M4A3E8 "Easy Eight" Diorama 1/72
![](/albums/img/5/0/4/1152504-33587-38-p.jpg "I added some static grass in more ore less regular coverage. And yes I will "pull a Nightshift" and airbrush the grass ;) | View full picture")
Kommentare
Simon NagorsnikNice project, looks very promising.
Good looking figures!
i have already had good experiences with okb track, easy to work with and great quality!
Tom B.Thank yoou for tagging along 👍 I have managed to print a tank commander for the Sherman and cut the base to size. For the terrain I decided to go with a bunker face embedded in some rocks. I have yet to do the framing and start to do the terrain shapes with clay or plaster
Tom B.Welcome in then 🙂 I went on to apply some layers of acrylic pastes today. I am curious how the result will look when dry.
Simon Nagorsnikyour m4 is going to be a real beauty and the dio is getting awesome!
the figures are great too👍
Simon NagorsnikA well done dio from yur workbench!
The bunker is very well implemented and the m4 is an eye-catcher!
Chipping and the weathering works very well for this scale but it may be that I see something silvering 🤔😉
All in all a very nice scene 👍
Tom B.Thanks for the feedback to all of you 👍 I am generally rather content with how the project came out, although the bad case of decal-silveringwas kind of... unpleasant to put it likely. I had however been only using some Revell decal softener and may get myself some good decal setting solution.
Simon NagorsnikI'm using vallejo's decal fix and this worked always quite well.
I've recently been using Tamiya's marker fit as a softener, which is slso a top product.
Spanjaardi am not sure but.... it looks like you applied the decals over mat paint, which i believe has a higher tendency to lead to silvering. i would suggest to use a bit of bright coat (I know it looks strange to have a bright tank), but helps a lot with decals and washes. you can always us mat coat when all decals are done (as you did)
it is possible to decrease the silvering of decals by using some very strong thinners (like the one used in alclad paints), although you have to be really careful since it can ruin everything. i only dared to do it once.
FlounderfinderDecal silvering has more to do with the adhesive on the decal and the surface tension of the setting solution. Breaking the surface tension and flattening the decals with a cotton bud or brush will remove air pockets. If the adhesive isn't holding up you can add some white glue to the water you soak the decals in. Any air pockets could be poked with a needle before applying the setting solution.
The surface smoothness has nothing to do with silvering. I've seen decals applied to sandpaper with no silvering. If surface smoothness mattered then you'd see silvering over panel lines all the time...
NeulingVery good dio! And thanks mates for infos on avoiding decal silvering.............
Tom B.Thumbs up for all the feedback and the advice regarding the decals 👍 I will keep those in mind on the next projects!
Rui SWell, sandpaper is not painted plastic, it seems to me, that a airbrushed mate paint, becouse of it's texture (tend to keep more air in it's covered surface) than a gloss Smooth One. Try to use a mate panel line, instead a gloss One... In my Italeri 9 SS Panzerdivision RSO I,ve used only gloss varnish (no setting solution) and I was extremely happy with the result.
Ofcourse the setting solution and quality and thickness of the carrirer film is of the most importance too. I always try to reduce as much as possible the subject envolvent Carrier film. It is certainly not by chance that there are micro set and micro sol, for example
I've used white glue and it worked as adesiv but also to increased a "whiteish" blurr in the carrier film and also change the color arround it.
I've read somewere that mixing soap or detergent, or milk? in the taped water also helps reducing the water tension...?
Paul Gallagherreally like the figures and very well painted especially in this scale. They seem to be well sculpted too - great example of what 3D printing is good for!
Album info
My diorama "Trough the Westwall" will be my first try at 3D printing miniatures and possibly building a bunker. The main element will be Trumpeter´s 1/72 M4A3E8 Sherman with some nice OKB resin tracks and a mix of aftermarket, 3d printed and sculpted stowage/sandbags. Because it was my first try at resin tracks, I did not do a perfect job at fitting them and I already fixed them to the vehicle, so I have to paint the assembled model.
The overall scene will be set somewhere in early 1945 with the vehicle crawling trough some rather wet and muddy ground along an abandoned bunker or tank turret emplacement... I still have to figure out which option I will take, although I have a spare Italeri Panzer IV-turret lying around...
The figures are from .stl-files bought from CGTrader then resized, supported and printed by myself using my Photon Mono 3D printer. The first two figures came out rather nicely even though being designed for 1/25 originally 🙂 There only was a little missprint on the head of one of the GIs, so I had to resculpt a bit with Milliput.
Milliput was also used to sculpt some questionable looking sandbags on the tank. Further stowage is also being printed.
As for the terrain I decided for a destroyed bunker embedded in a slope with the tank driving in front of it. The terrain has been sculpted onto the foam using air drying clay that has been fixed with woodglue, textures will be made with acrylic pastes from AMMO/AK.
I also used my new static grass applicator to put on some grass that I will paint together with the ground. Other vegetation willl be added afterwards.
