It's a Timaya 1/35 scale Sherman!

I figured I would salute our countrymen by modeling the general workhorse of WWII. Those Panthers and Tigers look mean but there is something about the simplicity of a Sherman that just looks so cool to me.

Now I asked a few questions before but I want to get a couple things covered before I start the project tonight.

Last night I just opened the box and started poking around a little bit and a couple questions popped into my head. Where do you guys start? My fear is that I am going to glue something down and then realize when it comes time to paint that I made a huge mistake.

You all speak of sub assemblies often around here. For a typical tank project such as this what would be the typical sub assemblies to look for? Do you all assemble and paint the interior first on a project? For the most part I guess my question would be what is the very first thing you do when you pop open a kit to get started when dealing with armor?

Any other tips as to what to do and what to look out for would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, yesterday I went and got my airbrush setup. I got a Badger Crescendo (think that’s the name) and the compressor from Wal Mart. Finding a moisture trap and fittings were a lady but I got it hooked up. The trap was $40 which surprised me. However I do have a question on this as well. I have the moisture trap screwed directly into the connector on the compressor but I see many that have the trap between two hoses. Having my screwed directly into the compressor with one line out to my airbrush, will this still serve its purpose?

Thanks so much for any help; I really do want this model to work out so gathering as much info as possible is essential.

Thanks again,
Jason
:-)

Well, JM, I am certain that there are as many ways to build a tank model as there are modellers. I start from the bottom and work my way up. I think you picked a really good kit to start with. On the Sherman I did first what I like to do the least, cleaning up the roadwheels and painting the tires dark gray. Then I assembled the rest of the lower hull, running gear, upper hull and then turret. You can pretty much follow the directions, up to a point. You way want to paint the pioneer tools, shovel, sledge hammer, pry bar, etc. before adding them because they can be tough to paint once they are glued down.

HTH, at least a little...

Shaun

Where do I start - hmmm
With Armor I usually do subassemblies as
1. suspension and road wheels (I leave the wheels off till painted though)
2. lower hull
3. turret
4. upper hull (all the detail and add ons)

Those are the mail areas, you can look even closer. For example the main gun could be done and set aside. As keenan mentions pioneering tools can be done and set aside.

That was a big question you guys answered there.

I have heard of many people (been searching the web for weeks now on this) that completely build the tank before they even think about painting it. This always raised questions about the track wheels, how could you get the whole suspension glued down and still paint it correctly? So would you say that most paint the wheels before glueing? This is most likely the route I will take.

Also, as to my moisture trap/airbrush question. Is it OK to have your trap screwed directly into your compressor with only one line to your airbrush as apposed to having the trap between two hoses like I have seen?

Thank you so much for the fast replies!

Jason

JM, I don't have a moisture trap on my compressor. People tell me that I don't really need one since all I shoot are acrylic paints. Don't know if that helps much or not.
As far as painting the rubber on the roadwheels with the whole model built goes, I have often wondered about that myself. How would you paint the dary gray or black on the inside face of the outside roadwheels? Don't know. That is why I have always painted mine first thing.

Shaun

Maybe I'm a little different...

I assemble the whole thing - then I paint... I always figure that if I can see it - I can paint it. If I can't see it - why paint it.
The only thing I ever paint before final assembly is stuff that will be visible on the interior of the tank through open hatches. Otherwise, I use an airbrush to paint the assembled model, and brushes to detail it out. That seems to work best for me anyway.

You will quickly find out what works best for you - and that's the best way to do things...
Later-
Jeff

I'm with Keenan...

Jason, not to sound smart or anything, but try following the directions step-by-step. Tamiya has really well engineered kits and their steps usually follow a rather logical assembly sequence. I pre-paint a lot of the moving parts prior to assembly though. Parts like the road wheels and suspension. While the glue on hull parts is drying, I begin assembly of the turret. I add the tracks last.

Here is a link to a quick fix for any Tamiya Sherman: http://www.archertransfers.com/WEB%20pictures/ShermanFix.pdf. It is a template to enclose the hull sponsons. This is the area that hangs over the tracks. Without the sponsons blanked off with the templates, you will be able to see from the turret hatches through the hull to the top of the tracks. This is a simple fix that you can use to improve the kit.

Great stuff guys, I started glueing the suspensions last night, cant wait to get home and go at it again.

Stupid question, how long does it take you guys to assemble a model such as this if you have the time on hand? No painting but rather just the assembly?

About the moisture trap.
I read somewhere that it is a good idea to haver some space between it and the compressor.This allows the warm compressed air to cool down,and start the water vapor to condense.I have a water trap threaded on to a short piece of pipe,and then the cloth braided hose to the output side.I also have a regulator as part of it,an can throttle down my air pressure.
You are way ahead of the game.You visited this site to get modelling help,and you are starting out with an airbrush. (++) (++) (++) (++)

Tank,

I figured the trap might serve it's purpose better in the line but I did notice the big money compressors ($500-$600) had the trap conected directly to the compressor right next to the guage which is where I put mine. Boy I hope I dont end up raining on my forst model, that would be a heart breaker.

Yeah, I am pretty excited to be all set up he way I am right now. The airbrush just seemed so essential so I figured why wait? Just buy the damn thing and be done with it. Last night I was getting the suspension together and I couldnt beleive how fun and relaxing it was just glueing the model together. Just turned on a few tunes and started glueing, before I knew it is was 11:00 and the wife was asking when I was coming to bed.

Time fly's when your having fun eh?

Later guys,
Jason

Jason-

If your compressor has an air tank, you most likely won't even need your water trap. You should be OK the way you have it set up! Good luck, and keep on having fun!

My compressor doesn't have a tank - and I don't have a water trap. I have yet to experience any problems.

Jeff

Great choice JMacKenzie! I'm from the camp that that builds all and paints later - except for interiors. Rob's mention for fixing the sponsons is a must, especially if you plan to leave a hatch or two open.

As far as air trap on the compressor or in line is not too much of a problem if you do not run the compressor for too long a time. As the compressor runs, heat will build up like TankC mentioned, and blah, blah... . As long as you have an air trap, you'll be fine. BTW, does the trap also have a regulator on it?

One more tip. Go to this site: Modeling the U.S. Army in WWII. The site owner, Timothy Streeter, did an excellent job on articles on how to fix or correct a few kits.

I always set up the hull and turret first. Sherman looks fairly easy to paint, since it is basicly all green with no camo. Which means you should probly assemble all parts except things like tools n' such. It's best to assemble them and paint them rather than paint them on the sprue or in separate pieces (if possible). It eliminates mess and covers the shininess from the glue. I would paint the road wheels on the tree though...much easier to keep track of what wheels you painted. Save the treads for almost last, because once you put that on it makes detailing the wheels and lower hull much more difficult. Sounds like your pretty much set. The Sherman sounds like a pretty good first armor project...I won't show you my first armor model (this was before I joined armorama). Read around this site in the features and posts and you should be good to go. Cheers

Matt