US M4A1 Platoon, 15mm, Flames of War

 

This is a platoon build of five American M4A1 Shermans, from February 2009. A Flames of War platoon box, it came with solid resin hulls and metal accessories. I don't believe the decals came with the box set, but rather from a separate decals sheet bought to outfit several boxed sets over time. The turrets are loose, and I had not learned about using rare earth magnets to secure them in place yet, but may do so in the future (alternatively. a little BluTac works nicely for that purpose).

 

 

 

 

These were not only my first experience with miniatures building and painting, but also remain a favorite finished product on minis. They have been used in Flames of War and Axis & Allies Miniatures gaming, and always get high marks of appraisals. I still to this day, really like using Folk Art acrylics, as they go on nicely and are dependable. Being a cheaper line of art acrylics, the manufacturer uses a cheaper pigment in the mixing of their brand -- this means the pigments are bigger, which translates to a "sandier" consistency, though extremely small to the eye -- which looks more realistic on these armor miniatures, mimicking the metal used in construction.