Hi I got an extra M4 hull and turret lieing around so I thought I would do a Sherman sinking in a swamp, I could do it on th Russian front (lend lease) or on the western front.

I have a couple of questions:

Are there any companies making Russian or Allied figures leaving a tank? I know there are wounded crews leaving a tank (mostly German when i think of it)...

I have Woodland Scenics water that you heat and pour, would this badly damage the resin hull of my tank, or could I wait till it cooled quite abit and then add the tank to the water, swamp?

Any ideas?

Happy Holidays!

Michael (:-)

Verlinden makes a partially submerged Sherman. Have a look here:
Submerged Sherman

Michael:
"I have Woodland Scenics water that you heat and pour, would this badly damage the resin hull of my tank, or could I wait till it cooled quite abit and then add the tank to the water, swamp?"

Regarding your dio idea. I have read a couple articles about pouring "water" in Model Railroader and would like to mention that the articles often recommend multiple thin pours to gain overall water depth. If the "water" product is poured too thickly, it has a tendency to crack as it drys, therefore if your intention is to get some depth, you may want to consider multiple thin pours to build up to your desired level.

Also, the "water" has a tendency to find any little opening to leak out. You'll want to make sure the area you are pouring is completely tight with no gaps, (as the product will definitely "find" them and leak out).

As far as the product harming your resin hull, I don't know (but its a good question), and I'd email the company and ask them before I'd commit a nice resin hull to the product. However, I have seen many model railroad layouts with small boats, garbage, pilings, etc. imbedded in them with no apparent harm.

You dio sounds like a great idea, and when its done, please consider posting some pics to the forum so we can see how it came out.

For a tank sinking in the muck I think you would be better off burying the tanks hull into your base and then adding water based gloss medium like Deco Pague(?) to represent the water/mud. I have used this stuff mixed with model RR turf to represent mud on AFVs. There is no heat issue to deal with and it dries slowly so it can be manipulated.

Your idea sounds great. I would start with a plywood base sealed with oil based varnish. to this I would add styrofoam from the arts n craft or florist section. This stuff can be cut easily and create your 'swamp' place your finished Sherman in the sink-hole and back fill with a mixture of the deco pague and RR turf. Do this in layers and allow it to dry. It will shrink a bit. Once you have the muck built up to the level you wanted finish off with a straight coat of the gloss. This should give you the look you are describing.