Tamiya M4A3E2 "Jumbo" Sherman in 1:35

S

Stands24

Guest
Hey guys! Back with another tank. All my other projects are on hold since this tank will be my Dad's Christmas present. I'm looking to replicate Cobra King as it appeared December 1944. I have a set of decals I'll order when I get paid next. Other than that, I think I have all the materials I need from the start!


A quick review of the kit... The kit is from 1987. Relatively old! Despite that, the mold quality is excellent. Very highly detailed. It has some poly caps for the drive sprockets and idler wheels. The main wheels don't need poly caps as they are attached to the bogies, which are attached to the hull. The wheels roll freely. This means you can have the tank "drive" around when done! The kit comes with vinyl tracks. Here's the box art.


pGputPM.jpg



All the parts for a bogey, before and after construction.


bdN4jIG.jpg



YStPIeL.jpg



Then came the lower hull. It is one big part with only slots for attaching the bogeys, drive sprockets, and idler wheels.


R2Q3Xcs.jpg



All of them attached, and a shot of the rear panel with some work done. The exhaust mufflers, I will attach after the tank is painted because I will paint them separately.


Kgdn0pJ.jpg
DfYnQIJ.jpg



Then came the upper hull. I had to cut off and sand down some parts to prepare for the attachment of the additional armor.


520SRd1.jpg



And after the armor was attached. The sides got the armor too. I really dropped the ball here; I used super glue and not cement because it would take ages to apply the cement with my little Tamiya brush/lid thing. By the time I finished the second half, the first would have already dried. I didn't expect the super glue to cure so fast, so the plates are slightly misaligned except for one of the sides (I don't remember which).


DUWOw4q.jpg



Then I decided it would be a nice time to test fit everything together, minus the turret which wasn't started yet. As for the tracks, I tried to find some link-and-length tracks of this type (M48 track with "duckbill" end connectors) to no avail. I was going to buy a set of Friulmodel M48 tracks and the separate "duckbill" end connectors from Bronco. The total would have been over $40 with no guarantee it would actually work... See, I dread vinyl tracks after my experience with the first kit I ever made. It was a Trumpeter E-75 and it was a nightmare to find a glue that would keep the tracks "sagged" onto the road wheels... Fortunately these tracks in this kit are just right for this tank! They fit nicely with no problems and there's not much "sitting" needing to be done. They attach together very nicely too. I think all I will have to do is glue just a few spots on, and then melt the ends together. The tank rolls smoothly but you have to push it with some force to get all the wheels rolling.


oLTeCko.jpg



It was at this point that I received my PaK 43/41 anti-tank gun in the mail... I figured I'd need a couple shells for it and I remembered that Dragon King Tiger kit I finished had three brass shells included with it!! I pulled them out to put in the PaK 43/41 box and I decided I would do a size comparison. My GOODNESS look at the size of that shell! It's no wonder the long 88 made short work of whatever it fired at; that propellant charge is simply HUGE!


tKrnXtc.jpg



 


Then work progressed on the upper hull. I'm leaving all tools and stuff detached for now; I will paint them separately.


wFepgu8.jpg



Turret parts! The main ones anyway. Before and after assembly, with a close-up of the cast texture. Nice job Tamiya!


5QiPTv2.jpg
DbQe1Q8.jpg
kOPlIAZ.jpg



Then the little parts went on. I'm leaving off the coaxial MG to paint separately.


spf2M8w.jpg
1YtSR0j.jpg



And a full fit of the whole tank! I'm also leaving off the roof MG to paint separately.


FLF1KIL.jpg
MUYQWiE.jpg



About this time I was really getting bothered by a few things... There was no underside plate for the sponsons! And that little protrusion in the back of the turret is empty underneath! I don't know if this is laziness on Tamiya's part or simply the technology in 1987 couldn't make it possible. If that's the case, I'm fine and I understand. Here is what I mean.


1JvoFK1.jpg



sQvEZ6O.jpg



I decided to address the sponsons first... This was my first "hardcore" fix on a kit. I had to take precise measurements and mark the outline of what I needed to cut out on my trusty Evergreen plastic sheet... Tedious and took a couple tries!


SXgSHc5.jpg
Vd8ttDc.jpg



And it paid off! I had to re-glue the left piece several times. It kept messing up. I decided to add little "supports" inside the upper hull, to brace the long pieces I cut out for gluing.
rdvOzfT.jpg



The sealed sponsons!


