Airfix 1:76 Sherman "Calliope" Tank and Revell M16 Halftrack

[BrummieModeller]

Update 9

Right here is the next update,

After finishing the weathing on the Calliope tank it was time to make more progress on the M16 halftrack which is going on the diorama with it so here we go
From the last update I did on the M16 halftrack I had finished fitting all the drive wheels for the rear track system and fixed them all onto chassis. Since then I have done the following work.

I carried on by starting to build up the main bodywork of the halftrack by starting with the main floor pan and glued that down to the chassis.



Then it was time to glue on the two main body sides, these have great fine details and never had any fit issues at all, after that I glued on the rear section of the body.



Next I started on building up all the main front section parts by fitting the bonet, grill and windscreen which again was a great fit! Also adding the front wheel archs.



Also adding the front winch. The only filler needed so far was at the back of each wheel arch where it connects to the step for the cab. (You can see a better view where in the next sideview photo)



Now it was time to start adding all the main bit and peices to the rear of the half track with stowage boxes ect. All the part added up to now have had to have minimal clean up, no flash at all



More details added to the very rear of the halftrack with the stowage boxs and rear flap.



After adding all the main pieces to the halftrack it was time to add all the finer detail peices like the jerry cans on each side, the head lamps on the wheel archs and the steering wheel inside the cab. After I added these I gave the whole M16 a basecoat of colour just to see if there was any filler needed.



And even added a tow hook on the back but you can't really see it in this shot



Now all the main body has been built it was time to build the guns and the turret that sits in the back of the halftrack. Here are the four main machine guns (four seperate peices to make these)



Once the guns had been build it was time to bring all the turret together with adding the seat inside the turret where the gunner will sit. This became a very fiddly job to get the seat to glue to the guns without the seat dropping down inside and gluing the two turret halves together For now its just sitting on the base which will be glued into the back of the halftrack.



Then I added the completed turret into the back of the M16 to see what it would look like and I must admit its defo coming together now, the turret is able to freely move in any direction which will work great on the diorama.



Next for the M16 I will paint the inside of the cab before adding the doors and then I can start to give the halftrack its full paint job before I add the decals and give it its full weathering to match the Calliope tank

Feel free to comment and question as normal

[Lee]

Looking really good Dan

[T3hGuppy]

Nice halftrack dude,

[Coen]

Wow... that just sorta fell together.
Nice.

[wappynutter]

Well for a 1:76 scale kit , she looks fantastic....
Well done that man for a quick and clean build up..
Out of curiosity how many kit pieces was it again ?.... And does it come with any figures or just a railway track ?
still sat watching, munching my popcorn....

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks guys n yes it just did fall together

Well for a 1:76 scale kit , she looks fantastic....
Well done that man for a quick and clean build up..
Out of curiosity how many kit pieces was it again ?.... And does it come with any figures or just a railway track ?
still sat watching, munching my popcorn....

Andy
It has 66 parts, and no it doesnt come with figures as such only half a figure that sits in the turret and then it comes with the railway track n rocks section. Great value for money for what you get in the kit.

[Paul]

Nice work dan. The Sherman looks awesome too mate

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks paul

[Gav0909]

Looking good Dan, lovely work.

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks gav

[UKscalemodeller]

Nice work on this.

Loving the halftrack

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks

[BrummieModeller]

Update 10

So here is the next update,
So after building up the gunners turret that sits in the back of the halftrack I needed to weather up the inside of the cab. All I did for this is painted the seats in a slightly different shade to the main overall colour and painting the steering wheel and then I used the same Flory models Dark Dirt wash and rubbed some away with a cotton bud after it was dry just to give the cab a wash and to give it abit more life.



Once I had finished the weathering inside the cab, I was able to glue the doors on, otherwise I woudn't of had much access.



Once the glue for the doors had dried I gave the whole model its couple of coat of paint using Revell 46 Nato Oive.



Next it was time for the decals, so first I gave the whole model a spray of Humbrol Clear and then I added the decals.



Here is the view from the other side after the decals have been added, as you can see from the above photo the decals wasnt the best as they did have quite abit of carrier film showing, but wont be to bad once I get the weathering on.



So after adding the decals it was time to add another coat of Humbrol Clear to seal in the decals, after this clear coat the decals didnt seem to be so bad. Also I glued on the main front road wheels and then after melting the rubber band tracks together, super glueing them into place too.



Next it was time to get on with the weathering for this I used pretty much the same way as I did on the sherman, first by adding a coupe of coats of Flory Models Dark Dirt wash and then I rubbed away to bring out more of the detail and start to give the halftrack more life.



For the next few photos you will see the finished weathering.
For this after adding a couple of coats of the FloryModels weathering wash, I decided to try out a different technique from what I used on the sherman, first to make all the more heavy thicker mud effect I mixed up some Humbrol Dark earth weathering powder and the same dried tea bags that I used for the mud on the base and basicly mixed them with Humbrol Decalfix and then mixed it together and then using a cocktail stick adding it into the parts where the heavy wet/dry mud would build up. This toned down the colour of the teabags but fixing it all into place at the same time.




After adding all the more thicker and heavy mud effects I just mixed up some more of the Humbrol weathering powders Dark Dirt and DecalFix and added that in places and once that had dried using a damp cotton bud wiped away just to blend it in.



After that I made a new mix of the same Humbrol weathering powders with a touch of the sand weathering powder mixed with DecalFix and used this mix to flick onto the model using a strap piece of plastic card and a stiff paint brush to add the dried mudd effect thats built up over time.



Once all the weathering was dried I sealed it in with a Xtracrylix Flat Varnish, and that is pretty much the M16 done the only thing left to do is add the gunner in the turret.

Next I will be adding the finishing touches to the base and I think that will be this Group Build finished

Comments and Questions welcome as normal

[Coen]

That is some intense weathering Dan.
Looking good so far Dude.

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks mate I guess it looks more intense seen as it is 1/76 but I am quite liking this scale

[wappynutter]

Another excellent update Dan...Well done she looks gorgeous mate..
... and at 1/76.. Still hard to believe..

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks dude

[UKscalemodeller]

Nice stuff, I'll steal the weathering tips.

Hurry though, deadline is approaching.

[Lee]

Nice work Dan

[Gav0909]

Meh, it looks ok I guess......

Nah, looks very muddy and well used mate, good work. I look forward to seeing them both in position on your diorama.

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks guys its nearly done im just being a big tease and not showing you the diorama with the tanks on it until the end and final reveal photos

[gosselin2112]

OMG! Love the weathering over the hood decal. Nice work! I love it when the details come out on these small scale models. Great job!

[MrsModeller]

looks like a nice kit, looking forward to the finished result

[chief5437]

Tease, tease, tease! I'm sure this forum is full of strippers! Lol

Looks great, looking forward to the reveal!

[BrummieModeller]

Update 11

So here is the next update! but coming to the very end of the Group Build

As you seen in the last update I had weathered and finished the M16 Halftrack, all I had left to do is to paint up the gunner that sits in the turret so here is the little fellow The paint I used was Revell nato olive for the main base coat which I sprayed him with when I did the paint on the halftrack, then used Humbrol flesh for the face and hands, Tamiya flat earth on his pockets and Revell steel for the handle to the turret. Then I finished him off with a light coat of Flory models dark dirt wash to just give afew shadows to his face and body.



Once he had dried it was time to put him into his final resting place, inside the gun turret Once I had glued him into place I noticed I didn't paint the guns black so I did that too with Humbrol matt black.



Now its time for a update on the diorama base which is finished now, here are a few photos at different angles.
Since the last time you seen the base I have weathered the railway track to make it look old and used, painted the rocks and added bushes and foliage, painted the fence posts, added a tree to give the diorama some height and decided to change the fallen over tree with a better one.



For the fence posts I simply painted them with a couple coats watered down paint mix of Tamiya flat earth so the paint could soak into the matchsticks.



I added a couple more coats of Humbrol clear around the edge of the track marks to give them more of a wet look as the first coat I did just soaked into the base.



When it came to weathering the track, first I made up a mix of Humbrol rust weathering powder and decalfix and painted the inside and outside of the rails, once that had dried I used FloryModels dark dirt wash and painted in between the sleepers to give the dirty oil effect and also gave the sides of the rails a coat too. I wasn't happy with the bright grey colour of the new ballast on the outside edges of the track so just to dull it all down and give it more of a aged look I used used the Flory wash and dry brushed all the areas.



To bring the rocks to life, I first started off giving them a coat of matt white just for a base colour, once that had dried I made 4 washes using cheap artists acrylic paints which I got for £2.50 I think anyways the colour washes I made was yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burst umber and black. Then I used the yellow ochre wash first and randomly added spots all over the rocks letting it run through the knucks and crannies and then did the same with the burnt sienna and then with the burnt umber, while they was still wet I then used the black wash and covered all the rocks in the black and randomly brushed to mix all the colours together and then left over night to dry.



Next to finish off the rocks I used some woodland scenic foliage clusters (light green) which I had left over from my model railway days and randomly glued with pva, different size pieces all over the rocks and around the fences to make bushes and moss growth where it would natural grow. And then I also used more of the dried teabags and 50/50 pva glue mix to add more of the mud effect to the track where the halftrack has reversed back through the fence.



