Movie stars: A pair of Shermans.

[flakmonkey]

Another two-for-one bargain build, or at least it will be as soon as I have the remaining necessary boxes in my possession.

The movie stars in question, gentlemen, are Oddball's Sherman from Kelly's Heroes, and the eponymous Fury.

Fury actually represents something of a minor modeling problem, as the Tank Museum's Easy Eight which portrayed it in the film is, in fact, an M4A2E8.

Guess who makes a 1/35 M4A2E8? Nobody, that's who. There are plenty of M4A3E8s, however, and this would be historically accurate as the A2 was never used by US forces. I believe the Tank Museum's A2 came from Kublinka, which makes sense as the Red Army was the only wartime operator of this variant as far as I am aware. Yes, you COULD cross kit a Zvezda A2 with the Tamiya Easy Eight, but that then becomes a very expensive model.

The differences between the two are mostly in the arrangement of the engine deck cooling grilles to suit the different engines used, which is not the end of the world given that much of this grille arrangement will be hidden under stowed items.

I had intended to use the Academy M4A3E8, but unfortunately it is not available even directly from UK importer Bachmann, so I had to settle for the Tamiya. First World Problems.

Oddball's Sherman, which is arriving in January, is a M4A3(76)W, which is available from Academy. The tank in the film was loaned by the Yugoslavian army, in whose country the film was shot.

Both kits suffer from my pet hate, rubber band tracks, and so I have ordered the appropriate T-84 and T-80 individual link tracks from AFV club via Bachmann's retail outlet, MCC in Hinckley. A most excellent shop. The Tamiya kit's tracks are wrong for Fury, anyway. Fury has the rubber pad chevron T-84 HVSS tracks. The ones in the Tamiya kit look like post war Korean conflict era tracks to me.

Here are the boxes so far...



The MiniArt Village Utensils set contains some essential items for Oddball's Sherman, including the milk churns and crate of wine. Most of the stowage items for Fury will come from the Tamiya set.

The MiniArt US tankers set will be used to crew up Fury, with Milliput facial hair for Gordo and Bible.

Both tanks will require some scratchbuilding, such as the hedgerow cutter on Fury, and Oddball's speaker and watering can

Research material shall consist of watching and rewatching both movies. It's a hard life.

I intend to beginning ruining the perfectly good Tamiya kit very soon, and shall set about the Academy Oddball Sherman with hamfisted glee as soon as it arrives.

Happy modeling, and happy Christmas to all who celebrate.

Rororo. That's my other dog impersonation.

[Clashcityrocker]

Sounds like a plan. Good luck.

Nigel

[ShaunW]

I've seen Fury three times and I've lost count how many times I've seen Kelly's Heroes. Looking forward to this pair.

[David Silver]

Did someone call me? Its a bit late but Merry Christmas FM!

[flakmonkey]

Thanks for looking.

I've spent a little time on the Tamiya Easy 8 kit, which provided a fuss free and enjoyable build experience as I gorged myself on fatty snacks and sugary treats whilst bingeing on Netflix and rewatching Fury several times in the name of "research".

It goes together fairly quickly.



My "Fury" modifications so far have included replacing the kit's moulded front fenders with ones made from litho plate. The advantage of doing this is that the litho plate can quite easily be bent and generall bashed and beaten up to more closely resemble Fury's items. They were very simple to make, and are an important part of the overall look of the model.



Around the back, another pair of litho plate fenders were added, along with a small rack on the left side for a can of .30 ammunition. The kit provides the folding rack for the rear, which will be stuffed with fuel and ammo cans.



Other Fury specific touches are the "too short" towing cable, made from 4 twisted strands of 0.3mm jewelry wire glued into the towing eyes provided in the kit, plating over the turret flare port with a spare disc of PE, adding the searchlight base which was cut from the kit's searchlight (part K4), an assortment of tie-downs, and the mount for the M1918A4 .30 cal MG which came from an Academy M163 Vulcan kit's M1918 tripod. This is accurate, and would often be done in real life as tank crews are notorious for helping themselves to anything that isn't chained and bolted down and finding a way of attaching it to their tanks.

