Has a medal already been designed?
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It’s not my usual scale but, a friend asked if I could build out his Achung Panzer!/Bolt Action Tanks. Lo and behold, there are 3 Shermans in the box, 2 M4A4 and 1 Firefly. Markings are for a Sherwood Ranger Troop with the famous Sherman named “Akilla” that supposedly managed to knock out 5 German tanks in an engagement - a Tiger and a Panther were supposedly among the KO’d vehicles. Unfortunately, the real Akilla was a M4A2 - the kit doesn’t have any alternative markings and I don’t really have any other 1:56mm scale stuff to get decals for.
In any case, here is a sprue shot. The kit goes together fairly well, there are just some small stuff to fix including drilling out the barrel of the vehicle
Here was one after around 4 hours of work last Saturday.
To make the three tanks distinct, I’m planning on adding stowage and spare tracks on separate spots on each vehicle.
And here they were on Monday. I’ve got the basecoat on since then, but I figure I’ll do a bit more paint before posting another update. Stay tuned!
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I just have to add some gear to this little guy. Technically, it’ll be done once I weather the last little bit (bottom of picture) and add these to the hull and turret.
Eventually, I’ll add some rockets to the tubes and one rocket being launched. They’re currently being printed, and I’ll get them sometime in the near future.
Mike
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Aside from the future of the rockets, the Toon Sherman is done.
I’ve added the little bit of stowage to the engine deck and turret.
Glamor shot:
Mike
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I love how ridiculous the cartoonish Calliope Missile Launcher looks on top of the relatively small Sherman, well done!
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Another quick update post for me. Decals are on, and slowly working on the tools and whatnots.
I also decided to take a bit of creative license and use all the names on the decal sheets for the tanks - in reality these were all names of 75mm M4A2 Shermans but from a wargaming standpoint, I think it would be nice to have a name for each (especially when it comes to telling stories about them and quickly identifying them on the tabletop)
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One of the reasons I like these toon tanks/planes/ships. They’re fun and outside of the “norm.”
Mike
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I started a 1/35 conversion of Firefly that is ongoing. In the meantime, i finished a fun build 1/72 Revell Polish Sherman M4A1 76mm from Italy
Needless to say, model was improved…metal barrel, bits of this and that…
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Shot some Gunzy Olive Drab w/Mr Color Leveling Thinner with a Amazon “nail salon” Air Brush.
I like Gunzy’s Olive Drab, look forward shooting another Sherman with my customized Paasche VL/VJR set up. This is a color like RAL 7021 that shows real promise of being fun to work with.
@Jakko thanks for the Gunzy color suggestion. I didn’t much like the two other OD’s I test shot.
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The Gunze OD looks to be more on the yellow side? Or is that the sunlight?
What other OD’s did you test?
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I ended up using it mostly because of Steve Zaloga’s OD article in a very old issue of Military Modelling. However, the most recent bottles have a slightly different colour in them than they used to:
On the left a bottle of H78 from some years ago, on the right one I bought last year. The new paint is a bit greener and more saturated than it used to be, so it could probably use toning down a little with some sand-coloured paint mixed in.
I discovered this when, while spraying that Weasel, my paint ran out and I had to open the new bottle. (After taking the picture to show the colour difference, I resprayed the whole model.)
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Ron, the other two OD’s were MRP Mr Paint colors. One was greener for 1943 and earlier and the other more khaki. Yes lots of direct sunlight in my Sherman picture.
Here’s shaded outside same time and the two other models sprayed in session.
Jakko, thanks! After the Sherman cures maybe I’ll tray a light filter of the Mr. Paint OD that looks khaki as a filter to tweak.
On the brightside, the Sherman didn’t get painted in RAL 6003 I’m happy enough if the colors are off a little.
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Good lord, its been 8 months since I last posted about my build.
Finally got around to painting my Sherman. Came out well but my matt coat left weird tidemarks all over the model. Only visible close up but they are there. Apart from that, this was a fairly standard Sherman build and marks the 10th M4 based vehicle to go onto my shelf.
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It looks amazing.
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Thanks 
There’s a small amount of work left to be done, and I can call it finished. Some kind of crew figure would be nice, but I’ll have to find a suitable one for what I have in mind.
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Hey folks, I actually finished the 3 Bolt Action Shermans last weekend! Here they are, ready for some tabletop fun One was kept slightly cleaner than the rest to add variety, as requested by the owner.
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Had to Google “Bolt Action” but your work looks outstanding!
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Thanks Michael. I only recently found out about Bolt Action (and Flames of War which is a smaller scale) myself - they’re not as detailed as our normal 1/35 or 1/48 kits, but the fact that can be played on the tabletop makes them fun projects
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I’m looking at thr Rubicon war gaming stuff to do with the Vietnam war as it is remarkably detailed.
i want to learn how to play these games so if you have any suggestions please let me know.
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