Winter Whitewash: Tamiya 1/48 Sherman M4A1

Readers will have seen Conscript Greg's copious updates on progress made with his winter WW2 Germans. He's amassed quite a few models in his project. And as these things go, his progress inspired me to assemble some opponents to face those Germans, if the coronavirus pandemic ever allows us to get together in person again, of course...

Fortunately I didn't have to go far for this Tamiya M4A1 kit... it was in the "Model Kits - Unbuilt" box in the basement, and went together very quickly. I built it as the later version.

I also used some resin stowage bits on this kit - the pile of stuff on the rear deck as well as the spare track links etc. on the front of the model are both from "Value Gear", an ebay seller offering tons of 1/48 stowage bits.

I painted the model Catachan Green and applied decals, then started in with the whitewash treatment. This consisted of stippled Rakarth Flesh to create a nice light base, followed by more stippled White Scar. I left a margin around the insignia markings as you see on most period photos. The vehicle was then mudded up with Rhinox Brown and Mournfang Brown.

I used a synthetic broom bristle for the antenna - these seem to work well and are pretty hardy.

Here's a better view of the Value Gear stowage.

Ready for some winter battles against Greg's Germans! Of course, it will likely be summer by the time we're able to get together...! But in the meantime, stay tuned for some more winter US Army content...