M4A3(105) project

[armourguy]

Hi Guys with the jumbo out of the way I have started on my next project. Continuing with this summer's Sherman theme my next project will be a M4A3(105). For this build I mostly have all of the details parts and molds on hand, which will save a lot of time. I will need to fabricate the tank's 105mm gun and mantlet, as well as the other 105mm fittings.

For the base kit I will be using this old rotomold JD M4A3 that I acquired in a trade.





For those who are unaware of the kit, these kits were offered by the action figure collector James Desommine back in early 2004. The kit is made entirely out of rotomolded plastic.



These kits first came with a solid set of VVSS suspension, rubber length tracks, and two sprockets and roller wheels. The details that came on these parts were very poorly detailed and all needed to be replaced.

On the hull itself most of the hull fittings and details were molded onto the bottom portion of the tank's hull panel. This panel would be removed leaving a large hole on the tank's bottom resembling the Flintstones mobile.



On the tank's sides there would be three slots molded in that would indicate where to mount the suspension. and on the tank's rear plate two large plastic blocks were molded in to the wall that would be to affix the idler mount shafts.





The rest of the tank's details were very basic, which will all be removed and replaced. once the build begins







Back when these kits were released almost all of the detail components that are currently on the market didn't exist. So these kits became unpopular.

One of these Sherman kits was my first rotomold vehicle kit,
http://eastcoastarmory.com/forumPic/Mvc-058s.jpg
http://eastcoastarmory.com/forumPic/MVC-028S.JPG
http://eastcoastarmory.com/forumPic/MVC-013S.JPG

and after building one I saw the potential that they have to offer. I always found these kits to be very workable and adaptable. The hull of my last M4A3E2 Jumbo build started as one of these hulls





Today Plastic Panzers offers a reworked version of this kit.

To first start this model I had to first remove all of the molded in details as I mentioned above.





Like on the jumbo the kit's molded in grills were removed and will be reworked and made to be functional. They will be reattached later in the build. The fuel caps will also be functional so the molded in versions were removed as well.




The entire rear wall panel was removed and will be replaced.



On the tank's turret the molded in split copula was removed and one of my late war copulas will be added later in the build.



After the hull was gutted I began to replate the missing portions of the hull. To do this I use 1/4 inch thick plywood. After the plywood is added the wood panels are soaked in fiberglass resin which removes the wood grain, makes them stronger and weather proof., After this step the wood becomes like plastic.



Before I replace the floor board the lower hull has bulk head strips added. These strips help to give the hull more structure, these strips also received the fiberglass treatment. All panels are mounted to the hull via counter sunk bolts, which will vanish after the body work is complete. The added ¼ inch to the lower hull will also give the tank a better fit with the functional suspension when added.




The rear plate is now a clean plate and will be an easy base to add the details.



The three molded in side strips were removed and the entire lower hull was plated over up to the transmission cover. I did this to not only cover up the gaps left behind from the strips but to also give the transmission cover the proper indent that it requires.





The tank's front armored plate was also plated over for the tank's transmission cover recess.





Once the weather clears up I can sand down the panels and perform the body work on the rear deck and the transmission cover.

A project start video was also posted on youtube, http://youtu.be/Fe6wNn0--eA

More to follow

[Sixth Vanguard]

Grabbing my popcorn now and looking forward to watching another great build!

[Eddie Acosta]

Another great Build a coming our way...

[flyboy_fx]

Hay, im going to be making one in 1/18 scale!

[viaad]

Ive never known sequels to be as good as the original, except for "The Empire Strikes Back". You are a master at making tank building look easy!

[metaltankman]

looks like you got a lot of work ahead of you, good luck

[redball]

Looking forward to this one also as I have had 2 JD Sherman's ever since he started selling them and had always wanted to do the 105 and 75 wet version. But as you stated the work involved was daunting but your techniques will mean that I will have a guide line on how to proceed. Thanks so much for all you post.

[armourguy]

Thanks guys, Along with the Jumbo this is another M4 based project that I have wanted to do for several years.

I have made some progress on the build.



All of the fiberglassed panels have been sanded down smooth, and the under hull lower plate detailing has been added. The lower hull is now ready for the VVSS suspension.



The tank's transmission cover has also been reworked with the blister fastener mounts, bolt strips, tow hook mounts and cast texture. The transmission is now ready for the Panzerwerk final drives and sprockets which will be mounted once they arrive.









All of the lower rear wall detailing (engine hatch, exhausts, tow hitch mounts, idler mounts, hull extender bulkhead, sponson access plate, and little Joe generator exhaust conduit) has been added, The tank's flip grill will be added after the suspension.







The little Joe exhaust conduit is all brass construction and has the idler cover plate mounted. I have seen this plate mounted on several shermans to prevent damage to the exhaust from debris kicked up from the idler and track.









I will now be assembling the tank's functional VVSS suspension. Once ready they will be added and I can then focus on the tank's rear exhaust deflector grill. More to come.

[armourguy]

I have made some more progress on the tank installing the VVSS suspension.



For the tank's suspension I used a set of my own functional VVSS suspension.





For the tank's wheels I used the late spoke wheels along with the plated over spoke wheels. The wheels are casted in an experimental grey tinted resin. If successful I will look into using this kind of material on my other parts.







After the suspension was assembled they were primed and mounted, once mounted the whole lower hull received a base coat of OD.









After the paint dried I painted the inner portions of the road wheel tires black. This was done now because this area will be difficult to get to once the tank is fully detailed.



Along with the suspension the tank's rear idler wheels were also added. Like on the Jumbo the wheels are mounted to the idler swing plates with a lock pin which secures the wheel to the axel, and also allows the wheel to spin freely.





After the addition of the lock pin the detail resin hub was added concealing the locking mechanism.



A youtube video was made that also describes the progress that was made to the model.
http://youtu.be/d6uEV4W6txs

I will now be focusing on the tank's exhaust deflector grill and the side skirt mounts. More progress to follow!

[viaad]

You have become amazingly fast and proficient! :shock: