this is my tamiya sherman finshed,ive add the equipment,snow,figs and decals since the last update of the sherman.





matt

Pictures aren't too great but two things that pop out at me

1) Decal film is visible

2) Tracks are not sitting on top of the return orllers and skids.

The layout is good. Meaning the spacing of the equipment etc. A few things I noticed adding to what Shermie said:
You might want to look at the subject as "scale". Meaning its a lot smaller than the real thing. As a result the light reflectivity isn't the same. To mimic this there are a few techniques. The easiest is to spray the entire model with an olive drab and then highlight each individual panel with a lighter olive drab. This gives it a 3D look and mimics the full scale reflectivity. Its really easy to do and the results are dramatic.

Another way to do it is follow what Mig has been doing the past few years. That's a bit more complicated but the results are better. you can look into that here: http://ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2003/01/stuff_eng_tech_afv_weathering.htm
Hope this is of some use.
Cheers!

Try giving the model a wash and some light dry-brushing to give it depth. Did you use a gloss coat under your decals and then seal them? Greatly helps eliminate the "silvering" effect. The storage is nicely laid out up could use a wash(s) and dry-brushing. Nice to see Shermies here again.

I need to figure out how to get good decal application, a gloss coat and then sealant is the best way to make them look like they're real? What kind of seal? Is that the same as set?

for decals, i usually apply them directly over the paint and dab on some microsol to make them conform to the surface. then flat-coat everything. seems to work great but i alse tend to cut off the clear film parts.

actually i haven't been using much in the way of decals lately unless i'm just doing an easy build. stenciling on whatever you were going to use decals on or just drawing it on with a brush cuts out the non-homogenous step.

stenciling/freehanding decals?! oh my, what a task

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news: The decals are not horizontal. As I recall, the real "Houston Kid II" was a 105mm Sherman, not a 76mm.