Small Scale Military Headquarters

First- What is the triangular "shelf" like contraption on the back of the sherman? It looks like it is on hindges to fold up and down... is this for stowage reasons?

Were these always on this type of tank?

Second- What are the little brackets that come out of the back of the sherman on either side of the turrent?

Third- Would the lights on the back of the sherman be white lights like they are painted on the bbi version.. or would they have actually been red?

Lastly- the comanders hatch on the top of the turrent looks to have small port windows all around it, but they are not painted like windows on the bbi version... are these windows or something else?

Does anyone have a good site for photos of the sherman?

thanks

-mike-

Those can all be easily answered (just not all by me ); I will say that the brackets are for stowage of the .50 Cal, I think that is for stowage (in the back) but it is not on all Shermans, but this model yes (A3, right guys?).
I don't know if they were perescopic, but those ports are for viewing from inside the turret.

I agree on the book mentioned above, "Walk Around" for the Sherman...worth every penny! Great shots of the interior as well!

thanks guys.

two more questions... is the periscope on the turrent you spoke of the strange sideways teacup shaped object towards the front of the turrent?

and, the "bar" that is molded across the front of the tank and that the water can, wheel, extra tread etc. rest on... is this on all models? would it be inaccurate to take that off and leave it just a smooth front like a lot of the pictures i see?

if this needs more clairity let me know.

-mike-

and if i did take off the triangular storage thing on the back... would it be historically wrong?

or would it not matter?

-mike-

anybody found a paint that matches the darker olive color of the BBI tank...Tamiya OD green is not right, and Testors OD green is way off, too light....I had thought about adding the foot guards on the turret, the ones that protect the periscopes from the crews feet when walking on the turret. Anybody done any paint customization on this tank yet?

Cent- what did you use for hole filler on this one? I'm about to take everything off (i'm gonna drill them out from the back a little to free them first, unless there is a better way).. i usually use a mixed autobody filler... but hate how fast it dries and how messy it is... any ideas?

Also: any ideas on what these guys usually did to modify the tank? Were there any U.S. equiv. of zimmert(sp) or anything else that there are pictures of?

i searched for some pictures... but I didn't see anything that was too modified on the tanks.

-mike-

macvsog, you can use Squadron Green Putty to fill the holes...this stuff is available at any hobby store, and is great. You can sand and paint this stuff over and over again....works great. Centone, please post a link with pics, this sounds really cool...how big are the holes when you pull the accessories out? Once the screws are out of the bottom, how easily does the tank halves separate?

Once you pop the six screw covers on the bottom and take out the screws it comes apart into two halves very easily. Very easily... easier than the 21st one if i remember correctly.

However, there are more screws for the turrent and the treads etc.

The only thing i can't get to come part is once i get the cover off the turret there is one more screw on the edge of the turret holding it together and once i take that out i can't get the turrent to actually come apart anymore than that... but it should... Cent- do you know what I'm talking about?

-mike-

Dang, I always forget to finish my thought before posting...

Where in hobby lobby would squadron green puddy be? model section or?

mike

Most of the variations you will find on US tanks is the storage placement and items such as sand bags or spare track used for additional protection. The folding shelf on the back of the hull would have been loaded down with extra ammo, c-rations, fuel cans and whatever odds and ends the crew came across and thought they might find a need for.

Okay, so I can't seem to find any pictures of the 50. in the stored position... i mean i find tanks without them mounted uptop, but nothing that actual shows any detail of what it looked like with the 50. actually stored...

i remember a while back someone posted a pic for me of the 50. stored...

anyone help me out with this one?

thanks

-mike-