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Forums - Site / Build Logs

Messages in this Build Logs forum are automatically posted when new Build Logs or Chapters are added. Other modellers can then comment on them. Refer to the Build Logs section for more information.
Topics  78
Messages  2864
 Subject:  [Chapter] The Hull – Major AssemblyList thread.  
  
 Date:  May 21, 2007
 From:  James Wechsler 
The Hull – Major Assembly

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
 
Thread Listing 
  [BLOG] Formations Sherman V DV (M4A4 Direct Vision) - James Wechsler - May 21, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Hull – Major Assembly - James Wechsler - May 21, 2007
. . . References? - Paul A. Owen - May 22, 2007
. . . . . . Re: References? - James Wechsler - May 22, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Re: References? - Paul A. Owen - May 22, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . Gavin Birch book: mostly worthless captioning - Roy Chow - May 23, 2007
. . . Burma Theatre British Sherman V - Paul A. Owen - May 22, 2007
. . . . . . Re: Burma Theatre British Sherman V - James Wechsler - May 22, 2007
. . . . . . 255th Indian Tank Brigade - Paul A. Owen - May 22, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Re: 255th Indian Tank Brigade - Photos - Paul A. Owen - May 22, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . You're stealing my surprise! - James Wechsler - May 23, 2007
. . . I am building this too. - Paul A. Owen - May 22, 2007
. . . . . . Re: I am building this too. - James Wechsler - May 23, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Re: I am building this too. - Paul A. Owen - May 23, 2007
. . . Colour Scheme - Paul A. Owen - May 22, 2007
. . . . . . Re: Colour Scheme - James Wechsler - May 23, 2007
. . . Re: [BLOG] Formations Sherman V DV (M4A4 Direct Vision) - Chris Oldfield - May 23, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [BLOG] Formations Sherman V DV (M4A4 Direct Vision) - James Wechsler - May 23, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Re: [BLOG] Formations Sherman V DV (M4A4 Direct Vision) - Chris Oldfield - May 23, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: [BLOG] Formations Sherman V DV (M4A4 Direct Vision) - James Wechsler - May 23, 2007
. . . . . . "The Sherman Tank in British Service 1942-45" - Paul A. Owen - May 23, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Hull – small parts - James Wechsler - May 23, 2007
. . . . . . Modelling Sherman V in Burma - Martin Dogger - May 24, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Re: Modelling Sherman V in Burma - James Wechsler - May 24, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Modelling Sherman V in Burma - Martin Dogger - May 26, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Re: Modelling Sherman V in Burma - Paul A. Owen - May 24, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Modelling Sherman V in Burma - Martin Dogger - May 26, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Modelling Sherman V in Burma - Paul A. Owen - May 26, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Modelling Sherman V in Burma - Martin Dogger - May 27, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . You can convert the Firefly easily - James Wechsler - May 27, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Hull – Exhaust Deflector - James Wechsler - May 26, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Hull – The original non-stick surface - James Wechsler - May 28, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Hull – Pioneer Tools - James Wechsler - May 31, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Hull – Stowage Bins - James Wechsler - Jun 4, 2007
. . . . . . Re: The Hull Stowage Bins - Martin Dogger - Jun 6, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Re: The Hull Stowage Bins - James Wechsler - Jun 6, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Hull Stowage Bins - Martin Dogger - Jun 6, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Turret – A change in plans - James Wechsler - Jun 7, 2007
. . . . . . Re: The Turret A change in plans - Martin Dogger - Jun 7, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Re: The Turret A change in plans - James Wechsler - Jun 7, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Turret A change in plans - Michael Bedard - Jun 7, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Turret A change in plans - Martin Dogger - Jun 7, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Turret A change in plans - James Wechsler - Jun 8, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Turret A change in plans - Martin Dogger - Jun 12, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Turret – Small Parts - James Wechsler - Jun 10, 2007
. . . . . . Which turret should I use? - Paul A. Owen - Jun 11, 2007
. . . . . . . . . You got the correct one - James Wechsler - Jun 11, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Suspension - James Wechsler - Jun 13, 2007
. . . Re: [BLOG] Formations Sherman V DV (M4A4 Direct Vision) - elliot madriss - Jun 15, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [BLOG] Formations Sherman V DV (M4A4 Direct Vision) - James Wechsler - Jun 15, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Idlers - James Wechsler - Jun 20, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Rework - James Wechsler - Jun 20, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Painting - James Wechsler - Jun 22, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Markings - James Wechsler - Jun 23, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Markings - Craig White - Jun 23, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Markings - James Wechsler - Jun 26, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Markings - Craig White - Jun 27, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Markings - Tom Berringer - Jun 27, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Pre-dusting - James Wechsler - Jun 25, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Drybrushing and Detail Painting - James Wechsler - Jun 28, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Drybrushing and Detail Painting - Sandy - Jun 28, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Washes and Streaking - James Wechsler - Jul 1, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Washes and Streaking - DJ Judge - Jul 1, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Stowage - James Wechsler - Jul 3, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Pre-dusting: part 2 - James Wechsler - Jul 5, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Pigments - James Wechsler - Jul 8, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Pigments - Martin Dogger - Jul 13, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Tracks - James Wechsler - Jul 9, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Chicken Wire - James Wechsler - Jul 10, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Chicken Wire - Bill Goodrich - Jul 10, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Same as zimmerit - Paul A. Owen - Jul 10, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . Why just the front? - Bill Goodrich - Jul 10, 2007
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Why just the front? - Paul A. Owen - Jul 10, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Colonel Hathi - James Wechsler - Jul 11, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Colonel Hathi - Michael Bedard - Jul 12, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Colonel Hathi - Richard - Jul 12, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Thank God for National Geographic - James Wechsler - Jul 12, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Thank God for National Geographic - Martin - Jul 12, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Thank God for National Geographic - Brian - Jul 12, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Thank God for National Geographic - gerry gardiner - Jul 13, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Thank God for National Geographic - Chris Oldfield - Jul 13, 2007
. . . [Chapter] The Tank Crew - James Wechsler - Jul 13, 2007
. . . [Chapter] Putting it all together - James Wechsler - Jul 13, 2007
. . . . . . Re: [Chapter] Putting it all together/ Very nice! - Marc Brandes - Jul 14, 2007
. . . . . . You've done it again, James! - Herve Charbonneau - Jul 15, 2007
. . . . . . . . . Thanks All! - James Wechsler - Jul 17, 2007
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