M4 (105 mm) HVSS on Okinawa

[Jakko]

Now I need to make myself break out the Sylmasta A+B and make the mantlet cover and a bunch of sandbags … I don't enjoy working with two-part epoxy putties much, can you tell?

 

[Jakko]

With Magic Sculp, I made the canvas cover for the gun shield:



Earlier, I had scrounged up a crew, and because I had the Magic Sculp mixed up and left anyway, I also made a few small changes to them:



From left to right first the assistant driver, an Asuka figure whose pistol belt I cut away and whose coveralls I modified into a jacket and trousers. Then the commander, which is an upper body from MiniArt with a helmet from the spares box, and a little bit of lower body made from the remains of the Magic Sculp because when he's in the hatch it was just a little too noticeable that his body ended at his waist. The driver is from Tamiya with Asuka goggles, and the loader is another MiniArt figure with lengthened trouser legs so his uniform can pass for 1945 Pacific style, so without leggings — it doesn't need to be any better than this because his legs will be dangling in the loader's hatch. His flesh has a base coat of paint from a previous employment opportunity that did not come to pass.

 

[Rimmer]

Just caught up with this build Jakko - excellent work thus far. I think your crew will work well.

 

[Jakko]

Here's an overall shot of what I have now:



I did remove the tow cable and replaced it by a thinner one, for which I also had to use different eyes:



Because the old cable was threaded through the front and rear clamps and was partly glued to them, I had to cut those off the model. Fortunately, I have a bunch of those from Tiger Models in grey resin, so that was not a big deal.

And now the canvas cover is done, I could continue adding details to the turret:



The lifting eyes, periscope covers and folded-down support for the machine gun barrel are from Asuka, the periscope brush guard dfrom RFM (I think), and the covered machine gun (which is not glued on yet) on the back is also by Tiger Models. To make sure it won't break off, I drilled out the support for it, inserted a bit of 1 mm brass rod, and glued that into a corresponding hole I drilled into the back of the turret. To the loader's hatch, I added a grab handle (not visible), and I need to add some more details to the turret before it's done.