So after a break I finally got back into model building. I had this kit kicking around for a little while now and I decided it was time to start building.

It's a Trumpeter #07287 T26E4. It's pretty much built and primed. Now I'm ready for color but I'm not sure how to proceed. The kit came with rubber tracks which I figure I should paint separately then put them on. The problem I have is that the upper part of the hull has the fenders molded (see pictures) and I don't think I will be able to slip the tracks in place if I glue the 2 parts of the hull together for paint.

What do you guys think I should do?

If you haven't glued the drive sprocket in rigidly you should be able to feed the track through, maybe with a little help from a pair of fine tip tweezers. If you have glued the drive sprocket, then be prepared for a bit of a challenge. Alternatively, you could paint the lower hull and upper hull separately, paint the tracks and fit them around the suspension, then glue the hull halves together and continue with weathering, etc.

Alain,

I built the Trumpeter M26A1 a while back and that came with link and length tracks. However, I painted the tracks on the sprue and painted the lower hull, turret and upper hull separately.

Cheers,
Jan

Hi Alain, my suggestion is to attach the tracks to the lower hull now. In my view it is easier to fiddle around getting the tracks on with the top off and without paint - you can glue them in place if necessary with CA glue without fear of messing up the paint job, and without worrying about snapping off idlers and difficulties aligning sprocket teeth with track holes etc.

Once glue is all set on the tracks prime the lower hull and tracks.
Then paint the wheels and hull sides with the base colour.
Now mask off the wheels and the hull with tape / paper / foil / blue tack, etc.
Paint the tracks in your favourite track colour, brown-grey etc. then do your track detail wash etc.
Now paint the tyres - fiddly, but don't worry too much about the inner ones where you can't see it, and you can always touch up bits later.
Now attach the hull top and make good the big joins at the front and nose.
Mask off the tracks and wheels and paint the rest of the tank in base colour.
When the paint is set remove the masking - and it's all done!

I got this method from Mig Jimenez's FAQ; you can see how I used in on my Panther at the end of page 1 / start of page 2 of the thread Zvezda Panther D - without glue?

On that kit there was almost no choice because of the track system, but I would definitely try it this way again even with vinyl tracks on a small scale model - I think it will help avoid that look that many small scale tanks have of the tracks really looking they were added afterwards, and the tank not sitting on them properly.

Take the plunge and good luck...

Go with what you feel works best for you and the situation you are in now. All ways are possible and will work .... theres no one perfect way ... every modeller will have a different reply. This is a good learning experience and an experience you need for the future. You will be faced with this situation time and time again ... all open topped and vehicles with cab interiors ... as well as tanks.

I painted mine then slid them through the fenders, don't recall having any problems. The only problem I had with the kit was I didn't know where to set the road wheels for the right height, had to break them off and reattach once. Pegasus boxing but same kit.

Hi Alain and welcome back to modeling.

I would finish painting the sides first, including the rims.It's easier this way and you can access the rims from any angle you wish.

Then I would attach the tracks and paint them.
Use CA glue because the usual glue will melt the plastic and the paint.

Finally, I'd apply whatever weathering I choose and then glue the upper hull, mask the finished areas and move on to painting everything else.

Note that I am not suggesting to paint the whole lower hull.Just the sides. Front and back glaccis plate wont be painted because they will require glue to go with the upper hull and maybe sanding so you want clean surfaces for that.

The sides where the glue will go however are covered by the upper fender so no worries there if you have a local meltdown of your paint, it will be hidden by the fender.

More or less that is what I did on my Marder build (I also applied pigments on the sides before installing the raod wheels check the following link.
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/201397&page=1

I Hope that was helpful, P.A.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I think I will paint the sides and then paint and glue the tracks. I will also take PanzerAlexandre's advice and not paint the front and back until the 2 pieces of the hull are glued together. I did notice when I did a test fit that there is a gap in the rear of the hull that needs to be puttied and sanded before I paint.

This is only my 3rd kit I put together so I'm still learning.

I started reading about pre-shading and post shading, so do you guys even bother doing that in braille scale?

On a side note here is a sherman I just completed the other day. I'm wondering if I went a little too far with the weathering. I know it might not be historically accurate and there's a bunch of stuff that needs improvement.

As far as pre or post shading it depends on the subject, colour and how I'm finishing it, sometimes I spray sometimes I brush.

When airbrushing I sometimes paint the whole kit black or with lighter colours dark gray. When you spray the final colour
don't go out of your way to get paint into every nook and cranny the deeper areas will get less paint on them and look darker giving more depth. I tend to post shade with washes and pastels more than actual paint, in 1/72 it's just too small to easily do it with an airbrush sometimes.

I always do both pre and post using airbrush for pre and airbrush + washes for post shading.

Your Sherman looks nicely weathered, next time, if you like you can try using predusting effect to smooth (to fade) the contrast between accumulated mud and the cleaner hull. If you want check the following link to see the effect on a softskin vehicle.

http://armorama.com/forums/203811&page=1

To make predusting use some dark earth paint, Vallejo produces a paint with this name, and make a mixture 70% - 30% water to paint and start airbrushing the lower hull and a little to the sides WITH AN UPWARD MOTION just as the ground dust will crawl on the sides. Use small bursts and see how the effect builds up. Increase paint on the mixture when you feel confident but don't overdo it the effect is not reversible.

Cover an area slightly wider than the area you plan to apply mud so after mudding still some dust will be visual above the mud.

P.A.
I hope that helped

You could try a Dragon 1/72 Sherman if you can find them. They are really excellent models and most come with some P/E, being older Dragon releases.

I read through the thread. I really like what you did with it, unfortunately my airbrush skills aren't that good.