I managed to shoot a coat of primer on my Sherman earlier today. Mr. Surfacer 1200 thinned with Mr. Leveling Thinner, applied with my Mr. Airbrush while sitting at my Mr. Workbench!



I thought the fenders and mg's turned out sweet!

Mike

I think you're right about the fenders and MG's. Looking forward to seeing more.

Looks like a great build job. You are right, the MG's and fenders look great.

I sure don't see how you guys paint tracks after they are installed.

I've tried in the past and it prevented me from painting the areas behind them.

I look forward to seeing the final product.

Looks very good.

Looking forward to see more when some OD paint hits it

Same here Brent. Maybe Mike can show us how

Looks sharp Mike, I'll echo the others in the desire to hear about your track painting method.

I explain briefly in the article for Model X how I paint tracks after they are installed. But this forum allows be to go into a bit more detail, plus answer questions along the way!! I don't think my editor-buddy Jeff Herne will have issues with this, so here goes ..

After installing the tracks the entire model gets an undercoat of Tamiya NATO Black straight from the spray can.



I'll have more later tonight.

Mike

nice and clean,
keep us posted!!

greetings

koen

Mike your Sherman looks really good in black. Makes me wish there was such a paint scheme. That's a super clean and detailed build. Hope mine is half that good.

I'm assembling the tracks now and have to say those are by far the best single links I've ever built. To those who avoid Dragon kits because of the tracks, things have improved greatly.

Look forward to seeing your finish!

John

Hi Mr. Mike. Great job. As well as Mr. Fenders, Mr. Machine-Gun and Mr. Primer all looking top notch, Mr. Camera has done a great job catching how clean the build is and also the excellent details on Mr. Kit.
Mr. Plasticbattle is very tempted to buy a Mr. Kit for himself after seeing this and what Mr. Kirchoff has done! Looks good Sir!
Didnt see any build photos .... I must have "missed her"
Ok ... I´ll get me coat :-)

The next step is to go ahead and paint the base color scheme. Don't worry about overspray on the tires or tracks at this point. We'll address that clean-up later.



Mike

Mike Kirchoff, please report to the Thunderbolt update phone... :-)

BTT

Regards, John

Sharp looking Sherman Mike, I'll bechecking out using Mr Surfacer as a primer real soon after seeing how good it looks on yours.

I'm inching ever closer to painting the tracks, but decided I'd better address Thunderbolt VII's rather involved markings first. I'm trying my hand at airbrushing and hand-painting the markings. Here I've added the stars and lightning bolts. Also, please not the absence of one of the rear lamp guards ... thank goodness I found it!



Thanks,
Mike

Looking better all the time, Mike. The airbrushed markings should look great. What are you doing for the drivers hatches?

I was going to thin the lightguards as you did but buckled and went PE. I'm still figuring out what DML left out. Just noticed the tow cable is not in this kit and the decals lack any number markings. The spotlight is not as good as past renditions either. It's as if they start from scratch with each Sherman variation instead of building on past work.

Regards, John

Mike,

Looks great! Keep 'em coming!

Thanks John and Thomas,
Yes, this has turned into quite the adventure! I was a little disappointed with the lack of vehicle codes myself, but decided I wouldn't sweat it. I figured those tasked with researching this particular Sherman either dropped the ball or could not substantiate the actual numbers. The lack of p/e lamp guards was also a bit frustrating .... not that I would use them anyhow. But it still would have made sense considering they had already designed them for previous kits.
The front hatches are stock, I left them loose to facilitate adding the periscopes whenever I get around to it. Tonight I will begin painting the script .... that ought to be fun!

Mike

very nice..!

great work i hope mine comes up as well