Oddball's Sherman - WIP

[Pinky]

We've discussed this iconic tank a few times, and the retirement of Rubicon's M4A3 kit prompted me to try and build it.

It's still WiP - obviously.  There are a lot of small details to add.  The distinctive stowage (the milk churn and watering can) is proving very time-consuming to build, partly because I'm more used to 1/72 and 1/35.  The speaker was also difficult, until I found a 28mm plastic pot which is almost the right shape.  Obviously some items aren't quite right, like the boxes.  The real tank had a later model exhaust deflector, but I wasn't going to try and build that.  However, I did re-do the cupola (which still needs a periscope).

Sorry about the photos - they were taken with my Blackberry.

[ultravanillasmurf]

Looks good, I like the milk churn.

Are you going to order the Company B decals?

[stevepalffy]

Looks good...Fun stuff ..I just got another Sherman to build oddballs Tank as well :-)

[ripley]

Looks pretty good . Are you ordering the Oddball  metal figure, waiting for Warlord to release theirs ,  or kit bashing your own ?

[Pinky]

Looks good, I like the milk churn.

Are you going to order the Company B decals?

Maybe I should.  I was just going to give it some generic decals. 

Looks pretty good . Are you ordering the Oddball  metal figure, waiting for Warlord to release theirs ,  or kit bashing your own ?

I was thinking of sculpting a beard onto the Warlord plastic M4 commander, but he's kind of weedy looking.  I think the Warlord metal figure would be much better, but they don't seem to be in any hurry to release it.  I don't like the Artizan figures.

There's still a lot to do on this.  Updates to follow.

[Ballardian]

Looking good so far There is another Oddball option; Studio Miniatures 'Donald' - it's a better (much more recent) sculpt than the Artizan, whether better or worse the the Warlord remains to be seen. Size-wise it's about the same as the Artizan one, more slender than your average WG mini.





(The painted one is the companys own)

[Pinky]

That looks like a good figure - it should be possible to get him into the cupola. 

[ultravanillasmurf]

That is my plan for my M4A3 (I got two at Salute).

[Pinky]

Progress on the rear stowage.  I think that will do - I tried to make it look as ramshackle as it is on the movie tank.  I've also added a hull-mounted antenna base.

[ultravanillasmurf]

Excellent, looking good.

[Pinky]

Now with the .50 cal attached, and a tow cable (a bit overscale, I know).  The .50 cal is from a Warlord kit; it's less accurate than Rubicon's but looks chunkier and has separate firing grips. 

I only need to detail and attach the loudspeaker, and the build is finished.

[Fiend-upon-my-back]

It's looking fantastic dude. I've always wanted to build one of these. Someone should do a plastic upgrade sprue for the three movie tanks. go on Rubicon..It would be a mother, beautiful sprue

[Aircav]

Love it, can't wait to see it painted 

[Pinky]

I see Warlord have just released an Oddball's Sherman and a Kelly's Heroes Tiger.  They are both resin and metal, of course.  While it captures the look of the movie vehicle, the Sherman itself is pretty bad.  You'd be much better off using the metal components with a Rubicon M4A3 (assuming you can still find one - or wait for the new one).  Some of the metal components aren't particularly well sculpted either - especially the speaker.  Having made this myself, I know how tricky it is to get the shape right. The figures look good though.  I guess I'll get them for my version, although I won't be able to use the driver and co-driver.  [Edit - I received the kit, and it's pretty horrible.  The resin casting isn't bad, but it's  a very inferior representation of the M4A3 compared to Rubicon's plastic version.  The metal components are quite poorly sculpted.  And there are no custom decals.  Disappointing.]

The Tiger is better, as it captures the weird chopped-off look of the movie vehicle. 

I wonder if Warlord are paying any licence fees for this?

[Pinky]

Finished build - a few minor detail changes, and the speaker finished (I'm not entirely happy with it, but nevermind).