Thank you Kaczor and Her professor.
Yes, for sure, having clear periscope glass is worth the attempt, and it involves cutting and putting a thin mask on the glass at the bottom of the visor, while the edges get painted. It's so small, seen here at maximum zoom with my Iphone.
- 1/16 RC M4A3E8 Korean war - Restoring Tamiya M4 with Takom kit - build
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- 1/16 RC M4A3E8 Korean war - Restoring Tamiya M4 with Takom kit - build
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The following post is for the engine deck.
As shown in the Son of Sherman book, the very late model Sherman had a new large hinge design running along the edge of the top plate instead of the 4 small hinges connected directly to the grills.
Most guys will obviously select the simpler WW2 style but since this is my 15th 1/16 scale Sherman (yes i just counted 15 Sherman chassis based vehicles), I do not miss the opportunity to have something different on each of them. I already have 2 Nick Aguillar conversions of the M4A3E8 so this is the third one...
- 1/16 RC M4A3E8 Korean war - Restoring Tamiya M4 with Takom kit - build
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Takom provides the parts for both WW2 and Post war variants. They have the builder drill the placement holes for them depending on the decision.
The instructions could be clearer but i finally managed to understand what the (1,2,3,4,5) numbering meant next to some steps. There are 5 color/decal placement graphs at the end of the instructions. The first colored graph is for a WW2 Sherman, followed by 2 Korean war Shermans, and then 2 more WW2 Shermans. The graphs are not named or numbered but if you follow the sequence, having (2,3) next to a instruction step means that it applies to the Korean war Shermans that are in the second and third spot of the color instructions. It took me three weeks to figure it out... Maybe i am slow but it could have been clearer.
- 1/16 RC M4A3E8 Korean war - Restoring Tamiya M4 with Takom kit - build
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These are the parts for one hinge.
- 1/16 RC M4A3E8 Korean war - Restoring Tamiya M4 with Takom kit - build
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The hinge can be made operable if the builder does not put glue on the joints between the rod and the two block mounts that hold the rod in place.
- 1/16 RC M4A3E8 Korean war - Restoring Tamiya M4 with Takom kit - build
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As the two block mounts each replace a bolt on the top plate, the bolt head need to be removed, something the instructions do not mention and could lead to some confusion, shown above asking the building to put the blocks on top of the bolt.
- 1/16 RC M4A3E8 Korean war - Restoring Tamiya M4 with Takom kit - build
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I did not care about operable rear grills on a RC tank so i glued them in place for more solidity.
The diorama and static builders have a lot of great potential and opportunities with this engine deck. All the plates are molded separately and the vehicle is begging for an interior kit with engine.
I lost a grill handle somewhere... never to be found. I had to replace it with one made of brass rod. It will require some finetuning to make the base similar to the other ones.
- 1/16 RC M4A3E8 Korean war - Restoring Tamiya M4 with Takom kit - build
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Then the rest is just adding the details following the instructions.
- 1/16 RC M4A3E8 Korean war - Restoring Tamiya M4 with Takom kit - build
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- 1/16 RC M4A3E8 Korean war - Restoring Tamiya M4 with Takom kit - build
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