Global Scale Modeller

I'm a big Band of Brothers fan and I've recently got into building dioramas. It was only a matter of time before the 2 came together. While 'Replacements' is not one of my favourite episodes, the scene on the way to Nuenen has always resonated. Easy Co are riding on the XXX Corps tanks as they head north along Hell's Highway when they spot a Dutch lady by the side of the road carrying a baby. She's obviously in need and in a reference to a scene earlier in the episode she has a shaved head - a consequence to an unspoken misdeed that we can easily guess.

The diorama came into my mind when I saw the Master Box figures set. Its obviously a direct reference to the series and it hooked me immediately. One trip to the model shop at the Breedon Antiques Fair later and here we are.

I have all the bits I need for the diorama base - lovely grass mat, some lichen, gravel for the road and foam board, DAS and balsa for base construction. I'll add pics of the bits and bobs when I get to work on the base.

On with the Sherman, I got started yesterday.

Eduard's beautiful Sherman kit is a rebox of the Tasca kit (so I'm told) so I struck gold there, given what I paid for it. I've got some after market decals on the way for a British Sherman in Holland as the kit did not have anything appropriate for a British vehicle



You can see why I bought the MB figures. An added bonus is the fact that one of the figures is a British tank commander - a must given the kit figure is a Yank - no offence



Lots and lost of plastic, all sprues individually wrapped and the plastic looks excellent



And we're off! So far its going together beautifully. The lower hull is in separate pieces rather than the 'bath' type of setup. It fits together without any problems re angles or not being square. Some nice detail on the rear end




Nice detail



Again, nice detail casting texture and the bolts on the ribs



The upper hull fits perfectly. Without glue it sits beautifully on the lower hull so that bodes well for the rest of the construction process. I wont glue it till I have to.



Again, nice casting texture. Its subtle but it will look great when painted.



That's all for now

I've got this Sherman in my stash pile, so I'll be watching along with interest

Looks like a great build, Stokesy

I'm also a big fan of Band of Brothers and I look forward to seeing more of this

I'm going to watch this one mate

Cool idea
And the figure set seems to work perfectly for the idea
But my only question would be that the tank on the figure set is probably a M4A4 not a A1
So do you expect any problems fitting them on the tank
Anyway
Good luck with the build

MarkVerploeg wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2017 5:08 pm Cool idea
And the figure set seems to work perfectly for the idea
But my only question would be that the tank on the figure set is probably a M4A4 not a A1
So do you expect any problems fitting them on the tank
Anyway
Good luck with the build

Hi Mark. I thought you might be interested in this one. In answer to your question, its a yes. I think the guys sitting on the turret will be fine but the guy front left may need to move over, almost on to the hatch, rather than on the edge. The trooper on the right may be more of an issue. If the cast hull doesn't give him enough horizontal area to perch on I may move him further back where he can get a better seat.

I'm sure it will work out, there's plenty of space on the hull to play with.

There is always room on the engine deck
Maybe i need to start looking for some of those figure sets with tank riders
They are a nice touch to a tank
I plan on doing something similar with a T-34/85 soon but i don't know if they will fit as i plan to make a couple of conversions to the tank itself

Hi David nice start, I'm going to watch this one if I may, just one thing how accurate are you building the tank,you haven't done anything wrong

privatepete wrote: Tue Mar 28, 2017 10:40 pm Hi David nice start, I'm going to watch this one if I may, just one thing how accurate are you building the tank,you haven't done anything wrong

Hi Pete, thanks for looking in.

I'm following the instructions as far as I can. The bow plate I have used is dictating the type of wheels as per the 4 options in the instructions. Other than that, I have some replacement decals for a British vehicle and I will probably leave the .50mg off as the British crews (in most cases) left them off apparently.

As for the variant and its accuracy for the setting I'm going for - XXX Corps Market Garden Holland - I don't know if its the right type of Sherman as used by the British units so building it as per the kit directions is the safest option. It will do for me, given its a homage rather than a stand alone kit build. I'm trying to evoke a moment of kindness during the madness of that battle, hopefully the tank will be good enough for the setting, I cant ask for more than that.

Hi sir what tank regiment are the replacement decals for on the British vehicle ?. Good luck whit the rest of the build .

This is a build I'll follow with great interest. Looking forward to see how it progresses.

privatepete wrote: Wed Mar 29, 2017 5:57 am Hi sir what tank regiment are the replacement decals for on the British vehicle ?. Good luck whit the rest of the build .

Hi Pete. I found a set from Star Decals which has markings for a Mk1 75 Hybrid of the East Riding Yeomanry Holland 1944. Its close enough for what I want.

I got some more work done on the hull. Front end pretty much finished



The back end required some PE work. I hate PE but I did what I could. Some stuff is way too small for me (I mean my skill set ) but I got a fair amount of it onto the tank without gluing myself to the desk or the hull!

Out came the bug - love this little critter



Back end kitted out. The engine deck panels fitted like gloves, I simply dropped them into place and gave them a touch of TET - no drama.



Then it was on to the running gear. Wheels, wheels and more wheels but at least its not a Tiger



Workable suspension! - Fantastic - pointless but fantastic. The instructions called for 3 pieces of rubber sheeting per bogey. I flipped my lid when I saw this, how on earth am I going to source some rubber sheet? D'oh, the kit come with a little sheet of rubber so I wound my neck back in and cut the pieces to size.



The springs and arms, once attached, push upwards against the rubber and hey hey, working suspension based on the weight of the tank and the unevenness of the ground its sitting on. It looks beautiful too.



3 done, 3 to go then its on to the turret.

i love the band of brothers series, must watch it again soon. cool idea for the set up. ill be following this build, if only 'cos you're doing an East Yorkshire sherman, lol!

good luck with everything

Looks good fella I have this kit so nice to see

The tasca bogeys and wheels are the best out there in my opinion.

Got the bogeys finished. More on them later

Its a stealth Sherman - invisible hull and turret LOL



I wont glue the cupola on until I know how the figures will sit on the turret. The hatch will be open for the commander figure too.




And here she is.



Now you may remember I mentioned the workable suspension was a waste of time? Turns out its worse than that. There isn't enough resistance in the rubber inserts for the tank's weight. You can see in the above picture that the tank is sitting too low on the spring arms. Its worse once the tracks go on too. The outermost wheels, front and rear, are pulled upwards by the curve of the tracks as the tracks pull towards the drive sprockets and idlers.

I don't need the suspension to be workable so I glued the wheel brackets to the bogeys in the right positions and made sure the tank was sitting level and all the wheels were touching the floor. I then left them to set with the tank jacked up on a tin of Tamiya paint. I'll glue the spring arms to the brackets next, that should stop any chance of the wheels moving upwards when the tracks go on.

All good fun

It's looking good

Coming along very nicely sir.

Its a stealth Sherman - invisible hull and turret LOL

Mk 1 or 2 can't see

privatepete wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2017 7:10 pmMk 1 or 2 can't see

looks like MK2 going by the length of the barrel, but I'm no expert.

OneSmallStep1966 wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2017 6:54 pm It's looking good

privatepete wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2017 7:10 pm Coming along very nicely sir.

Thanks guys. Looks like I got lucky with the choice of tank. Check out this publicity still from BoB. I may not be quite there accuracy wise historically but at least I nailed the homage

This is a great subject, I think most modellers of WW" armour can't help but love Band of Brothers. I have it on an almost constant loop on my ipad whilst i'm modelling.

You've picked a great scene to do a homage to and the build of the Sherman looks great, I really must get around to building a decent Sherman!

Watching with interest, good luck.

What are using for the diorama base?

Mylightweight wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2017 10:55 am What are using for the diorama base?

I have some high density foam board and I plan to build a slightly elevated road with grass either side. I was looking at sizing this morning, trying to make sure the base isn't too big for the length of the grass mat I bought for the dio.

MarkVerploeg wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2017 6:58 pm I plan on doing something similar with a T-34/85 soon but i don't know if they will fit as i plan to make a couple of conversions to the tank itself

Hey Mark. I don't know if you were watching the show last night but in the new releases section Tim covered a new Russian tank rider figure set from Mini Art. Could be what you're looking for.

Also, thanks for your comments about fitting the troops onto the cast hull of my Sherman. I put a couple of the figures together yesterday, the one on the front, sitting on the machine gunner's hatch and the one sitting on the deck just behind the turret. Re the one at the front, I was right about moving him over slightly, he fits really well. I took your advice on the second guy. By moving him back just a few feet (in real scale!) he now perches nicely on the flatter area of the hull behind the turret with his legs dangling over the side. I just hope the engine heat doesn't burn is backside!

Pics to follow

Stokesy44 wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2017 8:59 am

MarkVerploeg wrote: Mon Mar 27, 2017 6:58 pm I plan on doing something similar with a T-34/85 soon but i don't know if they will fit as i plan to make a couple of conversions to the tank itself

Hey Mark. I don't know if you were watching the show last night but in the new releases section Tim covered a new Russian tank rider figure set from Mini Art. Could be what you're looking for.

Also, thanks for your comments about fitting the troops onto the cast hull of my Sherman. I put a couple of the figures together yesterday, the one on the front, sitting on the machine gunner's hatch and the one sitting on the deck just behind the turret. Re the one at the front, I was right about moving him over slightly, he fits really well. I took your advice on the second guy. By moving him back just a few feet (in real scale!) he now perches nicely on the flatter area of the hull behind the turret with his legs dangling over the side. I just hope the engine heat doesn't burn is backside!

Pics to follow

Thanks for the heads up
I missed the show as i am working untill late in the evening
I have a Soviet tank tiders set wich comes with the T-34/85 but i don't know if ithey will fit once the Thoma shields are installed
But before i start that build i have a couple of gb things and a much bigger Soviet build ,something that carries a really big missle

I've bought a spray booth but I need some additional hosing for the outlet. The window in my kitchen opens from the top down, its a vaunted ceiling and the window starts very high up. I cant see how to get the hose up there so I need to run it out of the (much) lower window in the walk in cupboard off the kitchen

So until that's sorted no more spraying for me.

While the painting's out I got on with the Master Box figures. There's nine of them altogether, 7 troopers, the TC and the girl on the road. The detail is beautiful and they went together well for the most part. Nothing a little filler in the joints cant fix.

I took pics as I went. And yes, they will have heads eventually

The curvatures of the cast hull makes things a little tricky but a little creativity positioning wise and I think the boys will be ok.







Here's the trooper and the girl




On my way back from Breedon yesterday I had to take a detour through the countryside to avoid the Donnington Super Bikes traffic. As I was driving along I though hey, this is kind of the look I want for the base in the diorama. I wont be doing any hedges but how the grass meets the road is what I'm looking for.



Today will be more work on the figures. I managed to lose one of the helmets yesterday but thankfully I was able to nick one from my Italieri Fury Sherman kit. It looks slightly different from the MB helmets but its close enough.

Hi David, I like those figures there a lot of detail on them, shame about the new spray booth needing some extra hosing, you would up and run

Looking good mate

Nice work so far!!

Starting to look really cool
Keep it coming

Thanks Guys

Heads and lids on now. Flesh paints set arrived today but I'm still waiting on the ones I ordered for the uniforms and equipment. I also now have the extra ducting I needed for the spray booth so I'm nearly back in the saddle.









In the meantime, I may sketch out the base. I have some foam board to cut to size and a picture frame I may or may not use. You can tell from this that I don't really plan ahead as much as I should. Perhaps its not a planning issue, more one of picking from the various options

Looking great, what flesh tones set have you gone for?

Looking good, that was a very good choice for a dio, can't wait to see more of this.

