1944 M4A3 105mm

[cupoftea]

This is an interesting build. You have made a great start Painless.

[ALPHA]

Good Morning, Alpha,
Thank you, my friend, I really am enjoying this Sherman. Pics for today up sometime soon. I thought about getting the KV-1 from MatoMart but decided to go for a Taigen version with metal lower hull, etc. I am learning the virtue of KISS. ;o)
regards,
Painless

KISS? ...I'm not kissing you Painless ... but I think I understand your logic ... I did see the metal hull on Dave's site...looks pretty sweet....I assume it has 2.4 in it and all the good stuff ...Who carries TAIGEN ? I've seen some on EBAY...but not the KV...

ALPHA

PS yes you can throw those tracks and bits over the pacific anytime

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning,
Thank you, cupoftea. You've already given me some great ideas yourself. I like your cut down Tiger1 bow MG a lot. Alpha, I know you are aware of the K.I.S.S. principle. ;o) Welsh Dragon and Artistic Hobbies (which is a US based store out of Texas) and Forgebear of course are the three shops I use the most for Taigen tanks and parts. PM me and we can talk about those tracks.
regards,
Painless

[ALPHA]

Good Morning,
Thank you, cupoftea. You've already given me some great ideas yourself. I like your cut down Tiger1 bow MG a lot. Alpha, I know you are aware of the K.I.S.S. principle. ;o) Welsh Dragon and Artistic Hobbies (which is a US based store out of Texas) and Forgebear of course are the three shops I use the most for Taigen tanks and parts. PM me and we can talk about those tracks.
regards,
Painless

Simplicity over complexity .... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...wish I thought of that before attacking that resin turret ...It all looked simple at the time... and the finished product looks simple enough...but dang was it complex ...it did offer nice options though...

Not sure how the Taigen will give you the simplicity you are looking for... but I guess your shopping list will be smaller if it is already 2.4 not to mention a lot more economical compared to the TORRO

Keeping an eye on this build of yours Painless... are you now thinking IDF?

ALPHA

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning, Alpha,
A smaller shopping list for the anticipated KV-2 build is exactly what I had in mind. A Taigen KV-1 will give me a metal lower hull, great suspension, metal tracks and road wheels, sprockets and idlers, hull bracing and idler adjustment along with proportional smoker and 2.4 GHZ set up not to mention a lot of metal extras right out of the box. If Taigen had a Sherman, I'd have one today. Nope, no IDF Sherman, *chuckles* I'll stick to WWII armor for the foreseeable future.
regards,
Painless

[ALPHA]

Good Morning, Alpha,
A smaller shopping list for the anticipated KV-2 build is exactly what I had in mind. A Taigen KV-1 will give me a metal lower hull, great suspension, metal tracks and road wheels, sprockets and idlers, hull bracing and idler adjustment along with proportional smoker and 2.4 GHZ set up not to mention a lot of metal extras right out of the box. If Taigen had a Sherman, I'd have one today. Nope, no IDF Sherman, *chuckles* I'll stick to WWII armor for the foreseeable future.
regards,
Painless

Sounds great Painless...I'll have to look into those Taigens a little more ...the ones advertized on EBAY don't even come close to your description ...in fact a lot of them sound like glorified HENG LONGS...reason I guess I haven't made the transition

So no IDF lol... they are pretty.... but I do agree about the WWII versions... the spectrum is broader ...especially with what fynsdad.. Phil... and CH has shown to date

ALPHA

[PainlessWolf]

*looks around and sees that it is still morning*.
Alpha, that's exactly what the Taigens are, Glorified Heng Longs! *Chuckles* Taigen has fixed some of the issues with the original Heng Longs, added Asiatam parts like the lower hulls and gone with better components like the Taigen branded 2.4 GHz set up. They generally have better paint jobs as well but since most of us do our own paint, that is a relative talking point. My last Panther is a Taigen and while I found many things to add on for realism's sake, the over all tank and paint were brilliant right out of the box.
warm regards,
Painless

[PainlessWolf]

2nd Day: No parts or pieces delivered yet but there is plenty to do beforehand. Tonight I wanted to finish cutting off all the molded on handles and see about cutting out the static engine cover on the rear deck. Maybe take the turret apart and remove the HL antenna lead and post. Once again, Pictures:

[ALPHA]

Hey there Painless... how is it everyone says that brass antenna plug is so easy to pull out ? ...Man you should have seen the KV's ... it not only was difficult... but it was longer than the norm.... What I had to do was cut what was underneath the hull then pull it out

just a little spooky when the panel started to flex

ALPHA

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning, Alpha,
I do not know why yours was so difficult to remove. Perhaps your KV had received a visit from the infamous Glue Monkey while under construction.
regards,
Painless