Finally I added the tree which I found in a park near me first I gave it a matt coat just the seal it, and then just drilled a hole and pva glued it in place and added some more of the light green foliage around the base.



All that is left to do now is glue the Sherman and the Halftrack into there final position which I will show in the next and the final!! update of the build and that will be the diorama complete

Comments and any questions welcome

[gosselin2112]

Oh, I'm liking this a whole bunch. Nice work on the base.

Russ

[Lee]

That's looking really good Dan

[T3hGuppy]

That base came out really well.

Great work dude.

[wappynutter]

Oh my.......... And still 1/76......
Diorama base is finished and looks fantastic mate I am well impressed..... And only dried tea leafs!
Figure painted up well too... Did I mention I'm impressed with the 1/76 scale?
You are a miniature master Dan mate.....
Well done looking forward to the final reveal...

[Coen]

Dan this is superlative work for 1/76 buddy.
Just wonderful. I can't wait to see what the kits look like sitting there.
Awesome Dude!!!

[Paul]

Great work dan, look forward to seeing it all together mate

[Gav0909]

Looks crap Dan, scrap it and start again

No, in all honesty it looks ok I guess....





Nah, it looks awesome dude! Will look really good with the vehicles in place as well. Lovely job!

[Coen]

Looks crap Dan, scrap it and start again

No, in all honesty it looks ok I guess....





Nah, it looks awesome dude! Will look really good with the vehicles in place as well. Lovely job!

Someone take this fella outside and beat him with a dead cat... sheesh.
We need a smiley for that now.

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks guys for your kind words means alot

[Nige201980]

Looks a diorama mate can't wait it coming together.

[BrummieModeller]

Update 12 The Final Update!!!

So I have came to the final update of my group build

So since the last update all I have had to do is add the Sherman and the Halftrack to the base using PVA glue, even though the Halftrack did need some superglue as where it is positioned wasn't exactly level, but it sat how I wanted it too in the end so all good Also both gun turrets are still able to move.





After the glue had dried I then mixed up Humbrol dark earth and decal fix and then touched up where the pva and superglue was visible.



Also I mixed up a small amount of the teabag and 50/50 pva glue mix and using a cocktail stick added it around the bottom of the tracks on the Sherman also added few bits around the tracks and wheels on the Halftrack too so they both blend into the base.





So that is it! my group build entry is complete!! Only thing left to do now is add the final photos in the final reveal section

And as always comments and questions welcome!!

[Paul]

Great stuff dan, look forward to the final pics

[Lee]

Awesomeness

[Coen]

Ditto Dude... A very high degree of awesomeness.
Great use of materials and effects all around Dan.
Fantastic work!
Many thumbs...

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks guys means a lot!!

[PhildaFish]

Absolutely stunning mate! Wish my mud looked half as good as yours... Too late to change mine now though... I will definitely try the tea bag mud effect on my next dio though. I don't drink tea but the wife gets through plenty and we save all the used tea bags for use on the garden (great in the compost or around thirsty plants as it (and coffee grinds if you have a coffee machine) holds water around the base of the plant keeping it damp and it keeps slugs and snails away too!) so I've always got some used bags at the end of the day. Sorry, I digress, beautiful work mate and a load of good tips and ideas.

[BrummieModeller]

Absolutely stunning mate! Wish my mud looked half as good as yours... Too late to change mine now though... I will definitely try the tea bag mud effect on my next dio though. I don't drink tea but the wife gets through plenty and we save all the used tea bags for use on the garden (great in the compost or around thirsty plants as it (and coffee grinds if you have a coffee machine) holds water around the base of the plant keeping it damp and it keeps slugs and snails away too!) so I've always got some used bags at the end of the day. Sorry, I digress, beautiful work mate and a load of good tips and ideas.

Thanks for your kind words mate
Just quick tip If you do use the teabag method once you've emptied the bags into a container don't close the container or bag let plenty of air in as the first batch of teabags actually grown big ass mould over it all because I covered them up also only make enough for what you want at the time, one teabag goes quite far

[PhildaFish]

Cheers for the wise words, mate, much appreciated!

[panzerman]

Fabulous looking diorama Brother......masterful effort tying all the elements together with the base.
Bill.

[Nige201980]

WOW Dan most excellent mate.

[T3hGuppy]

Great stuff dude.

Came out very well indeed.

[Gav0909]

Turned out great there Dan. Everything looks natural on the base, nothing looks like its just "sitting there" which can easily happen on a diorama. Good stuff!

[BrummieModeller]

Thanks dudes for your kind words

[UKscalemodeller]

WOW, that is stunning.

[wappynutter]

Simply stunning mate..... Love it dude.....
Tea leafs, PVA glue and dark dirt wash have made this a work of art.....
Very well done...