M4A3E8

Still in progress. But moving forward on it. Dragons 1/35 "Thunderbolt VII" Sherman. I'd been waiting for some pigments in order to finish this up, and in the process of constantly looking it over, decided the tools could use a little adjustment. So that's what I've attempted.

The kit tools had the molded on brackets, which were fine all things considered. Just not what I was looking for. So the tools were cleaned up and new brackets built from leftover PE frets.

The locating holes for the kit tools were left in place while the new brackets were positioned, then filled afterward with stretched sprue plugs. Then, new straps were fabricated using metal foil, mounted on single strands of fine wire and fixed in place.

 The buckles for the straps were sourced from those German commander figure sets earphone bands. You know, the heavy PE set that comes in the kit. Up close they are a bit off, but better than spending the money on others I suppose.
The entire tank also received it's first "dust wash", a mix of Model Master Afrika Khakibraun with a touch of Light Sand pigment mixed in from the Tamiya Weathering Master powder sets. This is the first such wash that's planned for the Sherman. It'll be a touch on the dirty side when complete.

And so, the work continues.
More to come.
Dale