Time again for another Sunday Night Foto Fun. Again this thread is meant to be a showcase, or at least a look into members workshops to show others what you have been up to. I Imagine you will be seeing a lot of my progress on my Sherman for the next little while as I stumble through my first Tamiya Tank build.

It certainly is different then the Heng Long line. My mode of operation with the Heng Longs was to pull them apart and then just wing it putting them back together, better then they were. The Tamiya of course has bags of parts and a booklet of instructions. Nothing too intimidiating, you just do one step at a time, and when you get to the last page you will have a tank.

I got started yesterday and got the alumium chassis ready for paint, and then painted it. I have bearings on order, but I think I will build it with the bushings and add the bearings later.

Looking good YHR.
Quick tip with the bearings and road wheels.Don't fix the hub cap on the inboard wheels,this way you can unscrew the wheel shafts to get to the bearings for maintenance.Also,make sure you use thread lock on the shaft fixing screws,inboard and outboard.If the outboard ones come loose once the caps are glued on (like mine did) it's a pig to fix.

Now this is what I have been doing to mine.
I made some mantlet fixing screws on the sherman turret from welding rod that has been slightly rounded at the end and a slot cut accross it.Then glued into holes.


With the mantlet on.


This next one is actually YHR's fault.He got me thinking about the casting numbers after he asked a question about them in hi sherman thread.
Added some to the nose.Sliced them off model kit sprue.



Cheers all.

I see you have cut out the driver's hatches...can we have a close-up and a description of how you did that...I know my m4 would benefit from the same treatment
Thanks

Nick

Wight

Your Sherman is going to be amazing. The detail you are going to is unbelievable. You certainly are setting the bar very high.

It is a very simple trick I learned here. The Tamiya plastic cuts like butter with thread. Basically you drill a small hole in the molded in hatch line. Thread a piece of thread through this. You then just start a sawing action with the thread, going back and forth and cut along the recessed hatch line. Cut around the hinges, and then all you have to do is drill a hole through the hinge assembly and push a piece of brass rod into, and you will have a fully functional hatch.

The thread will break a few times, but you just thread through a new piece and finish where you left off. I bet it took about 10 minutes for each hatch, tops. On the Heng Long it takes considerably longer.

Here is a shot of my Heng Long Pershing with the hatches opened.

Wow good tip, I'll try that. I was expecting to have to use the back of a scalpel blade but your way seems a lot better...
I've just been taking some pics of my sherman gun mount to show my first mod to it. However I'm a bit dumb when it comes to computers...How do I send a pic with a reply ?.

great idea on the hatches...but....those hatches have to open and lock almost down to the sponson box. The boxes there will not allow the hatch to open and in a real one, could result in you loosing a driver or BOG. [:@][:@] Photos are of M-46's, but 26-45-46-47 all used the same exact hatches. Only thing you can stow on those front fenders are camo nets or smaller tarps. The chain is also a BIG no-no. Tanks rarely carried chains,(retievers yes) and especially where you have it [:@]. can catch on anything and cause big time problems.[:-] The driver is sitting way too high, but figure you have a space problem sitting on the motors...might have to shave his but a little.

Yes this is an old picture. Since I took this the boxes have been moved to the rear deck to allow the hatch to flop right over. At the drivers position I have a head on a spring (Like a jack in the box) Folds out of the way so the hatch can be closed, but when the hatch is open only the head can be seen.

You just need to have your photo in a folder on your local drive. At the bottom of the reply text box you can see the "click here to upload images and files" Click on that and then just bowse to your photo and upload it.

Ok this is attempt no. 2 at pic uploads of my partially finished Sherman...Please note it's no showcase and it's my first attempt at a plastic model and it is only a small detail change to the end plate section of the gun mount...theres still quite a lot to do with this section...Oh and please excuse the dust and my "marginal" camera skills.

Congratulations on your first picture post.!!!!!!!!!! We expect more as you move along in this hobby.

cool idea on the "bobble head" driver....I had a real one like him.

Gigantohawk that looks really good.Makes the area look much more solid.May have to do the same to mine.
What did you use to do it?

Cheers.

Wow, thanks for the comment Wight. I think I'm going to like this Hobby and Forum...I've posted some pic's showing the Gun Mount detail of a 105 gun mantlet E8257 out of "Walk Around M4 Sherman"...It's a great source of reference and would make a great extra xmas present if you don't already have it.
As for my mod, it's made out of semi-circles of plasticard glued on to sides of the mount then the perifery filled in with white milliput to a concave section if possible... Use shaped wooden tools dipped in water to achieve a smooth finish,BBq skewers are ideal for this... The exact thickness of the plasticard is up to you. I tend to work by eye a lot... Just use your skill and judgement in the final choice...The gun and mantlet will almost certainly have to come off for you to work this area and whilst you are at it don't forget to fill the gap across the bottom of the gun mount with thin plasticard, cutting small slots in the card to allow the mantlet flanges to slide up and down freely...

I hope this helps.

Gigantohawk