Tamiya M4A3 (W), with 17 pounder gun. Some of the parts from the kit have been replaced with Dragon, Aber and other parts from the spares box.
The radio box was made from a spare box with sheet added to extend the sides and make the lid (this was slightly larger than the standard British item). The .50 is from Skybow.
The paintwork is supposed to simulate a tank that has been modified and stored in the depot waiting to be issued to a combat unit, hence the faded appearance and streaks on the vertical surfaces. Although perhaps not strictly accurate I used the aplique armour on the turret side because the Tamiya turret is missing the thickened cheek in that position - I either added the aplique or added putty to form the cheek piece, but then these 17pdr mods were made on 2nd hand tanks anyway so who knows!






Here's the link to the main reserach source: http://freespace.virgin.net/shermanic.firefly/usnew.html

Hey Dave

You have a nice shermie there, but are you sure about the colour of the tracks? I think they're too light....

I like the rest of the tank, good job!

Thanks Martin. The tracks were painted in enamels rather than my usual acrylics so I didn't use the dark wash on them as I normally would so that the paint didn't lift. Perhaps I'll give them a few days and then try.

Interesting conversion, Dave

I think you should have added the cheek bulge instead of the applique armor. Something about a high-bustle turret with applique just bugs me.

Looks nice Dave. What's the history behind these 17 lb A3s? Did the US or British have a designation for them?

The link on my first post I think gives some of the background, it appears to me that until the 76mm Sherman became more common the US forces wanted something that would give them an effective A/T capability. Only a few of the 100+ conversion are known to have seen action so they were certainly not common!
The only designation I've seen is M4A3 17pdr (W), in the usual format = model / armament / 'D' or 'W'

BobK - there's also something about me and shaping putty into any kind of recognisable shape! LOL :-)

He daveCox that is a nice sherman,
but don't you have to paint the rubbers on the tracks.

Greetz Rob!

Hi Robster ...No Dave is right about these tracks ,they were an all steel version called the T54E1 type.

Rick

Dave, that paint job is really nice. It looks like it's been sitting out in the weather for just long enough to begin tofade here and there. You might want to tell us about your painting steps. It's cool!!

She's a beauty Dave, I do like your paint jobs why not gives the lowdown.

Overall two coats of Tamiya Olive Drab and allow to dry. All other detail and decals next, sandwiched between gloss and flat varnishes. The wash is heavier than normal - about 1/3 black and 2/3 raw umber oil paints in a mix 10% paint to white spirits. This is applied overall and dried with a hair dryer (carefull not to melt any fine detail!) I then took a clean flat 3/8" brush, and used CLEAN white spirit dragged the brush over the entire model using vertical top to bottom stokes, cleaning the brush every couple of strokes. The brush should be almost dry for this stage, as we want to leave the wash in and a round the detail. This removed most of the oil paint leaving a streaky appearance. When this was dry I used a mix of Humbrol O/D enamel and ochre and drybrushed the entire model, againg dragging the brush vertically from top to bottom, and from the centre of flat panels towards the outside.

Simple. (at least after over 40 years of practice and looking at other people's models! LOL)

Thanks for all the comments and compliments Guys - I appreciate it.

Hey Dave,
Looks really good. I think you did a fantastic job.
Joe

Excellent!
A fine piece of cat-amongst-pigeons-puttery!
I like it.

Good job on the Shermie, really like your weathering.

Nicely done and a great subject. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Thanks for all the kind comments Guys. I look for unusual subjects so that I get an out of the ordinary model, seems to exite a few comments at the same time.
In this case even the existence of this vehicle was denied for many years "The US Forces did not use Fireflies" - stick a 17pdr in a Shermie and what do you get?

If you are worried about washing enamel paint jobs, here are two tips:
a) Use artist water colours. Add a small drop of dishwashing detergent to the water to prevent beading and seal with your favourite varnish after.
b) Seal with Future first . Let it cure up a few days and then wash with artist colours thinned with mineral spirits. There shouldn't be any problems.

BTW I think I agree that the base colour of the track is too bright a shade of orange. You want a brown that has a hint of orange to it rather than the other way around. Long term rust is quite dark.

HTH

Paul

Thanks for that Paul, normally I would give enamel-painted areas a coat of matt acrylic varnish to seal them before washing , at the moment I'm waiting for a new bottle to arrive! - the tracks will be dealt with.