Update Sherman M4A3 (76mm) Thunderbolt VI - Aug 10/2013

More detail work in this update, seems like the small things take as much time or more than the big things, while hardly noticeable to the average eye :) .

The big thing I have done last night that I have not attempted before is the streaking on the large flat side of a Sherman.

I dabbled with it on the "yellow" Jagdpanther, but taking lessons from Andreas Grewin's fabulous Sherman Jumbo http://modelhobby.eu/2012/10/sherman-m4a3e2-jumbo-king-cobra-completed/ I was able to go further with it by doing almost a whole panel, instead of selective large streaks.

Still a ways to go. I have to put on the big streaks from the overflow of the gas tank refilling cap, and have to do the mud splatters on the running gear, and lower front and back.

No pictures of it, but this morning there are more highlite details with pinwashes around the small details the bogey wheels. I have also cleaned up the tracks a little, adding more mud for consistency where there was little, and I have used my graphite pencil to make the constant contact points of the track/sprocket shiny.

I also toned down the large streaks on the transmission cover, I thought it drew too much attention.

As well,I have a stowage pack for the rear deck coming from Value Gear Models. It looks like this (Manufacturer photo of painted product on an unfinished model).

More to come. Stay tuned ( I am on vacation and getting at this regularly).

Update Sherman M4A3 (76mm) Thunderbolt VI

A little more progress on the weathering. I was not thrilled that the brighter modulation on the upper glacis and the forward part of the top of the turret did not blend as well with the rest of the colours. It stood out too much (bright) for me, so I tried something new, I filtered using Testors Olive Drab enamel on those spots to tone down the light parts and draw it right into the darker parts by lightening those edges slightly with the same olive drab. I think it made a bit of a difference (6 filters over 4 days should!!). Just to be clear, I used the dot filter method, put little dabs of Olive Drab all over the bright spots and then with a wide brush with a bit of thinner on it, worked it until the dots were gone, but made a translucent shift in the tone. The chips underneath remained intact, if a little faded. Still nice though I think.

I also did some washes around the raised parts to highlite/create shadows on them.

Next I need to have a good close look at the overall finish to see if I need to work any more filters to blend.

After that it is going to be some streaking down some of the sides and front, some oil splotchs on the engine deck and maybe the front, then some pigments for mud and splatters.

Maybe some mud pigments fixed on the fenders and deck, tracked up there by the tankers boots. hmm..  yeah.

Stay tuned...

Update M10 Duckbill

This one was primed but had not aired out enough when I painted the other two. My paint strategy is always enamel/Acrylic/Enamel/Acrylic, etcc. but I find the Enamels take a while to dry..

Anyway, that is what I did today. I used the same paint modulation theme as the Shermans.

I still have to add some interior items to the turret like the spare ammo racks. And a fire extinguisher tot he driver hull.
I have a rough plan for stowage on this one, since there was not much room inside to fight and carry the luggage. I will work on that a bit.

Update Sherman M4A3 76mm (Thunderbolt VI)

Did a little bit of work on this one in the past few weeks.

I have the Lion Marc US Army star paint stencil, so I painted the stars on the turret and sponsons as per the photos I had. Yes, they are different sizes, according to the photos, and best estimates of the people at Bison decal, where I got the Thunderbolt VI sheet from.

I also painted the suspension to look dusty/etc. This is the Steve Zaloga method for Sherman suspension and I have used it once before, successfully I think, on my Sherman III (Sherbrooke Fusiliers). Paint the entire suspension Tamiya XF51Khaki Drab, highlight it with XF72 JGSDF Brown, then the most exposed highlights with XF57 Buff. There are pigments to go on that for depth and blending.

After I gave the paint a few days to dry, I Futured the whole thing so that the oil washes will flow (the old capillary action :) ) and to apply the Thunderbolt decals. I applied the decals with the MicroSet/Sol system. I then sprayed the decals again with Future the next day to seal them.

I then applied two washes of Winsor and Newton Yellow Ochre as a filter to the whole vehicle to see how much that would blend. Not much, so I will be doing some Dot Filtering in short order.

I also started to experiment with some chipping to the front of the tank. I usually do this before the filter(s) so that the filters tone those down as well. although talking to Mike from the club (who gets his advice from Adam Wilder), you can do before or after, or you can do chip/filter/wash as many times as you want over each other.

I will see how it goes. I haven't decided what to do next yet.

Here is what it looks like so far....

I will take this one forward before I do anything with the other two I am working on I think.
If anything comes up on this one, I can replicate or fix it on the next one.

However, I did paint the M10 from primer to green.. Stay tuned..

UPDATE - Shermans Shermans Shermans

After a 6 month hiatus of updates I bring you some  - updates.

I had dipped two previous projects back to plastic.

The first was a M4A3 76mm Sherman (Dragon 6325) that did not turn out like a I wanted, so I cleaned it off and primed it a while ago.

