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Armor/AFV: Allied - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Allied forces during World War II.
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M4A1 76(w) in progress
Martinnnn
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Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
Joined: April 26, 2004
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 03:39 AM UTC
Hi all,

A few days ago I started....

..this thread in the RRB

I used the critics and comments that were posted there to improve my M4A1 before starting on weathering.....this is what came out:

















Still some things to work on. I'll make some small changes on the stowage before I start on the decals and weathering. I'm also not satisfied with the colour of the tracks (too red), but after weathering etc I'm sure it looks just like how I want it to be :-)

Martin
ShermiesRule
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Michigan, United States
Joined: December 11, 2003
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 04:03 AM UTC
You need to superglue the last set of bogies so that the tracks don't lift them off the ground. It is really evident in pic#3
Martinnnn
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Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 04:16 AM UTC

Quoted Text

You need to superglue the last set of bogies so that the tracks don't lift them off the ground. It is really evident in pic#3


true

the tracks are pretty stiff. I already tried to get them right but it seems it can only be done by glueing the bogies.....

Martin
TankCarl
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Rhode Island, United States
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 05:43 AM UTC
Looking at the track,this is the one falling down area on the Italeri M-4A1.Since it is so stiff,there are many horor stories of idlers being broken off.Hence one reason why I do use indivdual links for some shermans.
View my Sherman track link tool thread in the DSB...
DaveCox
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England - South East, United Kingdom
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 05:51 AM UTC
That's one heck of a lot better Martin.
Martinnnn
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Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 06:01 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Looking at the track,this is the one falling down area on the Italeri M-4A1.Since it is so stiff,there are many horor stories of idlers being broken off.Hence one reason why I do use indivdual links for some shermans.
View my Sherman track link tool thread in the DSB...


The tracks are really bad yes....but I don't want to buy extra parts for this tank, it's just one of my half finished models that I want to finish :-)

I'm sure I can make something out of it

Martin
Robster
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Utrecht, Netherlands
Joined: October 04, 2004
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 06:25 AM UTC
Yo martin that looks nice, you already had a nice tank in your previous post but now it's great tank.
those tracks are really to red like you already said.

Greetz Rob!
ShermiesRule
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Michigan, United States
Joined: December 11, 2003
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 06:32 AM UTC
This is my trick to avoid snapping off idler and sprocket wheels.

I assemble the idler (super glue the axle piece to the rear plate) and the sprocket. I leave off all three bogies. I loop the track around the idler and sprocket. Then I slip the bogies in between the tracks. That way the tracks never have to be stretched over the idler and/or sprocket.
thebear
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Quebec, Canada
Joined: November 15, 2002
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 07:20 AM UTC
Martin ..Looking much better ..Not much more to be said about the tracks ...Your sand bags look a bit big but good... I think the tank commander would shoot the crew man who added the sand bags over the tow rope..Not very practical if you break down.. The commanders hatch has two pin marks on the head cussion that should be taken care of and paint the cussion black... You've done a great job bringing this kit up to standards. Now get those decals on and dirty it up.

all the best
Rick
INDIA11A
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Ontario, Canada
Joined: January 09, 2005
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 08:19 AM UTC
One way to get around the Italeri track is to carefully cut it into managable sections. Just cut along the inside of the track shoe where it contact the end connector. Reposition the two pieces and super glue. Any gaps can be fixed with gap filling super glue or weathering. Just take your time, it is not a 100% fix but it sure does help with the "bounce" factor. I like the s-bags, barrel cam and storage. Nice lookin Shermie.
Doug
Martinnnn
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Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 09:08 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Martin ..Looking much better ..Not much more to be said about the tracks ...Your sand bags look a bit big but good... I think the tank commander would shoot the crew man who added the sand bags over the tow rope..Not very practical if you break down.. The commanders hatch has two pin marks on the head cussion that should be taken care of and paint the cussion black... You've done a great job bringing this kit up to standards. Now get those decals on and dirty it up.

all the best
Rick


Hi Rick

You're right about the tow cable, I found that out myself too late.....a little stupid of me....

However, I was thinking about a diorama where the tank commander yells at his crewman: "Joe, you forgot the tow cable" or something like tha.t..

Well, something to pay attention to next time..

What do you mean with this:

" The commanders hatch has two pin marks on the head cussion that should be taken care of and paint the cussion black..." ??

I don't know what the pin marks on the head cussion are (sorry, these sort of things aren't taught at school)

Martin
thebear
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Quebec, Canada
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 10:27 AM UTC
Hi Martin in picture #5 you seen the semi-circled bulge in the commanders turret hatch ...well that is a pad to protect his head when using the periscope..you can see two ejection pin marks on the pad that should be removed. When I went back to look at that picture I noticed that around the "pistol port" you should have blended that into the turret side with some putty as it was all molded as one big piece ,but that can wait till your next Sherman....

Rick
HONEYCUT
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Victoria, Australia
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 05:33 PM UTC
Hey Martinnnn That's shaping up real nice.
One critique if I could would be that the rope used for tying down supplies to the rear deck, in that scale, would have more of a sag where it hangs through mid air. Not good for tension, so I think that a thinner rope substitute,at the tension you currently have? Does this make any sense at all?!?!
Keep it going though, I reckon you could churn out a wee ripper here.
Martinnnn
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Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 07:07 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Hey Martinnnn That's shaping up real nice.
One critique if I could would be that the rope used for tying down supplies to the rear deck, in that scale, would have more of a sag where it hangs through mid air. Not good for tension, so I think that a thinner rope substitute,at the tension you currently have? Does this make any sense at all?!?!
Keep it going though, I reckon you could churn out a wee ripper here.


No lol....you mean it's out of scale or something like that?

@ Richard: lol I was so proud at my puttywork around the pistolport, and now still it isn't enough haha. Lesson learned for the next Shermie (M4A4)
Martinnnn
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Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 07:53 PM UTC
This is my trick to get the tracks in position:





2 wood sticks and 4 pieces of iron wire get the tracks in the right position. All I had to do was using superglue to keep it like this.....

Also, decals are applied. The tank is now waiting for weathering....

Martin
Joker111
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Oregon, United States
Joined: January 22, 2005
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 07:59 PM UTC
Hi Martinnn!

Beautiful satin finish man! Schitterend!
So, you did that with Tamiya X-22, right?
And did you use it straight from the bottle, onverdund?
And how did you apply it? Brush, or airbrush?

Frans
Martinnnn
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Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
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Posted: Monday, February 28, 2005 - 08:07 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Martinnn!

Beautiful satin finish man! Schitterend!
So, you did that with Tamiya X-22, right?
And did you use it straight from the bottle, onverdund?
And how did you apply it? Brush, or airbrush?

Frans


Hi

I used X-22.......about 10 X-22 with 1 thinner (10 delen X-22 op 1 deel thinner) I used tamiya's thinner.

Now it's time for chipped paint, washes, rainmarks, dust, rust etc...

How do you like my methode for the tracks? Just tried it....seems to work :-)
HONEYCUT
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Victoria, Australia
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Posted: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 - 06:10 PM UTC
Hehe Martinnnn. What I meant was the rope could be smaller scale, and left at the tension your rope currently is, that's all! :-)
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