WIP Rubicon Shermans

[Pinky]

Following on from the British Sherman's thread, here is my Rubicon Sherman III.  I've wanted to have a kit of this version of the Sherman for the longest time.  It went together quickly, and Rubicon's accessories proved very useful for representing a British Sherman in the Mediterranean in 1943.  I like it so much I'm going to build another one.

I'm also building a couple of Sherman Ic Hybrid Fireflies.  I'll put up some photos when there's something worth showing.

[ultravanillasmurf]

Nice job.

The contrast between the original plastic and the new plastic is notable.

I look forward to seeing it painted.

[Pinky]

The new plastic colour is far easier to work with.  Makes the model look better too - not sure why.

[Tracks]

I know its the lighting plus camera, but the plastic looks green-gray instead of gray. Its a nice color. As for the kit itself, Rubicon's Sherman III model kit goes together nicely. In fact, all the Rubicon kits I have assembled to date have gone together nicely. Rubicon makes building models easy!

I really should get a box or two of the stowage sets.

[Pinky]

It is indeed a grey-green colour, but much lighter than these photos suggest.

[Tracks]

It is indeed a grey-green colour, but much lighter than these photos suggest.

I did not really notice this before. I was thinking the plastic was just a mid-gray, but looking at the plastic again and paying more attention to color, it does have a slight tint of green. For me, I think the new color Rubicon is using is better than the old color.

[Pinky]

Hmmm - an issue with the Hybrid.  It should have the 'sharp-nosed' differential housing, as this seems to have been fitted to all M4 Composites.  But the kit only has the earlier 'rounded' housing, and I've already attached it to both models.  I guess I can hack them off [edit: it snapped off rather too easily!]

[Pinky]

I picked up a couple more Sherman kits to see if I could mix and match them to get the right sharp-nosed transmission housing for the Hybrid (from the M4A2 76mm kit).  I now have all the Rubicon Shermans!  I have to say, the M4 is pretty nice as well, so I decided to have a Ic and a Ic Hybrid (different types often appeared in the same unit).  The Ic will have the rounded transmission housing, which seems to be accurate.

I found that the sharp nosed transmission housing isn't a perfect fit; if you insert the strip of retaining bolts (SF08), the hull doesn't sit level.  I'll leave it off and cover the gap with stowage.

I started another thread on the Fireflies.

[ultravanillasmurf]

Looking good.

Useful to know about the bolt strip.

[Tracks]

[edit: it snapped off rather too easily!]

Did you use Revell glue? 

Pinky, have you tried the fit of the sharp-nosed housing from the M4A3 (280042) kit? Part number D22 in dark green colored plastic. It probably has exact same dimensions as the later (gray colored) kits, but I'm now curious how well part D22 from the earlier M4A3 kit will fit.

[Pinky]

I used Tamiya extra thin, but it's cloudy (from absorbing sanded plastic particles).  I think that's affecting it.

D22 is from the 76mm turret sprue common to the M4A3 and M4A2 kit; it's the component that I used.

[ultravanillasmurf]

Thanks for the part reference, luckily that was not the cover I used on my M4A3E8, so I have one for my hybrid.

While searching through my sprue drawer, I also found the spare 76mm T34 turret base from the T34/85 kit, so no excuse for not completing the destroyed turret.

[Pinky]

Here is the 2nd Sherman III.  For this one I decided to fit the stowage brackets.  This meant removing the rear section of the sandshields, and attaching part of the sponsor floor section.  It proved quite straightforward.  This model was assembled with Plastic Magic, which works very well - unlike Tamiya Exta Thin, it fills gaps.

I still need to fill the joins on the rear hull plate.

[ultravanillasmurf]

Nice job.

[ripley]

Very nice .  And how many Shermans do you have now ?