Kenneth Osen
Private
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2025
- Messages
- 39
When I finished adding most of the details to the upper hull and turret I needed to start priming, painting and weathering the upper hull of the M4A3. One of the features I noticed in many of the wartime photographs were the addition of steel rod or flat stock added to the turrets for stowing various packs, blanket rolls and other soft stowage. In addition other items such as helmets or even rubber overshoes are hung up high to be more accessible and to an extant above the mud. I decided that in order to insure that it would be durable during handling that I would hammer out a piece of iron wire to approximate the shape and size I needed. Once the turret is painted I can add the support by gluing the ends into holes drilled into the turret and add stowage. I also decided to replace the headlight, tail light and siren guards with some prints that were a bit more refined and detailed up the tool tie downs. I am sure that before it is all said and done I will add other similar improvements as I add stowage. An easy to add detail at this point was to drill the mounting holes along the lower edge of the hull where the fenders would have been mounted. I also remembered to add the small exit pipe for the auxiliary generator that vented out of the crew compartment at the left rear fender. It was made from small brass tubing that had the walls thinned down from the. Inside and then was crimped to an oval with small pliers to simulate that detail on a real vehicle. I think I will also try to improve the exhaust deflector, but more on that later. The last thing I did before priming the tank was to drill the drain holes through the vertical splash guards that protects the turret and various filler caps, a small but interesting detail.
