I've posted some pics of my Italeri M7 "Priest" 105mm howitzer motor carriage in my Armorama gallery. It's the old Italeri kit, which represents a late M7. I'm backdating it to be a relatively early vehicle as used in Sicily and Italy. It has a mix of early and mid-production features, as seen in many war-time photos. I want to finish it as a rather "lived-in" vehicle and have the over-sized circled stars on the sides.

Here's my first try to post a pic:

I have a Priest I am debating about building next. I got several kits I want to build. How did you like the kit overall?

Looking good Bob. I like the extras you added. I wish i could see the opposite side. Did you use an early or late pulpit? It looks like an early from this angle.
Will you be adding the extra armor on the sides that was used to "cover" the shell's tops?
The only thing I wish you did was use a three piece trans cover instead of the shard-nosed cast one. It's just that I have not seen the use of the early bogies with that (late) trans cover.
Where did you get the head lamps and the fuel covers from?
Please keep us posted as you progress. I just love these vehicles.

Oh, and nice job getting the image up!

It's not a bad kit. It has typical Italeri shortcomings, i.e., quite a few know-out pin marks to fill or otherwise deal with. OOTB, it's a very late or post-WWII vehicle. Basic fit is good, and Italeri provides a rudementary driver position interior.

The 105mm howitzer is almost a kit in itself. It takes a bit of time and patience, but it builds up nice.

I've replaced quite a few thngs on this kit:

The bogies are from the Tamiya M3 Lee kit with the correct Italeri five-spoke wheels. Drive sprokets are Academy parts. Tracks currently in place are Tamiya, but may be replaced -- I haven't decided yet.

The round-nose single-piece final drive housing is a left-over from an Academy M10 kit. Inside, I used a bootleg resin casting I made of a Sherman final drive and transmission, used some of the Italeri interior parts and added plenty of scratch-built details -- won't be able to see much of it when the kit is done, except in the driver position.

The machine gun "pulpit" was shortened and flashed in with sheet plastic. The folding armor panels and other exterior details were all shaved and sanded off.

Fenders were all cut down and thinned. A new grouser box was added to the front and the headlights replaced with more Lee parts and re-located up high as seen on most M7s. Headlight guards are made from leftover PE Sherman siren guards (glue thumbprint above left guard is one of my trademark botches -- don't worrym it's filled and sanded and [I hope]will disappear under paint).

The rear deck has the extra vents with armor covers added. Academy pioneer tools. Replaced tow cable. Added fuel drum mounts and fuel caps.

Other interior details include (after three tries) a new rear bulkhead with ports of oil coolers and oil filler spout. Filled knockout pin marks on seats; made new seat brackets. Cut down ammo bins to smaller 12-round bins. Relocated fire extinguishers. BTW, I had to take seats from two others kit to get enough.

I reckon this build is about 90% done -- still lots of bits to add.

Here are a couple more pics, Ken. Check the "My Gallery" link for more.

Its a fine work you have done there, my friend. All these bits you ve added will turn this lil thingy to a beauty. I ve build one many years ago OOTB and have much fun. The steel cable is made of ship roping? do you harden it with CA glue before painting. It will give it the hardness of steel.

Damn nice job you got going there ...I have been planning something like this for a while.. Love the interior work you've done ..I think I might have to agree with with Kencelot about the transmission cover...I'd have when with the three piece model ..but as we all know anything is possible in the great world of the Sherman.I just noticed that Tiger Model Designs have brought out a set of M-3 bogies ..would they be worth changing ?? Just asking ..don't know enough about the tamiya suspension to see the difference...
keep up the super job you are doing !! Oh did I say WOW! ? I meant to..

Rick

Thanks guys, I appreciate the support.

I did consider the three-piece nose, but I found a picture of a round-nose one-piece with M3 bogies somewhere and it stuck as an idea for this kit. I'd imagine that final drives were knocked out from time to time and had to be replaced. As far as I can ascertain, the round-nose was pretty much a bolts-off, bolts-on swap. I need to track down that photo again, to satisfy myself, if no one else. Too late in the build to go back now.

Goose: The cable is a left-over from either an Academy M12/M10/Achilles kit or the Formations M4A1 kit. All of these kits gave me extra nylon thread for more cables on my other kits. One of the extras in a kit that we all seem to forget to mention, but I save all useable scraps and parts.

