I've been cleaning up the wheels tonight and so far it's been a good build. It takes a little time cleaning some flash and mold attachments but the resin is very nice and durable. The directions are the most thorough I've ever seen and the kit even comes bagged into "stages of the build." My first Kengi build - I like how the directions start out with, "this is not an easy build..."

I've just discovered the hardest part is getting the tracks to glue together but the Loctite finally held the two ends together. I did the right side last and I think it turned out better. Neither side I could get perfectly aligned but I think it will suffice once all built. I can hardly type will superglued fingers so here's the pics

Nice start Greg. What are the tracks made of? Vinyl?

Hopefully once you've finished this one, someone will release a halftrack in plastic...

Cheers!
Stefan

Stefan, that's why we build these in resin so the plastic manufacturers will see what we want If they do release on in plastic what are the odds it will be this particular version anyways (anytime soon). There's some nice details made in resin you won't see in plastic, but things like tracks can be a problem for sure. Cheers

Coming along real good Greg

Thanks Anthony, now if I can only get myself to finish painting these things

Needed to do some sanding to get the rear of the frame to fit but all went well



Cutting the holes a little bigger for the mid-frame to poke through helped make it easier to align the box superstructure. This area will be covered by the ammo rack anyways






the interior is fun



Only a "few" pieces to go

the cab pieces were a little tricky as you're supposed to leave a little gap at the end of the hood for the nose to fit in (the nose piece isn't neatly defined) but luckily the superglue I use has enough time to pull things apart and slide the parts around a little until they looked like they fit.

Is this going up on track48? It's looking really good! The m3 was quite the interesting little half track!

Hi Greg
I wish that God be will with U,when u started to make interior construction...
I did a mistake , when I choised an Armored Car such a open interior like my 222.

Hi Alex and Gokce,

This and other nice resin kits are available from Kengi Models in California, USA. So far I have this one and the Hellcat. They look really nice when finished and cost not much more then a Tamiya kit. Here's his list and contact info:


Ken Swenson Models

Longtime professional modeler Ken Swenson produces a line of high quality 1/48 scale resin kits and conversions under the name "Kengi" that includes many highly sought after types including Lee and Grant tanks, several Stuart and Stuart-based variants, an early British Cruiser tank, the M24 Chaffee, Itialian M11/39, Japanese Te-Ke, an AmTrack, the legendary Hellcat tank destroyer, the M3 Half Track with 75mm gun and more. As of November, 2010 Ken’s current list includes:

M3 LEE (resin conversion for Tamiya M4 Sherman kit No. 32523) $40.00

M3 GRANT (resin conversion for Tamiya M4 Sherman kit No. 32523) $40.00

M31 (T2) Armored Recovery Vehicle (Grant tank converted to ARV, also used as a prime mover for Long Tom 155mm gun and 8in howitzer) (resin conversion for Tamiya M4 Sherman kit No. 32523) $40.00

Panzer 38T (resin conversion for Tamiya Hetzer) $38.00

M3 STUART "Honey" Light Tank (complete resin kit) $38.00

M5A1 STUART - Light Tank (late war version - complete resin kit) $38.00

M8 75MM MOTOR GUN CARRIAGE (complete resin kit) $40.00

LVTA1 "Water Buffalo" Amtrack (complete resin kit) $50.00

TYPE 97 TE-KE Japanese Light Tank (complete resin kit) $35.00

MK IVA CRUISER British Light Tank (complete resin kit) $40.00

STAGHOUND I (T17E1) Armored Car (complete resin kit) $40.00

M24 CHAFFEE Light Tank - Early Version (complerte resin kit) $42.00

ITALIAN 11/39 Medium Tank (complete resin kit) $38.00

M3 75MM Gun Motor Carriage (M3 half track with 75mm gun) (completer resin kit) $40.00

SdKfz 11 (Conversion for Tamiya SkKfz 251 half track kits Nos. 32564 and 32566) $40.00

German 10.5 cm towed field gun (for SdKfz 11 or other prime mover) (completer resin kit) $30.00

M-18 HELLCAT Tank Destroyer, 76mm Gun, early version (complete resin kit) $45.00

T-41 SHERMAN TRACK & M3 BOGIES (resin non-reversable rubber block track and conversion parts to back-date Tamiya M4 suspension towers) $20.00

WE210 BRITISH STYLE SHERMAN TRACK M3 BOGIES (resin "waffle pattern" rubber block track and conversion parts for Tamiya M4 suspension) $20.00
SHIPPING

CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES: Single Kit - $ 7.00, Multiple Kits - $10.00, Track and Bogie Sets $3.00, Multiple Sets - $5.00

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING: Single Kit - $12.50, Multiple Kits - $14.00, Track and Bogie Sets $ 5.00, Multiple Sets $ 7.00

Ken takes payment by Paypal, but any customer ordering and not using Paypal, can take $5.00 off each kit ordered. For more information and ordering, contact:

Ken Swenson
4543 Calhoun Avenue
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
[email protected]

Wow! I wish I had time to build models again! This list is the stuff dreams are made of.

Where did the thread owner go? Has the project been finished? Looking forward to the results...

Scott

Thanks for the contact info and product list for the Kenji line, I'm definitely going to have to pick up one of those M-18's

The halftrack is looking good, how have the small resin parts been to work with?

@Scott - I get side-tracked often and focus on multiple builds at once, then the summer weather has me outside more, etc... I've added the bumper accessories - still need to do the gun assembly

@Jeremy - The parts are very good - haven't broken a thing. They just all require clean up.

It's not forgotten - just slow

Excellent, I'm going to look forward to trying out a couple of his kits when I get a chance.

Greg - totally understand - modeling can be tough to keep on a schedule.

Jeremy, I have the Kengi M18 and M24 Chaffee. They are both beautifully molded. I have not built either of them, but I was more than pleased by the quality of the molding and the resin itself. My kits look great - no real voids to speak of, no broken parts, and the resin itself seems a bit flexible - not super brittle. Plus Ken seems to be a great guy - asked him some questions via email and he got right back to me with answers.

Get some of his kits - you will be pleased.

Scott Gentry

Awesome, thanks for the feedback Scott! I'll fire off an email to him and see if I can't get a few kits in a couple of weeks or so.

just got the gun shield left to put on. I think I'll do it for North Africa.

Greg,

Very nice - any tricky bits to watch out for?

Scott

Hi, not really. Sometimes the direction photos are hard to see the fit of parts but this website helped overcome that. Overall a really nice looking kit I think.

http://afvdb.50megs.com/usa/75mmgmcm3.html

very nice and clean job... I like it and waiting for painting work

Looking good Greg! I just ordered mine (and an M8 howitzer motor carriage) and I'll be converting it to an M16.

Jon

Hey Jon, that sounds great. That M8 also sounds good but I've never seen a picture of the model so be sure to post some

I guess I never remembered to post some finished pics of this build (side-tracked with campaigns) but it just needs some gear and ready to paint. I'm still not sure what to finish it as (USMC, British, US...)

These are pretty good references, so I'll go with the camo. I need to remove the jerrycans and add light guards.