Constructed at last, the "Last American" Sherman (Manic Laughter)

The skirts and spare track assemblies have finally been added (see below):

Paint it black again and this is what you get, ta da! (see below):

Was it worth the wait, well if it manages to get on a wargaming table, yes.

OK I still need to paint is green, but there is a queue of 1944 British Tommies in the way. They have been patiently waiting for some time now (years in fact) on the 'Painting Tray' frantically shouting "Oy! No blooming queue jumping mate!"

Is this really still the "Last American" Sherman build still a WIP?

I can literally "smell" the finish line (of the 'construction phase' anyway) but the danger is my stamina may fail me. The "silver track" has now been assembled onto the chassis (see below):

For the track assembly it is the classic style "do it with the office paper stapler" (no messing about with hot screwdrivers of super glue). The staple is just visible in the track assembly photograph (see below):

So if it looks like a Sherman, if it moves like a Sherman, if it shoots as poorly as a Sherman and if it gets blown up as easily as a Sherman, then it must be a Sherman (see below):

It sure looks like a Sherman to me! But I still have to don the mud skirts and assemble the "fiddly strange spare tracks assembly" as per the instruction booklet before I officially finish. Tune in for the concluding episode.

Paint It Black (undercoating the "Last American" Sherman)

The interior engine detail of the Esci/Italeri Sherman implied interior painting (ho hum) which in turn implied first of all a black (Tamiya XF1) undercoat inside and out (see below): 

With the undercoat duly administered the interior engine compartment was daubed liberally in Anita's Acrylic Metalic Black, which was then mixed with Anita's Acrylic Silver, in three step up shades (percentage of Silver to Metalic Black being increased to suit the eye). The turret was popped on for the complete Sherman look and feel, although I still have to connect the tracks together (see below) 

I can almost hear the engine turning over (see below):

The close up detail looks nice, but the only way I will ever see it is to ensure that tehe engine decking can be lifted off. That means expect a future blog post complaining bitterly about "how stupid I am" when the said 'engine decking' and 'Sherman' part company, ending up in separate boxes in the loft!

In many ways the Sherman kit reminds me of the awful Esci/Italeri M6 GMC truck transmission (including the M6's  37mm AT variant). That was nightmare model to make for the sheer complexity introduced for a completely hidden feature, but then again "I made it anyway" because it was there! Later Italeri to their credit produced kits (like the M8 Greyhound) that had a simpler 'wargamer rather than modeller' assembly option with less fiddly parts.
.  

Can you see what it is yet? It's my last [American] Sherman: (Part III)

And it came to pass that I put the turret onto the hull (see below):

And then I put the hull cover onto the chassis (see below)

Now:  "Can you see what it is yet?" The Sherman form is emerging.

But I still have to complete the rear engine deck (but I also need to paint the insides first) and put the tracks on ... this is a modelling diary in a 'stop-start' mode, more 'bitty' than usual.

Making 'that' last American 1/72 scale Sherman for my US Tank Battalion (Cont)

Edging ever closer to completing that last American Sherman (see below) ...

Bit by bit, one sprue down, with the tracks and turret still to do! The cup of char (French for tank, get it? Groan!) comes in handy ;)

I will have to do a bit of interior painting before I seal the superstructure to the chassis (unheard of in my past modelling experiences ;)

Making 'that' last American 1/72 scale Sherman for my US Tank Battalion

Here I am trying to make that "last American Sherman" for my US Armoured Battalion (Tank Division) and I hit the "how many parts is in this kit" bottleneck. I have gone back in time from the streamlined PSC production model to the 1970's, "many little fiddly parts" of the Italeri (ex-Esci) M4A1 Sherman 'Calliope' kit. For my purposes I am ditching the 'Calliope' part of the construction and just making a regular Sherman, my teenage self would shudder at this heretical thought.

The multitude of parts is shown below: 

The track assembly starts, thirty four parts in total for the two 'sides'. I assemble them on the sprue in order to try and keep a "limited spread" in modelling terms as I will be making this over several nights and don't want to lose small parts (see below):

An engine transmission and tank engine? Interior detail. Why am I bothering with all this hidden detail. All I can say is that is because it is there! I would obviously be less of a modeller (but more sensible) if I didn't. I now will have to let the rear engine covers be "lift-able or removable" in some fashion (See below):

That's as far as I got in one night, whereas I would have at least have had a PSC or HaT Sherman in my hands.

At least once it is done the armoured battalion will be done ;)

The British and American Sherman Response

Just to prove there is more to my AFV collection than late war German heavy panzers.


As they came. Three decoys (the Airfix 1/72 Sherman) and the one that stood a chance (Matchbox Sherman Firefly 1/76) of a return kill on a German heavy. Nice to see the latter is back on the market through Revell. I will have to do the cunning Tommy paint trick (as per the Revell box art) of fore shortening the length of the 17pdr main armament with a bit of light sky blue on the underside of the barrel. Also to do is some work on the tracks to weather them down from that plastic look and naturally, the decals.


These come straight out of the wargames cupboard. I painted them over ten years ago with a ubiquitous base coat of Tamiya Olive Drab (XF-62) then highlighted it up. The rub being, for the three on the left I used Olive Drab (XF-62) with increasing amounts of Sand Yellow (XF-60), while the Sherman on the furthest right was painted at a slightly different time when I used Olive Drab (XF-62) with Yellow (XF-3) having forgot my previous recipe. Only later seeing the subtle difference!

The same Olive Drab (XF-62) with increasing amounts of Sand Yellow (XF-60) scheme was used for my American Shermans (All 1/72 Esci, although two slightly different types, the left and middle one type, the right hand one another) below:


They are begging for White Star decals and the US tank commander can do with a bit of shading and highlight.

The moral of this story: Paint all your tank troops together at the same time, even if it takes longer

:(