Unspeakable Acts on an unsuspecting Sherman...

[tankme]

Naw...transplanted Texan has never heard of it either and I am a tool magnet. If there is a tool to buy, I'm the sucker that will buy it...

[Rob1970]

Naw...transplanted Texan has never heard of it either and I am a tool magnet. If there is a tool to buy, I'm the sucker that will buy it...

Well, 3D pens are kinda awesome... if you find a use for them. They are mostly sold to kids, but aren't all grown men just kids with a disposable income?

At least, I presume it's mine... SWMBO seems to have another opinion sometimes.

Aaanyway...


Got the new engine door fitted, after grinding off the old one and plugging the holes from the old exhausts. The exhausts were made slightly narrower and moved up. Still need to do some weld beads around the hinges.


Also chopped a bit off the top, because it was hitting the top deck. And it's deep in the shadows, nobody will ever see that end. Need slightly longer tubes from the smoker to the exhausts, but if you take off the little bends on the top of the smoker you end up with a couple of very gently curved tubes without kinks.

While tinkering with it all and testing I discovered my smoker wasn't operating all that well. So I removed it and opened it up. Wicked a lot of the smoker fluid off the cotton ball and made the connections to the heating wire a bit more robust then just the little crimping they did. A dab of solder and some heatshrink was all that was needed. After that it smoked like... well... a smoker.


With the top deck on the exhaust just peek out under the rim. Next job; air filters and the towing bar.
The air filters will be scratch-built, still not sure if I will go for the round ones or the up-armoured square ones. And for the towing bar I am also still pondering; just the brackets to hold the leaf-spring bar, or scratchbuild it all... choices.

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[Rob1970]

Well, I haven't done much work on the Shermans the past... 5 days, because I've been doing pennance for buying all the tanks. SWMBO calls it "chores that needed doing" and "a garden that needed digging up", but let's not kid ourselves...

Nah, actually she's cool with it all...

Done a little slow work on the rear of the Firefly...


Added weld beads to the hinges of the engine door, and a couple of strengthening-plates. I think that's what they're called... And been tinkering with making air filters. First one is done, and tacked in place with some bluetack while I figure out of I like this version...

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[NAB]

With your excitement of discovering how to make convincing welds you will be putting welds on welds lol

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[Rob1970]

With your excitement of discovering how to make convincing welds you will be putting welds on welds lol

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You know it...

[Rob1970]

Funny how busy you can get when you've got tanks... Spent the last few days cleaning and stripping the Tiger I, which is now shipshape and Bristol fashion again. It got a good cleaning and a good rewiring, got the smoker rewired and working with the surprise TK6.0 it was hiding. All it needs now is a slip ring for the 360 turret, and it's another full-fledged runner...

But enough about the wages of sin... still got a little time in with the Firefly...


Air filters, scratchbuild and fitted. They came out nice, even managed to do a couple of convincing wingnuts.

Next on the roll call... towing gear. Still not sure; full setup with leaf spring and hook, or just the brackets...

Opinions anyone?

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

P.S. anyone know something fun you can do with a Pershing, Tiger I and a broken down Pantiger..? Asking for a "friend"...

[NAB]

P.S. anyone know something fun you can do with a Pershing, Tiger I and a broken down Pantiger..? Asking for a "friend"...

IR battle.

Pantiger do a unique "what if" build



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[HERMAN BIX]

Cut the pan tiger up and use its organs to convert a Panther G into a D or A !!

[NAB]

Cut the pan tiger up and use its organs to convert a Panther G into a D or A !!

But that would mean buying more tanks for donor parts!

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[Rob1970]

Some more done. At the moment it is a lot of fiddly work, which I've been doing in the small moments I have. Life's been interfering with my hobbies. Don't you hate when that happens?


Front lights and lifting eyes refitted. A lot of measuring, and making a template for the holes, because the 105mm gets the same new lights. Still have to scratchbuild the siren/horn, but I'm not sure which type I will be going for.


The rear got the same treatment. New lights, and some Shapeways stuff in the form of grousers and fire-extinguihsers. I not only filled all the holes for the lights and light cages, but also plugged all the holes for the tools. Easier in one go, and the arrangement of the tools is slightly different on the Firefly.


My preferred method of plugging holes is by making tapered pegs from the plastic in question (in this case ABS), using the right welding glue (in this case MEK) and jamming it in. It seals the hole pretty good, and requires very little in the form of touch-ups if done right. Easier than putty in my opinion. When the solvents has gone off, you can snip the peg flush with the surface and a few strokes with a sanding stick does the rest.


Sometimes the holes isn't plugged perfectly, but hitting it with some MEK to prime the surface and adding a small dollop of ABS goop solves that, again only needs minor swipe with a sanding stick once it's fully set.
Added bonus is the fact that it is all ABS in the end, and a lot easier to get the new holes in the right place without having to worry about your drill wandering into the softer putty.

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob