Assault gun Sherman

[Kerick]

If I do decide to build a Sherman with no turret and a 90mm gun I may play roulette with some of the road wheels. Are the welded, pressed and dish style wheels interchangeable? The back story may include something about spare parts being in short supply and having to use whatever crews can get a hold of.

To the mods, feel free to move this to a better thread when available.

[raafif]

Yes, the wheels are interchangeable on the VVS suspension.

I have seen a couple of Sherman SP models - the best is below.

[Kerick]

That’s a great pic!
I bought a Tamiya M4A3 late model version kit yesterday. I was hoping for a cast hull but that seems hard to find. No problem, it’s a whiff. I’m going to order a turned Aluminum barrel for an M36 Jackson.

[GTX_Admin]

Stahlhelmmodels did produce an "Assault Sherman" conversion model kit but I think they are defunct now:

[Mig Eater]

Stahlhelm Models shut down awhile ago and sold the masters to Bolddivision, which now sell the Assault Sherman conversion.



I have an unreleased version of the Stahlhelm Assault Sherman that has a welded hull and extra concrete armour, it was on my short list of options for this GB but if Kerick's going to build a Sherman TD I'll do something else.

[Kerick]

I’m seriously considering it. I have a Tamiya welded hull Sherman kit and I’m going to order the gun barrel soon. The problem is I’m still working on completing home improvement projects so that’s really eating into my time. If you want to build one go right ahead. I’ll guarantee it will come out different than mine! I was poking around in the spare parts box and found lots of spare Sherman parts folks have given me. There are lots of different road wheels to choose from. Also turret cupolas and different hatches so lots to work with. First decision will be to make it look like the turret opening was welded over or was this a new build with a continuous top. I’m leaning towards option one.

[Kerick]

Thanks for moving this. I have the Tamiya kit, spare parts and an M36 gun barrel on the way. Looks like I’m in.

[Claymore]

Perhaps something along the lines of this early whiff?

[Kerick]

I started on this project yesterday. I took a turret from the spares box with the two full size round hatches and cut the top off. I cut the bustle off, cut the top of that off and glued it to the back of the turret to round it off. I don’t know the maker of the kit but the plastic was very brittle. Lots of sanding to do!

[Kerick]

Here's a couple of pics of what I was talking about.
The spare parts from various donors. There will be a mix of road wheel types, idler types and maybe the sprocket types.



The turret hatches so far. I'll probably add a plastic disc over the turret hole then the cut off turret top.

[Buzzbomb]

Well for my 5.5 Cents worth, I reckon the turret top looks quite fine as it is. I perhaps would cut off enough of the front to give clearance to the fuel caps and then fair into the splash ring with some epoxy putty.

Would give a nice point of difference to similar builds

[Old Wombat]

Well for my 5.5 Cents worth, I reckon the turret top looks quite fine as it is. I perhaps would cut off enough of the front to give clearance to the fuel caps and then fair into the splash ring with some epoxy putty.

Would give a nice point of difference to similar builds

Exactly my thoughts, too! 

[Kerick]

Good idea!
I’ve already rounded off the back corners of the turret and blended it in with the bustle segment. That buys a little more room by the fuel caps. I glued scraps of plastic into any gaps to minimize filler. Working on trimming out the bathroom today and hopefully install the vanity and sink. That will make SWMBO happy. A half functioning bathroom is a PITA.

[Dr. YoKai]

A half functioning bathroom is a PITA.

Speaking as someone who has installed a couple of toilets, and went streaking* to the hardware store when our "professional handyman" got the wrong size fittings, aye. (But it beats half functioning bowels. )

The build looks good, and I like the concept.





*In the sense of "I went quickly" not "I ran naked".

[Kerick]

I’ve been looking over the running gear. How do you paint all these parts that go together to make up the suspension?  Especially the rubber tires on the road wheels without slobbering up everything else.

[Mig Eater]

Don't glue the wheels in place so they can freely rotate, then when painting the wheels you can paint the bottom of wheel and then rotate it to paint the other side etc.

