Decided to take a break from campaigns till 2013, as I've built strictly for campaigns this past year and a half. I've had the HobbyBoss 1/35 M26 Pershing just seating on the shelf, and with that super engine compartment, I just couldn't resit building it, especially since I'm basically an OOB builder.

I started off assembling the lower hull, which is comprised of several pieces. Each suffered from multiple pin ejection marks that I had to putty in:



Then glued up:



I noticed that somehow the lower engine compartment panel wasn't seating flush, so I soaked the seams with Tamiya Extra Thin and clamped it down. That worked fine once dry, but now I had to deal with the clamp impressions. So its more putty work.



I then tackled the suspension, which while somewhat complex, went together without any issues. I did find it much easier to assemble the shocks on the hull.



Next step was to assemble the engine, transmission, and radiators, etc. I painted the engine comparment Tamiya white with a few drops of dark grey, the engine, exhausts, and transmission various shades of Model Master Metalizer paints.





I was planning on doing some detailing and enhancing of the engine compartment, but once the hull upper plate is attached, the various views through the hatches is very limited, so I'm just planning on various washes to bring out the details,once the Pledge coat has dried.





Joel

Looking forward to seeing more Joel.

That's a great looking OOB. will watch

So far I'm really impressed with the detail, and fit of the M26. This is my 1st, but not last HobbyBoss armor kit. I've pretty much built nothing but DML kits, and a single Academy kit since getting into armor modeling.

Joel

Joel great looking build so far.i have the same kit so i will wackt as you go.

Thanks guys.

Have been making good progress on the lower hull sub assembly. Will be posting another up date in a few days.

Joel

I've been working on the hull sub assembly since my original thread post, and finally finished it today. I pre-painted the wheels, tracks, and lower hull without any weathering, to simplify the painting process, as this is how I prefer to build.

Here's one completed track. I used a marine grade 2 part epoxy to hold them together. So far so good.



Here's the lower hull, suspension & wheels, painted with my own mix of acrylic Tamiya OD. over a base coat of Tamiya lacquer primer applied via a rattle can.



Here's the lower hull with both tracks installed.



Next I glued on the what I think are called sponsons (I've only been modelling armor for a little more then two years).



I didn't like the seam on each sponson front. Some reference photos show that it's wielded or looked like it was, so I added a wield bead made from stretched sprue to each one.



Here's two pictures of the finished hull sub assembly.





Next up is the turret sub assembly. I hope to make some decent progress this week as I have a extra day off from work due to the holiday.

Joel

Looking pretty good so far! The panels on the sides that cover the tracks are called "sand skirts."

Also, a quick note - I've noticed that you painted the track blocks the same color as the rubber portion of the wheels. The tracks that you've chosen (from what I can see) are actually steel blocks with a steel chevron. They look similar to the rubber-block tracks on Shermans, but visually they can be distinguished as the rubber-block chevrons are much "fatter" than the steel-block tracks.

Steel chevron:

Rubber chevron:

Yup, the tracks should be all steel and shouldn't be as rusty as you have the end connectors. Tracks that get used often don't really rust. They are constantly polished by dirt and the grinding motion of the tracks moving against eachother. The only time tracks will rust that much is on an old display tank that is sitting out.

Additianally, you have the tracks on backwards. The "W" shaped should point down in the front and up in the rear.

T80E1 Steel chevron track on an M26A1s.

Michael & Gino, thanks so much for the info. Now I know that they're called sand skirts. So what are sposons?

As for the tracks, I just assumed that they were rubber as they looked exactly like the ones on the late model Sherman's I've built. The rust issue is an easy fix. Repainting the tracks will be a nightmare as I really can't remove them at this point. Never realized that I put them on upside down either. With weathering the rubber color should just about be taken care of. As for having the tracks on upside down, not much I can do about it now as the Sand Skirts make removal nearly impossible.

Looks like my learning curve just keeps on growing every time I think I've made some real progress. For nearly all of my 50 years in modeling ( on and off again), I only built aircraft, so all of this is new to me.

Joel

Joel your build still looks great ,

Roy, thanks. It just peeves me that I still make this stupid mistakes.

Just can't see a way to remover the tracks at this point.

Joel

Joel,

Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes. We learn and get better. Plus, just try to keep enjoying what you're doing.

Overall (outside of the mistakes) it looks great. Nice work.

John

John, thanks so much for the positive words.

Joel

There's been a few recent posts about folks who paint everything AFTER assembly, including the tracks. This 'mistake' will give you the opportunity to try a new technique.

Jessie, thanks for pointing that out to me. I've read a few of those posts, and the painting can be corrected, especially with weathering. What's not fixable is turning the tracks right side up. I just plain missed that.

Joel

You should be able to cut the tracks, turn them around, then slide them back up under the fenders and reconect the cut ends with a needle and thread. Rotate the reconnected part above the skirts to hide them. This is especially easy if you left the sprockets where they can turn, only slightly harder if you glued them on.

Gino,
I really had to stretch the tracks to get them over the last road wheel. Not sure if I could sew them tight enough. Will really have to think this one out.

Joel

Found a few more photos that show tracks. This one is the spare tracks on the side of the turret. Are they steel or rubber? I also realize that this is a restored tank, so it might not be correct, but rather what was handy at the time of restoration.
Joel

Those look like rubber to me. The 'chevron' is thinner on the steel ones I believe.

On your pic, those are T84E1 rubber block tracks. There were two types, the T80E1 steel tracks that are on your model and the T84E1 rubber tracks as you pictured. The chevrons on the rubber tracks was much thicker than that on the steel tracks. Both types of track were used in Korea.

T84E1 tracks.

[quote]Michael & Gino, thanks so much for the info. Now I know that they're called sand skirts. So what are sposons?

Sponsons are the part of the tank that hang over the track, or off the hull. Remember tanks have a Naval heritage, hence terms like hull, turret, hatch , sponson, back deck. The stowage boxes on top of the tracks are called sponson boxes. The protuding guns on the WW1 British tanks were mounted in sponsons. Hope this helps.

Tom

Gino & Thomas, thanks for all the info. Even with the OOB, I'm learning quite a bite from you guys.

Joel

Sponsons refer to the armoured part of the hull that go over top of the tracks.




Nice build so far, I love kits with engines/interiors that are included.




cheers