Some fantastic detailing Jakko..keep it coming
Jakko’s 1:35 Sherman Crab Mk. I — seeing double?
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It took a while, but here are some shots of the turrets:
The Dragon turret is built pretty much straight from the box, though with the periscope cover flaps replaced by bits of plastic card, and some additional detailling. I blended the area around the gunner’s periscope into the rest of the turret better with putty, because it was far too sharp. The commander’s pericope is missing (I just left the parts off, they’re separate in this kit) because it also is on the real tank.
The Asuka turret has had a bit more work done, to represent bits that were originally present but got cut off in the 1950s. Aside from the standard fixtures (for which I used the kit parts), I added an extra aerial bracket on the right rear, mounting strips for the stowage box that British tanks normally carried (but not these, due to being prepared for deep wading) and four vertical brackets on each side of the turret. These last ones were for storing spare flail chains, and they were originally present on the tank, as early photos show, like the one with the mat being cleaned over the gun barrel. I won’t be adding the chains, though. That same photo also shows a canvas cover over the gun mantlet, which was standard on Crabs even when they weren’t equipped for deep wading, but I’ll also leave it off because it has disappeared from this particular tank in later photos.
The main thing that still needs to be added to both these turrets, is casting numbers. I initially thought I could cut them from sprues, but I couldn’t find enough and of small enough size for that, so I ended up ordering a set of Archer casting marks. As I don’t have them yet, this is as far as I can go with the turrets at the moment. Well, the Asuka turret still needs its commander’s hatches, but I’ll leave those off until after I put the casting marks on, so they won’t get in the way for those on the middle of the turret roof.
The Dragon turret is built pretty much straight from the box, though with the periscope cover flaps replaced by bits of plastic card, and some additional detailling. I blended the area around the gunner’s periscope into the rest of the turret better with putty, because it was far too sharp. The commander’s pericope is missing (I just left the parts off, they’re separate in this kit) because it also is on the real tank.
The Asuka turret has had a bit more work done, to represent bits that were originally present but got cut off in the 1950s. Aside from the standard fixtures (for which I used the kit parts), I added an extra aerial bracket on the right rear, mounting strips for the stowage box that British tanks normally carried (but not these, due to being prepared for deep wading) and four vertical brackets on each side of the turret. These last ones were for storing spare flail chains, and they were originally present on the tank, as early photos show, like the one with the mat being cleaned over the gun barrel. I won’t be adding the chains, though. That same photo also shows a canvas cover over the gun mantlet, which was standard on Crabs even when they weren’t equipped for deep wading, but I’ll also leave it off because it has disappeared from this particular tank in later photos.
The main thing that still needs to be added to both these turrets, is casting numbers. I initially thought I could cut them from sprues, but I couldn’t find enough and of small enough size for that, so I ended up ordering a set of Archer casting marks. As I don’t have them yet, this is as far as I can go with the turrets at the moment. Well, the Asuka turret still needs its commander’s hatches, but I’ll leave those off until after I put the casting marks on, so they won’t get in the way for those on the middle of the turret roof.
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Now that I got the Archer casting marks I ordered, I added them to the turret roofs and rear faces:
Here’s a close-up of the Dragon turret, because they’re more visible on the grey plastic:
The D50876 is a single decal, the others are all made from loose letters and numbers, which is very fiddly — to give an idea of size, each of these numbers is about 1 mm high … Once they’re dry tomorrow, I’ll add a layer of paint over them to make sure they don’t go walkabout, because I’ve had bad experiences with decals coming loose from unpainted plastic on the past.
Also, I added some padlocks, which are on the real tank because people leave them there (there’s also one on each of the driver’s hatches). These are just a bit of bent copper wire and plastic card; I tried making the clasp from bent plastic rod first, but that wouldn’t hold the bend well enough.
Here’s a close-up of the Dragon turret, because they’re more visible on the grey plastic:
The D50876 is a single decal, the others are all made from loose letters and numbers, which is very fiddly — to give an idea of size, each of these numbers is about 1 mm high … Once they’re dry tomorrow, I’ll add a layer of paint over them to make sure they don’t go walkabout, because I’ve had bad experiences with decals coming loose from unpainted plastic on the past.
Also, I added some padlocks, which are on the real tank because people leave them there (there’s also one on each of the driver’s hatches). These are just a bit of bent copper wire and plastic card; I tried making the clasp from bent plastic rod first, but that wouldn’t hold the bend well enough.