[Kerick]

Don't glue the wheels in place so they can freely rotate, then when painting the wheels you can paint the bottom of wheel and then rotate it to paint the other side etc.

I kind of figured that. If I airbrush I’ll have to rotate them too. PITA. I was thinking of assembling the six suspension units, paint everything and glue them onto the hull. It would be easier to handle them that way.

[Kerick]

The turret is cut, sanded a glued in place. I’m pretty sure I have the road wheel situation straightened out. I’m just trying to decide if I should leave the road wheels off until I have painted them. Then assemble the suspension unit and attach to the hull.
The problem now is the gun barrel. I’m going for a 90mm gun from an M36 Jackson. I may have to order a turned aluminum one to get what I’m looking for. We shall see.

[Kerick]

Made some great progress! I used the gun barrel my friend gave me, possibly from an M47. I removed the muzzle brake since the Jackson never had one, but kept the fume extractor and will just work it into the backstory. I cut a hole in the glacis plate and covered it with extra armor. The road wheels are sorted with four of each type, and even the idler and drive wheels will be different. I had to drill out the Italeri idler wheel to fit the Tamiya poly cap—broke the first one and nearly broke the second due to brittle plastic. The bow gunner’s hatch will stay, as I don’t want to mess with it; I’ll say they kept it for gun maintenance access. The story is that it’s a knocked-out tank brought back to life by rear-area depot mechanics using whatever parts they could find. I might even vary the paint to show the contrast between brand new parts and recovered, reused ones.
I wrote this and then had AI look it over and make improvements. At least it seems to know grammar and punctuation better than me! Blasted thing deleted the picture however!
So here's a pic. More pics when there is more to show.

[Claymore]

Looking good! 

[finsrin]

Great concept, great start 

[Buzzbomb]

Yes this is looking quite good.
Plus giving me ideas

[Kerick]

Most of the rest will be routine. Mostly running gear, filling in the sponsons and such.

[Kerick]

Painting road wheels……..boring…….
Glued the top and bottom together.

So my idea is not so crazy after all!

https://www.tankarchives.com/2025/11/russo-american-tank-destroyer.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPNDA5OTYyNjIzMDg1NjA5AAEeRx4U5er6DzpgftNHRMomXAqeUy2UNISe5j5FK3qNmw0PH0C69x5OaQNmrKY_aem_TaNK2y1X5s-T7i6L-hE_uw&m=1

[Kerick]

Road wheels are done. I even painted the idler and drive wheels separately while I was at it.
Between snow shoveling and working with my son to get trim back in place I managed to screw my back up royally. I've taken a few days off to recuperate and am feeling better. It's nice to not have a little gremlin following me around stabbing me in the buttock at random intervals. I have used this time constructively to do some work on the Sherman.

[Story]

Precedence for inspiration - I had in mind this was a one-off at Aberdeen Proving Grounds (just down the road from the Chrysler factory in Delaware where they made M3 Lees), a testbed for the 90mm gun arrangement that eventually went into the M26 tank.
 


See also https://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=653.msg163355#msg163355

[apophenia]

Oh ... yes please!! 

[Kerick]

Fiddling around with the fiddly bits. Since I added extra frontal armor I have to remount the headlights. PITA. I thought I had some Sherman photo etch for the headlight guards but I can’t find it. Maybe tomorrow. Otherwise I’ll use the kit stuff. It’s just overly thick. We’ll see what happens.

[Buzzbomb]

Fiddling around with the fiddly bits.

Nobody likes the fiddly bits stage.. just a necessary part of the process 

[taiidantomcat]

I really like how you used the top of the turret to fill in the turret "hole"

I don't think there is a wrong way to do an "assault Sherman" but thats a darn clever way of doing it to be sure 

[Kerick]

Thank you!
I should post a new pic or two.