That's all ready now for paint, and I have also turned my attention to the stowage, of which there is rather a lot. Much of it will come from the spares box and the Tamiya allied equipment set, however some will need to be scratchbuilt, such as the "log armor" on either side, and certain of the packs and rolled up tarps. These are ideal candidates for Milliput.



I'll get that all in primer today, and begin laying down the olive drab base coat. Fury of course is not just all over OD, and careful study of pictures reveals that underneath all the grime it is in OD and temporary black disruptive late war camo. A detail often missed.

[JamesPerrin]

Meticulous research as usual Flak.

[Clashcityrocker]

Coming together nicely.

Nigel

[X12A]

Coming along very nicely - don't think you'll be getting too many negative waves on here!

[flakmonkey]

Thanks as always for looking.

I have painted the overall faded olive drab finish, the OVM tools, and the tyres on all the running gear.



I used the Mig Ammo olive drab set because I am lazy and also because they do work very well together.



Once that had all dried off properly, I gave the whole model a coat of Hycote rattle can matt clear lacquer in preparation for the temporary black disruptive pattern.

Elsewhere I have been painting up Milliput logs, and I made the barge boards that fit between the front fenders from plastic card. Both these items were woodgrained using the toothed wheel from a Trumpeter riveting tool. At last I have found something it is actually good at.



I know I could have used sticks from the yard, but the problem with sticks from the yard is that they tend to look exactly like sticks from the yard.

My next job is to apply the temporary black, once I have determined exactly the disruptive pattern used under all that muck and grime.

[ShaunW]

That is looking the business and I like the use of Milliput for some of the accessories.

[Clashcityrocker]

Woodgraining on the wooden bits looks very woodlike

Nigel

[B4en]

Those are indeed some lovely logs and planks. It's always nice when you find a use for one of those forgotten tools.

[flakmonkey]

Thanks as always for looking in.

The black disruptive camo has been applied to the Fury model, using Mig Ammo's washable black. Unusual stuff, the Mig washable paints. You apply them as usual, and then you can reactivate them with a damp brush to simulate wear and chipping. It's especially useful for these temporary camo schemes that were applied in theater. Once I was happy with the overall effect of wear and scratches, I sealed the black against accidental reactivation with another light coat of Hycote matt clear lacquer.



The "Fury" script on the gun barrel was also done with Mig Ammo washable, this time white. It was then suitably distressed with a toothpick and a fine brush.

Next I applied a dirty wash all over the model mixed from yellow ochre, raw umber, and white oil paints carried in odourless thinner. For the running gear and lower hull I brushed it all over lightly with thinner, and applied Mig Pigments "Europe Earth" with a brush. I think I got it fairly close to the film look of the vehicle.





I have not done any rust or chipping, as in reality of course "Fury" is a valuable museum piece, and as such beneath all the fake dirt (yes it is fake, applied for the movie screen) it is well maintained and rust free.

As with all things, one does have to be careful when working from pictures, and I was reminded of this whilst watching the film (for reference of course) and noticed a full length tow cable and not the noticably too short one seen in many pictures of Fury.

It turns out that there are two Furies. One is the Tank Museum's M4A2E8 which was used for most of the filming, and the other is a privately owned vehicle consisting of an Israeli 105mm hull mated to a 76mm T26 turret which was used as a stand in for certain shots. This latter vehicle has the too short tow cable, and also a Cullin hedgerow cutter welded to the differential housing. This means I need to make a new tow cable. Hardly the end of the world.

And that kind of wraps up 2023 for me from a modeling perspective. Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and successful 2024.

[ShaunW]

Looking really good. Those MIG washable paints sound interesting, particularly if they do white, which I'm reasonably sure they will although I haven't checked (c'mon, give me a break it's New Year's Day and last night was fairly heavy in the booze dept.), as that would potentially make weathered winter finishes easier to recreate than pinching the wife's hairspray or dry brushing. All the best to you for 2024.

[flakmonkey]

Those MIG washable paints sound interesting, particularly if they do white, which I'm reasonably sure they will although I haven't checked

They do indeed do white, and it's very good for temporary winter camo.

I have rung in the new year by making a start on Fury's stowage. As most people will probably know, there is a huge amount of stowage. The engine deck looks like a rummage sale. Some will be scratchbuilt, some will come from Tamiya's allied vehicle accessories set.



This could take a little while.