Unspeakable Acts on an unsuspecting Sherman...

[Rob1970]

Righto, I got the lights fixed on the Sherman 105mm hull as well, and now it's time to scratchbuild the siren for the Firefly. I've got the metal horn + bracket set from Mato for the 105, but not for the Firefly.

How am I going to do it? Well, I think I'll "Tony Stark" it...



Weeeelll... maybe not in a cave. But with a box of scraps...


Decades of left-overs and failed projects from my model-kits. Sure there is something in there...


A bunch of likely volunteers, varying from the explody kind (I think the blue ones are from the old Matchbox F7 Panther kit...) to the fueley kind. My models were flown by Real Men, who did not need extra fuel!!


I ended up using the fuel tank from a 1/72 Hurricane, together with a quick copy of the front of the Mato siren made from Milliput.


The result is very acceptable...


...and once installed surely looks right. A small strip of ABS as the fence, and that's all the stuff for the upper hull done. Surely... it's not paint time?

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Three cheers for the magic parts box!

[Rob1970]

The (what Heng Long generously calls) welds on the Sherman 105mm still need fixing, so I decided a new experiment with the 3D pen for making weld beads.


I measured the "gutter" that is supposed to be the weld beads on the Sherman, and hot-glued two copper strips to a metal ruler at the same distance. Slipped piece of paper between the copper and the metal to give the filament something to grab on to.


"Jiggling" the tip of the 3D pen between the copper strips and slowly drawing along the channel I created gave me (after some fiddling with the temperature and feeding speed) a pretty consistent weld bead...


Make that "beads". Plural. And this lot took me maybe all of 20 minutes to churn out.


And with them being just the right size to fit snugly into the channels, and made of ABS they just melt in with a touch of MEK.

So yeah, this works...

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[NAB]

I think you should start a business selling replica welds!

Sent from my KB2003 using Tapatalk

[PershingLover]

Most certainly an interesting method.. It looks great!

[NAB]

And I was only half joking.... I could be interested in some welds!

Sent from my KB2003 using Tapatalk

[Rob1970]

And I was only half joking.... I could be interested in some welds!

Well, I'm not adverse to making a buck, but I think getting a cheap 3D pen and some ABS filament would make you much happier. My hourly rates are extortionate... Look for the Sunlu 3D pen I linked somewhere in this thread.

[Model Builder 4]

Very creative making those weld bead strips Rob I've been wondering for a while what uses of getting a 3D pen could be and this certainly would be one of them

Cheers,Lee.

[Raminator]

Ingenious work with the welds Rob, they look more authentic (and are bound to be stronger) than ones done with putty. Using the copper strips to premake them is a seriously big-brained move, too. I think I'm going to have to get my hands on one of those 3D pens!

[Rob1970]

So, I've been distracted by other stuff like going back to work after spending most of the year home after my accident, our street and garden being torn up to add fiber optics to our network and the usual chores. Work on the Shermans has been off and on, mostly tinkering with the electronics and trying to make sense of the wiring.

I did manage to get the searchlight working on the Sherman 105mm version through the slip ring. Turns out that I had a channel going spare (turret MG channel) so I replaced the Dupont plug on the receiver side with the proper TX one and plugged it into the WiFi power channel. So now when I turn on the WiFi power (normally used for the FPV camera) I turn on the searchlight. Nothing spectacular, but it's a nice touch.

I did however got on with some painting. I felt the Sherman 105mm was at a point it could use paint and decals...


Again, nothing spectacular. Some Olive Drab Green, set off at certain points with Olive Drab Brown. I masked and painted the stars, the numbers and "Nose Art" are the Heng Long Decals. A little touch with a bit of ripped sponge with Olive Drab toned down the decals to give a worn look. Might go in with some chipping too, and then it gets a seal coat and I will have my first go with Magic Grime. Exciting times!

I added a little Dutch touch with the orange triangles on the turret. The orange triangle was the Dutch roundel used on aircraft at the start of the war, and Dutch soldiers in Allied service added them to their vehicles and aircraft to show some Dutch pride. Some Allied soldiers with Dutch ancestry also added the little triangle to their vehicles to signify they spoke Dutch. Not sure if anyone on the Sherman spoke Dutch, but they do now!

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob