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Post by Beekster on Mar 19, 2018 17:55:18 GMT -6
I've decided to continue the turretless theme I started with the Sherman ARV. As that one progresses through paint and markings, this one will get some more time on the bench:  upload html freeSeen here is Formation's complete conversion for a Ram Badger. These flamethrowers were converted from Ram II gun tanks in the winter of 1945 and used in the spring during the operations to liberate The Netherlands. The Formations kit is quite comprehensive, and is intended to convert a Tamiya M4 Sherman. There are instructions included for making numerous changes to that kit, but it is really much easier to start with riveted-hull M4A1 parts from Asuka, as seen here:   You can see here that the sponson plates, firewall, side plates, and rear plate all need to be cut down and shaped to fit the resin hull. I have also reinforced the front of the hull, where I will be doing some more file work to get the resin hull to fit. There's more fettling to do here, but this is how it mocks up:  post image linkThe upper hull needs to drop down a bit and come forward to the bolt strip, but that's straightforward sanding & filing work. I've added material to the side plates for the upper hull to sit on, and that's where the sanding needs to be done. The green putty and some sanding will smooth out the side panels, though the three bolt heads likely won't survive that. No big deal, I've got lots more. What I don't have yet are rivets. Barely visible at the front of the sponson floor above the first bogie station is some white plastic strip. Strip stock runs most of the length of each side, made to look like angle iron. Both faces of that angle iron have rows of rivets, larger ones on the side and smaller ones on the sponson floor. I think that Archer Surface Details railroad rivet strips are the thing to use here. Rather than just order some, I'm hoping to get to the Seattle IPMS show in April and peruse the vendor tables. Railroad or not, rivet strips are useful things for armor modelers so we'll see if I can find one. If not, then an order will go in to Archer. |
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Post by BUCKY on Mar 19, 2018 18:42:40 GMT -6
This is a cool project, beekster. Watching with interest!!
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Post by Beekster on Mar 19, 2018 18:55:15 GMT -6
The version I will build might be a one-of-one conversion. According to Lucy's magisterial book on the Ram and its variants, this configuration with the British all-around vision cupola in this location was created by the workshops of 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade for the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment. Other images of Badgers show a taller cupola on the right side of the turret ring cover plate. I need to do some digging in my reference files to see whether or not I can identify the serial number of this particular tank.
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Post by JCON on Mar 19, 2018 20:47:27 GMT -6
Nice, I'll follow along too!!!
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Post by Beekster on Mar 21, 2018 16:59:58 GMT -6
Plugging away at this while waiting for tracks to arrive from China. The rear plate has been altered to the Ram pattern; hinge detail and a couple of other things are slightly different from the M4A1 plate I was using. The Formations plate is fine, with only some unnecessary angle iron and a few rivets to be removed to make it correct, but it's intended for Tamiya and I'm using Asuka. At least I have good reference photos of the Ram II parked outside the DND building in Vancouver BC to help me. And though resin sponson corner fillers are included in the conversion, I found it easier to make them and the vertical plates from .040" sheet and miscellaneous reinforcing bits.  The upside-down shot shows that I've now got a pretty good join between the hulls. When I do glue them together, I will fill the sponson side seams with superglue and sand them smooth. The round contours at the back of the hull will get filled with epoxy putty and contoured to blend the join. Up front you can see that the Sherman escape hatch has been removed and the resulting damage filled and smoothed. I do need to add back an escape hatch, but the Ram version was smaller, square-edged, and hinged at the front so that's another little fabrication project.  I don't know if Rams had any screen across the top of the rear plate like Shermans usually did; I suspect so. I intend to add some, trimmed to fit around the exhaust pipes which will exit from under the hull overhang like other radial-engine Sherman & Lee variants. I've selected round air cleaners from Dragon, and I think I will add protective square plates to the hull sides and rear around them. I don't know that this was done on this one-off Sherbrooke tank, but many of the similar Ram Kangaroo and Ram 17pdr gun tractors had that modification so it's certainly plausible. |
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Post by JCON on Mar 21, 2018 17:24:47 GMT -6
Cool workmanship!!!  |
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cliffj (R.I.P.)
GAINING SPEED
R.I.P. CLIFFJ
Honorary Member of OSM
Posts: 599 
Likes: 1,381
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Post by cliffj (R.I.P.) on Mar 21, 2018 19:07:23 GMT -6
Cool conversion beekster!! I'll be watching this one.
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Post by BUCKY on Mar 21, 2018 19:10:44 GMT -6
Some really nice work going on here!!
