It is a very nice kit to build hey Pez. The different sprue colours reminded me of an old Matchbox kit when I built it.
Thanks Jakko. I saw the post earlier, it was one of the reasons I chose this kit.
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I love the VT1-2! First time I saw a pic of t I thought it was a photoshop fake…
I realised I hadn’t posted pics of my own build when it was shelved at the end of August so I could go away on fieldwork! So I took some tonight…
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Slight snag on the NBFZ. I have everything built except the tracks at this point…HOWEVER the periscope that sits atop the turret ahead of the cupola and one of the hand rails have disappeared. The handrail is no biggie; easily scratched from wire. The periscope will require more work to replicate if I don’t find it. I have a plan that will fool novices but likely none of you lot so keep quiet. The jackets surrounding the coax MGs on the panzer IV’s kind of look similar, having cooling vents that resemble the lens opening (on both sides but I can just fill one in) but the jackets are cylindrical not slightly conical. Careful sanding can probably get me there. But if I can’t find the part that’s the route I’m taking. Opinions?
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This represents the mock-up from the real-world photos, right? As you have an M4 (105 mm) hull with a T26 turret.
For anyone wanting to build a what-if in-service version of this, here’s some points based on having built something similar myself 
- The front mounting point for the crane (on the left side of the turret) interferes with the driver’s hatch. The hatch already can’t open with the turret at 12 o’clock, but if the crane lug is left on, the turret will need to be traversed even further to allow it to open. I removed it and the rear one from my model for this reason.
- The stowage rack on the right side of the turret is for the drivers’ foul-weather hoods, but in the Sherman there was room to stow these inside the hull, so the rack doesn’t seem like it would be on a production M4 (90 mm).
- If you put HVSS on, remove the spare track racks on the turret, as HVSS Shermans carried spare links on the hull sides.
- You may want to replace the gun travel lock by one that will more easily reach the 90 mm barrel.
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Hi Jakko,
Yes mine is a model of the 1:1 mock-up photos based on an M4 (105mm) hull, and has all the “real world” flaws you pointed out as they appear in the pics. No doubt they would have addressed these issues if they ever got beyond the “I wonder if this might work?” stage of full-scale kit-bashing!
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If you have some evergreen tube you might be able to cut a piece off and put it in a drill bit. To drill the slot, drill a hole at the top and bottom of where the slot is to be when you taper the piece, then scribe a shallow groove between them. That groove will then be the guide to keep the drill bit in alignment to keep remaining holes straight when you drill them. Trim the slot sides with a sharp blade. Then at lower speed, sand the Evergreen to the taper you need. You should have plenty of material in the tube wall to allow for the taper.
Drilling the slot first means you have not wasted time on the taper if you mess it up and it keeps the outside face smoother!
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