FINE SCALE MODELER PRODUCTS - MODELING REALISTIC SHERMAN TANKS.pdf

(2485 KB) Pobierz
P R O D U C T S
FSM D
irect
–D
ownloaDable
a
rticles
Modeling Realistic
Sherman Tanks
FSPDF009
Modeling in 1/48 scale is new to
many armor modelers – but Liejon
shows it’s not so different after all.
Sherman
Basics for building Tamiya’s 1/48 scale M4
By Liejon Schoot
Sure-fire
T
amiya’s M4 Sherman (No. 32505) was my first attempt at building armor in
1/48 scale. Accustomed to 1/35 and 1/16 scale armor, I didn’t know what to
expect – and I was delighted to find that it’s a lot of fun to build. The kit is well
detailed, the parts need little or no clean-up, and everything fits just fine.
1/ 48 Scale
|
Armor
|
How-to
1
Super glue is the best stuff to join dissimilar
materials such as plastic and die-cast metal.
2
Liejon added a copper-wire door handle to the
engine compartment.
3
Pitting and chipping the plastic replicates worn
and torn rubber on the bogie wheels.
4
Sheet styrene closes the underside of sponsons.
5
Styrene gussets reinforce the sheet styrene.
Lower hull
The lower hull comprises a die-cast metal
chassis and injection-molded transmission
cover and rear panel,
1.
At the rear of the hull, I cut off the
molded handle on the right-hand door of
the engine compartment and replaced it
with a handle made from copper wire,
2.
I
used super glue to join the plastic rear
panel and transmission cover to the die-
cast hull, filled small gaps between the
hull and the plastic parts with epoxy putty,
and sanded those joints smooth. Then I
super glued the reduction gear housings to
the hull.
Suspension
pieces gave the wheels a worn look,
3.
After assembling the bogies, I filled and
sanded small gaps in the cemented parts.
Again, I used super glue to attach the
bogies to the die-cast hull.
Tracks
The tracks are injection-molded in several
pieces. The two longest segments are
placed at the top of the run, with shorter
segments at the bottom and individual
links that travel around the drive sprocket
and idler wheel.
I assembled the tracks in sections but
left them off to paint them separately.
Upper hull
styrene,
4,
reinforcing it with triangular
supports,
5.
I used stretched sprue for weld beads
on the appliqué armor plates,
6.
When
the glue softens the sprue, you can use a
hobby knife to sculpt the rippled look of a
weld. Copper-wire springs are attached to
bits of strip styrene on the hatches,
7.
On the rear deck, I used fine mesh for
grilles on the air intakes,
8.
I scraped out
excess plastic to thin the headlight and
taillight guards.
To the turret
Roughing the rubber wheel surfaces with
a sanding stick and chipping out little
The kit leaves the underside of the spon-
sons open; I closed these spaces with sheet
The two lifting hooks on the gun shield
and the handle on the commander’s hatch
are made of copper wire,
7.
I thinned the
vane sight and built a bracket for another
aiming device from copper wire.
6
Weld beads should look very rough. Liejon made sure they did.
7
Copper-wire details dress up the deck, turret, and mantlet.
8
Wire-mesh grating adds realism to intakes.
9
Single strands of electrical wire were the right scale for tie-downs on the turret.
After shaving off tie-downs molded on
the rear of the turret, I replaced them with
strands of electrical wire,
9.
I also added
stowage rails to the side of the turret,
making them from copper wire and brass
strip. The rails are mounted in holes I
drilled in the turret and super glued from
the inside.
I bored out the barrels of the .30- and
.50-caliber machine guns, slicing off the
grips on the latter and replacing them
with more accurately shaped styrene rod.
Stowage
The stowage used on the model is
Tamiya’s 1/48 scale Jerry Can Set,
10.
The towing cable is made from twisted
electrical wire. I left a bit of insulation on
both ends to replicate the ends of the
cable; the eyes are copper wire super glued
to the end.
Paint, weathering, and decals
The bogies and the tools on the deck are
hand-painted. The lower hull, upper hull,
turret, barrel, and tracks were painted sep-
arately,
11.
I started with a dark red-brown base
coat. Then I sprayed everything olive drab,
added a coat of satin clear, and applied
decals. (Of course, I let each coat dry
before proceeding to the next.) Another
coat of satin clear sealed the decals.
For weathering, I used a heavily diluted
wash of olive drab mixed with a little
white. Details such as scratches and worn
spots were painted with a mix of black and
11
Liejon painted and weathered major parts separately for maximum effect.
10
Liejon twisted electrical wire for cable and modeled cable ends simply by
leaving a little insulation at the ends of the wire.
12
Weathering involved several stages, the last being a light overcoat of earth-
brown paint to replicate an overall coating of dust.
Any self-respecting Sherman should have ample gear stowed on the hull.
red-brown. Mixing powdered pastels and
earth-brown paint makes good mud. I
used a light coat of the same earth-brown
paint to blend everything and cover the
model with a very fine layer of dust,
12.
The tracks received the same washes as
the rest of the model, but I replicated
worn and bare metal with a graphite pen-
cil and added more dirt to the running
gear and lower hull with light-brown
powdered pastel.
Stow it and go!
I painted all the stowage with enamels and
artist’s oils and tied it down with fine-
gauge copper wire. The aircraft recogni-
tion panel on the rear deck of the hull is
made from paper and Tamiya tape.
With a stretched-sprue antenna for a
finishing touch, the model was done.
Modeling armor in 1/48 scale was a nice
change of pace – and now I’m ready to go
again!
FSM
REFERENCES
The Sherman at War,
Steven J. Zaloga,
Concord Publications, Hong Kong
The Battle of the Bulge,
Steven J. Zaloga,
Concord, Hong Kong
US Tank Battles in Germany 1944-45,
Steven J. Zaloga, Concord, Hong Kong
US Tank Battles in France 1944-45,
Steven
J. Zaloga, Concord, Hong Kong
More photos:
www.tanxheaven.com

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin