Creighton Abrams Sherman, Thunderbolt VII
11-05-2014, 01:56 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Creighton Abrams Sherman, Thunderbolt VII
I get sidetracked easily. I started looking thru my spare parts boxes for stuff I might be able to use to finish my MBT 70 project, and I got to looking at a Tamiya Sherman upper hull, some HVSS suspension and track, a Mato VVSS suspension and track set, and a T23 turret that I have had for years. So I asked myself, "Could I put all of this stuff together and make a "Sherman that never was, but could have been"? I started searching and discovered that I had the parts to make a Sherman that was pretty close to an M4A3 (76) W, or an Easy Eight. Then I also ran across a reference for the Sherman tanks that Lt. Colonel Creighton Abrams used when he was commander of Combat Command A - 4th U.S. Armored Division Abrams. I chose the M4A3E8, with the expedient armor plate that was added to his "Thunderbolt VII". A piece of cake !!! A day at the beach !!! A walk in the park !!! What could possibly go wrong ??? Well, then I noticed that the engine deck of the Tamiya is totally different than the one on the tank that Abrams used. Back to the drawing board !!!! Later, I found some Pershing engine grills that would work. Back to the beach !!! LOL Actually, everything went together pretty well except for some minor goofs that were easily corrected. I think I ended up with something that resembles his Thunderbolt VII, with very little scratch building. Final inspection and a trip to the paint booth are next.
I was surprised to see that I have enough spare stuff to build at least one more Sherman. That would be #19. On my shelves right now I have 18 tanks that are Sherman tanks or a Sherman that I used for a conversion into something else ---- an M10 duckbill, M3 Lee, M3 Grant, M7 Priest, M40 SPG, M32B2 ARV, Firefly and Ram II ..... For me, the Sherman has turned out to be a very versatile tank for scratch building. How many is too many? I hope I'm not the only one.
rex
Last edited by Rex Ross; 11-05-2014 at 01:58 PM.
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Conan_the_Hungarian (03-14-2023)
11-05-2014, 02:11 PM
#2
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: kettering, UNITED KINGDOM
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You can never have too many Shermans. I'm like you, although, I've lost count how many shermans/conversions I've done as I have sold a few of them on...
Reciently I've just finished a Firefly, am working on a M4a2 and have all the bits sitting here for a M51....
Reciently I've just finished a Firefly, am working on a M4a2 and have all the bits sitting here for a M51....
11-05-2014, 03:12 PM
#3
Thread Starter
My Canadian "Tulip" Firefly has been waiting for paint since Dec. of 2013.
I promised myself that I wouldn't build anything until I got caught up on the 14 models that only need paint. I got down to 11 and then I saw the MBT 70 and now the Abrams ride. I hope I can do one a month, and then I will be out of shelf space and no more room to build any more. I need a bigger house.
But I did set a personal speed record, It only took me 5 days to do two days worth of work on the T-bolt.
rex
11-06-2014, 10:30 AM
#10
Thread Starter
I started about 20 years ago ......
I discovered 1/16 scale r/c tanks in 1993. At that time the only thing available to me was the earlyTamiya Sherman and the 4 Bandai German tanks. They were not my favorite tanks, but I got them anyhow because they were the only game in town. I started thinking about how to scratch build AFVs that I really liked ........ and nobody else had. The only experience I had was gluing 1/35 scale parts together, so I started small. I retired in 2001 and really got into scratch building big time. Since then I have learned what works, and one heck of a lot about what doesn't. Last week I learned not to get careless with a Dremel tool .... (again).
Here's my first incredible work of art.
rex.
11-06-2014, 11:13 AM
#11
You may have figured out that I really want to get into scratchbuilding, and I'm thinkin' that mortar might be a great place to start. Could you please post a few more photos of it, and maybe give me the length and diameter of the tube? I don't want you to tell me too much, because one of my goals is to be able to build stuff from photos, but since I'm just starting out I think a little bit of help might be OK. I'm thinking if I print the photos and know the length of the tube I can probably measure the rest from that. Unless you have a different way I should proceed?
I'm thinking if I print the photos and know the length of the tube I can probably measure the rest from that. Unless you have a different way I should proceed?
11-06-2014, 12:06 PM
#12
Thread Starter
maxu52 .......
My mortar was not intended to be accurate model of a 50mm mortar. It was built to kinda look like one. I built it out of stuff I found in the kitchen ..... a drinking straw, some wooden swizzle sticks andsome styrene, whatever I could find. A Google search for 50mm mortar will give you ideas on how to do an accurate copy of a real one if you want. I find everything I need on Google these days, from photos, to statistics and three line drawings to build what I want. then I do a lot of eyeball measuring and build something that looks right".
My mortar was not intended to be accurate model of a 50mm mortar. It was built to kinda look like one. I built it out of stuff I found in the kitchen ..... a drinking straw, some wooden swizzle sticks andsome styrene, whatever I could find. A Google search for 50mm mortar will give you ideas on how to do an accurate copy of a real one if you want. I find everything I need on Google these days, from photos, to statistics and three line drawings to build what I want. then I do a lot of eyeball measuring and build something that looks right".
11-06-2014, 12:59 PM
#13
Thanks Rex, that's great advice, and thanks for the photos. Give me some time to play with it and I'll post my results. I think part of what's been holding me up is the complexity of it all, so if I start small it will be a lot easier on me.
11-09-2014, 10:32 AM
#14
Thread Starter
I think this is the fastest project I have ever put together. I started it on Nov.1 and the paint was dry on Nov. 8. It was fun trying to build something out of spare parts that kinda looks like a tank that was real. It is supposed to be Creighton Abrams tank, but there are a lot of inaccuracies if ya look close. A Google search shows photos of a lot of 1/35 scale plastic models, and none of them seem to agree on how his Thunderbolt VII tank looked, so I feel sort of safe with my effort. Anyhow, here is Cleighton Abrams Sherman and two of Cleighton Abrams Abrams.
rex
rex
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Conan_the_Hungarian (03-14-2023)
11-09-2014, 05:32 PM
#17
That looks great Rex!
03-14-2023, 05:20 AM
#21
This is a very old thread, started by Rex Ross, makes me wonder how Rex is doing. Has anyone heard from him? Last time he was active here was last November but I know he was really getting up there in age so I really truly hope he's still with us. Rex is just great, a great scratch Builder and a good guy all around.
