Sherman BARV
The upper hull with the bits removed that Resicast tells you to.
Superstructure test-fitted to the upper hull.
Basic shape of lower hull built, to ensure good fit to the upper hull (I put them together while the glue dries).
More basic work on the plastic kit hull. The two bits of plastic strip at the rear are to (hopefully) guide the resin superstructure into place.
To get rid of the seam down the middle of the wheels, I decided to use the lathe in my father’s shed, rather than scraping them down like I usually do.
Before and after.
All of the wheels, plus one extra. The one at the front, with the rim on it, did not want to cooperate so I gave up on it and grabbed another wheel from …
… my Sherman spare wheels box … and this is what’s in it even without the two sets of alternative wheels from the kit I’m using for this conversion!
Most of the parts needed to build the bogies. The skids to go on top of the tracks are not there yet, and the wheels have already been put between the suspension arms, and the rest is all the parts for the bogies.
Six bogies built, still minus the track skids.
Superstructure glued to the upper hull, after a lot of fettling to get it to sit reasonably well.
There’s still a big gap at the front that will need filling, though.
Finished bogie, with the front face filed flat and four holes drilled. I also added a bolt head on top, outboard of the skid. There should also be one on the inboard side, but it will be very hard to see with the track in place so I didn’t bother adding it.
Superstructure with the rear plate added, leaving a small gap.
On the other side, though, the gap is much larger 🙁
On the lower hull rear plate is a piece that covers the exhausts on the real tank. The fit of this to the superstructure rear leaves big gaps along the sides, which Resicast’s instructions don’t mention at all but which I can’t leave like this.
The gaps are now filled with car body putty, plus thin plastic card over the turret ring openings on both sides. That will be trimmed to shape once the glue and putty have dried.
Pressing down the plastic card reveals the line of the turret splash guard, letting me cut it to shape fairly easily.
All the putty has been scraped down here, but some more filling was needed afterward, especially at the front.
Sides and underside of the rear extension tidied up with plastic card and more car filler putty.
I sawed the back of the square “box” around the exhaust pipes off because it should angle inward more than it did on the conversion kit part. I then rebuilt the cover from plastic card and punched bolt heads (blue because I had coloured the plastic card on one side with a marking pen).
Details from the conversion set added to the front, and rings (sawed from 7.1 mm plastic tube) into the hull ventilators, as on the real BARV these were waterproofed by welding a flat ring over the opening.
Weld seams added to the front from Magic Sculp epoxy putty, rolled out very thin, pressed into the seam, and textured with a knife tip.
Weld seams on the hull front now mostly complete.
And on the lower rear as well.
Kommentit
17 2 July, 20:50
gorby
I think you win this weeks prize for most heavy duty modelling tool. 😄
Looks a very interesting conversion.
I think you win this weeks prize for most heavy duty modelling tool. 😄
Looks a very interesting conversion.
5 July, 06:33
Jakko
> I think you win this weeks prize for most heavy duty modelling tool. 😄
Probably, yeah 🙂 It's a metalworking lathe, so a bit overkill for just turning down the seam on those wheels, but I didn't feel like aching fingers from scraping them down with a knife — I get those even when I hold them in a modelling vice, never mind just between my fingers.
> that kind of set up can tool a real bogie!!
Having seen a disassembled Sherman bogie up close, I must say I think this one is a size too small for that 😉
> I think you win this weeks prize for most heavy duty modelling tool. 😄
Probably, yeah 🙂 It's a metalworking lathe, so a bit overkill for just turning down the seam on those wheels, but I didn't feel like aching fingers from scraping them down with a knife — I get those even when I hold them in a modelling vice, never mind just between my fingers.
> that kind of set up can tool a real bogie!!
Having seen a disassembled Sherman bogie up close, I must say I think this one is a size too small for that 😉
5 July, 08:53
Jakko
@Mr D: that's not the welds yet, it's just the filler needed to plug the gaps 🙁 I'm still debating how to add all the weld seams.
@Ben M: An M2 screw, about 2 cm long, through the hole in the wheel, with a nut to tighten it. It needs to be fairly tight else chances are the wheel will stop as soon as the chisel hits it. On Asuka two-piece wheels, you need to do this before assembling the parts, because the hole on the piece to be glued in is smaller than on the part that has the tyre moulded on it.
