This is the Italeri kit with the wading trunks. I replaced the rear deck to make it a M4a2, and used both wading trunks. The wheels used are the pressed-steel style with the early suspension. The tracks are rubberband style but did not present any difficulties. I filled the hull with about 20 lead bullets (inert, used for reloading) to add weight to the tank to snug it down on the base.
I used polly scale US Olive Drab for the base color. It matched the plastic so well that it was hard to get even coverage with the first coat! Once it dried I could tell where I painted because it wasnt shiny. I used future then added a wash. I used decals from a train set for the big “C” and the name needed to start with a “c” also, so I named her Chicago. There was a USMC tank named Chicago that landed on Tarawa so this is modelled after her [4:-)]. I also used the following reference picture from Tinian Beach showing an M4 named Corsair.
The base is a wood blank from Michaels. The corners are foam and rise up about an inch. The sand is microballoons and fine ballast from woodland scenics. It was painted in sand colors and drybrushed for detail. The palm leaves are plastic painted to look not-plastic [:)]
The stowage on the Sherman is the only thing not included with this kit. I used a US mortar from a Tamiya kit and some bed rolls and boxes from the spare parts bin. I used sewing thread and brass straps to secure the stowage. The rest of the build is out of the box. [:D]
Steve- fantastic looking Sherman. I am doing the Acadamy version of the same type. What did you use to make the pegs on the wood armor? Did you put cement between the wood and hull (some tanks had cement there for added armor)?
muzzleflash88,
I think you’ve done a very good job. My only (and this is personal opinion) suggestion is that your dirt / sand should be applied in the recesses of the bogies and road wheels.
I think the dirt would tend to be rubbed off the high areas.
Excellent job on the stowage, tools and paint job [tup][tup][tup]
Joe
Terrific job. The one thing I noticed, and it may be the camera angle, is that it looks like the front wheel of the front boggie is lifting up. If you’ve got it going over a berm or something, that’s great, but if it’s supposed to be on the flat, you might want to glue down the suspension arms into the front boggies so it sits flat on the sand.
Really great, muzzle. I hope my M4A2 Red Army comes out nearly as nice! The tools really look good, too!
You’ve done a teriffic job Steve! Having just recently completed a tank in “olive drab” I can appreciate the difficulty in trying to achieve contrast. I think you’ve created an excellent example of a “pacific war theater” sherman. Just a side note: Now I know what to do with the leftover bullets from my old reloading days? LOL. Thanks for sharing your work. Semper Fi, mike
check out the reference section of www.hardcorpsmodels.com. There are a lot of nice pics with the sanbags and different types of wood armor. The direct link would be http://www.hardcorpsmodels.com./index.php?option=content&task=category§ionid=3&id=68&Itemid=28
