Nice work Dave !

I built my Sheridan OOB and lilked it. Imagine you.

Cheers !

Marco

Thanks Marco. That's what modeling is all about. Build for yourself and build for fun.

Dave

I have been working on the Smoke Grenade launchers and the turret detail.

First, for anyone building this kit and using the Eduard Etched set, BEWARE! The Eduard instructions tells you to trim off the boxes on the outside of the Grenade launchers. I did this only to find out that they should not have been trimmed off. So I had to add them back on. Once I did that and mounted them to the turret sides, I added all the accompanying conduit for the wiring and then moved on to the ammo can holders and tie downs.

The holders are cut from styrene angle rod and the tie downs are from the Eduard set. On the right side of the turret, I added the 50 Cal storage mounts. These were used when the Sheridan was air dropped.

As you can see from the pictures, most of the sub assemblies are done. I still need to add the storage rack on the back of the turret and then start on the road wheels and track.











Again, comments and questions are always welcome.

Dave

great build so far,i realy like the work you have done
great stuff.

Dave
Great kit bash. Its looking fantastic!!!!!! The extra details u put into this build will be
well worth it in the end. I think the commanders gun shields are top notch. Keep up the
Great work. Always looking fwd to your updated blog

Thanks for the comments Roy and Todd.

I'm working on a modified bustle rack that I saw on an 82nd ABN Sheridan in 1975 at Ft. Brag. I hope to have an update sometime this weekend.

Dave

Well, after several attempts and restarts, I finally finished the Turret basket. I first tried doing it in angle strip, but with additional research found that it was actually made out of tubing. So I started again with plastic rod. Once that was done, I added the metal mesh (plastic mesh that comes with the Acadamey kit). I cut it to size and glued it between the rod. The support rib on the bottom is angle stock as per the actual vehicle.







Next I need to decide on what figures I will be using so I can build platforms for them in the turret. Once I get that done, I can glue the turret together and mount the basket.

The next big project will be the asembly of the Friul tracks.

Dave

I got the turret basket attached to the turret and now have assembled all of the sub-assemblies so you can get an idea of how the overall model looks. The blue tape is just there to temporarily hold the top and bottom of the hull together.











The road wheels are assembled, but I will wait and attach them later.

I have started assembling the three figures I will be using and will post pictures of them next week.

Next big project will be the Fruilmodel tracks. Wish me luck, this will be my first time using Fruilmodel tracks.

Dave

Luck? With your skills you don't need no stinkin' luck! Great build. Al

Looks like a great build Dave. Admire all your own touches.

Dave the basket looks great,those tracks are beyond my building skills
so i wish you luck but you dont need that.

Dave it's looking really good. I wish we had bustle racks like that when I drove one.

Tom

Hey All,

Thanks for your comments Guys.

I finished up the Fruilmodel Tracks and did a primer coat on the model.

The tracks were not that difficult, only labor and time intensive. It took me several days to drill out the links and then connect and glue them. Turns out there are 102 links per side. I used AK Interactive's Track Burnisher on the finished tracks. It is easy and works great. One caution, make sure there is no glue on the outside of the tracks, as the liquid will not work on the metal it covers. But any exposed metal should cover during weathering.



The primer coat ( I used Mr Surfacer 500 ) has helped point out some areas that I will have to give a little more attention before painting, so that is the next task.







More to follow later.

As usual all questions and comments are welcome.

Dave

Fantastic work there Dave! Been great to follow your build. Now get some paint on it please so AFV Club can announce the imminent release of new M551 kit

Cheers,
E

That looks really nice Dave.

looks great Dave,very nice work.

Dave, just finished reading through your whole build thread to this point. Simply outstanding scratch building, and kit bashing work. Way past what I can ever hope to accomplish.
Looking forward to seeing the 155 painted and weathered.

Joel

Thanks Erik, Jesse and Roy for the comments. I appreciate the support.

Joel - First thanks for your comments. Secondly, there was a time when I too did not have these skills. Practice, failure and the help from a lot of fellow modelers and many articles got me here. I still don't have the skills of some of the better modelers, but I strive to improve with each project. You too someday will have better skills, but you have to work at it and believe you can do it. Your words are kind, but don't ever sell yourself short.

I have now corrected the flaws that the primer coat showed, and I should start painting tomorrow.

Again, thanks to everyone for your comments and encouragement.

Dave

Hi Everyone,

Yes it has been several weeks since I last posted, but I have been working. I did the MERDC Winter color scheme on my Sheridan. I also have painted and attached most of the stowage. I am still working on the Searchlight, but will have that finished in the next few days. Next will be the weathering etc., and then I will start on painting the figures. I'm still a long way from finished, but I'm getting there...if sometimes at a snail's pace

Following are some pictures of the vehicle.











The tracks are just in place to test the fit. I still have some work to do on them.

As always, your questions and comments are welcome.

Dave

Dave
Outstanding job.!!! Love the MERDEC scheme. Dont forget to do alittle weathering. Looks great and , the details added came out great as well.
Todd

Very, very nice!

Tell us more about your choice of paint and the colors that you used. It looks spot on.

G

I used Model Master Acryl colors that matched the corresponding FS colors for the MERDC paint scheme.

MM Dark Green #4726 - FS#34079
MM Olive Drab #4728 - FS#34087
MM Armor Sand #4711 - FS#32077
MM Flat Black #4788 - FS#37038

I first spray painted the entire model Dark Green, then sprayed on the Olive Drab, and then the Flat Black. I hand painted the Armor Sand since there was so little of it. I also touched up some of the other colors by hand where it was needed.

The pattern is the standard Winter, US & Europe, verdant. This can be found in David Doyle's M551 Sheridan in Action.

I hope this helps. If not, let me know what else you need to know.

Dave

Dave,that is a great build,love the cammo,very nice work well done.

Great job! I spent three years running around Germany in a Sheridan from 1975 to 1978 in the 2nd Cav. I was disappointed with the newer Academy and was scolded by a well known reviewer for saying the old tamiya version was more accurate. I am still working on mine that will represent my track "Coprolite"! I hope some other company will give us a better model in the future. I can tell you the Sheridan does not deserve the bad press it often gets. It served in Nam, Cold War Europe, Panama and Desert Storm. It was fast, nimble and if properly maintained a nice recon vehicle. A 155mm Cannon loaded with a beehive round is devastating.Once again, great work.

Hey Edward. Thanks for the comments. I was in Germany from '77 to '80 but was with the 1st ID Forward. The co-located Cav had Sheridans when I got there, but soon traded them in for M60s. I always thought the Sheridan was a unique vehicle and wished some company would put out an accurate model. But for now I will just have to create my own. BTW, if you have any pointers on the accuracy of my model, I would welcome them. There is nothing like hands-on experience.

Dave