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British Sherman IIA - Italy 1944

Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 11:37 am
by Swamprat33
Hi all, just completed my Sherman IIa yesterday, so thought it about time i posted some pix here.
It started out as a standard Mato M4a1(76) with all the usual faults.

Work done on this baby was a little more that i had planned, but worth it.

Replaced the gun barrel.
Replaced the plastic 'ROCKER' suspension with the metal set.
Replaced the hull mg.
Rebuilt the interior, cut out the battery tray and fitted magnets instead of screws to hold the hull together.
Fitted a Tamiya system with recoil and a battle system.
Fixed the front tranny housing.
Lowered the turret to correct height.
Replaced the front light guards and lift hooks with some HL ones which are finer.
Replaced front & rear lights with a metal set.
Designed & printed my own transfers.

This tank is based on a real Sherman IIA called 'CAMERON' from "C" Squadron 2RTR, 7th Armoured Brigade based in Italy in Late1944.
2rtrCSqn.jpg
2rtrCSqn.jpg (79.48 KiB) Viewed 3270 times
Here are some photos of my completed tank.
IMG_0923s.jpg
IMG_0924s.jpg
IMG_0926s.jpg
IMG_0929s.jpg
IMG_0930s.jpg
IMG_0931s.jpg
Cheers

Tim

Re: British Sherman IIA - Italy 1944

Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 12:00 pm
by scalawag
Very nice Tim, That really looks the part. :thumbup:

Re: British Sherman IIA - Italy 1944

Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 12:41 pm
by LongGoneJohn
Nice, well done. I'm considering building a firefly, this is just more encouragement. Fine work!

Re: British Sherman IIA - Italy 1944

Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 2:36 pm
by ALPHA
Nice wheels.... did a set of those on my Fov Sherman...
Image
Here's the build
http://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/forums/v ... &start=180

interesting configuration on the headlights/ horn...hate to sound over critical... but is that separation on the transmission plate intentional? Putting a plate on the upper hull and moving all your magnets to the rear might help for a cleaner look

Over all a decent job... how did you like working with the Mato ?

ALPHA

Re: British Sherman IIA - Italy 1944

Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 4:00 pm
by Swamprat33
Hi Alpha, the tranny plate was almost the trickiest bit of the conversion and I am not sure if I'd do it that way again.
The join is only noticeable if you look from a very low angle.

Tim

Re: British Sherman IIA - Italy 1944

Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 4:23 pm
by ALPHA
Swamprat33 wrote:Hi Alpha, the tranny plate was almost the trickiest bit of the conversion and I am not sure if I'd do it that way again.
The join is only noticeable if you look from a very low angle.

Tim
Hi Tim... I merged a Mato to a Heng Long... the transmission cover was complicated... but I did find a viable solution
Image
as you can see there is no gap ...I had to combine the Heng long with the Mato but the merging was perfect and relatively easy

Is it because of your gearboxes or electricals...like I said ...I really don't want to come of as being too critical..but personally I couldn't live with my tank with a gap showing...it kind of takes away from the other labors you put into your model...which I can clearly see has been done

Anyway... no offense meant... just something I rather say than not comment at all ;)

ALPHA

Re: British Sherman IIA - Italy 1944

Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 4:41 pm
by cannedheat
nice Sherman old chap....... wot wot ......

Re: British Sherman IIA - Italy 1944

Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 5:34 pm
by PainlessWolf
Good Morning,
Shermans always seem to turn into more work than one originally plans for but the results are genuinely satisfying and worthwhile.
Regards,
Painless

Re: British Sherman IIA - Italy 1944

Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 6:10 pm
by doc larsson
Brilliant !

Re: British Sherman IIA - Italy 1944

Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 7:16 pm
by ALPHA
ImageTOO FUNNY...THANKS FOR THE LAUGH GANG Image
Sorry couldn't find a matching photo of a Sherman to match the build.... this was the closest I could find...
Image
thing is ...the transmission cover still sits perfectly :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha: :haha:

Happy Tanking .............Image

ALPHA