Been working on this tank for the past few weeks. Might as well take a pic of what I've done before I prime all things up.


Added texture with use of Mr Surfacer. Stowages came from Tamiya's M4A3 Sherman spares. I've also removed the two fuel filler caps behind the turret near the screenies. They're incorrect.

Was also planning to replace the fenders with a much more correct detail. Got a bit lazy


Added hedgerow cutters from foil. Don't be fooled. They're really very sharp. Managed to bleed myself

I'd say it looks pretty good. Just a couple of things:

1. Never seen a spare wheel or spare track on a sherman turret roof. But I guess never say never.

2. I'm pretty sure most of the Operation Cobra M4A1 76w lacked the ventilation cowling on the rear of the turret. Others with more knowledge can chime in with that.

3. I think that ring on the turret side near the loaders hatch was a later feature as well. Again, not sure. Might want to search.

4. The hedgerom cutter. I know these were jury rigged on, but your design is one I've never seen anything close to in a photo. Many of the pieces are flat, and most I've seen were either made from L beams or I beams. They would pretty much need to be for strength, or else they would bend when they'd hit a hedgerow. However, there were MANY designs, so yours is not necessarily wrong. Just one I've never seen anything close to.

Hope this helps a bit. You've really done some nice work with the texturing, the clean built, the tracks (!), etc. Looking forward to seeing it done.

Rob

Looks good Ralph, Will you do a black and OD camo?


Never too late to go back and correct detail if you sand off the detail you can add the correct detail with stretched sprue or make new fenders with thin card or foil-should look like this

A strategically placed oil can or sandbag would do just as well.
There was a thread on hedgerow cutters a while ago which might be helpful too. On all the photos I've seen of the type your tank has, the prongs were weldled onto a cross piece and then that was attached to the tank
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/92053#763354
Hope this helps

Hi Ralph: Thanks for sharing. I concur with Rob's observation about the extra road wheel on top of the turret. That and the spare track are both poorly accessible and dangerous too.

Firstly, unless they were mounted in welded brackets, their weight would make them extremely likely to slip off easily. They could become wedged atop a driver's hatch or jam the turret from traversing. Sliding around, they could jam the turret hatches or damage the periscopes too. Very dangerous.

Secondly, they would obscure the 360 degree vision of the commander and loader using periscopes. Again, very dangerous in searching out targets and enemy.

Place them on the engine deck. The same thing with the helmets too -- the one would fall off as soon as the loader opened his hatch.

Hope this helps, RC

Thanks guys! Will try and redo some of the stuffs here.

Pat, yep, I remember seeing that foto some time ago when I asked for some tweakings on the Op Cobra Sherman. Here's what I've done so far :-) :-) :-) I think I'll just modify the foil. They're already super glued to the hull. Yep, I'll go for the black and OD camo. Haven't tried that color combo yet.

Hi Roy! Thanks for the input. Will remove them ASAP.

Gday Ralph. Robert is right with both of these IIRC, but I'm not sure you'll find who did and did not have the vent cover in place, so I wouldn't do anything now! Also I think that ring was used as something to aid turret removal with a jib?

Loooking good mate, and yep, glad you altered those stowed items on the turret
Cheers
Brad

Hi Ralph,


Would agree on moving the stowage and that the hedge-cutter doesn't look either strong enough or fixed correctly, at least I haven't seen a pic of one attatched that way.

Will be a grand kit knce you get finished, thanks for sharing.

Cheers

Al

Minor update:

Got the urge to replace the incorrect fenders. Hopefully they'll turn much better than before

An excellent start! Like my colleagues above, I'd lose the spare wheel and tracks from the original locations. Spare wheels were often carried somewhere on the glacis, usually on a pole through the hub and secured with a plate and nut. Alternatively a plank or steel beam was placed on the final drive cover between the fenders, and all manner of stuff piled on top. Wheels here were often just placed there unsecured.

Spare track for vehicle use was usually carried on the rear plate in brackets three to a side and most all kits come with these. Track used as extra armor was welded in place.

And as for camo, go ahead and try this: paint the model and details like tools, and THEN spray the black wherever it looks good. Crews weren't like museum curators; they just painted everything in a hurry and weren't particular about masking anything off. HTH,
Greg