M4A3E8

This is Tamiya's M4A3E8 in 1/35 scale.

This also happens to be my very first Sherman model. Kit was built from the box with the exception of adding a Value Gear Stowage set and a couple of grab irons on the left side of the turret. 

She was painted with Vallejo Olive Brown and then over sprayed with a very thin coat to Tamiya Olive Drab which gave it the color depth I was looking for.

She I added some a small amount of paint chipping and weathered her with a pin wash, some Vallejo Black Mud and some Vallejo pigments.

Kit went together well and painting the stowage was a pain, but it adds significant detail. The figure is stock out of the box and I took the liberty of adding a microphone cord for some additional realism. It is really a nice kit and I am considering building another one to commemorate the 761st Black Panther Tank Battlion.
Happy Holidays!

BA-64(r) w/2.8cm Anti-Tank Gun

I somehow came into possession of this kit, but didn't pay much attention to it as it sat in my closet.  When the idea of a wheeled vehicle club contest for November came about I remembered it.  Upon opening the box I was rather happy it was a pretty simple kit thus giving me more time to focus on the scene.  After initial assembly I was impressed by looks of the kit.  It is more than detailed enough for me and sits well without any modifications.

The scene depicts the German re-purposed BA-64 towing an anti-tank gun in the vicinity of Kursk in the summer of 1943.  I started out building vehicle and I base coated with Model Air RLM71.  I lighted the color a bit with a few drops of white and hit the center of panels and high spots with the lighter shade.  I then built the little AT Gun.  It was in a spares box, so I don't exactly know the origin but I think it came in a Dragon figure kit with a horse.  The figure is from Verlinden and is painted with Vallejo acrylics.

I next used an even lighter color of green and some rust color dabbed in small bits to show subdued chipping.  This was a long tedious process over several evenings.  This method is described in detail on the YouTube channel NIGHT SHIFT.   I moved from here to pin washes and blending of Tamiya's black panel line accent color.  I moved on to rain effects with oil washes on the vertical surfaces.  Lastly I applied a bunch of earth toned pastels and sealed it all with a clear matt varnish.  At the last minute I threw some Verlinden netting over the barrel of the AT Gun and glued it down with some white glue.

I cut the ends off 2 Hobby Lobby bases and glued them together to get the length and width I wanted.  I used some cheap foam board to build up 3 elevations and applied Cellucaly as the base ground work.  I covered part of the ground with static grass and the remaining with gravel from my driveway.  In the back of the scene I placed a tree detailed from the basic Super Tree line of model railroad foliage.

I made the name plate with Microsoft Visio and printed on a bit thicker card stock.  I had to get my wife to  conjure the adjective klein for me (she's German from Garmisch).  Once glued down I hit it with a gloss clear varnish

It was a fun build and took me about 5 weekends to complete (with some work done after I got home during the week).  There is more I'd like to do but I'm going to call it done and claim victory.

Thanks for looking and thanks for a great year with the Club.   Model On...
George.