Finely finnished my Tamiya 1/35 M4 early production Sherman. I say finely because my son got ahold of the kit and lost some parts for me. So it now has a later Trany cover on it. I also added the sand sheald strips(Thank you Bryan!) to the hull sponsens, Undrilled! I tried to drill the holes, but the smallest bit I had was to big and I kept destroying the material. Anyway it was a very fun build, and if I have time I will try to build another model for the campaign.













Cheers mates,

Garry

Garry, that looks like a nicely put together Sherman! Just enough weathering to make it look used, I reckon I overdo it sometimes so it's good to see a more subtle example sometimes.

Thanks Dave!
When I first started weathering armor, I realy over weathered my work. Now I try to do a little less with each build . Hope I get it right one of these times!

Cheers ,

Garry

Hey Gary,
Great work mate. it really turned out wonderfully. Im glad you were able to use the strips. The next time im in my LHS I will pick up a few extra brass strips for you, you might find it a bit easer to drill. Keep them shermies comming buddy.
Cheers,
Bryan

Garybeebe -

Excellent build. Subtle, effective detail and the weathering really brings this out. Like the tied down gear on rear. Thinking of another "Ardennes" build? Or maybe this one in a diorama? Great job and looking forward to more.

Blade48mrd[:::]

Yes another Shermie! The only issue I have are the pack on the back. Doesn't look like there is a rail or anything for the packs to hang.

Hello Bryan!
Thank you for the kind comments mate. Yes brass strips just might work better, as would a smaller drill bit. LOL! I need to get me a micro set!
You have a great New Year Bud! And thanks again for your help.

Garry

Cool looking Shermie!

Very nice! What did you use to get that cool red clay effect?

Nice Sherman. I like the stowage on rear deck and the subtle weathering.

Garry,

OK, my Tiger II against your Sherman. Let's see, at 1000 yards my 88 shell would go in one side of your turret and out the other! But I've run out of fuel and can't manuever so I guess you and about 5 other tanks in your company will eventually surround me. You win!

Hey Garry nice Sherman you got there bud ...a little trick next time you need a tiny drill bit ...just get out a brand new number 11 exacto blade and use it to make you holes ...I find I can get away with using this technic most of the time and the blades cost alot less than all those tiny drill bits a snap off every time I use them.

Rick

:-) LOL, guess I better hope you have mud in your sights, and your running low on fuel!

Cheers,

Garry

Howdy Rick!
Thanks for the encouraging words mate! About the new #11 blade. LOL! That is what I used to use all the time before I got my pin vice drill. I guess I got spoiled! I forgot all about the #11 blade trick, your right, for 90% of the holes we bore the #11 is all we need! I mainly use the drill for boring out gun muzzles, :-) That I start with a #11 blade first! Old age ya know!

Cheers,

Garry

Garry,
Did you do any dry brushing around the top of the turret there or is that just the effect of the light? Because if you did--WOW very nice, the more i look the more the weathering slowly pops out, but it isn't overkill, great balance there!
Well done buddy!

Sean

Hello Sean!
Wow thanks for all the kind words!
Yes I did drybrush the turrets top and sides lightly withe model masters steel. Just to show a little fresh wear.

Thanks amigo

Garry

That's one beautiful Sherman. I like the subtle weathering.

A few minor things though;

1) The rope that is tied for the stowage is too clean. You might want to weather that up just a wee bit.

2) The bags that are hanging behind the turret looks like they don't have something to hang on to.

3) Glue the top track to the three return rollers. It looks like the top tracks are a bit "flying".

So, these are just very minor and very easy to fix. It's a great model.

Angela

Nice job Gary, stowage looks great and the weathering is superb.
I've been looking at getting a Sherman, what is the kit number?

Hi Russ!
The kit is Tamiya 1/35 M4 Sherman early production, the kit # is, 35190-2800.
Its a great kit as all of the Tamiya Sherman are! And thank you very much for your comments.

Cheers ,

Garry

Thanks Garry, I think I'll keep an eye out for that one.

Howdy Garry,

Ya know, for a guy that I always think of as a ship aficionado, your 'heavy metal' builds are really shining pard'! Maybe you should just give up on the ships and concentrate on tanks?......

You've done a bang-up job on this one Garry. Unfortunately I can only see two out of the six photos you posted so the glacis is unavailable for viewing. But from what I can see, you've got a winner! It looks like you properly weathered the breech of the .50 cal (a small detail missed by many), and you've drilled the muzzle to the appropriate diameter.
You've also accomplished a pretty darn good job of a random 'sheen' on the hull itself, with the dried dust at the lip of the sponsons appearing much more natural, and without the telltale 'brushstrokes'......nice.
Your Pioneer tools are superbly done, and your tracks and bogies have the proper look to them, especially the front left bogey, with the dried dust settled in the interior of the spokes and not on the protruding portion of the spoke itself.

Now with all that said, and you properly 'buttered' up ( ), just a few 'nits'.

First, I agree with all 3 of Angela's suggestions...good eye Angela
In the fourth shot down (only the second one I can see) the stowage appears a little too 'new' compared to the road dust and mileage/wear being depicted on the tank. A little more dust or weathering there maybe?
Also, in the first shot the stowage ropes that are supposed to be holding down the crates and cans over rough terrain look a tad too loose to accomplish that task. Especially the two most rearward ones.
One last little 'noogie'. Is that left side turret star actually on the outer flange of the ejector door? I didn't think it went that far over.....maybe one of the 'holics round these parts can throw some clarification at that one.

Garry, you've built a dandy bloody example of the venerable Sherman, and one which will be a superb addition to the Ardenne's Offensive Campaign!!

Tread.

Ahoy Garry!!

Are you turning your back to US????
Good work Mate, and I have to agree with Angela's and Gordon's comments - but how could a Sailor, like you, made such bad knots?? :-)

Just kidding, Garry!!

I like it a lot, and if you still have the guts to make those little adjustments you'll have a very fine Sherman on your model collection!!!

Skipper

Gary,here's a quick fix for the holes,have you got a candle and a pin?
Just heat up the pin,let it cool a second or two,and press it in where you need a shallow hole. (++) (++)

Howdy Gordon!
Thanks for the kind words , and the helpful tips! Now, me give up on Ships? Nevu Su! But I tell you what, I am no longer a ship modeler. Now I am Ship and Armor modeler , with a few aircraft thrown in! LOL! I do love to weather and detail 1/35 armor, and by doing so I find that it helps my ship modeling out also. I have to admit that I got a little lazy tword the end of this build and did not weather the stowage as they should be. I will take care of that! The packs on the back of the turret are held on by ghost hooks, you just cant see them! I have yet to figure out the best way to show devises that hold packs on vehicles, But I will get there. Thanks for bringing these things to my attention!

Oh and Thanks be to you Carl for the helpful tip of useing a heated pin to make the holes in the sand shield braces. Great idea!

Cheers mates,

Garry

Hey Gary, I'm coming in a bit late on this one, but I think the problem with the tracks is down to the Tamiya tracks being too long for the running gear. I have the M4a3 breakthrough kit, and the tracks were a bit baggy so I actually ended up shortening them slightly (and using them on an Italeri M4a1). If I rfemember rightly, it was just a case of shifting the joint by one or two links- anyway, not a hard job if I managed it and can't remember how!


Mark