Sherman US medium tank company project

[Tracks]

Have you seen the M4 Medium Tank thread?  (For the new members)

http://forum.rubiconmodels.com/index.php?topic=726.msg9454#msg9454

Yes, it's an old thread, but still a goodie.

[SheriffSherman]

Have you seen the M4 Medium Tank thread?  (For the new members)

http://forum.rubiconmodels.com/index.php?topic=726.msg9454#msg9454

Yes, it's an old thread, but still a goodie.

Yes, I referenced you and that image from that thread a couple posts back.  It was the reason I decided to build my own M36B1.  In that thread you asked if anyone knew how to create the correct dimensions on the gun barrel tip minus the muzzle brake.  Then you said it had been easy to do, I’ve now done it on mine but it did take me a couple hours so I would love to hear how you did yours because you said it was easy   I basically glued the MB on and then cut it after the second baffle and that started a lot of hobby knife, mini file, and sand paper work.  I noticed on yours the tip after the collar appears to be the same size as the area right before the collar.  I left mine a shade thicker because I wanted to simulate the thread protector already installed.

[SheriffSherman]

This morning I couldn’t sleep after 3:30 so I decided to put my insomnia to work and threw this together.  I have a little assembly line going and the tanks are all being worked on simultaneously as I’ve decided to try and  paint them at the same time when the sun conditions are ideal instead of doing them separately and hoping for perfect conditions after each tank has been completely detailed.

[SheriffSherman]

Something I noticed on the tank destroyer kits, I know they go back to 2015 but the guns seem just a shade thin and undersized on the TDs.  On vintage photos when an M10 is parked near a sherman the gun really stands out, but with these guys the guns on the TDs look small to me.

[SheriffSherman]

Wasn’t the 76mm a smaller version of the 3” gun on the M10?

[Tracks]

First, (@SheriffSherman) your work on the muzzle end looks great. I wouldn't change a thing.

I mostly made the reference to the other thread for the new members. Several people have added some good info and suggestions (including you SheriffSherman). Now that Rubicon Models offers so many versions of the M4 Medium, I just had to shamelessly point out that older thread. 

As for the collar ring, well, originally I was going include the cover (ring + thread protector), but later changed my mind after doing some research. I noticed that in some WW2 photos they didn't use the thread cover, and you could clearly see the threads (and collar ring). So I said, "I'll do that instead, but without cutting the fine threads" because I build my models for gaming and not for contests. Yes, I still try to make my models look okay, but I tend to skip things like adding very fine threads.

Okay, back to the collar ring. I started out by making a ring from the end of a piece of plastic pipe. First I did some careful shaping before cutting the tip of the pipe to make the ring. After slipping it onto the barrel, I used a little Tamiya extra thin to tack it into place. I don't recall if I had to do any smoothing afterwards.


Side Note:

My first M4 Medium was the Italeri/Warlord plastic model kit:


But this was the very first Rubicon Models M4 Medium I assembled and painted:

[SheriffSherman]

First, (@SheriffSherman) your work on the muzzle end looks great. I wouldn't change a thing.

I mostly made the reference to the other thread for the new members. Several people have added some good info and suggestions (including you SheriffSherman). Now that Rubicon Models offers so many versions of the M4 Medium, I just had to shamelessly point out that older thread. 

As for the collar ring, well, originally I was going include the cover (ring + thread protector), but later changed my mind after doing some research. I noticed that in some WW2 photos they didn't use the thread cover, and you could clearly see the threads (and collar ring). So I said, "I'll do that instead, but without cutting the fine threads" because I build my models for gaming and not for contests. Yes, I still try to make my models look okay, but I tend to skip things like adding very fine threads.

Okay, back to the collar ring. I started out by making a ring from the end of a piece of plastic pipe. First I did some careful shaping before cutting the tip of the pipe to make the ring. After slipping it onto the barrel, I used a little Tamiya extra thin to tack it into place. I don't recall if I had to do any smoothing afterwards.


Side Note:

My first M4 Medium was the Italeri/Warlord plastic model kit:


But this was the very first Rubicon Models M4 Medium I assembled and painted:

Tracks,

After reading your post now it makes perfect sense why your barrel is the same thickness before the collar and  after the collar.  Yours was a really clever and elegant solution to the problem.  It certainly wouldn’t have taken me 2 plus hours to do that had it even occurred to me to do it that way. 

I was really puzzled and I thought on mine for a couple of days before I eventually did what I did.  I simply couldn’t come up with anything easy, so I just assumed you were being sarcastic on your post, LOL. 

So the area where the muzzle brake attaches to the end of the barrel, that area, the smallest part of the MB literally wraps around the barrel so the barrel extends to that point inside the MB.  I didn’t want to lose that 4-5mm in length as I felt the gun is already lacking thickness and length as it is.  I just wanted it to extend to it’s full potential. 

So I just glued on the MB then cut it off at the area where the barrel ends and then sculpted the plastic with hobby knife, small file, and sand paper.  Once I got the tip smaller than the collar it was a matter of being patient and carefully turning the barrel tip by hand with sand paper until I thought it looked right, I wanted it to look like the thread protector was installed so I didn’t sand it down to the same thickness as the area before the collar.  I just felt like that extra 5mm at that scale was too much lost length, it doesn’t look as nice or clean as yours and nobody will be measuring my M36B1 barrel, but that’s the only thing I could think to do.