Bob, please don't get me wrong ( I know you haven't... yet ) but I would love to see that pic too if you can find it. I for one, really love the idea of building "real world situational" vehicles. Field expedient mods and fixes were essential to keeping em in field.
I do honestly believe the account of the late nose with early bogies, I just have not seen one.

Keep us posted.

Roger that, Ken.

I, more than many others on this site, prescribe to the "I won't believe it until I see it" school of thought. I'll track that photo down .... I hope

OK, here's a shot that looks to me like an M7 with M3 bogies and a one-piece nose:

Arguably, this pic is of a test or training vehicle, but it shows the mix is possible.

Also, in the Squadron "U.S. Self-Propelled Guns in Action," the pic at the bottom of page 8 has a top view of an M7 with oodles of early features and a one-piece nose (gotta be a round one). While we cannot see the suspension, it doesn't seem a stretch to me that it's riding on M3 bogies.

That certainly works for me! Thanks!

You are cleared for continuation. LOL

Thank goodness -- I'm too deep into this to turn back now!! #:-)

Well,it is looking very good,from alll the work you are putting into it.
Will you add the 2 pipes next to the headlight guards? Those were the things that held the socket cover,when the headlights were in place?Those are my favorite spotting feature on Sherman based vehicles built by others.

I knew you'd find the picture ...like I said before ..almost anything id possible ..another thing that I'm seeing for the first time in your picture is the M-3 suspension with the later stamped wheels ...Who knew???? not me ..lol..

Rick

Gee, Carl, I hate to disappoint you, but I can't find any evidence of the headlight socket caps on the M7 with the high headlights. The headlights on this early M7 are actually the same as the M3 Lee/Grant, not the Sherman, so perhaps they were not removeable. I don't know. Pics of later M7s (like depicted by the OOTB Italeri kit) do show them on the headlight guards.

BTW, those cap holders are also one of the things I look for on Sherman models. They are so easy to add with just a segment of rod -- they are usually the last thing I add before painting. I was tickled when I got the Formations M4A1 kit and found that a pair were included -- I think Formations may be the only kits that include this detail.

But, Bob, we do expect those electrical leads/wires to be there.

If you insist.

There are a few other things on this I need to finish, too. Tie-downs, siren and mount, instrument panel, ammo tubes, rifles and holders, deck stowage, fuel cap handles and chains,stowage box details, crew gear and stowage ... best get busy!

Bob,very nice looking Priest How hard or easy was it to add on the Tamiya bogie units to the Italeri hull?

Bob, here is the same M7 "Finalist" with a clear shot of both both the bogies and the FDH! In color no less.
Damn I'm good!... just kidding.

thats a cool model to build i like all the add ons
cant waite 2 see it done

Wowzers, Ken! Where'd you find that? It looks like the same pose taken from a different angle and in color! Thanks -- I'll add this to my meager collection of "proof."

Zod-ster! Long time, no correspondence, Chad. The bogies go on pretty easy -- you just have to watch the height. I think I had to trim a bit off the bottom lip of each bogie to make it sit right. You might have to also knock off one or both of the pins on the bogie to make it fit -- I can't remember. To get the right height, I tacked a kit M4 bogie on in the middle with white glue, then lined up the two outside M3 bogies, and glued those with cement. Repeat on the other side. Popped off the temporaary center bogies and installed the last M3 bogies. All along, I kept checking level on a plate of glass I like to work on, as well as a straight-edge and square. It sounds more complicated than it is -- just watch the toe-in by checking alignment from the front and rear from time to time.

Tazz and all others: thanks for the support. I hope to get some serious work done on this over the three-day weekend! Dang, no football til August I'll just have to put on some classic rock and get to some modeling!

Bob,is this a Priest that was built on the M3 hull? The reason I ask is, because on all the type of Priest pics I've seen on the M3 hull,the lower hull was riveted like the M3 Lee I didn't know if all early Priests had the lower riveted hull or not That's why I was asking
Also what did you use for the weld beads? They are very nicely done

Yeah, Chad. I noticed the rivets after I already had the bogies set. No biggie to add them -- I just wish I'd done it before. I made work for myself that wasn't necessary. The tricky part will be getting the spacing and alignment correct with the bogies in the way. I'll probably measure with a compass and mark with Sharpie, then shave some rivets and get gluing.

The welds are pretty easy. There is already a seam on this kit where the front plate meets the side plates. I simply covered it with some .010 x .030 styrene strip (sometimes I use .025 rod) . Once they have dried, I knock them down a bit with some sandpaper, then I soften it with cement and work it a bit with a knive point to get the weldbead look.