Waiting for a bit of rust, mud and general weathering. And a base.












Vinnie

Vinnie

Who makes this kit, and what was the build like? Is this out of the box only, or after market stuff also?

I like the looks of this one, (and would like to build one), so any insights would be appreciated.

Steve

Looks really good. I like the cables in the winch area, they look like they have heft, which is hard to depict in scale. The canteen on the roof looks out of place, however.

NICE work. I've got this kit sitting in my closet saying "build ME next" but I'm resisting until my skill improve.




I've wondered about that also while looking over the kit. IS that a canteen or some piece of equipment in the kit?

Vinnie, you did a pretty good job on this one. I have done three of these now and I know what you have accomplished and how much it means. Without trying to seem like a now it all, I would like to make a couple of observations.

The first regards the special lighted siren on the front left side. The whole thing is painted OD and you did not see any chrome on it. Tamiya made the front piece chrome so that the lens would look right.

Thes second comment is about the air brakes. On the two rear axle assemblys there are four hoses leading down to the cylinders at the corners of the assembly for the air brakes. Tamiya, for some reason, chose to omit these. They were very evident and when they are missing it is very noticeable:


And lastly, the fifth wheel assembly on a truck is weighted on the back so that it always rests on the two tabs in the back, which makes it easier to load a trailer.

Other than these three small things it looks great. It took me a couple months to do mine and so I am sure you are quite proud of your achievement. I cannot wait to see it when it is finished.

Steve this is the Tamiya M-26 Dragon Wagon (kit #35244). They also have another one of it with the M-15 trailer called the US 40 Ton Tank Transporter(Kit #35230). The kit pictured has some extras so you can raise and lower the lifting boom wich the other kit omits, while the other kit comes with, of course, the trailer and all kinds of tackle for hauling tanks. The kit has to be one of the easiest builds I have ever doen for a kit this size and there is little modification needed to make an accurate model. Royal Models makes a great resin and PE AM kit for it and Eduard does one pe set for the interior, one for the exterior, and one for the trailer. I have never used any of the eduard stuff, but it looks good in the site pictures.

And here's an insight, get one ebay and you will get it for about $40 whereas Hobby Lobby has it for $80. Or wait for a half price sale at Hobby Lobby.

Thanks for sharing the model Vinnie.
Rob

Not a canteen, fellas, but I agree it does look like one in profile. It's the spotlight -- the same one you see on Sherman turrets. The light is turned downward to protect it and prevent unnecessary glare when it is not in use.

Vinnie -- nice start. Make those fixes that Rob suggests and weather her up a bit. BTW, I've seen Rob's M26s -- he knows his stuff.

Oh what a pretty baby thou art, I love this kit,Nice work Teacher.

Okay, now looking closely at photo #2, I can see the armature for it. As Emily Latella would say, "Never mind.

It's the Tamiya kit built out of the box no AF. Does the searchlight really look like a canteen? lol. Thanks for the info on the rear airbrakes Rob....I'll get back to work. I thought the front light looked odd in chrome......but it's such a nice effect! Lol. Aw alright I'll paint over it!

Vinnie

very nice job Vinnie. I too have this kit in my 'pile' waiting to be done. Nice to see other modelers ones too. :-)

Very nice and clean build of the M26

If you are changing some things doint forget to add two oil pipes for greasing the chains on each side.

Oops! Ron is absolutelt right! The two oil tubes that drip oil on the chains are easy enough to do with a small piece of thin wire: