Back From a Long Modeling Hiatus with a Braille Scale Pershing

Modeling Subjects Armor
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Hello fellow FSM Armor Forum friends! I’ve been away from scale modeling for a while and finally got the itch to get back to the bench. There are some reasons why I stepped away…one was I got a serious itch to start flyfishing again (that was my main hobby for 3 decades). Another was I was just burnt out from too much sedentary bench time (since I stepped away I’ve lost 20 lbs by exercising more and eating better). Lastly my work changed drastically when the company where I worked for 15 yrs was purchased by a MAJOR telecommunications company and that led to a lot of work changes…some for the better, some for the worse. Anyway I’ve weathered most of that now and things have settled down. Recently I took a look at my model stash and decided it was a good time to build some of those armor kits gathering dust!

I decided the best way to get back into the swing of things was to start with a small kit, so I picked this one to jump start the action:

1:72 Trumpeter M26 Pershing

I actually started this a couple of weeks ago and have been plugging away. I took some WIP photos (below) but got so into it that I neglected to take more until it was done.

Of course I couldn’t leave well enough alone and had make some improvements along the way. I used no PE or aftermarket parts and the only scratchbuilding I did was to replace the antenna mount on the turret rear because I damaged it badly when I removed it from the sprue. Most of the work was getting some of the details into more of a scale appearance (headlight guards, lifting rings, fender braces, etc).

I intended this to be a WWII vehicle, but I’m no expert on the Pershing line of tanks and actually have no reference material other that what I could find on the internet, so the actual model may be a mishmash of M26/T26E3,E4 details and even the markings may not be correct.

Painted with Tamiya acrylics using the Black & White method (I think that’s what its called) followed with MIG filters (brown and tan). Details painted with Tamiya and Vallejo Acrylics.

OK, here she is. Not my best effort, but its a start!

I really like the look of the Pershing tank! Its so much lower and sleeker than the Sherman tank, even with its big 90mm gun! Here’s the Trump Pershing next to a Dragon M4A3E8. The Sherm is way taller!

Its great to be back! I’m looking forward to being part of the FSM family again![:D]

Now to figure out which kit to build next…[whstl]

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That looks great! Trumpeter does a good job covering the 1/72 scale armor genre. Your painting skills are top notch.

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Great to see you back Ernest. Great job on the Pershing. Look forward to seeing more of you around here.

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Nice work there,looks like you didnt forget much,technique looks great. As for life style changes,we all want to build down those stashes,but being glued to the bench,with no exercise or physical activity along with the wrong kind of desk job on top of bad eating habits could be a problem.Good you found a balance.

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Looks like your skills haven’t deminished, very nice finish. Hope to see more Braille scale from you.

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Well !

Very nice job . Best Braille Scale tank I’ve seen in a while .Very good . T.B.

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Good to see you again. That’s a fine effort too. I have Tamiya’s big brother version that has sat in my stash forever! Maybe after seeing yours, I’ll get mine out and work on it.

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Good to see you again! I’ve been getting out and around here myself and not gotten much built either.

Great job, love the shading on the OD finish.

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Hi,
Good to see you arround again :slight_smile:
With the M26 my understanding is that it entered the war as a direct response to the late Panzers, low hull & strong protection but most important high firepower.
The Tank war had allready been won by T34 and Shermans.

There is a really strong clip on YT.

I like the comparsion to the Sherman, really pointing out the obvioues step-change in design.

Very Best Regards
Johan

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Looks great! I have to remind myself it’s a 1/72.

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Welcome back, and a fine job on your re-entry as well.

I understand that hiatus thingie, I just came back myself after a major move and job change, and even a significant weight loss… modeling isn’t very aerobic, is it?

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Hey Ernest,
I’ve noticed you being gone …
but looks like you’re coming back in
a small way with great results.
Looks way cool.

!http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b232/gluetank/Animated/th_1-Animated-Disastermaster.gif?t=1296616998

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Hey everyone! Sorry to take so long to respond, but I’ve been busy with another build and I’ll be posting some WIP photos of that in another thread pretty soon.

Thank you all for the responses and kind words! I really appreciate it and the fact that so many of you still remember me! I’m not one for social media and this is the only online forum of any type that I’ve ever joined and posted to, so its like coming back to family! I did bounce around a bit the other day and saw some great work being done here!

Happy modeling everyone!