[finsrin]

I really like how you used the top of the turret to fill in the turret "hole"

I don't think there is a wrong way to do an "assault Sherman" but thats a darn clever way of doing it to be sure 

Completely agree 
Looking forward to next picture(s).

[Claymore]

Colour me excited!



…pics please! 

[Kerick]

Colour me excited!



…pics please! 

Good God, where do you find this stuff?!!

[Claymore]

Blackadder - the series that just keeps giving!

[GTX_Admin]

Blackadder - the series that just keeps giving!

 

[Kerick]

Here's the pic I promised with the current level of fiddle. The worst ones were the headlight guards. I had to pick both of them off the floor. It's a good thing it's a concrete floor in the basement. No carpet monster.



Of course, tomorrow I'll find the photo etch I'm sure I have. I don't think I would use it right now anyway. I'm too stressed out over all the holiday crapola.
Here's a question. What is that odd looking round device with a dome top I see on top of some Sherman turrets? Is it some sort of air cleaner? Every kit seems to have one but pics I've looked up show some with and some without. It appears to be about the size of a coffee can in RW.

[Claymore]

Not entirely sure what you mean.  There was a fume extractor in an armoured mounted above the breach on most early models although I note your later turret top does not have one but I’m not sure I would describe it as being coffee can sized - depending on how big you think a coffee can is of course.  A more likely contender is the lamp sported by some models - cylindrical with a curved back and quite possibly coffee can sized.  Do you have a pic of the offending item?

[Kerick]

I finally found a pic of the device I was asking about. The kit includes the part and I have one from the Easy Eight kit I built a few years ago. From the pics I could find not many Sherman’s had it. Here's a screen shot that actually shows it to be a light.

IMG_9876

I found the etched brass. And a few other parts.

IMG_9877

[Old Wombat]

Always the way! 

[Kerick]

Well, I just couldn't let the etched brass go to waste. It wasn't very hard to install. Just one bend I wrapped around a needle file and I bent the ends of the straps 90 degrees so I could glue it down. A little more armor welded on and a radio antenna mount. I'm going to have to splash some paint on this soon. Things go faster when I just have to leave parts off instead of building a bunch of new structure.



I'm still working on trim in the kitchen. It's tough when I have to stop all the time when my back starts hurting or I get stabbing pain in my right hip. I'm in the middle of my second trip through the sixties and it's not been a lot of fun so far.

[Old Wombat]

Starting to really look the business now! 

[Claymore]

Loving it - very cool! 

[Mig Eater]

I'm not a big fan of the layout as it wouldn't physically be able to work. But you've done a great job with the plastic surgery and scratch building

[Kerick]

Thanks!

[Kerick]

I keep imagining what this would look like in Israeli paint and markings. Desert grey/tan with a few markings. Maybe an Israeli flag on the antenna. It looks like something they would build.

[Kerick]

I’ve been looking up pics of Israeli Sherman’s and it seems there is a desert tan/sand color or a much more grey/sand color. My question is, is there two colors or is it just lighting throwing it off? It would appear as though the grayish color is later and the sand is earlier in the Sherman’s time frame. I may be all wet on this. Anyone have some suggestions?

[robunos]

From Vallejo's  'Historical Color References Guide for Aircraft and AFV Series'


Colour codes shown are for Vallejo Model Air.
cheers ,
Robin .

[Old Wombat]

^^^^^^
This! 

[Kerick]

More variety than I expected. I’ll probably go with the 67-73 time frame. Thanks!

[Buzzbomb]

Really, really starting to look the business. Great work

[Kerick]

I found the Vallejo 70.614 paints at the LHS. I’ll have to repaint the road wheels but that’s no biggie. Now I’ll have to imagineer some time frame markings. I don’t think it will be much.

[finsrin]

Latest picture is looking more like the 'real' thing.  Cutting down turret is clever and works well. 

[Kerick]

Repainting the road wheels. Still boring.

[Kerick]

I’m going to try and make the cover for the IR light mounted on Israeli Ishermans. I’m sure I have enough brass scraps and a leftover part from an M51 kit for a pattern. Of course I also need the light but that shouldn’t be too hard to find.