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Putting paint over them turned out to be a good idea. When I did, I knocked one of the decals loose with my brush, so I carefully moved it back into position and then took more care to cover everything in a layer of paint without disturbing any others. This makes me suspect even more that putting paint on first, before the decals, would be better than applying them to the bare plastic.
I added weld seams around the stuff on the hull sides. Here is the monument tank:
This is just putty from a tube, smeared into the angle between the plastic card and the hull, then the excess scraped away before it dried and textured where necessary.
I did much the same on the derelict tank, but not as extensively in part because it’s much harder to reach.
I also fitted the replacement mudguards from 0.25 mm plastic card and some strip:
You can also see the padlocks on the drivers’ hatch handles here.
On the derelict tank, I also added the flail axle and the blast shields below the arms:
The axle needed bits of L-profile added to it, because this particular Crab had them. It took me quite a bit of studying photos to work out they were probably 120 degrees apart, and those on the right are offset from the ones on the left by 60 degrees. Not all Crab Mk. I tanks had these, while Crab Mk. II tanks appear to have had six on each side, 60 degrees apart of course.
The blast shield below the right arm has a bit of paper-thin plastic card on it, because I had trimmed away too much of the kit part. It turned out that the thin bit on it is intended to sit inside the arm, but I only figured that out with the left one, when I had already installed the one on the tight
There is also a bit of plastic strip in the middle of the blast shield on the hull, as I discovered that in photos of real Crabs, but Resicast omitted it on their resin part that I copied.
I added weld seams around the stuff on the hull sides. Here is the monument tank:
This is just putty from a tube, smeared into the angle between the plastic card and the hull, then the excess scraped away before it dried and textured where necessary.
I did much the same on the derelict tank, but not as extensively in part because it’s much harder to reach.
I also fitted the replacement mudguards from 0.25 mm plastic card and some strip:
You can also see the padlocks on the drivers’ hatch handles here.
On the derelict tank, I also added the flail axle and the blast shields below the arms:
The axle needed bits of L-profile added to it, because this particular Crab had them. It took me quite a bit of studying photos to work out they were probably 120 degrees apart, and those on the right are offset from the ones on the left by 60 degrees. Not all Crab Mk. I tanks had these, while Crab Mk. II tanks appear to have had six on each side, 60 degrees apart of course.
The blast shield below the right arm has a bit of paper-thin plastic card on it, because I had trimmed away too much of the kit part. It turned out that the thin bit on it is intended to sit inside the arm, but I only figured that out with the left one, when I had already installed the one on the tight
There is also a bit of plastic strip in the middle of the blast shield on the hull, as I discovered that in photos of real Crabs, but Resicast omitted it on their resin part that I copied.
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scottie3158
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Jakko,
All looking good keep it going.
All looking good keep it going.
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More tiny work that takes much longer than you expect it it … The side blast shields are attached to the tank with metal strips, which Resicast gives you etched bits for — but those have a bolt head recessed into them when on the real tank, they stand proud:
Not to mention Resicast has missed the frontmost strips and the four bolt heads on the inside of the booms, to match the bolts on the underside. So it was plastic strip and hex punch-and-die set to the rescue:
I also added the remaining Resicast kit parts to the booms, so I think I’m done on this end now — other than the flail chains, of course. Now I need to work out how big the stowage bin on the right was, so I can build one from plastic card.
Not to mention Resicast has missed the frontmost strips and the four bolt heads on the inside of the booms, to match the bolts on the underside. So it was plastic strip and hex punch-and-die set to the rescue:
I also added the remaining Resicast kit parts to the booms, so I think I’m done on this end now — other than the flail chains, of course. Now I need to work out how big the stowage bin on the right was, so I can build one from plastic card.
Those retaining straps look damned flimsy Jakko- one wonders how long they would have lasted in service! Lovely work and attention to detail 
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Thanks, and they do look flimsy, yes. I made them from 0.25 × 0.75 mm strip, but on the real tank they look smaller than that (relatively, of course). But apparently they held things together well enough, as I’m not aware of the shields being redesigned later for more strength.
I just remembered I’m not done on the front end, though: I still need to add the hydraulic pipes to the rams that elevate the flail arms.
