Mato M36B1 Tank Destroyer (full metal)

[PainlessWolf]

Good Morning, Doc,
I really like the idea of the all metal rotation set up. Is this metal gear ring the type with the bearings? That sounds very useful when running metal against metal. Following along on this re-engineering triumph.
regards,
Painless

[Dr Phibes]

Thanks Mick, Painless. Yes, the turret ring is the obne with the three ball races which is also very useful. On to the paint next and at last, anf then the real fun - the turret

[maxmekker]

those details

[HERMAN BIX]

Im SO not going to do one !!
Very high level of details Dr............a credit to you Sir

[Dr Phibes]

Painting Upper Hull - Prep & Primer
Another little update. I start by light sanding and then cleaning followed by Mr Hobby metal primer (seen here) which I have used on a lot of metal work and is very good;

Just for information - I love these products. Surfacer also comes in a 1000 and 1200 (both finer) grades, though I have yet to try them.

I had considered using the surfacer for texturing the hull, or parts of. However, in the end I decided to go striaght to primer as most of the welded M4 hull examples I have seen appear quite smooth. It seems the cast hulls are more textured but I'm still not sure on this - any views either way would be appreciated. Anyway, a nice drop of the factory grey brings it all together;

Next some olive drip and then onto the turret (oh dear, I been sort of putting it off to last because, being an open top, I think it's going to be a challenge. Still not quite sure how I'm going to tackle it!).

[c.rainford73]

Doc masterful job I am so amazed by how this is coming out and inspirational build

[Dr Phibes]

Well it's been a while since I updated this build thread so I thought it was about time to add a few pics of progress to date - not as much as would have liked but this is a hobby and not a job, I keep reminding myself, and it'll take as long as it takes (though I confess its been slower than I anticipated). Anyway, finally got to the top coats and some of the detail painting on the upper hull. I'm using Mig Ammo's four step olive drab modulation for this build and I'm generally pleased with the results so far.

Finished bare upper hull.

Here back on the lower hull and with some new decals, and that factory fresh look of course! The transitions in colour shades are a little more pronounced in these pictures but I may still use a filter for the final effects.

Front hull and glacis details

Hatches and periscope details are now coming together nicely - but I had trouble ascertaining what color the inner side of the hatches should be painted - some consensus regarding a light olive drab so I went with that in the end as this extended to the body of the periscopes with viewing window shroud in crinkle black (on some examples at least - see inset pic). I also managed to get a foil mirror and some glass in this, which I was quite pleased with in the end!

Rear details and tools etc.

And at the rear also, I have begun some of the weathering layers (rusting) but, at present, I am undecided how far I want to take this - I feel inclined not to weather too aggressively with this tank
but we shall see, as they say!

Next up will be the turret of course - some problems ahead I think as my plans for this have changed and changed so many times - oh well, you will see soon enough I hope!

[PainlessWolf]

Doc Phibes!
I was wondering when I would be treated to more photos of your otherworldly excellent work on the M36B1. The pictures are well, well worth wait. Beautiful job on all the detailing. Exceptional on the hatches. Following along to see what you do with the turret!
regards,
Painless

[c.rainford73]

Mr Doc Phibes a stunning piece for sure very rich looking paint job. The exhausts look fantastic as do the welds and detail items!

[Dr Phibes]

Hi Everyone,
Well, it's been quite a while since I updated this thread so here goes. I have been very busy this past year, so not always able to catch up with tanking and developments here but, hopefully, this year I will have more time. Anyway I have not been entirely idle since last I posted. Indeed, I have been working extensively, on and off, for some time on the Mato M36B1 turret, and the question what to do with it exactly? I wanted to do something different, it being an unusual 'open-top' but wasn't quite sure what to do, what could be done, and how to go about it.
In the end I set myself a rather ambitious task of completely upgrading the cannon and breech. The plan was to make it not only visually like the original as much as possible, both to scale and detail, but also fully working - not just the recoil and elevation, which it already has, but also a working breech, breech block, and mechanism, able to load and ejection of shell casing, as well as redesigning the stock Mato turret internal layout to provide space for a new scratch built breech and mechanism. I also wanted to make provision for some semblance of the turret basket and hull floor, etc. Given the twin decks I built into the hull earlier I wasn't sure all this would be possible. I had it in my mind this might be achievable but not the clearest of ideas how I would work it all out for sure.
Anyway, here is a record, much abridged, of what I have done so far and where I am with it:

I recently acquired a small 3d printer more or less exclusively for the purpose of scratch building small components, parts, and accessories for my projects. This proved to be a good investment and after some time designing and prototyping some of the parts I would need things started to come together. In this pic is an early prototype of the breech, breech block and mechanism, barrel sleeves, and shell casing can be seen.

Here are many of those parts partially assembled into the final version of the breech. This I model on the original as closely as I could given the constraints of the Mato components it was to be matched with. In the inset picture can be seen a few of the many previous versions I worked through getting this breech as scale as I could and (hopefully) functional. The main picture shows the spring breech block ejector mechanism which I designed. This is not as the original of course but it is on the underside out of sight and so the emphasis is on function here. Also visable is the ejector spring adjuster knob at the end of barrel inner sleeve.

Here the barrel extension sleeve (aluminium) and the spacer sleeve are test fitted - the spacer takes up all the slack on the stock Mato parts and the extension is necessary to the design (this will all make sense, I think, soon )

Next the Mato cannon carriage needed modifying for both the working mechanisms and to achieve the look of the original gun. The inset picture shows the barrel now fitted with the extension and a brass fitting that will act as a guide to fix the barrel position and to route the led cannon flash wiring (which is in place).

In this picture several things can be seen - The Mato gun carriage now has the slot for the brass guide tube and led writing. Also can be seen is a new base spacer to get the corrected length of the carriage once in the turret. In the bottom left inset is the face plate that the breech end of the carriage which carries the fixings for the recoil guards, the recoil cylinder sleeves (for the recoil plungers to be fitted on the breech casing), and the carriage braces missing from the Mato part. In the top, right, inset is the part I designed and printed for securing the recoil servo beneath the carriage which would then be out of sight (it can be seen assembled in the background of the main picture).

This picture shows the some of the parts further assembled. The recoil guards have now been modified to scale and the counter-weights are solid copper which actually does make the whole, when assembled, very well balanced. The recoil plungers are now fitted to the breech and the recoil cylinders fitted with sleeves and braces. The inset shows the fixing fabricated for the left side under carriage. This will provide both a pivot point for the elevation servo and a fixing for the faux ejector mechanism below the breech.

A rear view of the breech now assembled with the breech block in place for testing.

This picture shows the placement of the IR led. It sits in a 5mm tube that ports to the telescope opening on the right of the mantlet. The tube passes through the inner mantlet and the led is then built into the telescope itself (Next pic)

Here is the telescope itself in construction, made from a carbon rod, brass fitting and 3d printed eyepiece.

More parts fabricated here. In this picture the M76 sighting scope is now mounted to the gun carriage in it's own bracket. Also visible is the head rest and bracket mounted to the right of carriage above the telescope

To be continued ............