Heng Long Sherman

[ALPHA]

GREAT JOB Cupotea!! ...geese with all these cool SHERMAN builds reaching completion... I'm kind of afraid to show mine

ALPHA

[cupoftea]

Problem................... the decals have 'silvered' in some areas and now look rather nasty. Ah well, This is the last time I use waterslide decals.

Having the silvering and also the olive drab go so dark with the addition of the tamiya gloss coat I am half way to deciding to get out the oven cleaner, remove the paint and start over. Going to sleep on this one and decide in the morning but my gut feeling is it is better to get it right and be happy with it rather than keep it as is,

[PainlessWolf]

Cupoftea,
That is unfortunate. I was hoping to see the results of the Matt over the Gloss. You are right in that it would not lighten the color back up just cut the sheen. Good luck with the redo, my friend.
regards,
Painless

[ALPHA]

Hey cupoftea... just as a suggestion.... as I'm not sure this will work for your situation... try sanding over the areas that bother you with some super fine grit wet finishing sandpaper (4 to 600 grit) it will dull the surface so you get a better perspective of the problem... to see if that silvering still comes through... just glide a wet finger towel or sponge over the surface..it will imitate a gloss coat... if the problem disappears... dullcoat ...it should be good to go...if it persists... that's when you should think about striping your excellent paint job

ALPHA

[cupoftea]

Thanks for the tip Alpha. I tried but sadly it was time to remove the paint so out came the oven cleaner. Ah well onward and perhaps upward. I think I have enough Olive Drab for another go and i have enough primer so here goes........................ I have a few thoughts on some improvements to the paint and a few ideas about markings but, as I fell like seeking solace in alcohol every time i think of markings right now, I will keep the markings to myself for now. It will not be an American operated Sherman though - I want to do something a bit different from the norm. Wish i knew where to get a 75mm or 76 mm gun barrel and mantlet from to fit the Heng Long. Probably i will build it with the 105mm again and then look for a mantlet and gun later and retro fit them if I ever find them.

[ALPHA]

Thanks for the tip Alpha. I tried but sadly it was time to remove the paint so out came the oven cleaner. Ah well onward and perhaps upward. I think I have enough Olive Drab for another go and i have enough primer so here goes........................ I have a few thoughts on some improvements to the paint and a few ideas about markings but, as I fell like seeking solace in alcohol every time i think of markings right now, I will keep the markings to myself for now. It will not be an American operated Sherman though - I want to do something a bit different from the norm. Wish i knew where to get a 75mm or 76 mm gun barrel and mantlet from to fit the Heng Long. Probably i will build it with the 105mm again and then look for a mantlet and gun later and retro fit them if I ever find them.

Sad news ... you did a great job too.... I guess there is a silver lining cupoftea... you found out the attributes of clear gloss.. as it will deepen the initial color.. the reason it does this is because it's really a sealer and binds all the color molecules ...if you don't want that effect ... the best thing to do is to add some gloss into your base color and tint that accordingly that way you don't get any surprises if you want to gloss coat it again

There is a manlet made by Nick Agulera ..made for converting the Tamiya . includes a metal 75 mm gun...it isn't good for the standard HENG LONG... but you modified yours with IR and recoil... so it would be perfect for you

What I did to mine to bring it down to a 75 mm gun was to chuck the aluminum barrel in a drill .... and run a grinder over it as it spun...I calipered the diameter from my T34 ...it could be another option for you to try

Good luck with the re do

ALPHA

[cannedheat]

cuppa
if I may be of assistance ,if you take a look at my turret with a bit of milliput a file I did a 75 job on it I will send you a barrel from a mato Sherman and you remove the 105 and just push in the 76 and cut it to size unless you are a rivet counter you will be hard pushed to tell the difference so just give us a shout will gladly send you a barrel will even cut to length ? wot wot ......

[cannedheat]

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[cupoftea]

Thanks for posting the advice chaps and thank you canned for your kind offer. For now i have decided to stick with the 105mm gun and get hold of a mato turret at some point in the future. The tank is now back in primer and will most likely be olive drab again by the end of the weekend. This time no xyz??? gloss varnish will be used and markings will be either rub on or stencils.

[ALPHA]

Hey CupofTea... if you are considering a turret swap why not just go with the schumo
http://www.frontline-models.com/schumosherman.htm



though it costs about the same as the entire MATO... it's fully detailed and ready to go

ALPHA