Gday all
Well, I've been kinda busy andhave now moved from town to country in my dioramas!
This is for Jazzas' Purple hearts campaign... The M4a3 is just a stunt tank used for fitting...
This is my first bash at pouring resin. I used a dash of acrylic initially, then a second pour of just clear...

Wanted to show the Sherman crossing a field as many others had before it, although the recent rains had brought it undone... the weight of the engine sinking the rear... It is on a slight pitch to the right, with the rear right of the tank the deepest in the bog...


You can see here that the running gear has barely sunk on this side...


Hard to see the churned mud that has been spat out by the tracks... Once my M4 is finito and in place, I can add a little more sprayed mud to the base and tank, to tie both together better...

Any tips for what else to add, please let me know! I am planning a fence either side of the front of the Sherman indicating the fields end and the Shermans objective...
Cheers for lookin
Brad

Hi Brad,

This is looking really great. If the water is really the brown, yellow colour as i see them on your pictures, it's superb. The touches of grass are very well placed.
You need to explain your process a bit more in detail. Did you add a colour to the resine at some point.

I don't think that there is anything more you need to add to this.
The story is complete as such.
If you want to have some laughs on your side, you can put a cow kneedeep stuck in the mud in the lower corner. Ok, that's not serious.
#:-)

Cheers

Claude

G'day mate
I told you ya had to bloody finish this!
Good to see your getting it done mate, its bloody amazing, you gonna have any figures in it?
Cheers

hehe Claude
Daisy the cow would be a laugh... (pull the udder one...*groan*)
Sorry I mentioned I added acrylic to the first pour, but didn't say which! It was just Tamiya desert yellow I think... Just a smidge...
The pics are quite close to reality, so yep there is a definite yellowy tinge to the deeper puddles/furrows...
I suppose any more additions may clutter it as it isn't a huge base...
Dave thanks for the foot up the [auto-censored]

As for figures, there may be a solo tanker on the 'high ground' looking on, or even a full crew still on board... Maybe waiting for a ARV...? Anything that adds top the object of the scene...
Cheers
Brad

Nice Brad, the way you wet and " pooled the whole base [ not just the road ] made this a very realistic scene.
Can you get some closer mud shots ?
cHeyenne

Hi there

That really looks good from here! Very impressive what you've done to the mud.
I like it.

Cheers

Simon

Love it mate! Can't wait to see it finished. Some figures would be great, maybe some guy up to his knees in mud?... Just a thought.

Matt

Brad,
This looks great!! Very realistic look to the mud. It's fabulous.
I'm with Cheyenne, can you post a couple of close ups of the mud...I just love dirty pictures ummmm anyway.
Maybe you could add a figgie or two on the "dry" ground on the drivers side of the Sherm. How about a few guys holding some money with one or two guys cheering on the tank. You could call the dio "Two to one, he doesn't make it." Just a thought.
BillK.

Really excellent job. Nice colors. Looks like the real thing.

My only suggestion could be that if you want it to look like it was stuck there and stopped add more mud chunks on the tracks packed under and around, but not on the tank. If the tankers are off the tank don't forget their tracks. The tank tracks would look almost smooth with slick mud if they were spinning.

If their still trying to move and are spinning create a kind of rooster tail with mud chunks flying out behind, but not to far

Just some ideas, sorry if I'm way off on what you’re trying to show.

Bob

Bradley, This is excellent. Great mud colour and great water effect. Cant even nit-pick this one ..... top job!

Hi Brad,To use the parlance,shes a little ripper, more detail on how you got that mud effect please

Hi again
Thanks for all your feedback!
Cheyenne~ hopefully get a couple more pics up tonight...
Simon~ thanks and glad you like it!
Matt~ the bogged tanker idea could fly!
Bill~ more dirty pics to follow... I do like the 'bet' idea! You could be my script writer, ok :-)
Bob~ thanks and yep, I hear what you're saying about the extra mud, but as this is a 'stunt' tank it'll be applied lastly...
Frank~ Thanks mate...Surely you could find something wrong...
John~ The mud effect was made by firstly planning where the ruts and puddles would be, then doing a rough 'half' pour or plaster for the basic foundation.. On ot this I would use a wood filler (mine is called Durhams water putty, which is a powder you mix with water to desired consistency...
This is where the sculpting comes into it... You need to shape the ruts and show how mud would be 'squeezed' out of them with tanks passing, and how it would lay... Keep in mind the relative heights of each of the ones to hold water/sludge, and make sure there is not much difference...
I have used a raw umber acrylic for the basic mud colour...I used a clear gloss outta the tin to coat some areas that would be above the resin height... I then mixed the resin with a dab of Tamiya desert yellow and the result was had the colour of a stewed cuppa with the thickness of honey... This I poured carefully into each water holding rut/puddle, and was a great contrast to the existing mud... Make sure to smooth the edges of the resin so it 'grips' the surrounding area and doesn't have a rounded edge...
A second pour of clear gave it some depth
Hard to see in these pics; watch this space
Ooh late for work ok bye

hey,
it's looking real good!!can't wait to see the finished project,outstanding wet mud!and dirty water.
Joe

Brad, don't know if you have seen this, it's Steve Zaloga's fine mag., THE M4 SHERMAN AT WAR, a Concord publication.
Your build reminded me of this pic. [ maybe your next build l.o.l. ].
Anyway a fine piece of work and I just thought you might want to get some ideas from the pic.
Cheyenne

Ola Brad

That's a sweet base you've got there mate! Shinny, wet, muddy, just perfect:) Love how you tied the tank and the base together, so it looks realistic, not just some tank standing or even flowing above a muddy field. The grass is a nice addition which brakes the muddy look of the whole thing. Plus the color came out really nice and very close to the original. I love it:) Great work my friend!!

You mentioned you will add a fence, which should be a good addition. I wouldn't personally add anything else, besides the fence, as someone already said the base is quite small and you don't want to overdo it with details.

Cheers,
dsc.

Brad I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love that base.

Once that mud is in place, it'll be a real minter. The way the tracks have sunk near the wetter ground but held in near the firmer is the winning touch for me, well done mate, well done indeed

Hey again
Glenn~ nice pic! That is from the only Zaloga book I don't have in the sherman series...
Tom~ Maybe a small fence would cap it off, to give a bit of a contrast to boggy mud and something man-made?
BigJon~ thanks for the comments mate... Problem is that the new M4A3e8 just made it's way to my workbench, so it's all I can do to get this finished pronto!
Cheers

Ola Brad

I think a small wooden fence is a good idea. As you said it would certainly break the muddy look of the whole piece. Try to add a fence which is partialy in good condition on one side and broken on the other with some of the planks covered in mud, lying on the ground or even only partialy seen from underneath the muddy surface, as if run down by another tank.

Cheers,
dsc.

Nice job Brad, ya know a cow chewing some grass watching the shermie struggle bye could be fun!

Tom, I like the broken fence timber idea... Especially the submerged/driven over look...


hehe seem to remember a cow on one your dios...
Do you any who makes cud chewin' cows in 1/35th? Could be a nice addition...