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Building the DML M2A1 Halftrack

the fiddly bits

Stages 17 & 18 are a large ones! In them we’re instructed to complete the rear body of the vehicle, build the front of the hood with those louvres, and complete the headlight assemblies. At the end of all this we can mate the cab and body to the chassis and the vehicle is complete!

Right then! The first thing to do is to clean up the large skate ring. This has many small ‘nodes’ attached to it that can be a pain to remove, but remember, if it wasn’t for all these nodes there would be a lot more pin marks to clean up. Removal of the inside ones, no matter how carefully you do it, will probably leave very small marks on the surface of the part. These are worth filling, since they will be very visible on the finished and painted part. All I did was brush the mark with a brush dampened with accelerator, then apply a tiny amount of thin super glue, and in about 20 seconds I could sand it down smooth. The completed ring is a drop fit into the rear body, and then some thin styrene cement was allowed to be drawn around it’s circumference by capillary action.

The next job was to install the headlights. For this you will need to open up a small hole on each fender. The inside of each headlight was painted in Humbrol buffable Metalcote ‘Chrome’, allowed to dry for 10 minutes and then buffed to a high shine. The transparent lenses were then attached and liquid masking fluid was applied with a toothpick. Parts D16, which I imagine are indicators were joined to the outside of the brushguard with superglue, as a strong bond was needed. The two perfectly formed photo etched grills, one for each headlight, were left off at this point to allow easier painting later. Then the brushguard supports were cemented into place on each fender.

The construction of the front of the hood was next. Dragon provide four alternative parts for this. Two of the options have the hole for the power take-off for the winch if you’re building the M2A1, two of them don’t. Then you have the option of either moulded, closed louvres, or photo etched open ones. I decided to use the PE ones, since they’re so nicely made…….and they do look great once you’ve built them! Building them couldn’t be easier, each of the PE louvres has a small tab at each end that fits into a corresponding notch on the inside of the plastic part. They literally fall into place. Once I had the angle on each louvre set, I applied a tiny drop of super glue to set it at that angle, and that’s it! The front of the hood was cemented in place to the cab, and then the cab was placed on top of the chassis in position to accept the rear body. The rear body was completed, and placed in position on the rear of the chassis. With slight downwards pressure the two elements, cab and body, mated perfectly! Thin styrene cement was allowed to be drawn into the join, and this held the two together when the pressure was released. Cement was then applied in the same way to the points were both located onto the chassis. Finished!

Painting & weathering

The main focus of this feature has been the construction of the M2 Halftrack, so this part is kept to a minimum, just outlining the main steps I took to achieve the look of the final model.

The entire model was base coated with Lifecolor panzer grey, over which I applied a thin coat of a custom mix of greens from the Tamiya range. I made this up some time ago, and labeled it euphemistically ‘US WWII green’. I then gave a heavier misting onto the centre of panels and around fixtures to allow the pre-shade to show through. All the detail painting could then be completed by brush using Vallejo acrylics. These included all the details inside the cab, seats, lights, and lastly…..the trackas and running gear!

At this stage the running gear and tracks are distinctly green, and to restore them to the colour I wanted, I used a fine brush and Tamiya Nato black. If you do make mistakes at this stage, it doesn’t really matter, as the application of dust etc, afterwards will mask it.

Next was an all-over application of a gloss coat in preparation for the decals. This coat was acrylic, and so I could begin applying the decals almost immediately. The most difficult one was that large allied star for the hood. With repeated applications of Micro Sol it settled really nicely over the hinge detail on the hood, and the same applied to the other three stars. After allowing them to dry overnight, I used a cotton bud dampened with water and a little washing-up liquid to remove any adhesive residue, and then used a heavy solution of burnt umber oil paint in white spirit to apply a pin wash around all the details. After a light dry brushing with Matt black, it was time to use a flat lacquer to flatten everything, after which I applied dry pigments to all the running gear and the underneath of the vehicle. The very last thing to do was to attach the brushguard grills and windscreen wipers carefully with tiny dots of super glue. Now it’s finished!

conclusion

A truly stunning kit from Dragon. I can honestly say that it must be amongst the best engineered kits that Dragon have ever produced. If you’re careful cleaning parts up, it literally fall together, and can make a stunning miniature. I can’t wait for the next variant, but I think I’ll try and get another one of these to make the M2A1 while I’m waiting!