KQrKuAw.jpg
2brFhMK.jpg
P4m9reh.jpg



Then came the turret thing. It is small so I tried to cut out a small bit of curved plastic. It didn't look right, even after I took measurements... I figured it was a good time to break out my Tamiya putty for the first time! I got the hang of it quick. The pictures are: immediately after applying and shaping, then a day after when I sanded it and stuff. I also had to snap off the bits on the end because they got in the way of my grip. I re-attached them and applied putty to the gaps today which I will trim down tomorrow. I think the middle part came out nicely. I will tidy it up when I prime and paint! That will make it much smoother.


pt5EMyc.jpg
so3qTQ7.jpg



Another thing that I had to fix was the loader's periscope. The kit didn't include one! I had to grab a spare from my Dragon Tiger II (I'm sure it's not at all what the Americans used lol but it's all I have) and filled in the gaps in the side with some more putty!


ugfgs7q.jpg



06uUX6l.jpg



And that brings us to the present! Was fun working on this so far. Not a lot of parts; I'm glad Tamiya keeps it simple with this one! I hope my dad likes it when he's finished. Nobody tell him! :D The idea behind choosing Cobra King for this one was... See, he really likes the book "Killing Patton" by Bill O'Reilly and admires Patton as a whole. In that book, Cobra King is mentioned as being the first tank in Bastogne, as it was in reality. Hence the painted on words. Lol! Because no other tank was singled out in that book as being under Patton's Third Army (plus Cobra King's historical significance), I decided to go with Cobra King. If anybody has reference pictures of it in 1944 except for that one taken from its left side (I already have that saved), I would be very grateful.


That's all for now. I will continue tomorrow with the tools hopefully. I want to have the tank itself primed on Wednesday, as I will be off work with plenty of time to work on it. Post your thoughts!


 
 
Last edited:

monica

“When there's no more room in hell, the dead will
SMF Supporter
Joined
Oct 30, 2013
Messages
15,105
Points
113
Location
Melbourne
First Name
monica
very nice progress,and do like how your laying it all out as you go along, :D ,your review,


I have a sherman for next years GB,I do real like how you add in the plastic ,cover over the tracks,it,s some think I,mean to do on a lot of build, :/


very nice so far will be sitting in on this one, :D
 
S

Stands24

Guest
very nice progress,and do like how your laying it all out as you go along, :D ,your review,


I have a sherman for next years GB,I do real like how you add in the plastic ,cover over the tracks,it,s some think I,mean to do on a lot of build, :/


very nice so far will be sitting in on this one, :D

Thanks Monica! Always nice to have someone interested. :D


I sanded down the putty on the rear turret things just now. It looks good!


2Sr5lKo.jpg



9n8tavP.jpg



0zZ3fOo.jpg
 

Peej

SMF Supporter
Joined
Aug 16, 2014
Messages
1,028
Points
113
First Name
Paul
Very interesting. I will be watching this build as I am thinking about giving planes a break and doing something along these lines. (If only I could decide which one to go for!)
 
S

Stands24

Guest
Very interesting. I will be watching this build as I am thinking about giving planes a break and doing something along these lines. (If only I could decide which one to go for!)



Personally, I love the mid- and late-war German tanks. I have four Tiger IIs alone. xD  I just never liked the look of the other narions' tanks. Not to mention Dragon makes AWESOME German tank kits.
 
D

dubster72

Guest
I must build a Sherman sometime soon! Maybe for next year's GB, but until then I'll watch this one take shape.


Patton was a very interesting character, although I dare say his reputation might well be somewhat different on either side of the Atlantic ;)
 
S

Stands24

Guest
I must build a Sherman sometime soon! Maybe for next year's GB, but until then I'll watch this one take shape.


Patton was a very interesting character, although I dare say his reputation might well be somewhat different on either side of the Atlantic ;)

I agree. xD  History and its people change with whatever side of the campfire you sit at. ^_^  


As for Shermans, I also have a newer Tamiya M4A3E8, but I used this Jumbo for my dad since it will be a tank he is more familiar with.
 
Last edited:
C

CharleyGnarlyP290

Guest
Nice job so far, Ryan.


That kit brings back some memories... I got it when it first came out! And you are giving me flashbacks. This kit was the first one that I sealed up the sponsons, and I did it pretty mush like you did. I like seeing some good, old-fashioned modeling techniques for taking care of stuff like that.
 
S

Stands24

Guest
Nice job so far, Ryan.


