Sherman ARV Mk.1 South Alberta Regiment

[Beekster]

Let's hear it for Shepherd Paine's philosophy of "Creative Gizmology": Make it look like it belongs, even if it isn't 100% accurate, and you'll get 90% of the effect with 10% of the effort. Like this: Here we have the sorta trapezoidal stowage bin that fits low on the center section of the diff cover, and below it you can see a resin sprue with a skinny blade piece on the right. That resin blade, just .015" thick, is supposed to support the box. We all know how well that would work...badly, if at all.

Here's where the Creative Gizmology comes in. I skinned the back of the box in styrene, then scribed the rest of the lid and added a latch. I made a new blade of .015" stock, and added another one lower down along with stiffeners, seen here:



And this is what it looks like attached to the diff cover:


Is it accurate? I have no idea. Photos of this machine are relatively thin on the ground, and none is a close-up that shows how this box was affixed to the center section. There are no survivors extant either. But it looks right, doesn't it? I don't know what was stowed there, but at least my version has enough structure to support something more than boxes of compo tea or something equally light.

[JCON]

Looks cool!!!

[BUCKY]

Looks right at home there, beekster!

[doogie]

That's the great thing about field modifications, they can be anything. Looks great.

[Beekster]

Beware the kit designer who cuts corners! I'm getting into the plethora of P/E brass parts, and this is how I discovered that Legends' designer cut a few corners. See the image below, and refer back to the instructions posted above. Top to bottom you see a pair of parts 7, a pair of parts 8, one of each as they come off the fret, and one of the earth anchors they hold just for reference. Note that these are not symmetrical and are mirror images of each other:


This is where the cutting corners comes in. The flat pieces show the etched fold lines for these parts. Stick 'em in your bender, and bend 'em up. The problem is that like all such parts, they are designed to be bent one way: With the etched fold line visible to you as you have the part on the bender. To get a mirror image, the part has to be bent in the other direction, and that is a perilous exercise. Etched brass parts are much weaker when bent that way, and it isn't uncommon for them to break as you bend them because the bend is weaker in that direction. Having just one part etched multiple times on the fret is simpler, and allows for tighter packing of the parts and a smaller fret overall. Designing two mirror-image parts takes both a bit more effort a bit more space, making for a larger fret with a bit more waste area.

I'll be able to bend what I need and solder everything up for strength as seen here, but this is definitely a case where the instructions can lead you astray. Knowing that this was done has me a little concerned about the parts to make the grouser stowage brackets. Those were already going to be challenging because of their complexity; it will be worse if I have to bend half of them backwards.

[BUCKY]

Sometimes, the kitmakers do the same thing with styrene parts that are supposed to be "left and right hand". Some parts have to be modified to make them work.

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

Had the same problem and they even snapped off after bending.

[SteveM]

Intricate project but it looks really interesting fella
Following along

[JCON]

[reserve]

Box mount looks plausible and just fine, I'd be willing to bet there were more than one way these were attached. I feel your pain on the PE; I'd be red and smoky at this point were I you largely because I hate the stuff. I may have alluded to this elsewhere

Regards,
Mark

[JED]

Looks like your doing a superb job on an annoying and fiddly job 👍

[Beekster]

Slow progress this week. A plumbing problem left me without water yesterday, and you don't realize how many model processes require water until you don't have it. I have resin planks, brass racks, and earth anchors on the sponsons now, along with the stowage box on the side. That had to be cut down to fit, and got hinges from spare P/E parts. I've also added spare road wheels to the roof:

You'll notice something missing here, that vise & skate rail. The epoxy putty joints didn't survive handling at this stage, so the intact assembly is set aside until later. I've added a box for more ground anchor pins on the glacis. The kit has you use more of those brass bits, and some tanks were so fitted. But others stowed other stuff on the glacis entirely, and I elected for a crew modification that makes for a more sensible stowage solution:



And this one shows the right way to affix a road wheel: A styrene post on the hull top, with the wheel resting on the ventilator housing and the turret ring splash rail. On top there's a plate and a bolt to replicate the hardware to secure the wheel, though I suspect gravity would do fine. Still, this is a fitters' vehicle and I'm sure that they would elect to fabricate a secure stowage arrangement:



You will also notice that I did not sand off the seam on the tire. The real wheels had this seam, which lasted only a few miles once the tank was driven. But an unused spare would still show the seam.

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

I'm surprised they allowed them to have a 30.

[Beekster]

Jan 24, 2018 19:18:28 GMT -6 dogfish7 (R.I.P.) said:

I'm surprised they allowed them to have a 30.

Well, recovery operations were sometimes done under fire during daytime operations or after dark in no man's land.  Having the .30 cal Browning gave the crew a weapon with which to dissuade a roving patrol, or at least try to.  It could also be dismounted and used with a tripod if necessary.  The crew would also probably have had individual Sten guns, for what those were worth, which wasn't much.

[JCON]

Sorry about the water issues!!! Nice work on Mk. 1

[JED]

Looking pretty good

[rustybaer]

Ah yes, some more fine work from the beekster. Very nice work sir.

[doogie]

The build is really coming along nicely.

[Beekster]

Sometimes the simple stuff works, and sometimes not. The picture below is an example of both. The simple thing is the use of artist's watercolor Lamp Black to dye the nylon string we often see provided for tow cables:


The top of the picture shows what doesn't work, using this method to dye the hideous neon green string that Asuka provides in their M32 kits...dyed on the left and as provided on the right. The bottom of the picture shows what works, which is the Lamp Black watercolor on the white nylon string that came with the Legends conversion for the Sherman ARV Mk. 1. I think that result is perfectly fine, and when it is highlighted with silver it will look great. Which brings me to the next thing, which is the use of alternate materials as seen in this photo:


This is a guyline for the Madill 071 yarder, and all the lines for that model will be done this way. I used Model Shipways black (tarred) rigging thread, and used the silver Sharpie to highlight the weave and make it look like properly greased wire rope (I've posted a similar shot on the Madill thread here). The size of rigging thread shown here is about right for a tow cable, and the process really couldn't be easier and leaves the thread able to drape however you wish it to. If you wish it to be stiff, you can prepare it like this and then dip it in a solution of Elmer's glue and water just before attaching it to the model. The small amount of glue will stiffen it up when dry, and be invisible. Alternatively, you could dye the dilute glue with black watercolor to enhance the shadow effect of the rope weave.

[JCON]

That looks cool and easy enough to do!!!