Sherman V at Westkapelle, ca. 1947

[Isitme]

Jakko, Good to see paint on the build. Late bit of advice, when bending a frame or box, allow a little extra in the measurment to allow for the bend (learned the hard way), looking forward to the end result.
Mike.

 

[Jakko]

Good to see paint on the build.

I’m just glad I finally, on the third attempt, found a paint colour I’m happy with

Talking of which:



I’ve now drybrushed it with three different colours, first a medium green that I put on quite heavily to bring some of the green tone back, as well as paint over most of the bits where the white spirit had taken the Mig paint off, then a lighter bluish green and finally an even paler shade of green, both mainly to serve as highlights and also a bit as rain streaks. (I also painted the tyres dark grey.)

Here’s the turret top, where most of the grey primer is now gone again:



I deliberately didn’t get rid of all of it, to leave the impression of scuffed paint. After all:

Late bit of advice, when bending a frame or box, allow a little extra in the measurment to allow for the bend (learned the hard way)

The stowage frame on the front, you mean? I guess my lack of accuracy in working with brass worked for rather than against me here

 

[Tim Marlow]

Nice to see this moving on again. There is a great deal of effort in this build and it’s too good to leave it languishing on a shelf…..

 

[Jim R]

Hi Jakko
Nice to see this back on the go. Good about the decals although strange you were not told about them. The paintjob looks good - a lot of work to get it right
Jim

 

[Jakko]

Nice to see this moving on again. There is a great deal of effort in this build and it’s too good to leave it languishing on a shelf…..

It is, definitely. But at the same time, I’m actually glad I didn’t finish this two or three years ago, because I would have ended up with a model that I now know would have had inaccurate details The long wait allowed me to get more of it right, I’m happy to say.

Good about the decals although strange you were not told about them.

A bit odd, yes, and even more so that a few years later he did still remember me when I bought something else from him. But hey, I can’t complain about getting the corrected set for free (Even if it still has the incorrect, partially guessed WD census number that was since proved to be T-148025, and not end in an 8 or a 9 or something as we thought initially.)

The paintjob looks good - a lot of work to get it right

Actually, this is a very easy paint job Just a base coat with sprayed highlights, a (too thick) wash, some scrubbing (because of the thickness of the wash) and then a few shades of drybrushing. But I’m pleased with the result, it looks old and worn like it should for a tank that has sat outside for almost three years at about a hundred metres from the sea.

 

[Jakko]

The decals are now on:



However, these still need more work to make them appear worn, because while they might be sharp like here in 1944 photos, by ’47 most were rather faded. Also, the WD census number on the right side had mostly worn off; Star Decals gives both options, so I put the worn one on the right and the normal one on the left, though I cut off the 3 at the end and replaced it with a 5 from another number in the same set. I didn’t on the right, because the number isn’t nearly worn enough yet and needs more work with paint anyway. I also need to put the white brush-cleaning marks on the right side, as well as the remains of waterproofing compound and odd, dark strains of which I can’t work out what caused them (and thus, what their colour might be).

Star Decals also provides a ringed star for the turret roof, marking it as optional, but there are no pictures (that I know of) of this tank which show the roof, so it’s conjecture. From ground-level pictures it looks unlikely that there was a ringed star on the roof, because that tended to be partially on the curve between roof and side and this visible, so I left that decal off. Same with the arm of service marking (the white 52 on a red square), that should also be on the right rear hull, but it was on the first-aid box, which naturally disappeared entirely after the war.

Oh yeah, I forgot: I also painted several areas with a dark grey stain (varnish plus black pigment), because they appear darker in photos of the real tank. The gun barrel, track link racks and stowage rack on the hull front, the armour plates on the sides and the deep-wading chute on the rear all got a coat of this, so they look darker than the rest of the model. Because this also made them shiny, they then got a coat of matt varnish.

 

[Jim R]

Also, the WD census number on the right side had mostly worn off; Star Decals gives both options,

That's something I've not heard of - ready worn decals. Star decals sound well thought out. They look good.
Jim

 

[Jakko]

I think the reason must be because all post-war photos show the number as very worn (barely readable, in fact), but it would have been neatly painted during the war, so they give you both options. Despite owning a few sets, I hadn’t actually used Star Decals decals (um …) before, but they go on very well. They come off the backing paper after just a couple of seconds in water, they don’t tear easily, they respond well to Micro Set and Sol and are very matt. Only thing is that the carrier film is a little thick, but I guess that’s the price for not tearing.

 

[Jakko]

Toning down and fading the markings was pretty easy with some green paint and a largish brush, stippling it on to try and replicate the wear and fading seen in photos of the real tank.



On the hull side, I did the same with the white parts of the WD number, and painted out the other digits with darker green paint, again to replicate photos. I used the same paint to add darker blotches on the rear hull side and the turret splash guard, then painted white streaks on the hull side for the brush-cleaning that somebody did on the real tank:



This needs a little toning down too, though, as it’s a bit too stark as well. Also, I added very dark grey to parts that are dark in photos, where (I assume) Bostik waterproofing compound was applied: the flanges of the final drive housing, around the hull ventilators, over and around the “air scoops” on the rear deck, etc.

 

[Jakko]

The finish line is in sight …



Photos of the real tank show a lot of sand on the bogies and the roadwheels on the right-hand side. Lacking pictures of the other side, I decided to have it only on the right, on the basis that a tank standing in a ruined town probably won’t pick up the same amount of dirt and stuff on both sides, unlike one driving through terrain.

I replicated the sand with Vallejo light mud from their weathering range, which is thick, textured paint that doesn’t seem to shrink after application (unlike acrylic texture gel) and looks good as sand as well. When that had dried, I put a sand-coloured wash over the whole tank, thick on the lower right-hand side but thin elsewhere, so it looks like dirt that has gotten partially washed away by the rain multiple times. For that same reason, I brushed downward through the wash to hopefully give a bit of a rain-streaked effect.

The wash also lightened the model’s appearance, which is good because I felt it was too dark after the previous washes.

At that point I decided to put the tracks on as well. It all still needs a bit more work, though. Not finished yet

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looking good Jakko. The weathering has helped bring life to it…

 

[Jakko]

Thanks, I’m quite pleased with the finish so far. It’s looking both worn and dirty, I think, though it still needs a bit more dirt, and also some rust spots, I think.

 

[Jakko]

It’s done now!

 

[scottie3158]

Jakko,
That is a great finish mate.

 

[Jakko]

Thanks