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  #151  
Old 11-23-2020, 07:29 AM
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Damraska Damraska is offline
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The Sherman Minutia website includes a page on the Gun Mount covering all versions of the M4 Gun Shield and Rotor Shield. According to the M4 manual, the part that screws into the face of the turret is the Gun Shield and the part that moves with the main gun is the Rotor Shield. The very first picture on the Gun Mount page I linked comes directly from the manual and shows these respective parts.

As applies to tanks in general, the M4 Rotor Shield is also a Mantlet. The Gun Mantlet page in the Wikipedia includes some good pictures of various tanks and their Mantlets.

I have not built this model so I cannot speak to the fit of the turret. I do know that the turret wall just below the Commander's Copula includes a vertical portion, represented by a separate part. I suspect the ring for the Commander's Copula was supposed to overhang the curved portion of the turret with the fairing part covering the resulting gap.

For what it is worth, you inspired me to correct the M4A3(76) HVSS from the World of Tanks website so I may be bumbling through a Sherman build soonish. :o
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  #152  
Old 12-11-2020, 01:00 PM
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Amccombs3 Amccombs3 is offline
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It looks like a tank! I’ve completed the 75mm gun and all its accessories. Now I’m adding all the details that festoon the top of the turret. I had all kinds of problems fitting the pistol port, parts 96, because that was the area that I had skin-fitting problems, so don’t examine that area too closely. I really botched parts 97, making them as boxes the first time, instead of the L-shaped cross section they were supposed to have. So I made new ones from a scan which don’t quite match. Those are the bit that stick out the sides of the bustle like longhorn steer horns facing the wrong way. The aft antenna, part 98, is complete but too fragile to glue on right now. Parts 100-102, which appear to be an armored periscope at the right front, were a puzzle, but I think I got them right. Part 103, which looks like an armored vent front center, didn’t come out as well as I’d hoped.

Next is the smaller hatch, parts 106-109. I’m NOT going to make any more opening hatches! I’ve been admiring the springs that Kevin put on his model, but I think I’ll settle for the printed ones on mine. After that are more widgets at the back of the turret, then the large hatch and the .50 cal. I find myself very unenthused about putting the .50 caliber gun on there — what do you think, could I omit it, or were they always used?
Attached Thumbnails
Anne's M4A3 Sherman GPM-9549a3a1-f128-4648-bda3-766d6a460cb9.jpg   Anne's M4A3 Sherman GPM-81e78cef-dfc7-47b9-9627-e557e82089be.jpg   Anne's M4A3 Sherman GPM-832d32c1-cb26-4d39-952d-6371292bd7fb.jpg   Anne's M4A3 Sherman GPM-210fa85c-508f-4e47-baa2-db7111845e64.jpg  

Last edited by Amccombs3; 12-11-2020 at 01:15 PM.
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  #153  
Old 12-12-2020, 04:31 AM
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southwestforests southwestforests is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Amccombs3 View Post
I find myself very unenthused about putting the .50 caliber gun on there — what do you think, could I omit it, or were they always used?
The crew dismounted the .50 and brought it inside because of the approaching thunderstorm.
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  #154  
Old 12-12-2020, 09:26 AM
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Amccombs3 Amccombs3 is offline
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If I’m in a paper tank and a thunderstorm is approaching, the first thing I’m going to do is look for a roof or cover for the tank! It turns out the .50 is easily removed and replaced in its socket, so I’ll go ahead and build it after all.
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  #155  
Old 12-12-2020, 10:01 AM
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Don Boose Don Boose is offline
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Your tank will look great with or without the .50 machine gun, and I can come up with many reasons the gun might have been removed, but I'm glad you are going to build it. It will be a good little model in and of itself.

I sure hope that the COVID will have sufficiently abated by May that we can see it in person at the Paper Modelers at Army Heritage Days event.

Don
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  #156  
Old 12-12-2020, 10:30 AM
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Amccombs3 Amccombs3 is offline
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Don, I solemnly promise that, barring acts of God, I will complete this model and bring it to the next gathering(s) of The Tribe of papermodelers, most definitely including Army Heritage Days!
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  #157  
Old 12-17-2020, 03:04 PM
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Amccombs3 Amccombs3 is offline
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It’s finished!

There were times I thought I’d never be able to say this, but — I finished my Eternal Sherman model today. True to form, the last few details gave me some troubles. I might as well have made the split hatch functional, because the hinge details were ridiculously fiddly either way. And the Browning .50 caliber was a fitting end to the adventure, with the tiniest parts of the entire project, an absurdly flimsy mount, and several extra random parts (124h, j, n, and o) that GPM threw into the kit with no known usage. That last bit left me scatching my head. In theory, the .50 is removable, but I’m pretty sure the mount would break if I tried.

To sum up: I knew this would be a long-term project, and it certainly was that. I started it on Jan. 20, 2017, so it took nearly three calendar years to complete. But I suspended work on it several times during that period, so I estimate that It would add up to about 15 months of steady work if I had not taken any breaks. That’s still a long-term project by most definitions. The suspensions were due to discouragement or being completely baffled about how to proceed.

The kit offers numerous options for articulating parts. Ones that work on my build: the turret turns, the 75 mm gun elevates, and the left front hatch opens. As I mentioned at the time, the right front hatch was supposed to open, but something went wrong during assembly. The split hatch, loader’s hatch, engine hatch, and pistol port could also have been built to open, but I chose not to. Most periscopes could be built either open or closed, and I made some of each.

Things I’m especially pleased about: the tools carried on the back, and figuring out the bogies, with MUCH help (thanks again, Kevin Stephens and Greg Perry). I’ve talked enough already about the things that didn’t go so well.

My goal in writing this thread was to provide a fairly complete build report, with all the highs and lows. This is a popular kit and others may find a few hints when they build it in the future. I will freely admit that others have produced better examples than mine, but I definitely advanced my skills on this project. I’m looking forward to showing it “when next we meet again.” On to the next model!
Attached Thumbnails
Anne's M4A3 Sherman GPM-230f5a34-cd00-40dd-a0df-c28987e429dd.jpg   Anne's M4A3 Sherman GPM-bf336107-6c21-4f89-abf3-3d3005d996b2.jpg   Anne's M4A3 Sherman GPM-aa73cc3e-00d3-4a75-b66a-46bfed96ad32.jpg   Anne's M4A3 Sherman GPM-39326b34-c44a-47cb-b930-bd9b59141411.jpg   Anne's M4A3 Sherman GPM-0615e570-e806-4cbc-8e21-c5ddba987d66.jpg  

Anne's M4A3 Sherman GPM-1dfccf91-69ed-4b68-96e3-2ab72b763c61.jpg   Anne's M4A3 Sherman GPM-99851089-c635-494e-9330-54f9b5077934.jpg  
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  #158  
Old 12-17-2020, 03:11 PM
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southwestforests southwestforests is offline
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Oh yes, the model is 'very Sherman'.
Pose with turret turned, gun elevated, driver hatch open looks like it could be the cover photo of something.
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Screw the rivets, I'm building for atmosphere, not detail.
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  #159  
Old 12-17-2020, 03:27 PM
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airdave airdave is offline
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Looks like a Ronson to me!...well done Anne.
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  #160  
Old 12-17-2020, 04:11 PM
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Don Boose Don Boose is offline
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It really looks terrific! And it was fun and educational to watch you build it.

Congratulations, Anne.

Don
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