Dragon + Trakz 1/35 Sherman III
"The George"

by Jay Laverty

A lovely day for a parade

After the beating they took at El Alamien, the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry urgently needed a refit. They had lost most of their armour in this hard, desperate battle, so they replaced their remaining M4A1’s with a wide variety of M4A2’s. The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry offers the modeller a bountiful selection of subjects without repetition.

In an effort to show that they were indeed back up to strength, a parade was planned for the newsreels and the Yeomanry decided to make a show of it. In one of my favourite displays of typically British character, each tank was named after a local pub or village.

What truly inspired me to do this project was the unique camouflage scheme as well as the fact that I don't remember ever seeing this configuration of Sherman III modelled before.


 

The Models

Several sources were tapped to build this model, with Dragons M4A2 76 forming the basis donor kit. The conversion comes from Trakz with other contributors coming from Academy, AFV Club, Tamiya, Italeri, and Accurate armour to name a few.

I do not need to go into detail describing the Dragon kit as most are well aware of it’s high quality even if there are one or two slight issues with the turret details I still feel it is one of the best Sherman kits around.

The Conversion

The Trakz M4A2 early conversion is a nicely cast resin kit, although the hatches leave a little to be desired. The interior detail on them is downright poor. Other than that however the rest of the conversion is full of detail and certainly captures the essence of the M4A2.

Click the thumbnails below to view larger images:

I sourced several components from kits that have had parts persistently pilfered in the pursuit of previous Sherman projects, and if I could throw another “p” word in here effectively I would. Wheels came from Academy’s M-10 Achilles, as did the pioneer tools, Tamiyas M-4 early surrendered its mudguards, and AFV Clubs Achilles gave up its drive sprockets.

Several detailing sets also played a role in the model, as Eduards M-3 Grant etched set came in handy for the stinger disguise rails, and the general Sherman detail on Abers M4 etched set were used for the common details. Karaya provided some of my favourite details on this model as I was very impressed when I first saw their rendition of Browning machine gun barrels which in my opinion have greatly improved the finished appearance of the model.

Accurate Armours Trackpax were used for the T-61 British Chevron track and as usual were very easy to use and look excellent once on the model. I also used AA’s PoW (Petrol or Water) cans as they fit the Eduard M-3 etched sets stowage rack that sits on the front fender.

A mixed bag of tricks

When it came to painting the finished piece I used a combination of paints as my usual choice in Xtracolor does not produce Terracotta and I used Mike Starmers recipe to create the colour using Humbrol.

My trusty Aztek wasn't overly thrilled with spraying Humbrol and was very happy to return to its usual Xtracolor.

Luckily the newly released Caunter scheme Light Stone ( X821 ) provided the base, and any over spray from the very heavy Humbrol was easily fixed.

After glossing and decalling the model was washed with Winsor and Newtons oil Raw Umber, and this was followed with Gunze Sangyo’s oil on the engine deck.

This was then matted down and the final touches applied with CMK’s Stardust weathering pigments. Here and there an HB pencil was used for paint chips.

 

Thanks go to...

When it came to the research on this model my friends Peter Brown and Ken Jones were instrumental in providing me with all of the documentation and images I would need to create an accurate representation and any mistakes are due to my oversights of the vast array of information provided by these two chaps.

Ken even went as far as producing the decal sheet for the tanks name and divisional insignia and the markings on the tank, aside from the registration, are the result of his abilities on his computer graphics programme.

Where it all came from

The Trakz conversion came directly from the VLS corporation and can be ordered from their web site. Accurate Armour’s Trackpax and POW cans can be purchased from their excellent web site.

http://www.accurate-armour.com/

The rest came from Hannants and can be purchased from their web site including CMK’s stardust as well as Aber and Eduard photo etched parts.

http://www.hannants.co.uk/

Winsor and Newton's oils will need to be acquired from a local art retailer.

For a complete build article keep an eye out for an upcoming issue of Military Modelling in which this article will appear in its entirety.

http://www.militarymodelling.com/pages/index.cgi
 

Model, Images and Text Copyright © 2005 by Jay Laverty
Page Created 02 April, 2005
Last Updated 01 April, 2005

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