hey guys, this was the sherman i was trying to put together for awhile. i must have painted and re-painted four times. i am still fairly new. here it is with just simple acrylic colors from an airbrush. the mud was made from white glue, coffee grinds and some dust from Rust-All. i have some MIG powders in Allied OD (fading) and light dust. i just made a camo net out of window screen folded over a couple of times and painted black and brown, and some extra tow cables hanging from the side with tie-downs. those pics will be up soon. so any ideas on making it a little bit better? thanks in advance.
Good progress rooster – it seems you’re really enjoying this build!
One thing: those are definitely the kit supplied vinyl T48 tracks – which had rubber shoes. You probably need to go back and drybrush the chevrons in a dull dark grey – the dust on the other areas is fine — I’d leave those areas alone.
Have you ever tried "dry brushing " ? It would really bring out the detail . I guess you are not going to put any decals on this kit , it would be to late for that IMO, they should be applied before you do that much weathering .[:)]
Hey Roo! Congrats on a nice start! The strongest recommendation I would give you is to get yourself a fine brush, and a tube of black or burnt umber oil paint. Yeah, they can be a bit pricey, but they’re WELL WORTH the investment! Mix a decent sized puddle of soupy thinner with a dollop of oil paint–make it a milk-like consistency–and, dipping the brush into it, outline EVERY hatch, seam, detail, etc. Yes, it’s a pain–tedious and slow, but the details will JUMP out at you and really define the tank–you won’t believe the difference it’ll make! Then, do some drybrushing to pick out the details. Some guys will tell you to use a lightened shade of the base color but I think that that looks TOO subtle and unnoticeable. I almost always use tan of some type, like a dusty finish–unless my tank is “in the rain” or wet; Then I’ll use the same shade but lighter. Your tank will “come to life”. [:D][wow]
I know I was the one who told ya to get a nice deep rust on the traks, but maybe its a little TOO orangy? [:-^] A burnt umber wash over the tracks would tone it down a bit [;)] The inside tracks look great, with the silvered wear and all…REAL NICE finish on the tools!! [:D] ; paint your periscopes, a discreet little fuel stain around the filler caps would be cool, and paint your headlights…and what happened to your markings?? I’d put some markings on it and respray your dust coat on the sides over them…hope this helps !
well some of the things you listed i was just waiting for opinions first to see if i had to make any touch ups on. for the periscopes, i have party confetti that i will cut to size, (either a bluish, or greenish), the headlights will have silver with a clear over them, the fuel stains would be one of the last things i do, with some smoke. the tracks do look a little orangy in the pics. i think that they are not really that orange. i am using my digital camera with its flash. i have yet to buy a nice light so i can omit the flash. so the pics is kinda tricky on the eyes. but your right, i do need to to tone it down, i also just found out that the tracks i have were the all rubber tracks, so that gives me more of a reason to tone them down. and about the markings, [:-^] i really messed them up. i don’t know what happened to them, but repeated painting i guess messed them up. so i figured i’d just leave them off. but it does look so dead without them. i was thinking about making a mask with tape and repainting them, but i can’t get my stars straight. and i did use the mineral spirit/black oil wash, but not as heavy as you suggested, (like milk). i just made a thin application over the entire vehicle. this time i’ll try a little bit thicker, and focus on the panel lines, then q-tip the rest off. do you think its salvagable, or should i strip it off and start from scratch?
Oh it’s definitely “salvageable”!! I guess the photos can be a bit misleading, but I’d still try that darker wash stuff around the details. You might think it sounds excessive, but after the drybrushing it’ll look perfect! You’re right about the tracks ;( can’t believe I missed that! ) As far as your decals go, I’ve got a slew of Sherman decals from a bunch of kits that I made into conversions years ago where I used aftermarket decals. If you email me your home address (or work if you feel more comfortable) at … I’ll send ya some replacements, no charge! Always glad to help a fellow treadhead! But do it before Monday cuz I’m leaving for a Europe for 35 days on Tuesday! DOOG
