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14 June 2015

Sherman M4A3

In our last game of Bolt Action my friend Chris (aka Axebreaker of christopher-bunkerhill.blogspot.de fame) was fielding the Germans and (so my impression) was a little reluctant to field 'real' German armour as all my Americans were able to put to the field was a M8 Greyhound.
So I felt I had to adress the matter.



The solution came in form of the plastic Sherman released by Rubicon Models a short while ago. Beeing not really impressed by the plastic Sherman produced by Warlord Games in cooperation with Italeri I gave the Rubicon kit a go.


The kit came with the option to build 3 different patterns of the M4A3 and I decided to go for the variant armed with the mighty 76mm gun. First because I needed something really heavy to counter the big cats and second because I liked the look of the turret more.


Rubicon really did a great job with this kit. I don't really care if there should be some minor shortcomings in historical accuracy with this kit (I ment to have read something about a wrong engine deck arrangement on their Panzer III kit) but it was a dream to assemble and paint. With the benefit of hindsight I should have left off the tracks for better accessability while painting but that was just my fault.


My only (minor) quibble with this kit is the lack of stowage. So I had to go for the Tamiya 1/48 German and American stowage set. All in all I'm quite pleased with how it looks even if it's a little too large for my liking.

Thanks for viewing!

22 comments:

  1. Michael Awdry14 June 2015 at 09:39

    Oh my goodness, you have created a work of art with this one! The weathering is just stunning!

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  2. Sire Godefroy14 June 2015 at 11:57

    Stunning is the right term here. That beast looks very realistic. Hope it does well on the table.

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  3. Rodger14 June 2015 at 12:12

    Superb work on this kit! Very impressive!

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  4. Silver Whistle14 June 2015 at 13:10

    Master class once again. Whether you are painting vehicles or figures, the bench mark is very high.

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  5. Black Powder14 June 2015 at 13:20

    First of all, thanks for opening my eyes to the Rubicon range - like you, I was not so impressed by a Warlord kit (In my case the StuG) I'm really lost for words when it comes to the finish you've managed on this tank. The weathering is simply masterful. Let's make a deal; I'll post a tutorial on horses, if you post one on how you achieve those spectacular cracked-paint effects on the armor :0)

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    Replies
    1. Moiterei_198419 July 2015 at 10:26

      Challenge accepted Sören ;-) Just need to by me another tank for that one.

      Delete
  6. MiniMike14 June 2015 at 16:00

    Ouch, this is insane..Fantastic Sherman!

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  7. Mike14 June 2015 at 23:35

    Superb work :)

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  8. Christopher(aka Axebreaker)15 June 2015 at 00:53

    Wow! Fantastic job on the Sherman Nick!! You nailed the weathering on this! I really look forward to seeing this in person.

    Christopher

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  9. Fritz II.15 June 2015 at 08:01

    Hi Nic,
    fantastic work. The long gun just looks very cool and the weathering gives the model a look as it would be a real tank standing in a museum.
    Very cool !

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  10. FourEyedMonster15 June 2015 at 13:23

    Wow, the weathering on that Sherman is simply amazing!

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  11. Stefan (aka. Monty)15 June 2015 at 14:13

    Blimey! That's really outstanding work. Chapeau!

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  12. Samuli15 June 2015 at 17:20

    Rubicon really does make excellent kits. Even with some of the inaccuracies that their kits sometimes have they are pretty much the best on market. And it really does take quite a tank geek to notice details. Like you said the only real shortcoming is the lack of stowage and crew. But luckily there's quite a few other manufacturers that can be used to fill the gap.

    Your paintjob really does justice to the model as well! Excellent work on the colour modulation and weathering

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  13. Sascha20 June 2015 at 12:23

    I am really impressed by the details you did. The scratches and especially the optics look really realistic.

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  14. DeanM21 June 2015 at 16:07

    Excellent work on this model - looks like a cover from Scale Modelling. I'm happy to hear the stowage from the Tamiya kit works with this scale. Most of my WW2 vehicles/tanks are either 1:50 (Corgi) or 1:48 Tamiya. I've yet to pick up a 1:56th kit, but may now.

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  15. Curt7 July 2015 at 20:48

    Cracking work Nick! The weathering is fantastic and I like the lens effect you achieved.

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  16. Curt7 July 2015 at 20:48

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  17. Gordon Allen5 October 2015 at 15:44

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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    Replies
    1. Gordon Allen5 October 2015 at 15:51

      This is absolutely stunning! I'm putting together a Warlord plastic Sherman right now. It's not a 76mm, but just the basic M4 with the 75MM gun.

      Would you mind giving us a recipe for the beautiful hull weathering? Did you use an airbrush?

      Delete
    2. Moiterei_19847 October 2015 at 14:21

      Thank you kindly Gordon! Yes I used an airbrush. If you're looking for a nice guide on weathering techniques I'd point you to

      http://www.heresybrush.com/2014/painting-wargames-tanks-book-and-british-sherman-painting-guide/

      the techniques detailed in here are just what I used on this tank. But if I should do another american vehicle some time soon I'll hopefully remember to take some pics for a tutorial.

      Delete
  18. Gordon Allen8 October 2015 at 17:44

    Thanks for the response! I'll check this out!

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  19. demi_morgana20 April 2018 at 14:26

    Fu**ing ace!

    ReplyDelete