M4A3 (90) HVSS Sherman, Operation Coronet, 1946

[Jakko]

After removing the masking from the star, more paint turned out to have gotten under it than I expected:



It was inevitable on the grille, of course, but I also needed to do quite a bit of touching up everywhere else. In the end I painted the whole star white again with a fine brush, as there was noticeable colour difference between the white paint and the white primer:



Before all this, though, I had added an overall coat of Games Workshop Devlan Mud (which still stinks to high heaven) and drybrushed the model with Revell Light Olive, but I only took a picture after touching up the star:



That done, I also put markings onto the model:



These are from a number of sources, all of them found in my box full of old decals. The stars (black and white) are from my recent Tamiya M4A3 (76) HVSS, the markings on the turret side are from another old Tamiya Sherman (that I never built or even bought, but someone once gave me the decal sheet for it, minus one of its stars), the serial number on the side is from the ancient Italeri M4A1, the name is from (I think) a Dragon M4A4, and on the back only is a unit code from the 1980s Tamiya M4A3 — even the sheet I got those from must be about 35 years old by now

 

[Jakko]

As recounted in another thread, the Rye Field Model tracks I bought take a bit of work to assemble. I finished them last week, and today finally also made the spare links, from some leftover parts from the RFM set.

This is both sets on the tank:



They’re still loose, and though I joined the ends, I can take them off by removing the drive sprocket or idler. The upper run sags noticeably in the photo, but that’s only because I didn’t put the main return rollers on yet, as it would be very difficult to get the track teeth over them.

Here are the spare links:



I made them by glueing the pads around two bits of plastic rod, using the RFM assembly jig to get the spacing correct. I then glued a bit of plastic strip between the protruding ends and added a bolt head in the middle of it to represent the clasps that hold the links to the tank.

 

[Gary G]

Brilliant work there Jakko.

 

[Jakko]

Thanks

 

[Jakko]

Been painting the tracks:



I first sprayed them with black primer from an aerosol can, hoping that it would get into all the seams and things better than airbrushed paint would, but unfortunately, I still had to try hard to actually make that happen. When it was dry, I painted the whole tracks dark brown, as a basis for replicating the appearance of the manganese steel of the real thing. I did this with a large(ish) brush, as I figured it would be about as much work as spraying them brown, but without the airbrush cleanup

 

[GerryW]

Almost makes you want a dip tank doesn't it?

 

[Jakko]

That is exactly what I was thinking, yes. There must be some way to dip-paint these things without paint clogging up everything and obliterating the detail.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Can’t see that myself Jakko. Dip painting always leaves a thick coating behind. Painting with inks might be a better shot? They flow really well and leave a very thin coating.

 

[GerryW]

That might well be the way of doing it - I've never worked with inks so can't go by experience, could you build up the depth of colour with them - give a few coats, rather than a single? Guessing that the thinner the medium the better to get into the nooks & crannies.

 

[Jakko]

Dip painting always leaves a thick coating behind.

Exactly, not a problem for (say) 1:1 car bodies, but definitely an issue for almost any scale of model.

Painting with inks might be a better shot? They flow really well and leave a very thin coating.

But are also very translucent, so you would get a strongly shaded track with a lot of the bare plastic still visible through the colour. I’m thinking that maybe well-thinned paint, in a couple of dips, might work? Maybe I should just assemble some spare track and see if I can find a way

That might well be the way of doing it - I've never worked with inks so can't go by experience, could you build up the depth of colour with them - give a few coats, rather than a single?

You could, but inks have a very strong colour, much more so than highly thinned paint that flows like ink, for example.

 

[GerryW]

You could, but inks have a very strong colour, much more so than highly thinned paint that flows like ink, for example.

Learning all the time! Thanks.

 

[Tim Marlow]

I was thinking more about artists inks than gaming inks Jakko. Something like Daler Rowney FW ink? Highly pigmented and can be brushed or airbrushed.

 

[Jakko]

I wasn’t aware there’s a real difference, so that may be worth investigating, then …

 

[Jakko]

The tracks are now fully painted and weathered. After the dark brown base, I applied an overall wash made of Humbrol dark earth enamel mixed with some raw umber oil paint to darken it, because I had done some research and found that the soil in central Honshu is brown, but with a fair amount of volcanic ash mixed in that probably makes it darker than brown soil in Europe.

Once the wash had dried, I drybrushed the chevrons on the outside, as well as the insides of the end connectors and both sides of the central guide teeth with Humbrol polished steel. After that I painted the inner face of the track, between the guide teeth and the end connectors, with Italeri rubber colour (dark grey) that I then gave a black wash.



The tank itself was also washed with the same shade as the tracks, thicker on the hull front and lower sides than on the upper sides, top, etc. Once that had dried I applied darker washes of raw umber only to various areas, both into and around details as well as to replicate more mud and dirt. After that dried too, I drybrushed some parts with Revell yellow olive, to bring back the base colour where dirt may have been rubbed off the tank again by the crew.

 

[Isitme]

And another Jakko masterpiece - well done.

 

[Jakko]

Thanks, though I wouldn’t go so far as to call it that

 

[GerryW]

Jakko, was it the 'Metalcote' polished steel, or the 'normal'? I've both, but tend to use the metalcote more often, and get to work with a cotton bud, and give it a vigorous polish - actually looks quite good.

 

[Jakko]

The Metalcote, which I buffed with a soft toothbrush. You can’t see it in the photo too well, but it shines fairly well. I didn’t buff it to a mirror shine, though, as that looks unrealistic on tracks, IMHO.

 

[GerryW]

The Metalcote, which I buffed with a soft toothbrush. You can’t see it in the photo too well, but it shines fairly well. I didn’t buff it to a mirror shine, though, as that looks unrealistic on tracks, IMHO.

Must admit that I tend to use it where paint would have rubbed off through constant wear, so tend to want 'bright' steel (most recent were the top corners of the frame for the Krupps tarp/load cover & the steps into the cab)

 

[Jakko]

I think that’s the best use for it, yes. However, I also think too brightly-polished it may look bad because it can overpower the model if you overdo it. With the fairly large areas of “bare” steel on these tracks I deliberately kept the polishing fairly light. It also doesn’t show up as well in the photos as it does on the real thing, though.