UVS models: Salute 2021 11/12/2020

[Rubicon Models]

Thank you Rubicon for allowing two modellers to get the most from our collections.

We are modellers ourselves, exchange of ideas and topics are not a major issue with this forum. 

[ultravanillasmurf]

Cleaned up damaged area on the mudguard and added the second fuel drum (the white bits are supposedly where the driver and gunner IR vision gear would be mounted).
.

The Tankograd Volks Armee T34 book should inspire me to finish the Rubicon T34.

[Captain Blood]

Great work with the Green Stuff 

Green Stuff 'soft stowage' - tarps etc - looks a great deal better than plastic kit items which always look too stiff and never seems to sit quite right.
I've just invested in the two Rubicon Models stowage sets (Allied and German) and they're packed with many and various useful parts. But some of the rolled up items just look a bit too 'sharp' somehow, to convincingly represent rolled up heavy fabrics. (Other than that - brilliant kits though).

[ultravanillasmurf]

Thanks.

The "hard" items from the storage set are very useful, I have not use the soft items from either set, though they may be used on top of greenstuff stowage (there are similar smokes in he Osprey M4 new M3/5 modelling books.

There are a number of items on my stowage wish list, water bottles (I used some Wargames Factory water bottles on the Panzer III) and British packs and tanker helmets.

[Pinky]

I'm very envious of UVS's soft stowage sculpting skills.  Having mastered the art, he can drape realistic looking stowage anywhere.  I am sticking with the 1/48 Tamiya stuff, which I think looks better than Rubicon's (sorry Rubicon!).  If you push it together, it looks pretty good, and the overscale appearance goes with the proportions of the figures.

[ultravanillasmurf]

Nice model Pinky. What track have you round the turret?

The first Sherman V is assembled and is being fitted with stowage (more detail and review on blog) but I am using the Rubicon Allied Stowage set to supply the racked spare links.



As you can see the supplied links are rather large and will not fit in the standard location (the racks are centre and in front of the driver's hood). I cut the Rubicon six link track in half to make the required two sets of three (for further models I would hope to make a better job).



As you can see, even with the Rubicon pieces it is a tight fit.

Other stowage will cover the ratty bits on the track links.

[Pinky]

Nice model Pinky. What track have you found the turret?

It's the Panther track from the Rubicon stowage set.  I've only found one photo of an ETO US Army Sherman with tracks welded to the turret (the British did it more often), but I thought it looked good.

I have the Sherman V kit.  I didn't realise that the spare tracks don't fit.  One problem with using Rubicon tracks is that they are noticeably different to the kit tracks.  Would it be better to replicate the brackets as well? 

[ripley]

Pinky , all the early / narrow  ( not E8) Sherman track pads were interchangable , you can find pictures of plain rubber block , rubber with chevron ( the arrow V ) and even some steel types all mounted  on the same tank as well as being used as spares  . The 3 pad bracket can mount vertically or horizontally on the glacis plate  , check a few photos of Brit or Canadian units , the Yanks never used it as it was a Brit piece of kit ( now someone will find a photo of a Yank Sherman with this mounted , lol ) . Remember , it was the teeth at the end of track that held it together , when mounted flat in the rack the pad chevrons could face either direction , again check photos  . Judging from your picture of the track rack , the Warlord track looks to be the all metal pad ( thin metal chevron  ) and the Rubicon , the rubber pad with the large rubber chevron  . There were 12 styles of narrow track ( 3 styles of rubber , 5 steel with metal chevron and 4 with metal 3 cleat pads ) Only the flat rubber type used the groucers , those things mounted on the side of the M-10 and the turret of the  M-5 Stuarts , if the  tank had steel track it didn't even mount the groucers in the rack , thus saving weight , the flat rubber tracked Shermans kept the groucers in a compartment under those little air scoops on the rear engine deck

[Pinky]

Pinky , all the early / narrow  ( not E8) Sherman track pads were interchangable...

I know, Ripley - but the Rubicon spare tracks don't match the tracks on the tank itself.

[ultravanillasmurf]

Thanks for the comments.

Pinky , all the early / narrow  ( not E8) Sherman track pads were interchangable...

I know, Ripley - but the Rubicon spare tracks don't match the tracks on the tank itself.

I think Ripley's point is that you could find mixed track pads on the same track run, hence also on the spare racks.

In my defence I did not notice the difference between the track run and the Rubicon track, though the supplied racked track looks different as well.

I have added the racks (splitting microstrip was entertaining).

Using the supplied spare track would work horizontally.

Observation is obviously not my forte, I also only spotted the W^D on the Allied jerry can yesterday even after the original discussion on the stowage thread.

Other spare track arrangements are available, including sets with the teeth, thought that requires the removal of the extraction marks on the inside of the moulding.

Hard stowage on the glacis is is complete, I will post some pictures later. Now to decide what to add on the engine deck.

[ripley]

I hear you about being observant , I've had some Squadron / Signal books for 30 plus years and every once in a while , a whole new detail will jump out at me . Why have I never noticed that before ! Now I have to fix my model kit  ...    I find books are better than the internet , as you can flip back and forth between pages and sometimes find different pictures ( Pathe , Life Magazine or German Signal magazine ) of the same vehicle taken from a different angle   or later on in the battle .

[ultravanillasmurf]

Well, I have some good news on the old Sherman I front, the IWM Sherman V and the British Tanks in Normandy book have squadron markers on second Armoured Battalion vehicles..

I do like books as a resource, hence my growing collection.

[ultravanillasmurf]

Just to prove it is not just the stowage sets, here is the first work in progress shots of the Katyusha.


Comparison shot with an Empress Technical.


In another thread Pinky mentioned having difficulty joining Rubicon parts to Warlord parts, I had not experienced that, however the load bed and sides of this kit behaved more like the strange ABS type plastic Mongoose used on their Starship Troopers figures. I had a great deal of difficulty obtaining a bond between the parts (I had to roughen the narrow part of the join and apply liquid poly three or more times - there was also much picking the bits off the floor).

The rest of the kit has gone together well, though I have still to start on the actual launcher.

[ultravanillasmurf]

Details of the glacis stowage on the Sherman V.




I have added the rack to hold the spare track.

I love the detail on the jerry can.

[Pinky]

In another thread Pinky mentioned having difficulty joining Rubicon parts to Warlord parts, I had not experienced that, however the load bed and sides of this kit behaved more like the strange ABS type plastic Mongoose used on their Starship Troopers figures. I had a great deal of difficulty obtaining a bond between the parts (I had to roughen the narrow part of the join and apply liquid poly three or more times - there was also much picking the bits off the floor).

I still can't get Warlord and Rubicon plastics to bond properly, using liquid cement.  The pieces come apart under pressure.  I use superglue, which is a bit annoying as it has a tendency to flow into any recessed detail nearby.

The re-jigged stowage on the Sherman looks very good.  Again, it captures the look of British stowage.