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15mm Shermans completed

Things have been very quiet for a very long time on the Painted Thumb blog. Rather than bore everyone with tepid excuses for why I haven't posted, I'll just get started with a new post.

I was trying to complete the Glider Rifle Company in time to play it at FOWSA 10, but I couldn't get it done in time. 1800 points is a big army! I underestimated how much time it would take me to paint up the whole thing. My plan for 2016 is to complete a Mid-War US Rifle Company in time for the tournament on July 6th. The standard rifle platoons are already finished and now I have completed a platoon of Shermans.

I purchased a box of the 5x M4A3 Wet Stowage Shermans from Plastic Soldier Company. These are essentially 1/100th scale plastic models, but they are designed for 15mm miniature games. The boxes are very affordable at about $25 and they come with a enough pieces for 5 tanks and two different turrets for each. The turrets have a pin that plugs into the top of the hull and fits in snugly while allowing it to be rotated and removed. Also, there are enough components to allow for some personalizing. I liked that because it seems like US tank models can look very cookie-cutter. For a detailed review of them, go to this YouTube video. I liked the set so much I purchased another box of the M4A1 Shermans. The major difference between A3 and A1 is the A3 has the newer, welded, boxy looking hulls, while the A1 has the rounded, cast iron hulls. Other than that, the two box sets are identical.

The models came together very well. Some of the parts are very tiny and were difficult to manage for fat fingers and painted thumbs. A pair of good tweezers and gluing tips made a huge difference. Because they are 100% plastic, the tanks are light as paper. I added modeling putty to the inside of the hulls and turrets to compensate. Some parts warped after painting and I had to detach the treads and insert some green putty to fix the 'alignment'. I didn't attempt any weathering since I wanted to get these tanks completed quickly. For small bit of non-standard modification, I glued some 12lb test fishing line painted black for the antennae. I think they came out okay.


These are the A1 models. The A3 models will be included in my army list for the September tournament. 

Comments

  1. Looking good. If you want to weather them, a quick drybrushing is one way to go.

    ReplyDelete

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