Mylightweight wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:08 pm Looking great, what flesh tones set have you gone for?

Thanks. I bought the Scale 75 flesh paint set

In addition to the main build thats looking great, you've got some nice figures to paint too.

OneSmallStep1966 wrote: Tue Apr 04, 2017 3:21 pm In addition to the main build thats looking great, you've got some nice figures to paint too.

Thanks mate. I'm certainly pleased with the detail on the boys. Just waiting for the Vallejo Model Colour paints to arrive.

I've been doing my research on uniform colours as I've always wondered why the soldiers' uniforms for the Holland jump were markedly greener than those used in Normandy. Seems the soldiers wore a uniform type called M1942 for Normandy which had a strong khaki hue whereas by the time of the Holland jump they had switched to the M1943 sets which were olive green.

So while I wait for Postie its on with the base. I'm going for the picture frame option.



Its going to be a raised road with grass falling away on either side. I've never used foam card before and I'm amazed at just how easy it is to work with.

I cut a piece to fit then got started on the road.



I wanted the road at an angle but not so it runs over the corners. Too much mucking about with how the verges will work.



Doubled the height of it



This is the angle I went with




Padded the verges, no sense wasting the modelling clay.




And finally with the Sherman for sizing.



I'll let the glue cure then its on with the clay - no Unchained Melody on the stereo though

I got the spray booth sorted. I had baulked at the size of budget booths but when I saw this on display at the model stand in Breedon I thought wow, that's easily big enough for my needs. See what you think below.




Time to do some proper work. On to the modelling clay for the grass banks either side of the road.

This was done yesterday. Brand new 'brick' of DAS clay and it went on beautifully. I rolled long sausages and started with the road lip, adding more as I worked outwards to the edges of the base. Not fussed texture wise as the grass mat will cover it, more effort was made on shaping.




Then today I added more water to my trusty pot of Polycell fine surface filler (see my Winter is Coming SIG entry) and laid down the road. As before, the semi hardened filler went a little lumpy on mixing so I got some good 'character' into the road surface.



Once its dry I'll paint the road section, weather it and add the gravel. The grass mat will then go on and the final bit will be blending the edges where it meets the road using earth colours and oils.

Before all that, it will be time to test the spray booth when I prime the tank and figures. Lots of fun ahead!

I usually steer clear of the tank section, but because it is Stokesy, has a paint booth AND a diorama.....here I am I love what you are doing.
The photo you took from your car is fantastic..might be cool to use that as a background picture or do a forced perspective photograph with the finished model diorama.
Your booth looks great, I like the front flaps...still have not sorted out my booth from the group buy

Best of luck, following along

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2017 4:30 pm I usually steer clear of the tank section, but because it is Stokesy, has a paint booth AND a diorama.....here I am I love what you are doing.
The photo you took from your car is fantastic..might be cool to use that as a background picture or do a forced perspective photograph with the finished model diorama.
Your booth looks great, I like the front flaps...still have not sorted out my booth from the group buy

Best of luck, following along

This an unexpected pleasure, we're honoured by your presence......(I hope you get the reference)

You're far too kind Sir. I like the idea of the background picture, you've got me thinking now. I live on the edge of the countryside so there are loads of small roads and lanes like that just a stone's throw away. I could be off out in the motor with my camera in short order. Could also be an excuse to head back to the model shop at Breedon - just for the scenic pics obviously.

Stokesy44 wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2017 4:54 pm

Twokidsnosleep wrote: Thu Apr 06, 2017 4:30 pm I usually steer clear of the tank section, but because it is Stokesy, has a paint booth AND a diorama.....here I am I love what you are doing.
The photo you took from your car is fantastic..might be cool to use that as a background picture or do a forced perspective photograph with the finished model diorama.
Your booth looks great, I like the front flaps...still have not sorted out my booth from the group buy

Best of luck, following along

This an unexpected pleasure, we're honoured by your presence......(I hope you get the reference)

You're far too kind Sir. I like the idea of the background picture, you've got me thinking now. I live on the edge of the countryside so there are loads of small roads and lanes like that just a stone's throw away. I could be off out in the motor with my camera in short order. Could also be an excuse to head back to the model shop at Breedon - just for the scenic pics obviously.

