1944 M4A3 105mm

[PainlessWolf]

Alpha,
You're not intruding at all. ;o) I'm looking forward to seeing your Mantlet. Also, I'm familiar with the type of exhaust and rear bulkhead setup you're wanting to duplicate. The exhausts come over the top of the rear bulkhead and the engine air cleaners are mounted to the upper left and right and the doors are a double panel type. Take a look at Mike's MATO Sherman again and you'll see the same thing on it's lower hull just that the MATO has the Exhaust Deflector mounted. You should be able to use MATO components to duplicate the setup on your tank but rebuilding of the rear bulkhead is a certainty. (unless you go with the MATO lower hull which will present more work of a different nature, refitting the upper hull, etc. )
regards,
Painless

[CODY614]

O-Kay...I have lurked long enough.
Painless, This is way beyond accolades! You have taken this to whole new level. Even the 1/35th scale guys with all the PE and resin conversions pale in comparison to your mod's here!
I hope you only run it on a smooth surface with sun shinning...It's gonna be to beautiful to chance getting it dirty!

[PainlessWolf]

Good Afternoon, Cody,
You are very kind, Sir. Thank you for the compliments! I am only following in the footsteps of Guys like Phil, Frynsdad, Canned Heat, Sassgrunt, Pale Painter, Alpha and cupoftea, just to name a few. Give yourself a treat and check out their Builds both Sherman and otherwise in the Forums under Heng Long Builds.
regards,
Painless

P.S. He hasn't done a Sherman (yet to my knowledge) but I would be very remiss not to include Jeff1101 in the list of people who inspire me to keep working on a build. His Panther build is the template that I used to complete mine. I say 'is' because he is still working on it! That's how committed the fellow is to vehicle accuracy.

[ALPHA]

Alpha,
You're not intruding at all. ;o) I'm looking forward to seeing your Mantlet. Also, I'm familiar with the type of exhaust and rear bulkhead setup you're wanting to duplicate. The exhausts come over the top of the rear bulkhead and the engine air cleaners are mounted to the upper left and right and the doors are a double panel type. Take a look at Mike's MATO Sherman again and you'll see the same thing on it's lower hull just that the MATO has the Exhaust Deflector mounted. You should be able to use MATO components to duplicate the setup on your tank but rebuilding of the rear bulkhead is a certainty. (unless you go with the MATO lower hull which will present more work of a different nature, refitting the upper hull, etc. )
regards,
Painless

Hey Painless thanks... I didn't put the Mantlet on my build thread.. as I'm not sure I'm going to use it ...It's kind of a vote by opinion thing ... it's named "use it or loose it"
your opinion would be thankfully appreciated ...as for me it's kind of a tough call...as I am connected too close to it ...

ALPHA

[PainlessWolf]

Alpha,
Done and done, my friend.
warm regards,
Painless

[sassgrunt]

I have to admit something pretty funny. I sent you that FOV exhaust deflector because it was extra and I thought it might come in handy to replace a warped resin one, or something. Then, when I saw you replace the stock Heng Long one with it, I thought, "Why would he go and change out a perfectly good one?" So, I went and looked at my one Heng Long Sherman, and compared the two, and I realized how much better it is - so I changed out MINE, too! I'm old, but I can still learn - thank you for imparting your knowledge. Ha. -Mike

[PainlessWolf]

Sass! Hai!
I looked at the original Exhaust Deflector on the M4A3 and it was correct for Mid to Late War Shermans but it was already being replaced by the dual box unit with the hydraulic lift assist like you sent me. I had no compunctions about swapping it out for your excellent piece. ;o) I had thought about hinging the original Deflector so it would lift up and out of the way but I would still have to drill it so the smoke would get through it plus it would still look simplified and require some detail work even then. I think that the Deflector you sent me will actually deflect the exhaust smoke downward while looking great to boot. Thank you again, Mike. I am glad that you are dressing up your build. I cannot wait to see it. (( Plus, I still have the original deflector in fine and reusable condition if I ever do need to replace one or if someone else needs one, I can pay it forward. ))
warm regards,
Painless

[PainlessWolf]

44th Day: After looking around a few minutes for a bit that I _knew_ that I had, I decided to tidy up a little before going on. All of the Stowage and spares that Sassgrunt and Alpha had shipped me were gone through and rebagged by vehicle type. I added the spares that I had been holding onto into their bagged items as well. Essentially, if it wasn't going on the M4A3 build, it got tagged and bagged and put into one of the two Husky brand toolboxes I had purchased for spares and anything else that wasn't tool or paint related. When I was done, I was amazed, two toolboxes full! Along with the tonnage sent along by Alpha and Sass, I had accumulated a fair bit myself, including a lot of MATO Sherman and HL M-26 Pershing material. For actual tank related work tonight, I removed the tools and gave them a once over. They will be fine once a 'Phil' type job is given unto them. ;o) I put together an extra couple of racks of stowage that the Dynamic Duo had sent along and am well satisfied that I have plenty now to put on a freshly gone over Sherman rolling out of the Field Repair Depot. Pictures:

[ALPHA]

Alpha,
Done and done, my friend.
warm regards,
Painless

Saw replied... thanks again Painless

ALPHA

[ALPHA]

44th Day: After looking around a few minutes for a bit that I _knew_ that I had, I decided to tidy up a little before going on. All of the Stowage and spares that Sassgrunt and Alpha had shipped me were gone through and rebagged by vehicle type. I added the spares that I had been holding onto into their bagged items as well. Essentially, if it wasn't going on the M4A3 build, it got tagged and bagged and put into one of the two Husky brand toolboxes I had purchased for spares and anything else that wasn't tool or paint related. When I was done, I was amazed, two toolboxes full! Along with the tonnage sent along by Alpha and Sass, I had accumulated a fair bit myself, including a lot of MATO Sherman and HL M-26 Pershing material. For actual tank related work tonight, I removed the tools and gave them a once over. They will be fine once a 'Phil' type job is given unto them. ;o) I put together an extra couple of racks of stowage that the Dynamic Duo had sent along and am well satisfied that I have plenty now to put on a freshly gone over Sherman rolling out of the Field Repair Depot. Pictures:

Two toolboxes full? ...Well dang Painless ... instead of another tank build ..perhaps you should build a couple of those repair depots ...maybe a little brothel so crazy Joe can slum in while his tank is getting serviced ........... ...........

ALPHA