This kit is a far cry from the other IDF Sherman I did on this blog a few months ago. This time its the Dragon M4A1(76)W Operation Cobra Sherman. Both are M4A1(76) W Shermans but the similarities end there. This one is 1/35 scale, detailed, dimensionally accurate and goes together quite well. The box is chock full of extras like an aluminium barrel, clear periscope parts, brass shells and a metal tow cable.
I really don’t have anything bad to say about this kit. I build it stock from the box and it was a pleasure from start to finish. I’ve heard the complaints about it being a millimeter or two off in some areas and the cast texture of the hull and turret being overdone. Personally I disagree with both of those points. The kit compares well with my references (Hunnicutt). Everything that should be there is there. The texture on the cast parts of the kit compare very accurately with original vehicles I have examined. The only thing I might have changed had I been the King of DML would have been to include a set of DS tracks for those who run screaming from the presence of individual link tracks. But that’s just me.
I painted the kit using Tamiya XF-62 lightened to scale with XF-60 Dark Yellow. I painted and masked the tactical IDF insignia on the turret and hull. I cut the masks by hand using frisket paper. I used dry transfers from the Verlinden IDF Vehicle Set for the hull and mantlet number plates.
I strayed a little from my usual weathering process on this kit. After post shading I used pastels dissolved in mineral spirits as a wash. I used a light brown, almost buff pastel chalk so I had to make the wash very weak or else run the risk of the pastels overpowering the base coat of paint. It’s a tricky process because when the wash is wet it’s not possible to see the pastels, but when it dries it’s very visible. I had to creep along a little bit at a time until I was happy with the effect. Once that was done I gave the vehicle a final wash with black artist oils to deepen and bring out the details. This also served to give a pronounced 3D effect to the weathering. All the while I used distinct up and down brush strokes on the vertical surfaces with the washes. In the end I think it came off well. The weathering has a distinctly “earthy” feel to it that give the feel of many layers of road dust and grime. I will definitely give this technique a try again sometime.
The figure is from a very old Italeri Soviet Tank Crew set. I like to drop figures into hatches to give some sense of scale to the model.
In conclusion this is a terrific kit that doesn’t disappoint. Can’t recommend it highly enough.
This kit is a far cry from the other IDF Sherman I did on this blog a few months ago. This time its the Dragon M4A1(76)W Operation Cobra Sherman. Both are M4A1(76) W Shermans but the similarities end there. This one is 1/35 scale, detailed, dimensionally accurate and goes together quite well. The box is chock full of extras like an aluminium barrel, clear periscope parts, brass shells and a metal tow cable.
I really don’t have anything bad to say about this kit. I build it stock from the box and it was a pleasure from start to finish. I’ve heard the complaints about it being a millimeter or two off in some areas and the cast texture of the hull and turret being overdone. Personally I disagree with both of those points. The kit compares well with my references (Hunnicutt). Everything that should be there is there. The texture on the cast parts of the kit compare very accurately with original vehicles I have examined. The only thing I might have changed had I been the King of DML would have been to include a set of DS tracks for those who run screaming from the presence of individual link tracks. But that’s just me.
I painted the kit using Tamiya XF-62 lightened to scale with XF-60 Dark Yellow. I painted and masked the tactical IDF insignia on the turret and hull. I cut the masks by hand using frisket paper. I used dry transfers from the Verlinden IDF Vehicle Set for the hull and mantlet number plates.
I strayed a little from my usual weathering process on this kit. After post shading I used pastels dissolved in mineral spirits as a wash. I used a light brown, almost buff pastel chalk so I had to make the wash very weak or else run the risk of the pastels overpowering the base coat of paint. It’s a tricky process because when the wash is wet it’s not possible to see the pastels, but when it dries it’s very visible. I had to creep along a little bit at a time until I was happy with the effect. Once that was done I gave the vehicle a final wash with black artist oils to deepen and bring out the details. This also served to give a pronounced 3D effect to the weathering. All the while I used distinct up and down brush strokes on the vertical surfaces with the washes. In the end I think it came off well. The weathering has a distinctly “earthy” feel to it that give the feel of many layers of road dust and grime. I will definitely give this technique a try again sometime.
The figure is from a very old Italeri Soviet Tank Crew set. I like to drop figures into hatches to give some sense of scale to the model.
In conclusion this is a terrific kit that doesn’t disappoint. Can’t recommend it highly enough.
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