Firefly 008 build

[michael hilton]

Hello John , following your build, with interest.
I also used soapy water, then dried with an old towel.
The smaller parts were placed on the radiator in the kitchen....you will note who has the upper hand here.

Finally primed with U-pol Acid 8.

Great build John....best wishes....Mick.

[Adrian Harris]

> What was the colour of the inside of a Sherman?

Most references seem to indicate white, apart for the insides of hatches which will be visible when opened.

Adrian.

[John Grima]

Adrain is correct. On US AFV the interior color would be White, and the interior portions of the hatches would be painted in OD. The white would help with light distribution inside of a buttoned up vehicle, while the hatches were in OD so they would not be visible from the air.

My Sherman will be on route very soon, but I will not be starting mine until the late spring or summer, once a few other 1/6th projects are wrapped up.

[John Wiggins]

Thanks John and Adrian for the info, white it is!

Priming well under way. Glad I decided to prime the parts away from home!
Horrible stuff, etch primer.

The Armortek box makes a good booth.



Drying rack






Thanks for the help

John

[John Wiggins]

Mick, sorry i missed your reply.

I moved the parts for painting to my pottery studio, its always messy in there ( my rules ).
It's a short journey in the car.
I use Upol acid primer, outside, on an old bench. I think using primer inside a building would be a explosion /fire risk.
Not to mention the damage to your lungs!

[michael hilton]

Hello John, that's fine....I used an industrial face mask while spraying....nasty stuff U-Pol. I also used the Armortek box, as a spray booth. Just the right size. It's all trial and error....but a fascinating hobby.
Keep your posts/photos coming....enjoy.

I'm saving my pennies.....for the next tank...best wishes...Mick

[Peter Silcock]

On the subject of spraying I would say its very important to use a correct paint spraying mask when using that acid etch primer even when spraying outside. Dont be tempted to use a paper mask use a proper mask with disposable filters they are £50 or so but are well worth it and will save your lungs. I only ignored my own advice once but boy was I ill!

[leesellars]

Hello Chaps
Just put a thread about this in the craftmans market.

Lee

[John Wiggins]

Thanks for the advice.
I have been using a face mask that i use for glaze mixing, but its not good enough for paint fumes.
So i decided not to do any more painting untill i have sourced a suitable mask.
Spent the afternoon working on the turret, more filing!



Regards
John

[Adrian Harris]

Hmm, looks like there's quite a bit of work needed on that mantlet ...

ShermanMantlet.jpg (78.63 KiB) Viewed 3302 times

Adrian.

[John Wiggins]

Hi Adrian

Have been trying to work the ali', in the raw state, not very successful!
I think I have decided to apply something at the painting stage, but I dont know what!
Any ideas would be useful.
Good photo of the mantlet, I need slotted bolts, ( where's the best place to get them from), and some way of building up the casting where the gun enters the mantlet, epoxy putty?

Regards
John

[Adrian Harris]

The slotted bolts for the original Sherman release were a pain to find as they are countersunk AND slightly domed.

I think light switch screws are a fairly good match but they're some weird size like M3.5.

Adrian.

[John Wiggins]

With painting cancelled, untill I purchase a mask ( thanks Lee), I thought I would do a panel 'fit'.
Which means more filing! I'm getting the hang of it, slowly! Metal is not like clay, I can stretch or compress clay to fit, whereas metal means file, try, file a bit more, try untill it fits!

Little bit of filing to make the glacis plate fit. Several holes needed extending.





This has given me a problem



How to resolve the gap, on the left side of the two decks?



Couldn't resist putting the turret on.

Regards
John

[leesellars]

Hello John

Thats a bit worrying looking at the front and rear deck. It looks like that its been cut too short. Beacause you cant elongate the holes on the side as this will bring the plate up and wont be right on the hull side. Also if you pull it up you will put a bow in the front deck.

Lee

[Armortek]

Hi John

This can easily be fixed, Just e-mail us, and I will explain how to do it.

Mark