Built my M7 Priest for the Incoming Campaign last week. Then while at the LHS picking up a missing paint color for the M7, I picked up an M5A1 Stuart. It was such a small kit I finished it in 2 days. Still having the itch in me I knocked off a DML Firefly Ic I had in my stash. Still no weathering or external sotwage yet.

the m -7 looks good.
and so does the sherman i cant waite to see them done.
how long did u build the m 7??

The M7 took about 3 whole days to whip up. The M5A1 took 2 whole days. The M4 took 3 days of which those gosh darn individual track links must have taken a whole day. It was good to have time off

I used to sit and build like that but I can't seem to get movated like that anymore.

Is that the AFV Club M5? If so I'm particularly impressed that you built it in only 3 days. Now comes the fun part on all three, weathering. That can be the most fun, and also the most time consuming.

Barron: Believe me this sort of energy burst doesn't come very often, which is why I decided to post pics. To me it is a notable event!!

Halfyank: The M5 is the old Tamiya I bought on the cheap. I really wanted an M8 Howitzer but the store didn't have one.

Knock out a quick OOB project, no aftermarket, limited references, just concentrate on the basics (Tamiya new Jeep, Kubelwagen and Schwimmwagen are good for this).

And I thought that I was a fast model builder!!

All three kits (Italeri M7, Tamiya M5A1 and DML Firefly Ic) are OOTB. There were some minor mods made to bend fenders and carve a few dents but nothing major. The M7 and M4 were a dream.

The M5A1 was easy enough to put together but had those annoying open sponsons. Plus the cullen is attached by putting the "T" through holes in the lower hull where the tow hooks would be. It is not in the instructions but the actual tow hooks can be put into the holes if the cullen is not to be used. Also the AA shield and the tracks on the turret are connected to brackets already molded onto the turret. It woul have been easy enough to cut them off but since I was in a building mood I decided to go OOTB all the way.

Knocked off this one watching Pistons basketball last night and the Red Wings Stanley Cup Round One Game 2 today. Once again factory fresh with no weathering

Hey Shermie-

That is a nice looking batch of US vehicles ya got there :-) You are cranking them out faster than the US did in WW II... hehehe Nice job!!!

On thing that I did notice..... the return rollers on Shermans and variants were steel, not rubber. I noticed that you painted em black.... they should be OD, same color as the tank.

Other than that.... get busy on the weathering :-) That is the REALLY fun part!!!!

Take care-
Jeff

You're the second one to mention that despite the fact that every kit insttuction says black (Tamiya, DML and Italeri). Guess I will go with the experts here on boards. It's not like manufacturers havn't been wrong before!!

I know what you mean about kit instructions.... they also all tell you to paint German WW II fire extinguishers red (my pet peave), when they were really green... lol

Here is a pic of a Sherman return roller:


Hope that helps :-)

Later, and take care-
Jeff

Shoot! Now I will have to got back and fix the dozens of Shermies and variants. Over the next few days I plan to crank out the Italeri USMC Sherman and for the Overlord Campaign, the Tamiya M4 Early. We will have an armored division soon

Rock n' roll, Brother!

This was the way I always used to build, and then weather 3 or 4 together.
Got a bit tedious doing the same thing though. But lately, I have tried out some new efforts and do more weathering with the air-brush and it does speed up things abit. Leaves more time to concentrate on figures.
All looking good Shermie, but I would remove those solid mesh boxes on the back of the M7. If you dont have some real mesh sitting around leave them off completely.

Hey Plasticbattle I was thinking the same thing. They are such bad representation of mesh I thought they solid trays!

Grrrrrrrrrrrr That means I've gotta repaint the return rollers on my Jackson and Achilles
Thanks for pointing that out Jeff, I guess you learn something new every day.

Shermie, I like the way you work and your choice of subjects

Happy modelling
Pete

Add another Shermie Tamiya M4 Early. Since this pic was taken the upper hull has been painted and decals added. Another one for new pioneer tools and weathering. Gonna add the .50cal that is painted and drying. This will be my Overlord entry

PRODUCTIVITY IS such a good thing. i remember many years ago .....when i was like that...........BRAVO nice work there

Last couple of weeks results. The Tamiya M4 Early is in front, for the most part done except tools and weathering

Where did you get that Calliope?I have been looking for it.Nice job wish I can just sit down and build my kits before they become antiques.
Rock On .

AJ

I won the Calliope at my local model club. It was donated by a member who is thinning his stash of things he has no intention of building. It was already opened and a few pieces were already glued, incorrectly I might add. The rocket mount poles were assembled backwards and didn't fit so he cut off the required tabs in error. I had to scratch new tabs. I think this may be why he dumped the kit. Other than that the rest of the kit was intact.

I just noticed my last pic didn't include the M4 Firefly Hybrid I took away for a British setup I'm putting together. It is in the original pic so that should be 5 models 3 weeks still waiting weathering and pioneer tools

Today's latest work, Italeri USMC Sherman

Hi, just to let you know that Monogram do a 1/35 Calliope. They appear quite regularly on eBay.