M4A3 (76) HVSS just off the boat

[Guest]

I have never heard of methfix transfers … doing a quick bit of searching, I think I get the idea, though. Luckily I have plenty of spares from this sheet that I could try it with, though I must say I’m a bit wary of using any alcohol on a model painted in acrylics, so I’ll have to experiment with that too before actually trying it on this model.

[Tim Marlow]

Did you find this?

https://hmrs.org.uk/transfers/p-or-m

[Guest]

I googled it and found its summary of that page Elsewhere, where I asked much the same question, someone recommended putting the transfer into lukewarm water for a bit. I’ll try one or the other method first on some spares, and if it doesn’t work, go for the other one I suppose …

[Guest]

In the mean time, I began painting the dock worker. After giving him a grey primer base coat, I painted his face and hands:

[ATTACH]408656[/ATTACH]

Unfortunately, my skills in this area have deteriorated a bit over the past decade or so due to insufficient practice and somewhat shakier hands than before I painted him with Tamiya flesh plus some white, to down down the orange and make it appear a bit more like he’s in the cold, then added shadows with the same mix plus some Army Painter red “quick shade” (ink) followed by highlights from the same flesh plus more white than the base colour.

[Jim R]

Hi Jakko
I reckon the figure is fine and will look the part when in place. I don't like those rub down transfers - I have a lot of failures. I hope you find a method to use the shipping stencils.
Have a good Christmas.
Jim

[Steven000]

Yes I think the head looks nice too, no worries.
would be great if you could add a cable/hook in it's final display-location, but might not be possible. Nice progress :thumb2:
Steven

[Guest]

Thanks, guys

I don't like those rub down transfers - I have a lot of failures. I hope you find a method to use the shipping stencils.

I find them to work okay but not as great as I had hoped. These seem to stick to the sheets far better than the old Verlinden ones I used to use fairly frequently 25–30 years ago, and that makes them much harder to use. The main trick, as far as I can tell, is to make sure you hold half the sheet firmly to the model while you rub the other half with a suitable tool¹ — vigorously but not so much that you move the sheet.You can carefully lift up the free side of the sheet to check the decal comes loose. Once done, ensuring you keep the sheet where it is, press the “finished” half down and rub the other half.

¹ I use a special dry-transfer rubbing tool that I got with a set of Smurfs transfers in the 1980s As an alternative, when I need to be more precise in where to apply pressure, a 2B or softer pencil also works well.

would be great if you could add a cable/hook in it's final display-location, but might not be possible.

That would require a base and some kind of crane on it, which is rather more effort than I intend to go to … this will simply be a stand-alone model without a base. I hope the figure’s pose conveys he’s beckoning something above the tank to come closer

[Guest]

Here’s the dock worker, finished or nearly so:

[ATTACH]408941[/ATTACH][ATTACH]408942[/ATTACH][ATTACH]408943[/ATTACH]

He looks better IRL than in these photos, and to get him looking half-decent in those, I had to photograph him against a “natural” background. When I tried it in my photo booth, he looked like I hadn’t shaded and highlighted him at all.

[Tim Marlow]

He looks good Jakko.

[Neil Merryweather]

Great job with the figure. Very original

[Steven000]

Lovely figure Jakko :thumb2:

[Guest]

Thanks I think he needs a little more work and matt varnish, though.

[Guest]

Finally got the markings done. Somebody sent me another (partly used) set of the yellow shipping markings that refused to work for me, and guess what … they didn’t want to come off the sheet either A second person then came to the rescue with the white versions of these same markings, and those finally did work! Hurrah!

[ATTACH]410310[/ATTACH]

You can also see the registration number towards the rear of the hull side, which I took from another set of Archer dry transfers.

Well, I say “took” … this actually required me to build up the number (U.S.A. 30115980) from five other markings, and that lead to the problem of how to get them in place and lined up correctly on the model, given that the largest of these was about 1.5 mm by 5 mm “big”. The solution turned out to be sticky tape:

[ATTACH]410306[/ATTACH]

This is all the separate pieces assembled on the tape, which I then just needed to trim to fit the model and stick in place:

[ATTACH]410307[/ATTACH]

Next, I had to carefully but firmly rub it all with a variety of implements, occasionally peeling back the tape carefully as well to check if the markings had come off yet. And then replace it equally carefully when it was obvious that no, not all of them had yet. All that work (times two, for the other side) eventually resulted in:

[ATTACH]410308[/ATTACH]

To perform this miracle, I used the following tools:

[ATTACH]410309[/ATTACH]

From left, that’s pointed tweezers, a hobby knife, the dry transfer rubbing tool I mentioned before that came with a set of Smurfs transfers 35 or more years ago, a sculpting/dentist’s tool and a 2B pencil.

[Jim R]

Hi Jakko
Well done with those numbers. It may have taken a lot of effort but worth it. Results looks neat. Glad you finally sorted the shipping markings.
Jim

[Guest]

Thanks, and yes, it does look like it was worth it in the end. When I was fiddling with those registration numbers I was hoping that nothing went wrong, as that would have meant even more effort trying to put together two more sets of numbers, because I couldn’t make the same number again from the sheet without an even greater amount of work than this already took. Luckily, nothing did go wrong — the registration number sheet was at least a lot better than the one with shipping stencils.