This weekend I painted the base coat, using some color modulation techniques with three different colors blended together. This one I am now going to paint as Creighton Abrams Thunderbolt VI, circa Battle of the Bulge. I got a set of Bison decals a year or so ago that has Thunderbolt V, VI and VII. I have a Dragon M4A3E8 that I plan to do as Thunderbolt VII at some other point.

The other tank was an M4A3E2 Sherman Jumbo that I built from three different sources. I had another Dragon M4A3 76mm Sherman that I added on the additional armour from the Tamyia M4A3E2 kit, along with a Tank Workshop built up glacis and Turrent. I used a spare 76mm turned aluminum barrel from a Dragon Sherman kit. I don’t plan to model ant particular version, there have been many examples of Cobra King out there, so I won’t bother.

I had painted this one up before, I used Sommerfield matting on the sides, but realized I couldn’t weather it with all that on, so I abandoned that idea and dipped it back to plastic. I had primed that one a while ago was well. Tis weekend, while I was doing the M4A3 76mm, I painted this one in a color modulation scheme similar to the other one.

The third kit I worked on was an M10 Tank Destroyer with duckbills. I finished the build and primed it last week. Even though it is a TD, it uses the hull of a Sherman, so to me technically it is a Sherman J. The built is pretty much out of the box, with some clean up. The interior was complete and painted since my last update, I now have the hull and turret primed.

Thats it for now, will update again in a few or two.

Thanks for looking. 

Next - M10 Duckbill - Update 1

And the choice is... 

Not sure why this one is next, but I have had my eye on it for a while. This is one of three M10 kits I got from John O'Reilly, one before he passed and the other two after.

They are Academy's examples - M10 Gun Motor Carriage, British Achillies, and M10 Duckbill. I will build a second one at some time, but not the Achillies, the gun is just too funny looking :) Yes, it is a better gun, but I am building models, not looking for superior firepower.

I had cut out some parts, did some clean up, read the instructions about 20 times, and left it there for a bit. So formally putting the Jagdpanthers to bed, I needed to move on and took this one back out of the box and carried forward this weekend.

I had all the suspension parts cleaned up but I HATE Sherman suspension build. I usually leave it til last. There are not as many parts to the Academy kits as there are with Dragon, but still...

So far it is all "out of the box" building. I have no aftermarket stuff for this kit but I have to make a few scratch mods. The weld seams where the front glacis and where the rear plate meet the hull is horrible, so I cut that off, and scribed a line where the glued-on plates met. I will put some styrene rod in there with some liquid glue and will make my own weld seams.

Progress this weekend - much of the interior and the outer hull basics are done. Spent some time painting and weathering the interior.

More weathering to come..

That's all for now...

Stay tuned.

What next.. Choices, Choices..

I was hemming and hawing on a lot when the Jagdpanthers were winding down on what would come next.

There is a 72 scale Hasegawa F-4E Thunderbirds that I want to do in early 80's Europe-1 camoflague. I want to make one to look like the one that buzzed me in southern West Germany on REFORGER 81. They are big, they are noisy, they smoke like a son of a bitch, but they look positively malevolent, terrifying, and beautiful.  I have the squadron markings, just need the stencils (might have that from eBay) and the low res USAF roundels (anyone got some hanging around that they don't need?)

I have a Dragon M4A3 Sherman completed, I used to have it painted but had a tragedy testing out mud spatters. I dipped it back to plastic and it now sits with primer on it, ready for new paint. I got some Bison decals with Creighton Abrams Thunderbolt VI. I may do that – soon.

I have another Dragon M4A3 that I converted to an M4A3E2 Jumbo with some Tank Workshop resin parts. I had that painted and put Sommerfield matting on, but it wasn't conducive to weathering. I took the matting off, but had to sand down the sides, it needs to be painted again. I have the new Tasca Jumbo, but that is not assembled.

I looked long and hard at my Bronco M-24 Chaffee as well, but decided that I am going to do a few more kits and learn some more stuff, before I tackle that one.

I gave my Dragon Panther a hard look too, but I think I am Panzer-ed out for now.

So.. choices, choices… I made my choice..

* * * * * * *   RANDOM    * * * * * * *

A pic of my workshop.
A space for building and a space for painting.
Display space, work-in-progress space, book space, stash..

Tamiya Jagdpanther G - New coat of paint - Update 5 - Let's call it done.

The final iteration of Tamiya Jagdpather G -New Paint.

I added some pigment dust, but you  can hardly see it, added some oily grease to the back deck, added some mud spatters to the lower schurzen and wheels, along with the front and back. And finished off with some streaks. The guys at the club liked it, and suggested a few other things. I may come back to it as I learn more techniques for those little things that could make a big difference, but for the moment I am finished and pleased. I need to move on to something new.

And you can see what in a moment.

Some final shots.....