This 10mm metal American medium tank was sold by “Pendraken Miniatures” as Code A10 - Sherman M4A4, no skirts, 75mm gun. However, it now appears to have been superseded by a much more detailed product under Code AMV30 - M4 Sherman, 75mm. Originally, I had thought about selling it, along with five more of the same model, on "eBay". But having recently found my love of World War Two reignited by a game of "Flames Of War", thought I'd instead bring the 'dirty half-dozen' to life with a straightforward paint-job, and just maybe start the beginnings of a 'Battle Of The Bulge" Allied force.
Resultantly, the M4 Sherman's turret was super-glued in place and then the two-piece ensemble stuck to a plastic 30mm x 40mm rectangle. It was then undercoated with two layers of "Vallejo" USA Olive Drab, washed with "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade, and dry-brushed with (more) "Vallejo" USA Olive Drab. Disappointingly this process didn't work anywhere near as well as I had hoped, as some bizarre chemical reaction (perhaps due to something on the tanks themselves) caused the "Citadel" Shade to disintegrate areas of the "Vallejo" prime.
However, having first applied a mixture of "Vallejo" Surface Primer Black and "Citadel" Abaddon Black over the entire tank, the pigmentation process proved successful when tried a second time. The tracks and wheels were next treated to a combination of "Vallejo" Gunmetal and a double-helping of "Citadel" Nuln Oil, whilst the medium tank's prominent track/wheel mechanisms were repainted using a little (more) "Vallejo" USA Olive Drab and "Citadel" Reikland Fleshshade. Finally, I decided to apply a trio of Allied Stars to the M4 Sherman using some supplied by "Decal Details", as well as the title "Ol' Reliable" from their 10mm US Armour Names and Slogans sheet.
With the last of the Middlesborough-based manufacturer's 10mm M4 Shermans finished I have spent some time on the final two 15mm 7.5cm Anti-Tank Gun teams I need to complete to field a full-strength platoon for "Flames Of War". I've now finished all the camouflage on both Panzerabwehrkanone 40s and am slowly working my way through all their crew - some of which are being progressed separately on MDF painting sticks.
I'm really enjoying both this range and rule-set currently, so need to get these finished before my Berlin: German army book by "Battlefront Miniatures" arrives. The Third Reich's Last Stand is a particularly interesting period of World War Two for me, so I have already pre-ordered both a Volksturm Platoon and Hitlerjugend Platoon to accompany the Panzergrenadiers and 12cm mortar teams I've already painted as part of my 50-point D-Day German Beach Defence Company.
Lastly, I have applied a "Citadel" Agrax Earthshade wash on a handful of my 3D printed Aquaphibians produced by "Big Mr Tong". As my main target for this month is to field fifteen of these Supermarionation series minions, along with a slew of Mike Tongue's recently released Silurians from "Doctor Who", I really need to get a move on. But feel the others won't take too long to complete once this initial 'pilot force' from "Stingray" is finished and I've settled on the aquatic humanoid species' palette...