I have finally managed to get some work done on the DML Sherman M4a2 (76) . Modifictions are all based on the work done by Bryan (Ex-Royal) so my acknowledgements now...

The first necessary mod. was the drive sprocket. I used an Italeri one mated with the kit sprocket drum:





Next up is the (on-going) work on the turret. the surface was roughened a bit, work has started on the mantlet cover attachment points, for this I used Evergreen .020" Rdd. The easiest way to do this is to attach it and then cut to size:





Hull is also following Bryan's inspiration with the Sand-shield attachment points cut out of metal sheetand holes punched in them. In addition, rod was glued in a halfway point above the attachment points. The other thing which was done was to simulate RAISED weld-beads following the grooves in the hull...





More to come in a day or so...Jim

Jim,

Looks like you have made a great start on this project...

I can't tell from the photos, but did you add any extra texturing to the turret? It seems a bit smooth in the kit that I have... and I made notes to 'roughen' it up a bit.

Keep showing us the project as it progresses...

Later,
Tim

This is going to be a really good project, I can tell. Everytime someone has different colored plastic on a non-painted model, it tells me that it was used with parts from another kit, or some parts were scratched. Which in my eyes, define a hard worker, and a good builder. Great job, and I cant wait to see this thing finished!

Hi Jim,

In the words of the great Shermiesrule, "that's a sharp looking Sherman right there."

However, I noticed that the holes in the sand shields are too far apart. I would suggest than in every strip, there should be around four holes. From my reference "Sherman in Action" by Squadron, it seemed like there were quite a lot of holes in the sand shields.

Also, the weld beads for the sand shields should be around spaced like dashes in a morse code, maybe with a lenght of .5 cm per wield bead and .5 cm interval for each weld bead.

Otha' than that, ya Sha'man looks fookin awesome!

Angela

Thanks for the comments. Angela, that is useful to know - i'll certainly cosider that....thanks!

One thing that others may find useful, is the metal, comes from small 'dessert' containers. I've now got dozens of them. They are very easy to work with and thicker than normal metal foil - wonderful stuff!.Jim

No problem sir. Just glad to be of help.

I also used those dessert pans you mentioned as scratchbuilding materials. They are very nice to work with.

Angela

Oh Angela I heard my name in this thread!! Sounds like you know your stuff about Shermies too!

Jim, great start to your A2. Like someone else said when you see a rainbow of color plastics on an unpainted tank there is a lot of kit bashing as scratch building going on there.

Hi Jim ....You must be thinking "Oh no not him " :-) ..
Nice start on your Sherman ...As Angela said that strip needs a bit of work ..If I were you I would sand away the plastic strip underneath it as it makes your strip stand out too much...
I'd thin down the skids on top of the bogies and add the bolts to the skids. I can't tell from your pictures but another thing that really makes a sherman stand out to me is thr drilling of the four holes in the front of the bogies ...simple to do but makes a big difference..
Nice detail work on the turret ...It's coming along nicely ...Keep up the good work and keep the pictures coming ...

All the best
Rick

HAHAHAHA!! :-) :-)

Sorry, can't resist.

Anyway, try these references for the Sherman M4A3 corrections just in case you make a Sherman M4A3 or if the corrections apply to this Sherman according to your research:

General corrections:
http://www.usarmymodels.com/MANUFACTURERS/Tamiya/tamiya35122.html

Turret Bulge cheek:
http://www.usarmymodels.com/ARTICLES/Sherman%20Corner/turretcheekarmor.jpg

Deflector corrections:
http://www.usarmymodels.com/ARTICLES/Sherman%20Corner/Correcting%20Tamiya%20Deflector/correctingdeflector.htm

Turret detail pics:
http://www.usarmymodels.com/ARTICLES/Sherman%20Corner/Turrets/shermanturrets.html

Sir Jim, these are for the M4A3 but some of the things here may apply to your model.

Take care.

Angela

Thanks for all the comments - there are some very useful points amongst them.

I'm using this kit for one of those 'slow-builds' (my normal building speed ) as the qualiy of the kit really deserves some extra attention. Originally it was going to be for the VE Campaign, but with work and other demands, so I couldn't commit myself. It's going to be in a Dio in Vienna in 1945 with in the background, some of the Preiser figure sets...

Looking good so far Jim. Good to see you finally got one of the Dragon M4A2(76) kits.

Keep us all up to date as you proceed.

Cheers !!

Alpen