M4a3 Sherman - Gpm

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charliec

Active Member
Good technique - but before leaping into this some research is needed. Generally all tank hulls before WW2 were riveted plate on frames - the seams were the plate joins. During WW2 both welded and cast hulls and turrets were used. Casting often leaves prominent seam lines which shouldn't be confused with weld beads.

Regards

Charlie
 

lriera

Member
Yes, please, CDavenport, can you show your technique with some pictures, please. I am very interested.

Thank you.
 

exzealot

Member
cdavenport,

Thanks for the tip on simulating welds. Looks like it stirred up a lot of interest.

I just finished the crew hatches. The instructions were very poor, so I found a picture that shows the detail for the hatches. (first picture)

I used Evergreen plastic to create the grabhandles and other details. (second picture)

I chickened out and glued the hatches in the closed position. My skills are just not that good; at least not yet.

The rest of the pictures are self-explanatory.

Ken
 

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exzealot

Member
The next step in building the Sherman was to glue the ring around the turret. I am not sure what this is for.

I added the pieces that cover the engine.

I spent a little extra time on the shovel, axe, and other various tool items. These turned out better than I expected. The real wood for the handles adds to the realism.

I am hoping to get started on the turret yet this weekend, but my wife is starting to give me the "stinkeye", so I will have to see....

Please feel free to point out mistakes (I have learned a lot from honest feedback).

Enjoy!

Ken
 

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charliec

Active Member
The next step in building the Sherman was to glue the ring around the turret. I am not sure what this is for.
Ken

It's the bullet deflector ring. The turret rotation ring with its rollers can be jammed by bullets or fragments - this ring is designed to deflect these. It doesn't happen as easily on modern tanks because the turret rotation ring is recessed into the hull.

Regards,

Charlie
 

exzealot

Member
I made a little progress on the Sherman.

Picture 1 shows the rear light assemblies and the metal guards.

Picture 2 is some kind of a tool. The instructions were were unclear about this as well - no illustrations.

Picture 3 is a fold down tray. It hides the tool in picture 2...

Pictures 4 and 5 show some kind of a roller assembly that mounts under the fold down tray. I am embarrassed by how much I don't know about the subject I am building.

Picture 6 shows the extra track racks in the back - also note that in picture 6, I tried to change the edge color again - this time to Testors Medium Green. Still not exact, but very close under normal light.

Ken
 

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Stev0

Active Member
Your edge coloring is worlds better. It's like the parts are precut by the printer. Nice going. I think it won't be hard to go back and touch up areas that are bright green. It seems those are more prominent and easily accessible.
 

charliec

Active Member
Picture 2 is some kind of a tool. The instructions were were unclear about this as well - no illustrations.

Picture 3 is a fold down tray. It hides the tool in picture 2...

Pictures 4 and 5 show some kind of a roller assembly that mounts under the fold down tray. I am embarrassed by how much I don't know about the subject I am building.

Ken

Pic 2 looks like the crank handle to manually start the engine. Engines back then weren't high compression so they could be turned over with a crank handle - probably wouldn't have been easy to do though. There is a video of the King Tiger at Saumur being crank started at YouTube - "The Roar of the Tiger" Maybach Engine キングタイガーé‡æˆ¦è»Š エンジン始動.

The rods under the fold down tray look like the gun cleaning rods. These screwed together to make a long rod that a cleaning sponge/brush could be attached to.

Regards,

Charlie
 
M

Mark_1984

Your model is incredibly neat - and the new edge colouring seems spot on.

Full marks for the tools as well, they look most realistic.
 

exzealot

Member
Here are some pictures of the turret build. This was difficult! I have to admit that the model designers were very precise in the design. The tick marks (front and back) must be lined up PERFECTLY in order that the edges all line up properly. Happily, I lined mine up fairly well, and the edges came out acceptable (to me anyway). The vertical edges will surely give away the fact that this is a paper model. I have seen some of the ship builders here on Zealot sand and fill hulls - which is what this turret requires. But since I am colorblind, and having a difficult time with the edge coloring as it is, I decided to leave well enough alone. Once I ornamentize the turret, the lines will tend to move to the background and not be so "in your face".

Ken
 

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col. kurtz

Member
this is looking really good ken :thumb::thumb:it would look good in a diarama maybe a scnece from kellys heros with oddballs camp it the begining of the movie:thumb:
 

exzealot

Member
Charliec,

Thanks for the video link. I love the sound of that engine! What is that whining sound as they were cranking?

Ken
 

charliec

Active Member
Charliec,

Thanks for the video link. I love the sound of that engine! What is that whining sound as they were cranking?

Ken

I think it's an inertia starter - in effect they wind up a flywheel - once the flywheel gets up to a reasonable speed it's then clutched onto the engine. There's enough energy in the inertia starter to turn the engine over for a number of revolutions. On the video you can see one of the mechanics flip the clutch control once they've got the starter up to speed.

WW2 aircraft used this sort of starter extensively although it was usually spun up by a battery powered motor. I remember that T-6 Texans (known elsewhere as Harvards) were started this way.

Regards,

Charlie
 

exzealot

Member
Here are some shots of the gun build. The piece that fits between the turret and the gun was a very difficult part to make without warping (pictures 2 and 3). I had to perform a little surgury on the mess I made to make it come out as good as it did. The shroud that glues to the turret itself was fairly easy and straight forward (first picture).

Also, note that I added the panels on the sides. I left them off until now so that I could handle the model a little easier.

It won't be long and this project will be complete....

Ken
 

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charliec

Active Member
It's called the mantlet - protects the working parts of the gun .

It's often easier to scan and print the gun barrel on 80 gsm (20 lb?) copy paper - it's difficult to roll up a gun barrel from card stock. Alternatively wetting the card with methylated spirit (denatured alcohol) makes cardstock it much easier to roll - although some inkjet inks will dissolve in alcohol.

Regards,

Charlie
 

exzealot

Member
Charlie,

It's OK, you can say it! My gun barrel looks like crap! Just kidding. I guess I was trying to employ some of the "rolling" skills I learned in high school 30 years ago.

I didn't scan my model before I started cutting and gluing, but fortunately, my buddy also has this model. He scanned the page, and I printed it out on copier paper. The color is slightly off, but I rolled it tightly around the existing barrel and just edge glued the bottom.

It came out very good - just like you suggested.

I'll post the picture tomorrow.

Thanks again for your suggestions and tank education - it really helps!

Ken
 
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