Inventory of Sloth

Well it's been a while since I have written for this blog consistently and I could bore you with various excuses about work, holidays, new phones, sloth and lack of inspiration, new computers.

Nevertheless, it is possibly time to give a little up date on the world of half done things I have previously mentioned on this blog. 

If you like it is an inventory of sloth:

The first offender is my North Irish Horse Sherman this is so close to being completed it is almost criminal to leave in this state. 

Next is my duelist Malatesta who was an diverting holiday project back at Easter I suspect progress will  have to wait until next Easter's getaway.

 In addition this crusader has been hanging around on the nearly finished shelf for years now...

Knocking Teeth (Off)

Unbelievably, I successfully attached the tracks to my North Irish Horse Sherman earlier this week. In the process I managed to knock off some of the track teeth and bust a few bits and pieces no serious damage thought.  In case anyone doesn't believe me here are a couple of pictures to prove it !

The Easy Option

These days 1/35 scale tracks offer a quandary does one opt for the nice and simple rubber band type or the more sophisticated individual link types? Naturally enough I have chosen the complex and  the, more convoluted option in the form of Bronco workable plastic tracks.

When I got them I was a bit overwhelmed by the five tiny pieces that makes up each link. Nevertheless, these are robust and well designed, they go together with minimal fuss.  There are no ejection marks to worry about and are not too fiddly to put together

Before the cement dries it is possible to manipulate the track section in to place and then put to one side for painting.

At the pace I work. It is a slow process.  I managed to complete both side over a few evenings in front of the telly and a couple of Saturday afternoons. The end result is that I am left with a great looking representation of Sherman T54E1 tracks all ready for a lick of paint. I’d better find my airbrush now! 

Wavering Modelling Mojo

Of late I have been ignoring my Sherman and the wider project of completing the crew and the tracks.

While I would love to make yet more excesses for my tardiness. I can only blame distractions of work, writing projects and the onset of the Six Nations rugby.  In reality I have simply lost my modelling mojo in this project. I am not concerned and am sure it will return in due course. I simply must not start any further projects until this one is completed.

So here are a couple further progress shots of my North Irish Horse for you to feast your eyes on.

 

A Further Sherman Update

I have been plodding along at a snails pace with my North Irish Horse Sherman project. Although progress is slow I am pleased with the outcome so far.  In the weeks building up to Christmas an added a couple more oil washes. These are to reflect grime and dirt.  This was followed by a heavy acrylic wash with sand represent large deposits of light dirt and dust over the super structure.  Before each of these stages it dappled contact points on the hull and turret with olive drab where the dirt was rubbed off through contact.

Naturally enough I have managed to knock off a number of bit in this process. Nevertheless, the next stage is to bring together all the individual elements.  The turret, hull, stowage and hatches etc and bring it all together with some beach sand pigment and take the opportunity to tidy up areas which need work.

Next up we will tackle the tracks. Yikes !!

Sherman Update

Tardiness would best sum up my attitude to blog writing over the last month or so. Nevertheless, you can read some of my recent blog contributions on pigeons I penned in a professional capacity. So let's take the opportunity to give you a quick update of my North Irish Horse Sherman. It this point it think the filter washes are more or less complete. They offer a nice mix of grim and dirt that has built up over time while in theatre.

Another reason for the long delay in progress was fear.  For the next stage I want to add quite heavy weathering with light shades of sand so -I am concerned about messing it up.

It terms of reference for the next stage I will use Mario Eens article on building and weathering a DAK Panzer I. From Military Modelling Issue 3 Volume 40

 I promise to post some up dates know matter how horrific the result.

Dusty, Dirty Sherman

Well with the completion of most of the details on the tank I got on with the task of making it dirty. Much of the photographic evidence of tank on campaign in Italy shows them appearing very dusty and dirty. I wanted to replicate that look on this vehicle. Starting with the running gear and lower hull I got to work using a three stage process. The first was to make a damp mud mix which consisted of MIG liquid resin and European Earth pigment mixed with plaster dust. This was liberally slapped on to the bottom and sides of the tank, once dry it kept its satin sheen.  

The next stage was to add dried mud on top of the wet mud. For this I took direction from one of Scale Model Medic YouTube tutorial uploads. 

For his stage I used, mixing European Earth pigment and PVA glue and dabbed it on to represent  dried on mud building up on the hull sides  behind the running gear as per the tutorial.  In addition the running gear was given a heavy wash of a European Earth and water. Once this dried I started stripping back the dirt. This is still a work in progress and need a bit  of fine tuning.  

 The next stage involved giving a liberal brushing of Light Sand pigment which was fixed with pigment fixing fluid

 

The final stage so far was to give the upper surfaces a general dusting with the airbrush using Tamiya Buff to represent a dusty coating. 

Well its so far so good, I want to thank the members of the Military Modelling  Forum  for their  advise to date.

Sherman Progress

Well I managed to complete most of building of my Sherman this week.  I am pleased with the results so far; however, I am yet to stumble in to the "bear trap" of adding the etched brass details. I fear the headlight guards might have defeated me already but I’ll have another go before resorting to the plastic ones. The brass tie down for the pioneer tools will get replaced with lead foil for added malleability.

I have opted to place a couple of figure on it to give the feel of an operational vehicle.  Furthermore, I’d like to portray the commander’s hatch unbuttoned which would be logical since the commander is standing on the rear deck looking off at something in the distance. As a result I might need to add third figure peeking out, mainly to disguise the fact there is no interior to the vehicle. A little more playing about to get the figure positions just right might be in order. 

On the cards for this weekend is to sort out some stowage, which may require a bit of scratch building since I will need to replicate the stowage box attached to the back of the turret seen in the reference image which the Sherman is loosely based on.  Stowage is always problematic for me, I struggle to get it looking natural at the best of times.   

Holy Moly Shermans are Complecated

Well it’s been some time since I’ve managed to write a post. What with holidays, getting back to work and general sloth on my part the blog has been somewhat neglected.  

My latest project is now beginning to take shape so I thought I’d take the opportunity of a rainy Sunday afternoon to write a brief update.

Although the North Irish Horse (NIH) where known for their use of Churchill tanks of various marks during the Second World War in the North African and Italian Campaigns, they also had a smattering of Sherman tanks in their inventory.

For a while now a Sherman M4A1 DV has been languishing in my stash. Earlier this month I rediscovered a picture of one of the NIH Sherman’s from the Recce Troop in a reference work. I felt it might be an interesting project to have a go at.
  

The first job was change the suspension sets for the later VVS versions which I took from an Academy kit.  Then I added some extra armour on the hull sides.

According to the NIH war diary they received a shipment of Shermans in the early part of 1944 prior to their assault in the Hitler Line in May of the same year.  The entry does not specify anything more than Sherman, which I gives the modeller a certain amount of latitude. Nevertheless, as far as I am aware the British Army in Italy seen to of had a range of different Shermans marks at their disposal including some Sherman I veterans from the North African Campaign.  The reference photo that inspired me was taken during offensive actions in January 1945.  Rather than modelling a specific vehicle I am opting for representing an generic Recce Troop vehicle during the summer months of 1944.  

    

Even after a superficial study of Shermans one thing become quickly apparent, they are damn confusing. No two tanks seem to look the same there are a range of different configurations not only between marks but also within them. Its enough to leave me bewildered. As a result I have taken some artistic licence. I trust the Sherman aficionados amongst you will forgive me for this.