Hey bro,

This tank is superb and for my next dio, I hope that I can pull off somthing as good as this. Can I ask who made this? Also, for the wood affects on the entrenchment tooks, howd you do it? Great job once again.

Oh, btw, your picture taking skills are awesome. I hope I can get a camara this nice!

Thanks again and Harrison ..this is the old Tamiya M4A3 kit ...well actually I used all parts from my spare parts box, but all from the Tamiya kit... I built the bulge on the turret side with milliput,along with the sandbags that were done the with milliput and a fine wire mesh for the pattern..I used the back side of a #11 exacto blade for the seams.. As for the tools they came from the Blast M4a3 update set ..they are much nicer than the Tamiya tools ... The way I paint wooden handles is quite easy ..You paint the wood a light sand color (doesn't really matter which one ) you let the base coat dry over night ..You then take some oil paint (tube type) I used burnt umber on these tools but raw umber could work too,...I cover the whole wooden part with this thick paint straight out of the tube ...I let it dry for about 1/2 hour and then use a flat brush and wipe off the oil paint in the direction of the grain of the wood..Wipe off the brush with every pass but don't use thinner on the brush or it will ruin the effect you are after ... I use this on most all my wood effect from crates to gun stocks ..it's real easy once you've practiced it a bit ..

for the finger print effect it is still hard to see but this is the best picture I have of it ..

And for those who didn't notice the painted out stars under all that dust and dirt this pictures show it off better I think ..


too bad about that rope being so fuzzy but it is all stuck to the milliput tarps on the back...hey it kinda looks like one of those rough ropes ..That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

All the best
Rick

Wow, these pics keep getting better and better! You are really starting to show off some of the little details that go a long way. This tank is amazing. Excellent Job!

Oh I can't take the credit for these pictures ..they were taken by a friend (thanks Dan) a couple of weeks ago but he just sent them to me this week ...He's got one awesome camera!!
Thanks again!
Rick

Your M4A3 looks awesome! it's very well painted and weathered! A great job! Congratulations!
Cheers and happy modeling!
Prato

Hi Prato ...Thank you for your kind words ..I did have fun building and painting this one .... And that is what it's all about !

all the best
Rick

I tried your technique on my own Sherman. It worked really great!

That's a real beautiful Sherman you've got there, Richard. Much much much better than mine. Did you use AM parts for superdetailing?

You have one winner right here.

Angela

Richard,
Nice looking model. The weathering is very good. The one thing that really takes away from it in my opinion is the foliage on the left-hand side. It looks plastic, sort of like the crew is carrying an artificial christmas tree. Maybe a little bit of flattening agent and maybe some touch up with some different shades of green?
That is the only nitpick I have, and like others on this board, I think you did an excellent job with the tools.

Jim

Hi Angela and Jim ....Well I did build up the side of the turret to form the bulge that is missing on all Tamiya M4A3 kits...I filled in the sponson bottoms with plastic card .I also changed all the handles with those made from thin wire....I used the Blast M4A3 update set for the tools and some of the smaller details...and of course I used some Aber chain and parts from their M4 detail sets...As for the foliage well the color varies from one piece to the other,but in person it does look pretty darn good if I do say so ..might be the pictures that don't do it justice...These are actual plants(don't want to paint over them) from Hudson and Allen...best looking fir tree branches I've found yet..

Rick

Nice Sherm.

Couple of thoughts - on the photos most cameras try to adjust for lighting differences. I forget the techi stuff about it but it's why some photographers will 'calebrate' thier camera on a gray card backdrop.
In photoshop you can easily correct for this with the auto adjust of contrast and color.

For frayed ropes you can use a bit of wax to hold down the extra straglers or use a bit of white glue. Get drop on your finger and rub it down the rope.

Thats real good Rick, but it would of been great if your friend could of used your new camera, and showed you how to use it, to take pictures like that.

But hes probably familiar with his, and I guess every camera has it's own traits.

Kerry

If you want to get rid of some of the rope fuzzy's just rub it with beeswax or even agaist a plain old candle the wax will smooth the rope a bit..

Great Sherman the shading and weathering look great not to over done, i need to try a sherman.

Thanks for the comments ..I'll try to fix that rope ...
My friend did give me a few tips but as you say he knows his camera better but I understood a few things....

Rick

Very nice! I love that finish...very realistic

Eddie