Jon,
Looks like an interesting build.

Got some more work on the GMC, did the storage compartment for the back just have the doors and mounts left.

Cheers Rob.

Also finished up the gun for the T19.

Cheers Rob.

Great progress everyone! Can't believe that it's only 7 weeks till finish...

Rob, great progress! The PE rack looks great!

Jon, looking forward to that M15. I'm still hoping DML will release one as it's my favorite variant. Hope they won't make the decision based on the sales of the M21... I'm sure that was probably the least sought after variant.

So, I made some progress too, these pics are actually already outdated. Meanwhile it's all fixed together, interior painted and ready for the Marine's sand color camo. Not much to see at the moment though and I didn't take any pics without the "masking goo".





Hope to post some pics after camo soon.

Keep the progress coming!

Cheers!
Stefan

hello all, here are the pictures of my scout car finished.
steph

Hey steph

Your scout car looks great. I wish I could do canvas and tarps that well.. the weathering gives it that been there done that look.

Delbert

cheers

DELBERT ,thank you
steph

Been a while since my last update. Still chuggin' along, just not really fast. Had it pre-shaded in black, now have the 1st coat of OD on her. Plan to hit it a couple times with lightened green. Then final assembly and detail painting.








Thanks for looking.

John

I'm actually just getting started today. This has morphed into something quite a bit larger, but the M15 is going to be the central piece. Basically what I'm looking at doing is an intersection in a European village (not sure where yet, or even if an incident like this happened) where a US AAA unit was moving in while a German SP artillery unit was moving out.

The advance elements of the AAA Battalion caught the last Hummel as it was headed out of town, and a well-placed bazooka round to the driver's compartment caused the Hummel to careen out of control and hit a building. The gun crew is in the process of bailing out (DML Georgian Legion surrendering figures) while the lead element M15 comes around the corner providing cover for the dismounts taking the Hummel crew prisoner.

I've pretty much got all of the elements on hand right now and the Hummel is already in primer. I've spent a good portion of the day working on six GI figures (DML 1950 Pusan Perimeter and two from 2nd Armored Normandy, although they're in regular HBTs, not camo).

I'm going to start assembling the M15 tonight. So, what I need to nail down now is a crew for the M15. Suggestions?

I picked up a set from New World Miniatures for a US Halftrack crew. #35020. There are a few different sets from just the driver to 2 to 6 figures. Not sure if they are all still in production, but I found them online and eBay too.

John

Thanks John!

I'll probably grab the driver set (Spruebrothers), but I need to find a good gun crew for the turret. The other NWM figs are all in relaxed poses.

Jon

Just cracked the box and pulled the sprues out of the bag. This one's gonna be fun!

Of course, this begs the question, 'what do I do with the howitzer?'

I've got a spare Tamiya M4A3 sitting around here. Maybe I need to kitbash my own Priest...

Naaaaaaah

Ok, so, this halftrack will be an M15 from the 486th AAA (AW) Bn in March 1945. I'll have some pics up this evening.

Slow but steady progress tonight. Since this is going to be a combat diorama, I'm not worrying about the engine compartment so much. I would definitely like to do one in the future where I can open up the hood and detail the crap out of the engine though!

In any case, I did some work on the turret tonight. Put a bunch of the ammo lockers in place, cut down the front armor and sanded down the bolt detail. The bolt patterns are correct, but the heads are extremely large and need to be toned down some.

Tomorrow I'm going to shoot a turret walkaround and see what the mount differences between the M15 and M15A1 are. There's probably going to be some serious scratchbuilding there, but oh well...

Steph, your M3 came out great. The wind shield arrangement looks really strange on that one. Was it removed to lover the armored shutter?

Jon, great to see the M15 coming along. Also like the idea of your story, I assume this would have been late in the war when AAA Bns were more likely to be in the front?

Cheers!
Stefan

Thanks Stefan!

Got the T19 almost ready for paint.
I opened up the slot in the bracket for the grill lever? didn't take much work and looks a lot better(not that you can see it):D
finished the cab interior and the fighting compartment.

Cheers Rob.

Stefan,

From going through their unit history, there are 2 major points where the 486th took a significant amount of prisoners. One was in September 44 and the other was in late March 45. In both cases, M15 crews were mentioned by name. With most AAA(AW) battalions, they were in a direct support role throughout their tenure with the division, so they did see a lot of front line combat.

The 486th has the distinction of being the first AAA unit in Germany (Sept 44) and the first AAA unit to engage the Me262.

I'll post some walkaround pics later today if anyone else is looking to do an M15A1.

Jon

hello ,
thank you STEFAN,
this is the look "weird" that I liked. pictures watch that there is not windscreen in place, as usual, on the M3A1 scout car or the halftracks. the M2A1 and M3 have the windshield that folds over the front to allow the flap to close the armored shutter . (if I understood your question)
steph

Here's a few shots of our M15A1. It's missing a few components (firing cables, etc), but is about 90% complete.

Made some more progress on the tub tonight. There's some significant warping on the gun cradle and some major air bubbles. I had to remove the machine gun mounts and will have to graft them back on somehow.

Going into this, I knew there were differences between the M15 and M15A1 mounts. With the M15, they basically just took the M2A1 37mm gun mount and stuck it on a halftrack with only minor modification. The M15A1 simplified the mount and gunner arrangement to ease production. So, mounting the seats is going to be simple. Some plastruct I-beams on the floor and a little scratchbuilding and I will have both gunner's seats done. The controls, however, are significantly different and much more compact on the M15A1.

Overall, it's moving along nicely! More pics soon!

Jon

Rob, great progress! I'm not sure I have that part on my M3, could be I missed it? In any case it's too late now...

Jon, thanks for all the pics! Nice walk around! Maybe you should send them to DML and hope they get the hint?

Here's my current status (as of 5 mins. ago). Painted, including details, waiting for washes and weathering:




No markings on this one afaik. Here's the stowage that will go onto and in it (primed in white by now and ready for paint):


Cheers!
Stefan

Stefan,

Good idea. Email to DML has been sent. Lookin good on the M3 GMC!

I'm hoping to get more M15 work done tonight.

Jon

Here's my latest progress with the M15A1. I need to cut some channels in the bed so I can fit it down over the frame, but otherwise it's moving forward steadily.

Ok guys, I've gotta ask, does anyone do replacement tracks for the Tamiya kits? I decided to continue work on my Tamiya M16 with additions from the Dragon kit that I'm doing as the M15A1 and it's coming along well. I just need to figure out how to avoid those vinyl tracks. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Jon