Sherman ARV Mk.1 South Alberta Regiment

[JCON]

Good idea Beekster!!!

[Beekster]

This one has reached a stage where this will be the last update for a while. The model is essentially complete but for tracks, and those won't arrive for another three weeks, I imagine. So from here this one gets a careful warm bath, lots of time to dry, and then some primer. I expect that the track sets may arrive about the time the primer has hardened thoroughly and I can start with the base coat. One thing I didn't do on this model was drill out the front faces of the bogies. This one will get some light mud accumulation, and just about any running about in the field tends to pack those holes with dirt anyway.








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While this one is in a period where it can't receive much attention, I will get started on weathering the CDL and camo painting the Big Mack.

[JCON]

Looking very good!!!

[ARMORGUY]

Oh man look at that !!!

[Dwight A. Ta-ala]

That is one heck of a detailed build!😲😲😲

Awesome!👍👍👍

[Buddho]

Wicked cool progress...

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

You are the Sherman Wizard Beekster!

[cliffj (R.I.P.)]

Looks way cool beekster!!

[Beekster]

It's primer time! While waiting for my track sets to cross the Pacific, I was able to get this one primed over the weekend. It will now sit for at least a week to harden before I even think about a base color coat for it. When the tracks arrive they will go to the top of the priority list on the bench; in the meantime other projects will get some attention.






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[BUCKY]

Looks good in the gray stuff!!

[JCON]

Nicely applied!!!

[Beekster]

Mar 19, 2018 14:47:38 GMT -6 JCON said:

Nicely applied!!!

Just your basic Tamiya Fine surface primer from the rattlecan; about four or five light coats from different angles to get it into all the nooks and crannies.  I really like the Tamiya spray primers.

[JCON]

Never used them...

[BUCKY]

Mar 19, 2018 17:01:18 GMT -6 JCON said:

Never used them...

Don't be skeered, keemo sobby!!!

[RLFoster]

Sweetly primed...she looks great!

[JCON]

Thanks Bucky!!! One of these days I'll try acrylic paint...

[Dukemaddog]

Tamiya "acrylic" isn't a true acrylic. And those spray cans surely aren't. He's right though, Tamiya primers are some of the best out there. Whenever I can afford them, I try to pick them up.

Looking good Beekster, this is a most impressive model already.

[Beekster]

Mar 20, 2018 10:43:59 GMT -6 Dukemaddog said:

Tamiya "acrylic" isn't a true acrylic. And those spray cans surely aren't. He's right though, Tamiya primers are some of the best out there. Whenever I can afford them, I try to pick them up.

Looking good Beekster, this is a most impressive model already.

Thanks to all for the kind comments.  Duke's right about the primer not being acrylic; it's a lacquer.  Nasty smelling stuff, which is why I prime outside if I can or in the garage with door & window open if the weather is too wretched and wet.  And it isn't cheap; about eleven bucks a can.  Depending on how complicated the surface (and the ARV is really complicated) a can might prime three or four Sherman-sized  models.  More if the shape and depth to details is pretty simple, like a resin hull or turret, less if you have to do multiple light coats from six angles including upside down to get proper coverage.

[JCON]

Thanks for the clarification fellas!!!

[Beekster]

My Bronco T62 track sets arrived yesterday afternoon and I have started work on them. I've never done these Bronco "workable" tracks before, so they are a bit of a challenge. They don't go together like Panda/RHPS or AFV Club. Both of those have track pads with four pins that stick out, and the end connectors are pushed on. It is recommended to glue them on, so those tracks aren't marketed as workable. They can be assembled to do so quite easily, but I digress...

Bronco, as seen in the second image, molds the track shoes at top & bottom parts into which you sandwich a track pin piece that has the base of the end connector molded on. Done properly, the shoes are free to rotate about the pins. The end connectors are glued on, but with a modicum of care will not glue the pads to the rods so everything is flexible. The first image shows the box, sprue layout, and a run of 45 links with half a dozen end connectors on to test how it fits around an Asuka sprocket. There's about three hours work to get this far, though to be fair some of that was working out how to systematically assemble them.



So far, so good, right? Well, yes...but Bronco's engineering introduces something I usually don't deal with on my Sherman-family models, and that is track length. The standard Sherman had 79 shoes per side and the longer M4A4 (like my ARV) and M4A6 had 83. I never pay attention to that with Panda tracks, I just make them and as I get them close to where I attach the ends together I adjust the number of shoes and the idler position (remember, Tasca/Asuka parts adjust like the real thing) until the track connects and looks properly tensioned. I don't care how many shoes are on there per side and I know that even the most critical IPMS judge will never count them. But Bronco's engineering means that I have to count them out and get close (81 or 82 links) before trying them on. And then I will have to loop them around the sprocket, push it in place, loop it over the track support rollers and the road wheels, and then stick the idler on in the most forward position it will reach. Then see how it looks, add a link or two, and adjust the idler for tension. Then back the idler off to remove the track for painting, all without breaking any of the fragile stuff on the sides of the ARV hull. Yay...