[Kerick]

I managed to get a little something done tonight. I made the brass shield over the IR light and got it installed. I found some smoke grenade launchers that look like the ones the Israelis used on their Ishermans. After fighting with the crazy glue (what an appropriate name) I finally got it to stay where I wanted. Looks like paint is next.





And one with the gun barrel installed.



I hope those glue puddles don't show up later.

[Mig Eater]

I like the smoke launchers, gives it a more aggressive look. 

[raafif]

I hope those glue puddles don't show up later.

They look good to me, a US attempt at zimmerit ?  I think this beast needs a lower suspension than straight VVS or HSS so it ends up like the StuG.

[Kerick]

I hope those glue puddles don't show up later.

They look good to me, a US attempt at zimmerit ?  I think this beast needs a lower suspension than straight VVS or HSS so it ends up like the StuG.

A low rider Sherman? Now that’s a whiff!

[Kerick]

I've been messing around with little bits and pieces. I'm making some brackets to hold pieces of track on the sides and front. I made a wire catcher just off to the side of the gun.
Here's a question. How does the air vent on the back of the Sherman connect to the engine compartment? It must be boxed in somehow. It just hangs off the back of the hull right now.

[Claymore]

 

[Jeffry Fontaine]

@Kerick == does the main gun traverse at all or is it just in elevation only?  Relying on the vehicle for training the gun on the target? 

[Kerick]

I’ve been looking at that. The way it is now it appears to be just elevation. There should be some traverse but I didn’t think of that at the time. Not sure what to do now. I’m too far along to change much without ripping it all apart. I’m open to suggestions.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Several of the Tamiya WW2 German assault gun/tank hunter had a ball mount of sorts for the main gun that gave it elevation and traverse which in your case would have been an ideal source of parts for your project.  But as you said, now is a bit late to address the problem.  Ignoring that feature, your Sherman assault gun is looking really good. 

[Kerick]

Moving on with this project. I spayed the paint a couple of days ago. Not too bad. So far I'm not totally happy with this paint but it will do.





The second bottle of paint appeared to be older and sat on the self too long. The first bottle went on well but the second one had solid pigment in the bottom. I had to stir it with a piece of sprue to try and mix it up again. I put in a BB and shook the crap out of it too. Turns out there were solid bits mixed in the paint that made it through the airbrush and onto the model. Maybe I can make it look like spattered mud or something. Or at least some heavy Sinai dust.







Now to dig out the decals I'm pretty sure I have.

[Buzzbomb]

Now in a unified colour.. totally changes the look.. getting better and better

[Kerick]

Strangely enough, I get a certain satisfaction from all the different colors in a kitbash. But then, I get more satisfaction from the building than the painting anyway. Next time I’ll use the model master paint. I just have better luck with enamels than acrylics.

[Kerick]

I'm calling this one done! And just in the nick of time! I did not know when or if I would get this finished but I decided to get something under the wire for this year. On to the pics!







I used some pencil lead to simulate wear from the crew stepping on the top of the vehicle.







Not much weathering other than the pencil lead. I might pull these off the shelf some day to work on my weathering techniques.

[Claymore]

Beautiful! 

[Mig Eater]

Me thinks you might have posted in the wrong topic Nice to see the M41 duo finished tho.

[Kerick]

It was late……..
It seems I’ve posted it in both places. I’m old. And it was late……..
No I wasn’t drinking champagne although that would be a better excuse.

[Dr. YoKai]

Those both came out quite nice.

[Kerick]

Thank you!

[Story]

 The story is that it’s a knocked-out tank brought back to life by rear-area depot mechanics using whatever parts they could find.

1) This is a good idea for a Group Build.

2) The turret top is brilliant, either as salvage from one that shot and shattered  - or - a factory reject bad casting.

[Kerick]

I like the GB idea. It’s like the RAM tanks and Priest artillery vehicles turned into the beginnings of the armored personnel carriers. Aircraft might be like the B-25s in the Pacific mounting a dozen or more .50 cals.

