From JasperO: Shermans for The Armoury (63 points)

Hurray! I've made it to the end of the Challenge without burning out and despite waylaying myself with several (still unfinished, of course) projects along the way. These two Shermans, however, had been properly planned before the Challenge started, and had been ready to go, primed and all on December 21st, ready to slot into the Armoury when, actually really if, I got there. But I did, just in time, and I finished them, just in time (about 15 minutes ago, in fact).

Both models are from the wonderful range of Shermans that Rubicon offers. I used to build tank models, a long time ago, and I felt almost stymied by the bewildering quantity of super-detailing options on offer. These are just right: the mix-and-match features of the kits allow you to build just about any Sherman variant you might want, and come with enough detail that is fun to paint without 'requiring' weeks of work to get them finished to some hyper-detailed level. (This is just how my brain work, your mileage hopefully varies).

I'm glad I included some crewmembers to provide scale and color, as an olive-drab tank can otherwise get a bit, well, drab. Rubicon includes driver/radio operator busts that have to be installed during construction which makes painting them a bit awkward, but if you leave the heads separate, it's fine. The shoulder area is hardly visible at all, in the end.

Contemporary photos always seem to show especially American Shermans festooned with stowage and as that adds color and interest too, I grabbed bits from a variety of sets and stuck them all over liberally. It's a bit of extra work in the end, but adds a lot to the final impression, I think. Points-wise, two tanks are 40 points, 20 points for the armoury and one each for the 'head-and-shoulders'?

The Challenge has certainly allowed me to stay focused better than I might otherwise (it's relative, but still...), and a certain pressure does help to get things done. So it's been good! Thank you so much to Curt for organizing it again, to the Minions for being encouraging and doing the hard work, to Lady Sarah for allowing me to skip Chambers I didn't want to deal with, and to all the other contenders for the inspiring work!