That kit brings back some memories... I got it when it first came out! And you are giving me flashbacks. This kit was the first one that I sealed up the sponsons, and I did it pretty mush like you did. I like seeing some good, old-fashioned modeling techniques for taking care of stuff like that.

I love nostalgia, such a great feeling. Glad I could give you some, Brett. :D  Whenever I have kids, Lord willing, I will teach them scale modelling. I want those "back in the day" moments. (: That aside, making fixes like that was a lot of fun! Made me feel like a big boy modeler. :D


Update! I got the tank primed and the tools cut off and primed as well.


DtJCLHx.jpg



9quXBDd.jpg



I decided to keep primer out of the little slots to which the tools connect, so as to make cementing them easier. I just pulled off little pieces of sticky tack, rolled them up into balls, and stuck them in the slots!


Vna8SVb.jpg



While I was at it I decided to use my newfound putty skills to fill in a gap on my Panther II's gun mantlet. It went pretty well!


KvFlqBa.jpg



I've started painting the tools and will show them when they're all done. I'm going to the local hobby store tomorrow to get paint for the tank itself; forgot I didn't have any!
 

monica

“When there's no more room in hell, the dead will
SMF Supporter
Joined
Oct 30, 2013
Messages
15,105
Points
113
Location
Melbourne
First Name
monica
very nice work so far on this one, Ryan ,will be waiting to see your progress later on, :D
 
S

Stands24

Guest
Update time! It's small but progress was made. I painted all the tools. Didn't take as long as I expected, and everything looks so precise. Tedious work, but I'm happy how they turned out! They will all get a wash after being attached to the tank when it's painted, so they won't look this clean/shiny in the end.


JqhlATO.jpg



A close up of the .50 cal. In my opinion, this was my best work in this group. I had to refine the handles and bolt a couple times. :P  I love it!


Byt6VG2.jpg



And lookie here! I bought this recently. M35 stahlhelm! It's an exact replica of an M35, not one that saw combat. Still though; it's all steel, 1.8mm thick. Comes with the leather and everything so you can wear it. This thing is heavy! :D  It looks so awesome though; I love stahlhelms. All it's missing are the emblems on the sides... I'll see what I can do about that. 


I got this for $85, and it was well worth it. Authentic stahlhelms cost so much more and usually don't come with everything...


J9QbmCQ.jpg



Anyways, I will try to paint the tank itself on Wednesday when I am off of work.
 
Last edited:
S

Stands24

Guest
Tank is done with the olive drab coat!! This was so much faster than my Tiger II, obviously because I didn't have to recreate the ambush camo and use three colors. :D


yAUZtoc.jpg



MpVYh8x.jpg



QwSNlG8.jpg
CZ5nRPy.jpg



After the primer and paint, I'm happy to see the turret retains its molded cast texture!


7gMPzi6.jpg



So for the wheels, I found out I can easily paint the contact surfaces (I know they're rubber so I'll cover them with rubber black) by just aiming the airbrush air stream at the wheel at a steep angle, which makes it spin rapidly. Then I pull back on the trigger for paint flow, and the wheel practically paints itself! I love physics!! Here are two gifs to demonstrate what I mean.


http://i.imgur.com/HBxClQb.mp4


http://i.imgur.com/XbOxxz2.mp4


Next step, minor fixes to the paint and making a couple details that I forgot. See y'all!
 
S

Stands24

Guest
Oh, what color do you guys suggest I paint the light on the turret and the viewports on the various periscopes?
 

monica

“When there's no more room in hell, the dead will
SMF Supporter
Joined
Oct 30, 2013
Messages
15,105
Points
113
Location
Melbourne
First Name
monica
I mostly use a translucence,lite blue,with a dark blue line on the bottom, :smiling3:


hope you like the sounds of my idea,
 
B

Builder

Guest
Looking very good there Ryan, love the work on the gun, with the light, I use Bare metal foils then cover that up with a clear part, 


See here the back of this part is covered in foil


20160920_202519_RichtoneHDR_zpsojste6zc.jpg



20160920_204105_RichtoneHDR_zpsfd3klood.jpg



Also see the light on this model I have used bare metal foil as the back, then cut out a circle from a clear sheet of styrene and glued it on with PVA glue


20160922_212651_RichtoneHDR_zpsmjp3hhrj.jpg



Hope that helps! There are many ways to do it though. 
 