I just remembered I’m not done on the front end, though: I still need to add the hydraulic pipes to the rams that elevate the flail arms.
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I’ve finally gotten round to working out the shape and dimensions of the hull-side bin, and then of course started building it. You can see some of it in the picture with the mat over the barrel, but I’ve never seen a good photo of it, let alone dimensions, because nobody who writes about Crabs seems to realise they came with a variety of different styles of bins, spare flail chain racks, etc. In the end I had to work it out from two photos:
The first is my subject, T148656, but in the late 1950s after much of the Crab gear had been removed already. This is the third of only three photos I know of the tank that show its right-hand side, and the only one on which you can actually see most of it.
The other photo above is of two other tanks at Westkapelle, of unknown WD number and the first similar but not identical to T148656. Luckily the bin is clearly visible, even if I still had to make educated guesses concerning size and details. Note also the difference in fittings between the front and rear Crabs, despite both being Mk. I vehicles.
With those, I drew up plans in Adobe Illustrator, which I’ve attached to this message for those who want to make a similar bin for a Crab model.
Here’s the basic shape I built from those, still minus some of the detail bits:
Most of this is 0.25 mm plastic card, because the bin was open on the real tank. If it had had the lids on, which were present initially but someone probably “liberated” for re-use elsewhere, I would have made it from thicker card for rigidity.
The three vertical bars (one on each side and one in the middle) were tricky. On photos of the real tank, they seem to be quite thick with ridges along them, so I laminated some plastic strip of two sizes (0.56 mm and 0.84 mm wide, both 0.28 mm thick) to five layers thick, three wide and two narrow, before cutting them to length. This was not helped by me knocking over my glue bottle, but luckily I could get the laminated strip (only two thick at the time) out before everything melted together into a blob.
Close-up that hopefully shows the laminations:
The first is my subject, T148656, but in the late 1950s after much of the Crab gear had been removed already. This is the third of only three photos I know of the tank that show its right-hand side, and the only one on which you can actually see most of it.
The other photo above is of two other tanks at Westkapelle, of unknown WD number and the first similar but not identical to T148656. Luckily the bin is clearly visible, even if I still had to make educated guesses concerning size and details. Note also the difference in fittings between the front and rear Crabs, despite both being Mk. I vehicles.
With those, I drew up plans in Adobe Illustrator, which I’ve attached to this message for those who want to make a similar bin for a Crab model.
Here’s the basic shape I built from those, still minus some of the detail bits:
Most of this is 0.25 mm plastic card, because the bin was open on the real tank. If it had had the lids on, which were present initially but someone probably “liberated” for re-use elsewhere, I would have made it from thicker card for rigidity.
The three vertical bars (one on each side and one in the middle) were tricky. On photos of the real tank, they seem to be quite thick with ridges along them, so I laminated some plastic strip of two sizes (0.56 mm and 0.84 mm wide, both 0.28 mm thick) to five layers thick, three wide and two narrow, before cutting them to length. This was not helped by me knocking over my glue bottle, but luckily I could get the laminated strip (only two thick at the time) out before everything melted together into a blob.
Close-up that hopefully shows the laminations:
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Thanks, and yes, they are. They’re tiny letters and numbers printed in resin (don’t ask me how 
) on waterslide decal paper, so you can cut out the ones you need and soak them off the backing paper just like model kit markings. Because it’s one big sheet, though, you need to cut out the exact bits you need, which makes them even more fiddly to apply. That’s why I haven’t done the hull markings yet, or one that I forgot on the turret.
) on waterslide decal paper, so you can cut out the ones you need and soak them off the backing paper just like model kit markings. Because it’s one big sheet, though, you need to cut out the exact bits you need, which makes them even more fiddly to apply. That’s why I haven’t done the hull markings yet, or one that I forgot on the turret.
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Here’s the whole bin finished:
Compared to the above, I added narrow plastic strip on the lower edge of the front opening and the upper edge of the opening in the rear, plus wider strip along the bottom at the back, a reinforcing rib (or whatever that may be) inside and little punched-out discs above the openings, purpose unknown — possibly fasteners for the lids, that are missing here. I also painted the hard-to-reach spots brown, which has the bonus effect of showing the lamination on the bars much better than the bare plastic did.
