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Modeller Build Logs
Formations Sherman V DV (M4A4 Direct Vision) |
| By James Wechsler | | Started: | May 21, 2007 | | Updated: | Jul 14, 2007 |
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This blog could easily be subtitled ‘the easy way to do well at model contests’. Having just wrapped up a blog using the Tasca Firefly, I couldn’t believe there was anyway to make an even better Sherman. Then I remembered the Formations has now expanded their line to allow a complete ‘Formations’ Sherman minus only a couple of small parts.
So for this blog I’ll be building a Sherman V with direct vision ports as used by the British in the Burma campaign.
The Formations set that I’ll use are:
F067 Direct Vision M4A4 Hull
F080 Early VVSS Suspension
F018 Sherman Pioneer Tools
F050 Sherman Headlights
F003 Early M4 Dry Stowage Turret
F016 M34A1 Mantlet and M3 75mm Gun
In addition, I’ll be using tracks, sprockets and left over photoetch light guards from the Tasca Firefly.
I’ll also include in this blog a few chapters on ground work and a special ‘Burmese transportation vehicle’ for the base.
Up next: The Hull – major assembly
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| The Hull – Major Assembly | May 21, 2007 |
Formations set F067 Direct Vision M4A4 Hull is a complete hull set so no donor kit is required. The fit of the lower rear hull to the lower hull is good but you must first cut away some of the pour block on the lower rear hull.
The fit of the upper rear hull to the upper hull has an unusual problem. The angles of the upper rear hull are quite a bit steeper than the hull deck angles. The result is a mismatch of about 1 mm when fitted. To correct this I added a small, triangular shim to the rear upper hull part and then sanded it to match. It’s much easier to see in the photo than to describe in words.
With this work complete I went on to fit the upper and lower hulls. The best bet for ensuring that everything aligns right is to first fit the transmission cover. This cover is a single piece and the pour block is designed so it does not need to be removed. The detail is excellent and not having to assemble the transmission cover from parts (the Tasca kit uses 12 parts I believe) is a big time saver.
Once the transmission cover is fitted, the proper position of the lower and upper rear hulls is pretty evident since you’ll want the upper hull to fit tightly to the transmission cover. In doing this, I ran into a few items of note. First, the lower sponson plates need to be thinned a bit to get the two hull parts to mate with no step. I did this by simply shaving away the resin which is thankfully quite soft. Second, the sponsons end up a little too long at the rear. The easy fix is to mark off the amount to be removed and just snip them off with a sprue cutter. Third, there was about a 3 mm gap between the front end of the lower sponsons and the upper hull. You can either fill this with putty or add a 3 mm shim as I did.
After these adjustments were made, the parts all fit together well and only a small amount of putty was required to fill gaps between the upper and lower hulls.
While some of this work may seem a bit complicated and time consuming, it’s actually not. The work itself is pretty straight forward and I spent about an hour with the adjustments noted above. Of course the upside is that no re-welding or other types of corrections are required so that more than offsets the time invested.
Up next: The Hull – small parts |
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