S

Stands24

Guest
@monica


Hey! I picked up some Tamiya Transluscent Blue from my hobby store. I tried two methods and I'm not sure which I liked better.


The first method, I simply used the blue on the viewport. It looks a small bit too blue to me, but I don't know what other people think. The one I used this on is the viewport to the left.


71aaJgi.jpg



eJuGwOS.jpg



The second method, I first painted a small black line across the interior of the viewport, leaving the outer rim olive drab. Then I painted over the whole port with the blue. It looks darker but with a tinge of blue.


xfjo4V5.jpg



0atUQbI.jpg



Here is a comparison of the two. Only blue on top, black and blue on the left.


hCVRKyx.jpg



Which method do you prefer?


@Builder


I wish I knew about that before I cemented the spotlight together! :D  I will definitely try that on my next build that has a spotlight or something.
 
S

Stands24

Guest
Accidentally submitted post too soon. Will redo it...
 
Last edited:
S

Stands24

Guest
Alright, big-ish update, lots of pictures though! I got all the paint done as far as I know and some other stuff.


So, to begin with the wooden plank we see here in this picture of Cobra King, between the drive sprockets...


tank.jpg



You can see it also holds an ammo box; will get to that later. I went to my local hobby store in search for something to make this plank with, and found a perfectly sized strip of balsa wood! I kind-of-measured, cut it out, and it fit perfectly!


M2T38G3.jpg



mbgmJ7x.jpg



Then came time to paint and stuff. I began by chipping and scratching it up. For my first time doing that to something, I think it looks awesome.


2QpyXQP.jpg



For the paint, I had to mix the three colors shown here. I winged it (like I do with almost all my stuff 9_9 ) and it paid off nicely. I really like the color I came out with. It was mostly the rust color (actually rotbraun for my German tank camos ;) ), some of the yellow-ish one (ModelMaster's "Wood" color), and a smidge of the dark brown (also a German camo color, schokoladenbraun). I had to paint over it several times after this picture was taken, so the final color you will see later is a bit different. I had to keep repainting to cover the barren spots in the recesses of the scratches. Each time, I had to mix a new batch since I was using small amounts and mixing them right on my drywall (you can see a batch drying under the plank here), and they'd dry soon after I finished. Therefore the amounts of paint in the mix was always a bit different. Still, in the end it looked good!


t7txMGU.jpg



Then I attached it to see how it looked after painting and chipping. I love it!


l8r2CDC.jpg
XOpHVDE.jpg



After this, I noticed a couple more details I had to add. The ammo box obviously, but the tow cable as well. I ordered a set of Verlinden resin ammo boxes, and a metal tow cable from Karaya Models. Halfway through trying to get the box off the resin cast bar, I read that the dust was toxic if breathed in! :S Good thing I went outside and finished removing it... Here are the goodies after I got them.


X9VoIeX.jpg



I goofed on sawing off the box, so the underside was messed up in a bunch of ways. It was uneven and stuff, so I had to go over it with some putty to smooth it out and fill in the low areas that cut into the box itself. Went well! Still not perfectly smooth or even, but that's okay. It won't be that noticeable since it will sit on that part.


Yetx9uo.jpg



I got around to painting the wheel rims their proper rubber color! This was the mix I used for my Tiger II; I used some flat black and mixed it with some dark brown I think it was. I had to go back over the green rims a couple times because the paint flowed over.


ms6qDzH.jpg



I also decided on a color for the viewports and periscopes! I painted a thin black line in the middle of the area, then went over it all with Tamiya's clear blue. Looks great I think! The black line is meant to make the whole area look darker than the blue by itself (which is pretty blue when painted alone), and this is because (I THINK) the light is refracted through the whole area to make the black underneath look like it's everywhere, when it's really just across the middle. This also lets the edges stay blue because you aren't "seeing" the dark interior of the tank when looking at the viewport from the side, if that makes sense.


QYdUrHi.jpg



Also, I painted the spotlight using a mixture of ModelMaster's flat white and aluminum. It was mostly white with a bit of the aluminum to give the glossy, slightly silver look. Here are a few pictures to show that, the "finished" turret look with the .50 cal mounted, and some angles on the cupola's viewports to show the black-blue transitions. I REALLY like that effect! I'm also intrigued to see that Cobra King did not have a protruding coaxial .30 cal; I can't find it in any of the pictures. I guess the huge mantlet just extended past the end of the barrel. I also like how my Dragon King Tiger periscope fits nicely in that spot in front of the cupola, combined with the putty. Came out very nice!


simwRPU.jpg



HkXX2gU.jpg



s87EIYW.jpg



And finally, a shot of the full vehicle with all the goodies attached, TOOLS INCLUDED! :D This makes me excited. The tracks aren't included because they aren't painted yet, and I've just run into some problems with them.. The primer is peeling off...