With the bin in place on the tank, it looks like this:
You may notice I also added the tool brackets to the tank, all with more aluminium sheet:
Also the taillights, which I drilled out, because on other tanks in the village, they had all been opened up, probably to get the bulbs out, and their guards — supplied as etched parts in the Asuka kit. That not only has both plastic and etched guards, so you can choose which you prefer, but also a moulded plastic jig for bending the light guards. Very well done, IMHO. The brass strips along the bottom of the sponson are sand shield mounting brackets, which Asuka also supplies in the kit. I had to cut one of the pieces into three and chop off the front end, because the British had done so too on the real tank to convert it into a Crab.
Still to do: casting marks, hydraulic lines, chalk bins, flail rack on the left-hand side, wading trunk remains on the air intake, fire extinguisher brackets just in front of the taillights, and probably a few other minor things I don’t remember at the moment
Compared to the above, I added narrow plastic strip on the lower edge of the front opening and the upper edge of the opening in the rear, plus wider strip along the bottom at the back, a reinforcing rib (or whatever that may be) inside and little punched-out discs above the openings, purpose unknown — possibly fasteners for the lids, that are missing here. I also painted the hard-to-reach spots brown, which has the bonus effect of showing the lamination on the bars much better than the bare plastic did.
With the bin in place on the tank, it looks like this:
You may notice I also added the tool brackets to the tank, all with more aluminium sheet:
Also the taillights, which I drilled out, because on other tanks in the village, they had all been opened up, probably to get the bulbs out, and their guards — supplied as etched parts in the Asuka kit. That not only has both plastic and etched guards, so you can choose which you prefer, but also a moulded plastic jig for bending the light guards. Very well done, IMHO. The brass strips along the bottom of the sponson are sand shield mounting brackets, which Asuka also supplies in the kit. I had to cut one of the pieces into three and chop off the front end, because the British had done so too on the real tank to convert it into a Crab.
Still to do: casting marks, hydraulic lines, chalk bins, flail rack on the left-hand side, wading trunk remains on the air intake, fire extinguisher brackets just in front of the taillights, and probably a few other minor things I don’t remember at the moment
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scottie3158
SMF Supporter
Jacko,
The additions look great.
The additions look great.
Jim R
SMF Supporter
Hi Jakko
Great stuff. This is a must see blog.
Jim
Great stuff. This is a must see blog.
Jim
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Resicast provides the chalk boxes for the hull rear, but all photos of this tank that I know of, show that the lefthand one has been partially dismantled, with not only the lid removed, but the bottom as well. The scratchbuilding fun never ends …
I built a copy of the Resicast part, mostly from 0.25 mm plastic card, using a drawing from the real Crab’s parts list for the (few) details on the inside. The outside panel is still loose, because I want to paint the inside before I put it on — I don’t rate my chances of getting paint all the way inside the 2.5 mm opening very high otherwise
On the back, I put the Resicast etched brass mounting brackets, though I could have built them in plastic too, of course, for about as much effort as cleaning these up and bending them took.
I built a copy of the Resicast part, mostly from 0.25 mm plastic card, using a drawing from the real Crab’s parts list for the (few) details on the inside. The outside panel is still loose, because I want to paint the inside before I put it on — I don’t rate my chances of getting paint all the way inside the 2.5 mm opening very high otherwise
On the back, I put the Resicast etched brass mounting brackets, though I could have built them in plastic too, of course, for about as much effort as cleaning these up and bending them took.
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Slowly but surely I’m getting to a complete model. I now painted the inside of the chalk box as well as the backs of both and the hull behind them, just in case, then installed them on the hull:
The ammo box in front of the left-hand side box is a resin one I bought recently. Carefully looking at the few photos I have of the right side of the tank has convinced me that there wasn’t a corresponding box on that side. I also added a few weld scars on the left side of the hull, from putty, where half of some kind of rack was apparently removed; I still need to build and add the other half, above the rear gap in the side skirt mounting brackets (the brass strips along the lower edge of the sponson), but I haven’t quite figured out its shape yet.
The ammo box in front of the left-hand side box is a resin one I bought recently. Carefully looking at the few photos I have of the right side of the tank has convinced me that there wasn’t a corresponding box on that side. I also added a few weld scars on the left side of the hull, from putty, where half of some kind of rack was apparently removed; I still need to build and add the other half, above the rear gap in the side skirt mounting brackets (the brass strips along the lower edge of the sponson), but I haven’t quite figured out its shape yet.