@Mr D: that's not the welds yet, it's just the filler needed to plug the gaps 🙁 I'm still debating how to add all the weld seams.
@Ben M: An M2 screw, about 2 cm long, through the hole in the wheel, with a nut to tighten it. It needs to be fairly tight else chances are the wheel will stop as soon as the chisel hits it. On Asuka two-piece wheels, you need to do this before assembling the parts, because the hole on the piece to be glued in is smaller than on the part that has the tyre moulded on it.
9 July, 08:59
Ben M
Thank you, I can envision the setup. I have a small lathe and arthritis in my hands, this technique could help me a lot. Thanks!
Thank you, I can envision the setup. I have a small lathe and arthritis in my hands, this technique could help me a lot. Thanks!
9 July, 11:58
Mr D
Regarding weld's l have seen super glue used through a fine tip, you need steady hand n move in pattern to create weld.
Sorry l was looking at the resin 🤔🤣.
Good stuff be keeping eye
On progress 👍👍
Regarding weld's l have seen super glue used through a fine tip, you need steady hand n move in pattern to create weld.
Sorry l was looking at the resin 🤔🤣.
Good stuff be keeping eye
On progress 👍👍
9 July, 13:30
Jakko
@Ben M: What also works is a modeller's vice. Clamp the wheel in that, scrape down the seam with a straight knife over a third or so of the wheel, then unclamp and turn it, and repeat. If I scrape more than about two or three wheels by hand, my fingers ache enough that I have to stop, so the vice helps a lot. But you also get a lot of plastic scrapings all over your modelling area, so this time, I figured I'd put those in someone else's hobby room instead for a change 😉
@Mr D: Hahaha! The ones on the resin were put there by Resicast 🙂 But I'll now have to make ones that look similar, or at least not out of place next to them. I'm thinking a thin string of two-part epoxy, textured with a sharp tool.
@Ben M: What also works is a modeller's vice. Clamp the wheel in that, scrape down the seam with a straight knife over a third or so of the wheel, then unclamp and turn it, and repeat. If I scrape more than about two or three wheels by hand, my fingers ache enough that I have to stop, so the vice helps a lot. But you also get a lot of plastic scrapings all over your modelling area, so this time, I figured I'd put those in someone else's hobby room instead for a change 😉
@Mr D: Hahaha! The ones on the resin were put there by Resicast 🙂 But I'll now have to make ones that look similar, or at least not out of place next to them. I'm thinking a thin string of two-part epoxy, textured with a sharp tool.
9 July, 17:09
Mr D
Good video 👍, the finish on the flat plate work looks authentic, l think it's had better rough cast look from the brush stippling before he added the putty coat.
Good idea on the weld , epoxy putty best as regular epoxy levels out again.
Good video 👍, the finish on the flat plate work looks authentic, l think it's had better rough cast look from the brush stippling before he added the putty coat.
Good idea on the weld , epoxy putty best as regular epoxy levels out again.
11 July, 12:55
Jakko
I've begun to add the weld seams now — see photo 23 🙂 Basically, Magic Sculp two-part epoxy putty that I mixed up a very small amount of, then took even smaller amounts from that and rolled it as thin as I could in my hand before pressing it into the join between the parts. Getting it to stick there is tricky, especially once I began texturing it with the tip of a knife — it wants to adhere to skin and steel much better than to plastic, unfortunately 🙁 But with a bit of perseverance it does eventually stick.
I've begun to add the weld seams now — see photo 23 🙂 Basically, Magic Sculp two-part epoxy putty that I mixed up a very small amount of, then took even smaller amounts from that and rolled it as thin as I could in my hand before pressing it into the join between the parts. Getting it to stick there is tricky, especially once I began texturing it with the tip of a knife — it wants to adhere to skin and steel much better than to plastic, unfortunately 🙁 But with a bit of perseverance it does eventually stick.
11 July, 17:41
Album info
The Resicast conversion set to make a Sherman Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle out of the Asuka Sherman III kit.