Easy Eight Paint

After an almost all day session spraying the Sherman is now in it's nice new coat of paint. I used Gunze H52 olive drab No1 with a good slug of Tamiya XF4 yellow green as a base colour. This was then thinned and more XF4 was added gradually to add some highlights. Finally a drop of white was added and this was sprayed selectively over the model to add yet more highlights.

The wheels got a coat of Tamiya XF85 rubber black then using the quickwheel mask which was supplied in this particular boxing the centres of the wheels were sprayed with the olive drab. It's the first time I've used these particular masks and it worked extremely well being quick and simple to use. 

Sherman Primer Coat

The model has now received its primer coat and again I'm trying something new.This time it's a new primer from Badger airbrush called Stynylrez, bit of a strange name I know but this new primer is a water based acrylic polyurethane. It's a spray straight from the bottle primer and is also self leveling. You can get it in different colours such as black & white but here I've used the grey version. 

After a good shake of the bottle it sprayed beautifully through the airbrush and after just a couple of light coats gave a really good coverage and even distribution of the primer over the model. Drying time is also impressive with the instructions stating that you can paint over it after just 8 minutes.  

The initial results are impressive, far better than all the other primers currently sitting on my paint rack. I bought mine from Scale model shop who are the UK distributors for it. 

I was so impressed I decided to prime my secret Chieftain project with it and again it went on extremely well and easily. Here's a sneaky picture!

Easy Eight Construction Complete

I've been cracking on with the Sherman over the last couple of days and have now completed the construction phase of the project. It's been a real pleasure to build and very relaxing too. As you can see very little in the way of improvements have been made with only the odd bolt here and there and new handles for the hatches and engine deck added. I did use a brass antenna base though but only because I mucked up drilling out the plastic version!

The stowage is just some tamiya fuel cans, a resin box and a nice value gear tarp which fits perfectly on the back deck. Finally some lead foil was used to add straps to the tools. I'm now thinking about crew and whether I just use the kit supplied figure or get either some resin figures or use the new tamiya tank crew set. 

Easy Eight, Easy Build

The model is now taking shape in the usual swift and easy tamiya manner. The running gear is now all completed and looks very good. One tip is to leave the rear idler mounts loose and not glue them as per instructions. If you do the tracks will be too loose. I test fitted all the wheels and tracks then adjusted the idlers for a nice tight run of track then glued them in place.

The upper and lower sections of the hull just push into place and really don't need glue the fits that good. 

Tamiya M4A3E8 Sherman On The Bench

Well I could not resist starting this kit so here you are, the start of what I expect to be a very easy and enjoyable build. So far everything has gone together extremely well, and quickly too! The suspension is only made up of four parts plus the wheels so that all helps to speed things up. Also the upper and lower hull parts fit like you would expect from Tamiya.

On Track Show Folkestone 27th February

The first show of the year for Stonehenge modellers and a great way to start the year it was too! As usual we set off on Friday and after a very easy drive down to folkestone were all set up in the hall by 4pm. Friday evening followed the usual format of finding the seediest bar in town and setting up camp! It did help that they had Doom bar on tap too. 

Saturday morning saw us up bright and early for a good feed and off to the venue for a quick look about before the show opened to the public. We also had an added bonus of the Modelworxs table manned by Dick Francis next to us so that ensured plenty of banter both serious and hilarious throughout the day.

The show itself was busy from the start and we had plenty interest in our models and were kept busy chatting for most of the day. It did slack off somewhat after lunch but this could have been due to the rugby? I only managed a few quick tours of the halls but saw some excellent models on display and also some interesting items for sale by the various traders present. 

Again the show was a great way to start the year and it was fun meeting up with friends both old and new and sharing ideas and having a generally great time.

My very restrained stash addition!

Secret Projects And Other News

Everything has conspired to keep me away from the bench since returning from holiday, be it training courses or life in general. However I have had some bench time building the Takom Chieftain Mk5 in Iranian guise which when completed will appear in a future issue of Tamiya model magazine international. Unfortunately I can't show you any pictures yet until it's published but I will say the kit builds up really well and is light years ahead of the old Tamiya Chieftain. 

One secret project I can now share has just been published in the March issue of Tamiya model magazine. It's the new re-boxing from Tamiya of the Italeri M24 Chaffee. The remit for this was a straight out of the box build and I must say it was really fun to build it this way. Painting it was also a blast and the inclusion of stowage and a figure in the box was an added bonus.  

The article features a detailed account of the build and I'm very pleased to have it published. So normal service is almost resumed at the bench!

Next Saturday is also Stonehenge Modellers first show of the year down at Folkestone for the 2016 On Track show. So if you are going be sure to say hello to myself or Brian.