Looking good!









~ Jeff

Hi All,
This site ate my last post, so I'm reposting hoping it will go through. Here's where I stand this evening:











I need to build the spare track holder on the glacis plate, but beyond that, everything is built. I used Panda Plastic track and needed 84 links per side. I used some guitar string for the antenna and some steel wire for the turret grab handles. Once the track rack is done, it's off to the paint booth!
Regards,
Georg

NIce build Georg.

The tracks came out beautiful Georg.
Does Panda make tracks for german vehicles?
Anyway cant wait to see paint on her!!!!
Regard
Horst

Beautiful work Georg, kinda hate to see paint go on all that detail. Thanks for sharing with us!

I will be using this to inspire myself for a possible 1/16th build. I really like the oscillating turrets and really would rather build the AMX-50 ... but maybe later.

It'll be interesting to see what you do decide to go with on the paint.







~ Jeff

Nick,
The Egyptians used M4A4's, but re-engined them with M4A2 diesel engines. They swapped out the engine deck and replaced the exhuasts with M4A2 style units.

Jeff,
It looks like these tanks were only painted in light sand yellow. I'm planning on pre-shading w/a dark brown and then building up the color from there. Markings were pretty sparse, consisting mainly of a service flash (blue over red) and a license plate. It's going to give me a lot of real estate to cover, but having tools on the rear deck should help (they'll be painted in different colors). IPMS/AMPS East theme this year is "Naked Models," so I'm toying with the idea to leave this as is until that show and then finist it afterward. Not sure yet.
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
The build is done! The only thing I had left to do was the spare track rack on the glacis plate. I made it up out of some spare links and some styrene angle. I left one link out for a bit of character.



Now, it's off to the spray booth for a base coat of brown.
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
I was able to get the painting done! I base-coated the model with Tamiya XF-52 dark earth. This will provide the pre-shading for the subsequent layers of paint. Here's how the model looked after that:



You can also see the base-coated track, which was done with automotive black primer. There will be subsequent coats of gray to show a worn sun-blasted model



The color is pretty dark, but will serve the dual role as a primer and pre-shade.





That's all for tonight! More pics of the finished paint job tomorrow!
Regards,
Georg

Looks like the work is starting to really pay off. Good job cobbling together several kits, aftermarket parts and sratch built stuff to make this one.

Hi All,
As promised, here's last night's update. Kevin, thanks for the kind words. You should like these final installments. So here's what things looked like when i finished the painting session:









Here's what six coats of paint looks lie. The base was Tamiya XF-52 Flat earth. I then added a layer of XF-49 Khaki, XF-60 Dark yellow, XF-59 Desert yellow and XF-55 Deck tan. I used pre-shading for the model in order to highlight the details and give it depth.



Here are the Formations tools with their primer coat (Tamiya white in the can) and the base coating for the wood parts in XF-60 Dark Yellow.



The jerry can came from the Tamiya Allied stowage set and was painted XF-62 Olive Drab. All of the paints were thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinner and sprayed through my Peak X3 airbrush @ 25 psi. The final dusting of Deck Tan was done at about 35 psi. Tonight's project will be detail painting and doing some more work on the tracks. More pictures tomorrow!
Regards,
Georg

Did we discuss markings or decals? Do you have to make your own or from another kit/source?

I dragged my AMX kit out and scratch building the turret shouldn't be too big a deal in 1/16th.

Remember ... yours will be my guide for the project as this is so cool of an AFV for sure!







~ Jeff

Jeff,
Yes, we have discussed markings before. Anyway, you'll see them soon enough. Since I run "Decalcomaniacs!" I'm going to use DM-004 Arab Armies #1 for the markings.
Regards,
Georg

Nicely done Georg...

Hi All,
For those of you clamoring as to how the model is going to be marked, you wait is over. Egyptian vehicles were pretty plainly marked (if at all) and most of the markings included an arm-of-service flash (red over blue) and possibly a British-style tactical mark. I added the license plate for a little color. The model had been gloss-coated when I took these and has subsequently been "dulled" out.












For markings I used a set of Decalcomaniacs! markings. I used set DM-004 Arab Armies #1. If you are interested in a set, drop me an e-mail [email protected] here (US$12.00 plus shipping). I'll be doing some serious updates on my website next week, so they should be up then. Anyway, I used some thinned white glue and water to ensure there was no silvering and they worked out fine. Once they had dried, the model was hit with a coat of figure flat clear flat to kill the shine. Now, it's time to weather this beast!
Regards,
Georg

I like them! Very subtle and not too much.

Can't wait to see the weathering process.







~ Jeff

Oh, also please explain the white glue with the decals.

Is this added to the water to help aid in adhesion?







~ Jeff

Jeff,
Instead of using a setting solution, I make up a solution of diluted white glue. This prevents ANY form of silvering. Brush it on where you are going to put the decal and then decal as usual. Mop up any excess and you are done. It really kills silvering. Hope that helps.
Regards,
Georg

PS- I should have some more pictures later today.

Hi All,
I've taken another step closer to completion. I was able to get a wash over the model. This was supposed to be a filter but ended up thicker than what I had planned. But the result was pretty good, so I decided to leave it. I'm going to skip the pin wash as a result.











The next step will include a dry-brushing with sepia brown for a sand-blasted look. See you soon!
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
So last night I took the plunge and did some drybrushing. I used Sepia oil in order to give the model a sand-blasted look from its service in the Sinai desert.









I worked on the tools, too. The handles had been painted with Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow. I went back with some Burnt Umber oil paint and used it as a thick wash. I like the results. Next up will be the dust coat. Happy 4th of July!
Regards,
Georg

Hi All,
I went to a BBQ today and took the Sherman w/me. A couple of modelling buddies were there and while they liked it, they saw a couple of trouble areas on the gun mantlet. So, when I got home, I puttied the trouble spots, sanded it down, repainted and gave it the first wash. I'll be doing the drybrushing tomorrow morning. With a little luck, this thing should have a dust coat by tomorrow night!
Regards,
Georg

Well done Georg.

Hi All,
So now this tale is done. I was able to do some work with the pastel powders and some heavily thinned Tamiya deck tan in order to get the dust effects I wanted. I also hit the oil/fuel fillers, along with some grease stains on the suspension. I used AK interactive's product form their "Engine Grime" set. All in all, a very enjoyable project. Here are the finished pictures. Unless anyone sees anything highly untoward, I'm calling this one done.











As always, any questions/comments/critiques are welcome! Now, on to the next project!
Regards,
Georg

Put some black paint/pigment in the exhaust pipes of that thing!

Looks good otherwise. Neat vehicle.

Jesse,
Thanks for the comment. I brought the model back to the spray-booth and hit the exhausts with Polly S "oily black." Dirtied the exhausts up nicely.
Regards,
Georg