[Kerick]

I’ve finished the decals tonight and started painting the tracks. I’m going with Israeli markings for around the late 60s. It’s the second vehicle of the second platoon of the second company of the second battalion   It’s the only way I will remember it. I had to piece together the decals from a Tamiya Isherman sheet and the scraps from the decal bin. Tamiya NATO black seems to work pretty well for the rubber parts of the track. Once it’s dry I’ll get the rusty paints. I have the Vallejo weathering set which is pretty nice. I’ll have some pics when I get more accomplished.

[Kerick]

I've finished painting the tracks which turned out pretty good in my humble opinion. I tried some weathering on the hull and suspension while I was at it. I used the wash water from the brushes I was using to paint the tracks. I kept it light for now. I can always add more later. If it's too much it's impossible to remove so, I'll be on the safe side for now. If I have the time, I'll add some desert dust using the soil I have from Saudi Arabia. At least no one can say it's not the right color. So here's a few pics of the progress including the decals. Tomorrow will be a coat of flat to seal the decals and then the fiddly bits.

[apophenia]

Looking great! 

... I'll add some desert dust using the soil I have from Saudi Arabia. At least no one can say it's not the right color...

    Do we have to add 'dirt doubters' to the sub-type list of 'rivet counters' 

[finsrin]

Looks great - keep going 

[Kerick]

Looking great! 

... I'll add some desert dust using the soil I have from Saudi Arabia. At least no one can say it's not the right color...

    Do we have to add 'dirt doubters' to the sub-type list of 'rivet counters' 

Thanks for the compliment and I hope I didn’t start a new category of fun robbers! 🤪
Actually I’ve been to a number of shows these last few years and I’ve yet to run into a person degrading someone else’s work. Maybe I’m just lucky so far. But since I do whiff subjects perhaps they don’t bother. Sounds like a win!

[Kerick]

Well, it looks like I've finished something! The second vehicle of the second platoon of the second company of the second battalion. It's the only way I'll remember it. Here's the photo dump.













Not only did the paint give me a last-minute fit but some of the decals rebelled too. The "2" on each side looked like white paint had run under masking tape, even though no tape was involved. I had to scrape what must have been decal film off to fix it. The hull numbers on the front and rear both turned almost completely white. I had extra decals so I was able to replace those. The other decals did not come out as well as I hoped. It's no contest winner but I enjoyed building it.

[raafif]

Well done    What paint did you use ? I can't get paint in IDF colour here.

[Kerick]

Vallejo number 70.614
The first bottle was OK but the second had hardened paint in the bottom. I thought I could stir it up like enamels but no such thing. Once that acrylic gets hard stirring just breaks it up into little pieces. That's why there's little bumps in the final paint layer.
Actually, there's a few different IDF colors depending on the time period. Vallejo, Hataka and Tru color are a few that have their own paint sets.

[Mig Eater]

Looks great are you still planing to weather it with some of that authentic dust?

[Kerick]

This would be a perfect project to experiment on. I think if I mix it with water and a drop or two of soap it might work for areas that collect heavy dust.

[finsrin]

Bravo 

[Frank3k]

That came out great! It's good to have pictures of the clean-ish version before you weather it.

[Kerick]

I gave the weathering a shot. I think it went pretty well.
Here's a photo dump.







Some of these do look like rocks stuck to the sides. I'll have to knock the bigger ones off.









I wish it had all been dust. Even after I sifted out the bigger bits it turned out grainier than I had hoped for, but I think it will do. I'll get a finer sifter next time.

[Buzzbomb]

That look ok. It gets the message over.

I gave the weathering a shot. I think it went pretty well.
 I'll get a finer sifter next time.

for that sort of thing I use a piece of stocking.

[finsrin]

Looks like was at the beach 

[Kerick]

Looks like was at the beach 

The beach or the Sinai. One has water, the other doesn’t!