T26E4

Dan M
Decided to start working on this prototype to break away from painting other models. The kit seems ok, the only bad surprise that I got opening the box was the fact that HB decided to pack two different sets of vinyl tracks but no individual links (like in the other M26 kits they got). The tracks look pretty detailed though, will have to see how they go along with the rest of the model before I decide to go down the path of extra stuff.

Dan M
Some more work cleaning the wheels and making progress with the suspension; the kit is really nice so far. The suspension could be workable but the pieces are so small and fiddly that I will probably end up gluing all of them in place

Ingo F
Ok, i am in. 🙂

Dan M
Welcome aboard Ingo 🙂

Ingo F
Thanks Dan. And again an tank that look interesting and should be fun to build.
Man i definitely need more time for this hobby. 😄😄😄

Dan M
Day 2: finished with the suspension on the other side and as I suspected I had to glue everything as the pistons kept falling off. Work started on the engine.

Dan M
Thank you James. Yes, I quite like the kit so far, the upper hull and parts of the lower hull have a nice casting texture on it. The fit is quite tight in some places but nothing that can't be fixed by a little sandpaper 🙂

Dan M
Very small update as I didn't had a lot of time 🙁. Finished the small auxiliary generator (only 6 parts involved 🙂 ) and the engine with the differential but I didn't attach the exhaust pipes as I want to paint them separately all weathered up. Did a test fit of the engine in the engine bay area of the lower hull, looks good so far. I'm quickly reaching the point where I need to start painting the interior before adding more stuff.

Dan M
Kept adding more stuff; this time to the upper hull. You need to make lots of holes in it to fit in some very small pieces; wasn't easy but at the end of the day i'm pleased with the result

Ingo F
Looks good Dan. 👍

Dan M
Thank you Ingo!

Ingo F
Dan, are you going to paint the interior?

Dan M
Yes, I will, I plan to either leave the engine deck panels opened to see the engine or (most probably this option) I will not glue the upper hull so it can be lifted and the interior seen. This would have been best if the kit had the full interior but alas it's only the engine.
For the moment I stopped with the interior work since I cannot proceed without painting and I continue with the upper hull exterior stuff.

Dan M
Managed to finish most of the upper hull (with the exception of the engine deck access panels which will be last) and also most of the turret upper half. There were lots of very small and fragile pieces requiring careful separation from the sprue. Cleanup also proved to be a nightmare for some of these pieces (one of the chains on the front fenders broke off when I was attempting to sand away the sprue connection point so I had to glue it in)
The turret ring is a little too large for the upper hull and it wouldn't fit so it's time for some sanding.
Work has been progressing slowly due to the very hot weather which is why I keep postponing the painting phase.

Dan M
Well, now the kit is almost complete from an assembly point of view. I say almost because some of the internal components on the engine bay still need some work, but that will come after painting the interior.
So, now the next steps will be about painting the kit. And since building is (almost) complete it's time for some conclusions on the kit itself:

1. My, what a big gun! It's certainly impressive.
2. Detail is very good on a lot of areas of the kit. Most of the ejector pins are hidden (except the ones on the engine compartment)
3. The fit was not as good as I thought in the beginning. In fact it required some heavy sanding on my side to make sure everything fitted together. The turret was one of the main issues as the turret ring was way too tight on the hull for it to be inserted properly.
4. I still have to fit the tracks and see if I keep them or replace them with Bronco workable ones. The vinyl tracks look well detailed and they might sit well but until I try it I won't know for sure.
5. The wheels will not sit unless glued on (too much space available here); this is part of the reason why I haven't yet tried to fit the tracks as I want to paint the wheels separately
6. There are no clear parts included in the kit but at least the kit doesn't have empty spaces like the Trumpeter's PT-76.

Please excuse the crappy pictures that I took lately.

Dan M
Finally managed to find some time to start on the painting. Painted interior with white and the exterior with Vallejo's Olive Drab primer (only the turret and the upper hull for now). Also tested the Vallejo Metal Color range on some of the internal components and the vinyl tracks. Now all of them are in shiny shiny steel 🙂. I really love these metalics, Alclad may be a tad better but at least these are acrylics.

Dan M
Thank you James 🙂

I've also painted the lower hull and the wheels (and this tank has a lot). Next I need to do some color modulation or at least some highlighting and to be honest I think I need to change the hue of the Olive Drab color. Since this is a tank built at the end of WWII I think it should be more towards green. Looking at pictures I see that OD in the beginning of WWII had a more brownish-yellowish (kind of ochre) hue, while towards the end it started to veer towards green-grey. While towards Vietnam era it's almost a very dark green.

Anybody has any advice on what I should try ? I'm thinking of doing a filter with a thinned Vallejo 71013 Yellow Olive or 71015 DarkGreen RLM71, maybe 71016 USAF OD (but this is not right for an Army tank ?). Any ideas anyone ?

Dan M
Some small update with the engine fitted in

Dan M
I've almost forgot about this work-in-progress so i've started the weathering process 🙂. Not gonna do much as I like the idea of a freshly-built prototype.

Dan M
And final assembly of all pieces .... Have to admit I like the look of the little beast 🙂

Ingo F
Looks very good Dan! 👍 Like the color of that beast.

Dan M
Thank you Ingo and James! Glad you like it 🙂