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thug626
SETTLING IN
Posts: 281
Likes: 714
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Post by thug626 on Mar 22, 2018 0:48:34 GMT -6
A very fine looking conversion.
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Post by Beekster on Mar 22, 2018 12:01:39 GMT -6
This morning I got the screen and exhaust pipes done at the back, and then superglued the hull halves together for good. I proceeded to test-fit the front fenders. The right side looks good, but on the left side there was a gap at the bottom of the hull side that I didn't like. A little bit of epoxy putty was added and smoothed around to blend the contour, and another test-fit with the fender looked much better. Now the model has to be set aside for that epoxy putty to set up, and since I am off to Seattle for a gaming weekend tomorrow nothing much more will get done until next week.   |
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Post by BUCKY on Mar 22, 2018 13:40:45 GMT -6
Pretty good timing, I'd say!! That way, ya don't hafta worry about leaving yer tank on the bench while yer gone!! LOL Nice work, dude!!
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Post by JCON on Mar 22, 2018 15:34:14 GMT -6
Nice job closing it up!!!
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Post by Dukemaddog on Apr 5, 2018 14:22:47 GMT -6
Just caught up with this. Nice work! Your modeling skills and information always make your builds a thrill to watch.
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Post by Beekster on Jan 26, 2019 19:06:14 GMT -6
I've dug this back out this weekend, to putter with when parts of the M911 frame and some Madill bits are parked while glue dries. My other projects at the paint stage are still on hiatus, awaiting warmer and less humid conditions for airbrush work in the garage. These three images show some progress on the hull of the Ram. The turret ring armor plate is now installed, though the rotating part of the cupola is sitting there for show...I don't trust myself not to break the hatch hinges if it were glued down just yet. I've got a filler cap on, and four bolts to hold the plate down. The two images I have of the real one show only a single bolt forward, but that seems ridiculously few. I'll grant that gravity will work pretty well with inch-thick steel plate, but it just seemed better to me to put three bolts on the large fixed portion and one on the rear flap.  The next image shows the engine deck. The original resin part had a very iffy engine ventilation screen. I first tried to cut one from a spare Academy Lee deck, but that ended up too thick and looked awful. I finally did it the hard way, the results of which you see below. I masked off around the slightly raised panel for the screen, then ground it off flush. I replaced the masking, and started grinding again to give it some depth. This operation killed my old Dremel, which I have yet to replace. But I digress... I used chisel blades and sanding sticks to flatten the resulting cavity, and superglued in strip stock around the perimeter to restore the rectangular shape. More superglue and putty work smoothed everything out. The screen itself is from an ancient Eduard set for the Academy M3 that I got for $6 at last spring's Seattle IPMS show, where Joy Sullivan was clearing out the last of the R&J Enterprises inventory. I shimmed it underneath with .020" square stock to get it so sit right. There's now visible space beneath the screen, which will get painted black. Sanding the deck obliterated some of the bolt heads, and the green ones replaced those. Some of the others had air bubbles and I've put a little superglue in those, but I may yet replace all the remaining resin bolt heads just for consistency.  And finally, the underside now shows a rectangular plate and escape hatch. These features are copied from the underside of the Ram II parked outside the DND building in downtown Vancouver, BC. There is still some bolt head work to do here as well, but once that's done so is the bottom plate.  I've also got some Archer Surface Details resin rivet head decals for the angle stiffeners seen in the image above, so that's on the agenda soon now. I've also test-fitted the front fenders and I like how they fit; all I need to do there is a little sanding on the inner plate to ensure that the sprocket clears it. Not a big deal, and pretty typical with cross-kitting work like this. |
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Post by BUCKY on Jan 26, 2019 19:22:18 GMT -6
Some smart looking work, there, beekster!!! Carry on!!
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Post by JCON on Jan 27, 2019 0:30:06 GMT -6
Nice work sir!!! Love your modifications on armor!!! Do you know any other armor modelers in Oregon that would like to join us here??? The more the merrier!!!
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Post by BUCKY on Jan 27, 2019 1:01:24 GMT -6
Nice work sir!!! Love your modifications on armor!!! Do you know any other armor modelers in Oregon that would like to join us here??? The more the merrier!!! Figure painters and civvy builders, too. We take in all kinds of strays!! LoL |
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Post by RLFoster on Jan 27, 2019 4:47:19 GMT -6
Another great one reborn!  |
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Post by dogfish7 (R.I.P.) on Jan 27, 2019 7:39:09 GMT -6
You are the Master.
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Post by JED on Jan 27, 2019 9:40:23 GMT -6
Great skilful work Beekster
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