Hi guys this is what I am up to thus far with my M4A2 to M4 conversion...






Used what AM parts I had lying around, as well as some kit PE parts, and some scratchbuilding like the new commander's sight, the brush and periscope guards, the rear engine access doors and the applique armour...
Forgotten some stuff like the rear vents over the grouser boxes, and the horizontal struts for the brush guards on the headlights...
Will get to them now... Oh, and that CA mess on the rear plate...hehe
Please point out anything amiss, as this is the time to make any changes!

Cheers
Brad

::EDIT:: Request from AndyD for parts used...
DML M4A2 'Tarawa':
Most all this kit was used, including most of the PE fret.

Tamiya M4:
Rear vent covers,most of rear engine deck, antenna pot, towing shackle, air cleaners

Formations M4 update:
Periscope covers, periscopes, siren and guard, crew step on glacis, old style vane sight, 'Sherman comb' on the glacis
(The kit periscopes annoy me...)

Academy:
.50cal

I scratchbuilt as mentioned previously the rear light guards and brushguards and newer commander's sight with flat brass bar.010" X .030" (from Detail Associates out of SLO Ca), applique armour from sheet styrene,, 8 amp fuse wire for periscope guards and siren wire and attachment ring for foul weather hood. Added some casting scars (personal thing) on the turret sides, small chain for the fuel caps (never small enough!)
Still to make the counterbalance springs for the hatches,(fuse wire again!)
(brass tube) Holders and chain for the headlight caps...
Had to reshape the drivers hoods at front and rear using Magicsculpt...
Corrected the rear lights with thin fencing wire, and I removed the resin comb as I want to add some basic stowage later, and the comb would be in the way of a timber plank...
This is all I can think of for now!
If I had my time over I would attack the MkIII kit instead, but still want that kit AS a MkIII..hehe
Oh, and since the pics I have adjusted the rear air cleaner positions and reshaped the rear overhang a little more...added 'stops' for the rear engine access doors...

Looking good so far. However, looks like a seam around the rear idler wheel mounts. You made the later style site for the commander, wow.

Well spotted Randall!
Got most of it, except of course the part facing the camera
:-)
The commmander's sight required a small drill bit and a steady hand...
It ain't super accurate (No split down the centre of the holes, and the shape of each end is a little too difficult to replicate) but it does have bolts!

Wot not accurate - you'll have to go back to the work bench my friend :-) :-) :-)

Seriously though, looking good Brad.

Cheers


Al

Looking awesome Honeycut - awesome.

Could you edit the orginal post and include the base kits and aftermarket scratch components - I'm sure others would be interested.

Cheers,
Andy

P.S What are you benching? I can see the weights in the background :-)

Done and done!





Well you have officially looked at the weights more than I have...
I practice with sandbags now... (milliput)
I only keep the weights around so I can trip over them and take away some of the dust on my unfinished kits :-)

I like it, looks clean and well built so far!

Anything Sherman is cool in my book...

Cheers, Michael

Looks great Brad.
I'm kitbashing Shermans at the moment and must remember not to mix parts up. I forget where they came from :-)

What are you doing with the Tam M4 BTW. Anything exciting or just parts.

Tony

Nice Job Brad. Can we get pics of the engine deck?

Nice work, but where is the antenna pot from?

Thanks again
Michael~ I agree that any Sherman looks the goods You mentioned it looks clean, and for this I thank you as I assure you I'm one of the messiest builders treading the boards...hehe

Tony~ I know what you mean about mixing parts! That's the price we pay for having a Sherman glut at the moment :-) The Tamiya M4 is from a kit I built and shelved years ago...

John~ I will try and get a pic of the engine deck, but I assure you it ain't that exciting!

Bob~ The antenna pot is off the Tamiya M4...

Here's a little progress...






The turret has been primed,and whoa Mr DeMille, these are up close and personal! Thus highlighting some further touch ups needed, like some welds around the front lifting ring...

That really is great stuff - that texturing is looking absolutely spectacular. What did you use on it?

Thanks Jim, but I can't take credit for most of the texturing... That is Mr Dragons' effort! I textured each side lower down, and around the pistolport, and cunningly supplied photos that don't show it (?)
I used milliput for these casting scars and then some Revell cement and Mr surfacer 500 for added texture flaws.
I think it is more a case of the pics turning out well enough to see the smallest texturing detail supplied...
And studying the pics, there is an optical delusion, but the forward facing hatch half looks to have a big boyang in it from end to end! I assure you it is straight as an arrow though...
The periscopes will have a small perspex 'window' glued in when finished, to give a realistic finish/reflection. Doing it this way, as paint is my natural enemy, be it on a clear periscope piece or painting a clear gloss finish as the glass...
Oh, and had a question on the rotor shield... Seems the Tamiya M4 has the bolt strip allaround it, whereas the DML doesn't on each side? (Obscured by the mantlet in the photo above) Which is correct, or are both?

Ohh yes. The fine art of Sherman kitbashing continues. Looks mighty fine with all that PE. I have not cracked my Mk III open yet, but I am not a big user of PE so it may be a bit of a chore for me. Good job, keep us posted.

Doug

Looking good so far Brad. Im no Shermaholic, so cant give any help on whats right or wrong, but I like what I see, and admire your attempts to improve on the kit offerings! All these details should paint up nicely! Thanks for sharing.

I'm with Frank on this one, not enough of a Sherman-man to nit-pick anywhere, but I applaud you on working to improve what comes in the box.
I look forward to more updates and finally to see it painted..

Brad,
Awesome shermy. love the work so far. I've been waiting for an early front hall Sherman kit for over 10 years. We finally have one in DML. Love the PE work so far.. work is progreesing well so far.

Thanks for the feedback men!
The temp. here is still a little too warm to prime the hull, so it may happen later in the week... Watch this space, I'll get some pics happening...
From this point on is where I begin to lose interest in a kit (at the time) and move onto another project be it scratchbuilding or diorama making or sculpting, but so long as my interest is where it at the moment, then Westward ho!
I have some MV lenses for the spotlight an headlights, which really make the Sherman features stand out...

Looks excellent so far, keep it up!

That is beautiful Brad!

How about trying the Steve Zaloga periscope lens method and using an old bit of exposed 35mm negative instead of perspex for your Sherman?

David

David, thanks and that is a great idea! Now if only I can go back about 6 years to my last SLR... :-) I'm sure I could hunt some down though...
A couple of progress pics... Last night I had sprayed it and left it on the outside table setting... About 5am I awoke with a start as the wind was blowing a gale... I sheepishly went outside and sure enough there was the hull on the brick paving below the table...
Mysteriously, the only casualties were the two parallel bars on the asst. drivers' periscope cover, and the left rear light guard... The rest was still in place, as it appeared the front left fender bore the brunt along with the right edge of the mantlet... acouple of dents ironed out and a bit more scratchbuilding and voila...
Sorry for the photo quality it is a little overcast...









Yet again, close-ups highlight the little finishing touches needed like some filler...

Brad

You left it outside
I must check on my weathering techniques

Glad there was not too much damage and it's looking very good.

Tony

Hehe I like it! It was pre-base coat weathering... Class is in :-)

You leave outside after you apply the pigments to let the rain do its work, I thought everyone knew that