A1oS1hT.jpg



A shot of the frontal details, then one showing the underside of the plank. I decided to scratch it up more than the top since the bottom and the front of the plank would be the sides most affected by running into stuff like rocks, bushes, etc.


sOURFM2.jpg
RgUXRii.jpg



Now for the rear deck and tools! I like the way the tools look on the tank. So happy with the paint jobs.  ^_^ Also, pardon the random paint inside the lower hull. I used it as my testing area for the viewport color options. I also painted the rear lights. The spare tracks are painted the rubber color, same as the wheel rims. I read that this particular type of track had rubber pads.


oHNdg0z.jpg



mioLMcs.jpg



And that brings us to the end of today's update! I hope y'all like it; I am certainly pleased with my progress. A lot of work is going into this lol. With that said, it just occurred to me that I completely forgot to paint the TOP periscope of the cupola... :/ Will do that now. As for the tracks... I read Tamiya's old vinyl tracks have a lot of trouble with paint sticking to them. This is alarming because it is way too close to Christmas to order aftermarket tracks... Shipping time aside, it will take a good while to get them ready and painted, not to mention all the work left to do on the tank itself... I will do my best, but this HAS to be ready by the 23rd, Christmas wrapping and all.


Anyway, thanks for reading. B| I will get to work on a solution for the tracks.
 
S

Stands24

Guest
Alright, update! Gloss coat and decals!!

I will start with the gloss coat. It took longer than I expected because I had to use my Badger airbrush. It doesn't have a large spray radius like my Iwata brush does.
DpsQN8k.jpg


Then came the decals! I got a set of Cobra King decals from Archer Fine Transfers. They are dry transfer so I had to learn how to use them. Fortunately I am creative, so I got the necessary tools from my existing materials! A blunt rubby tip from the other end of the sprue part I used to paint dots on my Tiger II, and a strip of balsa wood as the flat end burnisher!
6ckOF72.jpg


I started with the front. I thought, "wow! Dry transfers are so simple!"
BlEcqUJ.jpg


Finished front decals.
WLNbwDp.jpg


Then came the back. First sign of trouble... The "C-6" decal first wouldn't fully separate from the film, then it tore a bit and got a little out of shape.
DpKHrC3.jpg


Displeased, I scratched it off and squared off the area for a quick repaint, regloss, and a second go at the decal.

STOBW7P.jpg


And success!
4obFbtA.jpg


Then I did the turret stars. The bigger decals seemed to come off much easier. Nevertheless, a point or two got a bit mangled.
pNFR2Cn.jpg


Then it was time for the mother of all dry transfers...

ECLWBfU.jpg


Cobra King's famous markings!! Archer nailed the detail on this one. Each letter is an individual decal (even the tiny yellow stencil letters), so I had to keep the whole film on until everything was transferred. I think I did pretty well for these being the first dry transfers I ever did. But as before, the smaller letters didn't come out so well. In this next photo you will see what I mean; just look at the smaller yellow stencils on the left. The one on the rear of the side came out the worst; only like half the stuff transferred. I had to scrape it off and do it again; this picture shows the second try's result.
SV3Qgy5.jpg


After that, all that was left was the other side. Since we know for sure that the name of the tank was painted on both sides (discovered after the new paint on that spot was scraped off during the vehicle's restoration), I decided to definitely put that on the right side. I then consulted my friend who knows American marking patterns for the most part, and he said that typically the stenciled stuff/any official markings were mirrored on both sides of a tank. After that, I decided to put all the stencils on. Still ran into some problems with the decals though.
7Lrsr53.jpg


And now for all things together! I'm so happy this came out as well as it did. I would have had to get a whole new decal sheet if any part of the "First In Bastogne" was messed up!

j3Thr6P.jpg


In the end, I think the messed up stenciling doesn't look so bad. After all, surely some parts of them got rubbed/scraped off in the field. Saves me some weathering work that way!!

So next up is washing and stuff, then a bit of weathering, and I will put a slight winter wash over it all. Then some more weathering and mud! After that, matte finish and it should be done.

As always, post your thoughts! :D
 
Top