Eureka" on Netflix streaming) in removing all the links from sprues, trimming, sanding and gluing together one complete track. Either I care way too much about cleaning the flash off each link or I'm doing something wrong. And, I still have to add the duckbills. To both tracks.

AARGH!

If I ever build another one, I'll definitely be using the Dragon DS T54E1 Tracks with the duckbills already attached...if I can find them.

Well, back to the salt mines. Got about another 230 pieces to trim, sand and assemble for the other track. Then, the duckbills...for both sides.

Double AARGH!

Thanks for sticking with me.

Cheers.

Spectacular Sherman!!!!
Looking splendid.

Can't wait to see it painted!

Hi Don,

Outstanding sherman build and a great historical subject as well. Model on man!

Gary

Don, you might build slowly, but the results are hard to argue with. Everyone works at different speeds.

Don,
Did you have problems with the end connectors falling off the track blocks?
Dan

Hey, thanks for the nice comments guys.

@Dan: No problems with the end links at all, in fact I find the Panda's fit together really, really nicely when using the recommended assembly jigs and a touch of white glue on each link. As stated earlier in this thread, I'm using Aileen's tacky glue and it seems to be holding up very well while still allowing the tracks to remain "working" instead of rigid as they would be with plastic cement.

The problem is the clean-up. There are little sprue buds on both sides of each track block where I couldn't get the parts cutter close enough to the track block. As well as the occasional mold line along the edges of each part that need to be trimmed and sanded for a nice finish. The end links also suffer from the same problem. Maybe I need a smaller parts nipper because the one I have is a bit too large given the limited space between the part and the sprue. I tried using a blade, but it's too easy to damage the parts.

I'm halfway there. It's just a bit of a grind.

Thanks again for checking in.

Tracks are looking good Don,

I went to the big amps show this last weekend and picked up a set of panda tracks for my cobra king build.

I'm looking forward to this one progressing.

Hiya John. Really looking forward to some photos and reports on the AMPS show when the Armorama team get round to it!

Like I said, got no complaints about the look or fit of Pandas. In those respects they are awesome and you won't be disappointed. About the assembly, well...maybe not so much.

Cheers.

I see Don. I've had problems in the past with the pinsnot being thick enough-easy enough to fix by squeezing the pin with a flat tweezers which causes them to widen out.
Dan

Hey Don,

I started fidling with my set of Panda tracks. Have you glued any "duck bills" on yet? I have 4 glued on, and the first one was upside down, LOL. The other 3 are damaged from the Tamiya thin cement. It ate tiny holes in the end conectors. Wont be a problem as long as I use them on the bottom run.

I'm getting ready to assemble a few with testors liquid cemnt and see if that works any better.

John, you should try using Tenax...it's more of a plastic bonder than a glue...the styrene does not get as soft as it does with other liquid cements and it dries within seconds. That might work better on such thin plastic as is used on the Panda duckbills.

Wish I could say I've made some progress and that I've already done this on my own duckbills but I'm swamped with work at the moment and haven't had time for modeling.

Send me a PM if you have more specific questions.

Don,
Just wanted to tell you what a splendid looking bit of work this Sherman and crew is. I'm 1/2 inspired and 1/2 jealous of the skill and patience. Looking forward to seeing it progress.
Brian K

Brian, thank you for the nice comments. For the record, we don't do Jealous here at Armorama! Take that half and convert it to motivation and you'll be on your way!

Happy modeling!

Don, I don't know how I missed this build until today, but I just read through the whole thread and am blown away by the job you're doing. I'll definitely be following until you get it across the finish line.

Don, I love everything about this project. Super inspiring, have been peeking at it for several months. Just subscribed to make sure I don't miss anything. Here's to hoping you will have free time soon to get this across the finishing line. Can't wait to see it done. Also thank you for posting all the reference pics.
All the best,
Travis (Portland OR)

Don, I have been quietly following this thread and have been most impressed with the extreme detail work. Especially the figures, I'm amazed!

I will be saving this thread and all the images for my next Sherman build for I want to build the same from the 761st Tank Battalion. Did they ever use any EZ8's?

I'd like to do this in 1/16th but does that figure company (Hornet) offer any 1/16th figures? At least the faces ... the bodies I can come up with.

If not, I guess I'll be stuck with 1/35th.

Keep up the great work and just push that nasty thing called "work" off to the side for now (just kidding) for this is more important!

Thanks for sharing as I am a Shermanholic.








~ Jeff

HI Jeff,

In an email I received from Mr. Joe Wilson, author of "The 761st "Black Panther" Tank Battalion in World War II", he stated that the 761st did not receive any E8 Shermans based on information he was given by one of the 761st vets. However, I have since run across two photos of 761st members which clearly show E8's in the background among other tanks. I cannot say definitively that these belonged to the unit since the markings are not visible. I intend to follow up with the 761st unit historian, Mr. Wayne Robinson, at a later time to see what other information he may have about this. If you need information sooner, you should feel free to contact him yourself through the 761st website:

www.761st.com

As for the Hornet heads, they do not make African heads in 1/16th that I am aware of. In fact, their set of 1/35 African heads are the only ones on the market that I have found. If anyone knows of others, please pass along the information here.

Again, thanks to everyone for the kind words and interest. Just finished a rough patch at work last week so hoping to get back to modeling this week.

Stay tuned!