1⁄16
Trumpeter M16 Halftrack

a build story by Ted Hayward
5
Comments
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The M55 Maxson Electrically Powered Turret
The Maxson turret included in the kit is the later M45D unit with a platform at the rear. It has the clear reflector gunsight, rather than the earlier “spiderweb” sight. Screws used in Step 28 to assemble the Maxson gun elevation trunnions are visible after assembly. I just filled the Phillips heads with Tamiya putty. Closer examination reveals these heads shouldn’t protrude at all, but should in fact be flush. The generator unit is nicely detailed. The only thing that need be added will be a voltmeter gauge and solenoids with wiring for the gun triggers . The .50 cal Brownings with hollow bores look impressive in this scale. Painting the barrels with a coat of gloss clear, and the bodies with matte, make the separate barrels visible through the cooling holes. I would have much preferred metal barrels. Also, no ammunition belts are provided. The lettering (ammo loading directions) should be raised on the ammo cans, but this is represented with decals.

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About the Author

About Ted Hayward (ted_hayward)
FROM: TAIPEI, TAIWAN / 台灣

From B.C., Canada. Living in Taiwan for past several years. I've been building kits for as long as memory serves -armor, aircraft, cars. Big fan of 1/16th scale armor kits. Currently serving as poster boy for working with CA adhesives in a well-ventilated area. My first kit was the positively awful ...


Comments

TankCarl
Thank you Ted,for the write up. I too made those fixes you described. I made my own gun solenoids,and used images from Hunnicutt's halftrack book,to lead the wires into the mount. My track is a bit tighter around the running gear,I hid the "joint" in the sprocket area. Also,I used fine fishing line to tie down the track to the sprocket and idler,this helped the overall view. I noticed there was a top radiator hose,but no lower.The connection point on the engine is there,so I made one from a piece of wire which had black insulation on it. Also I had to fabricate an adjustment bar for the generator,as there was none on the engine. I suppose for the missing ammo belts,a series of round sections of styrene rod,or stretched sprue glued side by side would be good to use as a substitute.
JUN 11, 2009 - 11:36 AM
PantherF
Very awesome build and write-up! I couldn't read the whole article tonight, but what I saw I did like and saved it to my favorites. I also am into 1/16th kits and have been eyeing this one for awhile and can't decide on it or waiting for the R/C version, which is slated to be released later this year. Lots of tips so thanks for sharing it with us!
JUN 11, 2009 - 01:18 PM
Thatguy
Not to detract from the amazing work done on this huge model, but the 50th Artillery Battalion (Automatic Weapons, Self Propelled) did exist. There are a number of references to this unit in Korea. It would have been equipped with the M16 during that time frame as well. Also the M55 designation applied only to the M45C mount + the M20 trailer. Regardless, this is a truly impressive piece and thanks for sharing.
JUN 12, 2009 - 04:12 AM
dante
Thank you!!!! I've been looking for one of these blogs, good job Ted. We still have the track problem, anybody find a good way around this? Dan
JUN 12, 2009 - 11:43 AM
ted_hayward
I'm very surprised that the AM folks haven't jumped to produce extras for this kit. It's many flaws aside, it still has no rivals in this scale. I was shocked. however, to see how much it's selling for in your part of the world. For my money, I'd rather save-up and get the 1/16th King Tiger instead -far better value-for-money!
JUN 12, 2009 - 03:32 PM
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Copyright ©2021 by Ted Hayward. Images and/or videos also by copyright holder unless otherwise noted. The views and opinions expressed herein are solely the views and opinions of the authors and/or contributors to this Web site and do not necessarily represent the views and/or opinions of Armorama, KitMaker Network, or Silver Star Enterrpises. All rights reserved. Originally published on: 2009-06-11 00:00:00. Unique Reads: 27080