I bet your like a pig in s##t now, glad you have got the spray booth sorted , I'll take a seat and wait

As for Scott making unexpected trip into muddy side,yes we are honoured by your presence . "because it is Stokesy, has a paint booth AND a diorama".....you didn't turn up then I got new paint brushes & I too have a diorama so well I'm lost for worrds

What booth have gone for? It looks big enough for 1/35 tanks, I'd be interested to see a 1/46 fighter in front

Mylightweight wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2017 7:09 am What booth have gone for? It looks big enough for 1/35 tanks, I'd be interested to see a 1/46 fighter in front

Hi There

Its an Airbrush Heaven BD 512. Here it is with a 1/48 F4U, biggest 1/48 fighter I've got.

Got going with the spray booth today Its relatively quiet and as discussed previously, the size is fine - there was plenty of room for the way I spray. It does reduce the amount of free space but I had a good clean out of what I store on the desk in order to maximise the space.

With the hose safely out the window I was off and running. First up was Vallejo grey primer for the road. Its just a base, not my favourite stuff but I didn't want to waste my Ultimate primer.




Then it was on to the tank and the figures. All done with Ultimate black, went down well with no drama. I always suffer with a bit of tip dry when I prime but a cotton bud, soaked in cleaner and periodically rubbed on the needle, kept things going smoothly.

Ninja Sherman




All the boys (and girl)




It looks like the've gone to the movies



Happy with the painting. Olive drab for the tank over the weekend and if E-Models deliver my uniform paints I may get into the figures too.

Looking great, stokesy. Looking forward to seeing how you do the diorama

Put the paint down nice and smooth

spock1701 wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2017 1:47 pm Looking great, stokesy. Looking forward to seeing how you do the diorama

digger303 wrote: Sat Apr 08, 2017 6:38 am Put the paint down nice and smooth

Thanks Guys. Its coming together now me thinks.

Dirtied up the road and added the grass matting today. The edges need more work with paints and oils to merge them in properly but I really like the grass. I'm glad I bought it as I didn't fancy the DIY approach.





The tank has its base coat on. Tamiya's olive drab. Detail painting to do then its glossing and decals.




Made some progress on the figures too. Painted with Vallejo model colour. The instructions are a bit hit and miss (putting it kindly) so I've been using reference pics to get the colours right. They look a bit flat at the moment but that will change with washes and oil filters. The helmets are just held on with blu-tac at the moment, They'll come off when I paint the faces.






The TC looks good




Starting to like the look of it now.



Lots more to do but its all good fun

This will look awesome!!!! Excellent job!!!

Very nice work! The grass looks spot on Can't wait to see it finished!

RicRodrigues wrote: Tue Apr 11, 2017 6:44 pm This will look awesome!!!! Excellent job!!!

SergioSolo wrote: Wed Apr 12, 2017 11:45 am Very nice work! The grass looks spot on Can't wait to see it finished!

Thanks guys.

I aim to do some more work on the tank today. The olive drab is looking a bit bright for me so I'm going to apply a filter using the basic paint cut with a little black to darken it down a bit. I want to do some more on the figures too, if I can, as I'm busy doing non-bench stuff on Friday and Saturday.

Had some good natured back and forth with a mate yesterday over what was in the package that was given to the woman on the road. I said chocolates, he said cigarettes! I tried to stand my ground but in the end I had to check. Turned out we were both wrong and both right. It was a K rations pack which included both. I claimed the win though, citing the old adage, My kit = My rules!

Still from the series



Internet research




Should be a laugh trying to paint that!

I have a bunch of those kits. There from a company called Alan or something like that. I'll look them up in my paper kits drawer and get the name if you want?.