Taigen Sherman Road Wheel Bushing - Replacement

[sclui56]

Spent the afternoon running the M4A3 76 in the grass, only to realize two road wheels came off, found the wheels (screws hanging onto the bogies), but not the brass bushings. BTW, I checked all the wheels and loctite the screws in the last 30 days, not sure why these 2 came off, in fact, one of the bogies was loose, worst yet it's the one block by the gearbox.

Reached out to Erik but was told the M3 brass bushings are not available as parts, only way is to buy a set of road wheels. To his credit, he did look around for orphan parts in the warehouse to no avail. I ended up with DIY fix using brass tubes, outer 3/16 & inner 5/32 (just right for the M3 screw). This will have to do for now.

If anyone knows of a source, please tell. TIA.

.

[RichJohnson]

I telescoped a few sizes Of brass tube to make them up.
I had the same problem on one or two tanks. I have a lot of taigen shermans.

[sclui56]

Rich,

Appreciate the confirm, the mixing of brass tubes works fine so far. I should actually prepare a few more sets just to have some ready. Thanks.

[DavidN]

Thank you for the warning. I better prepare for this issue as I plan to run my Taigen Sherman M4A3 76 soon. I will repaint it tomorrow (it rains in southern Cali today ). I just don't like those big black stripes on it.

[sclui56]

Yep, freaky storm for sure, not least bit unwelcomed though, wonder if it put a dent in the fires. I will wait a bit before repainting, meanwhile, a layer of flat toned down the stripes somewhat.

[RichJohnson]

I am not a fan of the black stripes either.
it should be 319 olive drab with a slight gloss finish.
lone way to achieve the color is to spray your OD then overspray with a satin or semi gloss to bring the color to life. It should not be flat.
I used to mix Tamiya into a great color but they changed their formula early this year. So pick your brand of paint and expirement before you paint the model. Most brands of OD are not correct and look bad,
the color of 319 as new is what’s on my M32. It gets lighter with sun fading but remember, tanks in Europe really didn’t get a lot of sun after being delivered in summer and fighting into winter.

[sclui56]

Rich,

Already ordered the 319 per your other message. I did use semi-gloss (not flat), my mistake. Wished Taigen did not glue down the parts though.

[DavidN]

Rich,

Already ordered the 319 per your other message. I did use semi-gloss (not flat), my mistake. Wished Taigen did not glue down the parts though.

I ordered the same color too. When I repainted the Tiger I, the parts came off easily. They were really glued down hard on this M4A3 76. I could not get them off. I just have to hand painted those tools later.

[DavidN]

Rich,

Already ordered the 319 per your other message. I did use semi-gloss (not flat), my mistake. Wished Taigen did not glue down the parts though.

Does the decal set from your tank come with 1 or 2 "USA" decals? Mine only have 1 :-(

[RichJohnson]

Yeah the laquer by MCW 319 is just a perfect color.
As opposed to the enamel 319 they make in the little bottle, it’s like tree green, bleh… funny how one line can be so off in color from the other line.
the large bottles of laquer spray so so nice, but beware, it is a very thin paint so gentle slow even light coats and it will come out perfect.
and they don’t make the 319 laquer in flat, it’s not supposed to be flat. It was a slight gloss finish so when your paint dries it will be glossy, apply decals, then overspray with a satin or semi gloss clear coat. Then go get it dirty,

I am starting to expirement with Tamiya again to see if they have resolved their color formula issues yet.

[sclui56]

Does the decal set from your tank come with 1 or 2 "USA" decals? Mine only have 1 :-(

2 of those.

[sclui56]

Yeah the laquer by MCW 319 is just a perfect color..

Wait minute, did you say lacquer? I don't see that they have 319 in lacquer, only flat enamel in small bottle.

[DavidN]

Somehow they only included 1 in my set:

[RichJohnson]

Yep, not the enamel, the laquer. The enamel is an ugly color.

https://mcwfinishes.com/shop/ols/categories/american---armor

the 319 would be any equipment built after December 43 and the QM22 would be a thing before that, though a flat overcoat is required for 22 since it was lusterless.

[DavidN]

Because of the outer rubber road wheels issue, I did not want to take them off to paint the new OD color. So I decided to stay closed to the color painted by Taigen and eliminate the black stripes. Here is my new Taigen M4A3/76:

[DavidN]

[sclui56]

Haven't really done much with mine other than opening up the diffuser and toning down the black stripes, no time to strip for repaint so this will do.

[RichJohnson]

Nice work guys.
I like your nice paint work.

[sclui56]

Rich, had an upper hull and Tami TS-5, decided to give it a spin. The left is the Taigen factory toned-down and right is the Tami OD. Will eventually reshoot.

[RichJohnson]

The Tamiya OD paint used to be a tad too dark and needed dark yellow mixed into it by a 4-1 or 7-3 ratio. Then when they added the sticker to the lid in 2021 they changed the color formula and added brown to it.
I have been hopping the color change would get noticed and they would fix it.
when the local hobby shop gets a new order in stock I will buy a bottle and test it again as I did really like my mixed formula.

though that MCW Laquer is so nice looking.