Roco T-54 Tank Project and Sherman Tanks

Despite working on the Roco T-54 tanks, I have also found a few minutes to paint some resin and Paul Heiser Sherman tanks.  The ones on the right are Sherman Jumbo tanks.  The Jumbo was built with massive extra armor.  My last major project was to build my Sherman tanks, but I did not paint most of them.  So on a good weather day, on a day when I have a little time, I can whip out a few Shermans and paint them.  I always keep my Testers Olive Drab spray paint on hand.

Roco Minitanks T-54 tanks that have been fully assembled and ready for combat.  Tanks that are fully unpainted are not going to be painted until all the tanks are assembled.  That way I have a better idea of what colors may be most important.

The T-54 boneyard.  The gray tank is a T-54 from some generic Chinese company.  It is very slightly larger than the Roco T-54 tank, just as the Roco tank is slightly larger than the actual Russian made T-54 tank models.

Here is my collection of right side T-54 tank track assemblies, about half of them have massive mold flaws.  I don't have corresponding left side T-54 tank track assemblies.

Some of my Roco T-54 tanks have these little truck type wheels on them for some unknown reason.

I removed then and will likely use them for other purposes.

Wheel close up.
 

Painting Trucks and Tanks

Still painting the little Christmas trucks.

And a Paul Heiser M46 tank.

Two more Christmas trucks, this time in Air Force blue.  Pick up trucks were all over the Cold War US military.

Painting the olive drab over the gray primer.  Since I had to strip the paint off the trucks and the Heiser Models are resin, both do well with a primer paint first.

Rust-Oleum Gloss Deep Blue is the color for the Air Force trucks.  I think I was moving when I took this fuzzy photo.

More olive drab for the trucks.  I constructed beds for about a third of the trucks.

They look much better with the beds but it is a lot of work.

I always paint the top and bottom of my vehicles.
 

M46 Tank

More work on the little trucks but also on a Heiser Models M46 that I got from Fidelis Models.

https://fidelismodels.com/blogs/hobby-advice/heiser-models-m46-patton-tank-resin-model 

It is a great model and easy to put together.

Painted and unpainted.  It was an interim tank design, basically an M26 turret with an M47 hull and engine.

They were used in the Korean War by the US Army.

Work on the little Christmas trucks continues.

Flail Fleet

All three mine flails.

Each is a little different.

Different tank, or different version.

Active flailing and inactive flail.

Probably be great for riot control.
 

Mine Flailing

I got the mine roller drum part in a collection I purchased decades ago.

It uses wires inserted into holes in the drum to simulate the chains. 

There are little bits of glue along the wire to simulate the small balls they put on the chain to weight the chains.

I actually have two of these and they were mounted on basic bits of plastic.  So I refurbished them.

I mounted them on improved Sherman models, and added a lot of detail to the mine flail.

Then painted it.
 

Sherman Mine Flail

This is a Sherman tank with a mine flail.

It consists of a rotating drum with chains attached to it.

The drum turns and the chains beat the ground.

The beating chains explode the mine.  This tank is part Roco, the hull, and part Heiser models.  The rear deck has been partially covered to hide the incorrect engine vents that the Roco hull has on it.

 

Heiser Truck

Heiser Models tend to give spare tires, steering wheels, and trailer hitches.  They often come with rear view mirrors also, but I don't use those.

The interior is nicely detailed, with the ribs on the floor of the truck.

The footboard has a spare gas can.

The bottom has minimal detail, and the axles are designed to allow the wheels to roll, I usually just glue them in solid.

They come unassembled and unpainted in a little plastic bag with a cardboard header card.  Nice detail on the seats.

 

Resin Cast Truck

WWII US Army 1 1/2 ton Dodge truck, by Heiser Models.  I got this truck about 20 years ago and it has held up well.

This is a resin cast model, hand made.

A master modeller, Paul Heiser, makes an original model in pieces that can be resin cast.

He then makes a makes a mold of those pieces, and casts them one at a time.  Heiser models makes probably 200 different model kits although they rotate through production and are difficult to find.

Consistent with the limitations of casting they produce highly detailed models that are of average difficulty and durable enough to work well in wargames.  They can be built using super glue or 5 minute epoxy for assembly.  Windshields can be fragile but are quickly repaired.  Regular model tools work fine for cutting, drilling, sanding, and filing.  Regular model paints work well, but a good primer is a good idea since the usual color of the resin is yellowish and can be hard to cover well without it.
 

On My Workbench

I am working on a bunch of vehicles that are in my collection.  These are Filament Fighters from Fidelis Models.

This is from some company called Railroad Connections, and it's 3D printed.

The 6x6 truck is a Roco and the others are Filament Fighters.

Sherman tank Aunt Jemima mine rollers, Roco and Heiser models, the M18 Hellcat is Filament Fighters.

Roco 2 1/2 ton truck, I got it with partial paintjob and I touched it up.  All the others were unassembled and unpainted.  I have been working on these and a few others for the last couple weeks.