Interesting project. Looking good.

My problem is that I am usually a lazy, slow model builder! (Something about this being only a hobby???)

In this case the proof of concept I was trying to prove was that if a base level motor pool was given this project, I contend they could have it up, running and in full service in less than 18 hours x 5 guys!

My personal goal was to have my model to its current condition in less than 18 hours. I tried to pull an all nighter on Tuesday of last week but couldn't make it, I got as far as 3:30 in the morning. This 64 year old body just could not make it happen! I messed myself up so bad that I had to take the next day off sick to recover! I just did my best the rest of the week both in modeling AND in my actual job.

In any case I still managed to finish (sort of) in only 6 days.

One thing that did occur to me - the guys doing the real Half Deuce conversion were starting with two FULLY ASSEMBLED (if battle damaged) vehicles. Unlike me they didn't have to build up the two original vehicles out of a pile of unassembled parts - so clearly my build SHOULD have taken longer than their's.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Regards

[quote]Between the M3 and the Deuce this vehicle could have had a total of THREE gas tanks, one being the standard Deuce tank and two more from the half-track, mounted inside the armored body. /quote]

As to protecting the standard Deuce fuel tank, I did add a good sized piece of scrap armor plate to the underside of the load box floor plus the rack with the two water cans would provide some protection in the event of an aerial attack!

p.s. I used the Tamiya fuel tank here b/c it has a little bit better detailing than the Italeri fuel tank.

Please forgive me but I had to put this photo in. That's my youngest son Eric (second from right) at his first Patton Museum event many years ago!



p.s. I was lucky enough to get to drive this Track a number of times. It was a sweet drive, handled very easily and seemed to float over rough or rolling countryside!

Earlier I said that I could not remember where the load box came from. I am now fairly sure it is a Heller product but any Deuce load box from any of the popular hobby manufacturers would do.

I did use the Tamiya mud flaps for this build. Of all the ones out there the Tamiya product are the only ones with detail on both the front and the back of the flap.

Nice find and an excellent model. I like strange models like this ... always cool to be different.

I was going to go with the Deuce headlights as seen in all the photos but the M3 headlights were much smaller and look better behind those gravel shields so I will be reverting to those.

As to making that cloth top: The easiest way might be to simply use the full cloth top that comes with the Scout Car and just cut off that front awing and use that. However if you have already used the top for another treasured project then there might possibly be another way.

But it requires TWO cloth cab tops from the Tamiya Deuce.

Having done all that we still need to fan out the back corners of the top in order to match the wider Half-track "cab".





Now it is easy enough to cut some appropriately sized wedges out of the left over roof sections to fill in these wedge shaped cuts.

Here is the finished cloth top first from the underside . . . .


And then from above . . .

That one bent plastic rod on the model represents the one stock cloth top ridge pole that would be picked up on the real vehicle from the standard half-track or scout car ridge pole that mounts right behind the driver position.

I have decided the front lip overhang of the cloth top above the windshield armor is WAY too pronounced. In the next few days I will be reducing the size in that area and also working on adding the tie down straps and buckles across the front edge.

Any suggestions on making those buckles????

Mike

Gotta get back to this Half Deuce project soon, unfortunately I got sidetracked by another period photo inspired project: a CCKW being knocked down at the GMC factory prior to overseas shipment.



I am thinking of doing a dio similar to what you see here using the factory photo as a back drop.

The original period photo:

OK, the front overhang on the cloth top got corrected but still trying to figure out how to do those many beltbuckels across the front!

I'm wondering if I couldn't make a foil rubbing of the other halftrack top I already have, fill the back side with glue and apply that to my new top???

Thanks Frank - I also like the odd vehicle here and there. I also like to chop and knit various models together to create something that cannot be gotten thru the regular hobby manufactures.

This vehicle satisfied both those desires!

Hey Gents, this weekend I attended a major Regional Concours Auto Show here in Lexington, KY. It happened to coinside with a B-17 fly-in the same weekend.

I am rather proud of the 25 or so photographs I have posted so far with more to come.

I would like to share so follow the link:


https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151680962803956.1073741830.733523955&type=1&l=93f27c61d7





Mercedes-Benz Indianapolis 500 Car ca.1914

The "Half a Deuce" won a First Place in the "Almost Completed" catagory at the Dayton Hobby competition this past weekend. A plaque and everything!

Seems a little silly to compete with an unfinished model but hey, I ain't gonna turn it down!

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR CCKW IS TOO WIDE TO FIT YOUR TRAILER:



Take the outside wheels off! Dah . . .

SPEAKING OF HALF A DEUCE:

How 'bout an "Airborne" CCKW?

The chassis had what are called "fishplate" splicing plates in the frame just behind the cab. This allowed the vehicle to be "broken" in half in order to be air transported by two C-47's.

A temporary dolly wheel could be attached to the back of the forward half so that (with the front wheel drive engauged) that part of the truck could be driven onto the aircraft under its' own power.



The front half could move under its' own power and the back half could be pushed around balanced on its' twin axles. The concept of cutting and splicing a standard Deuce and a Half just gets easier and easier to envision!

Hi Michael,

What kit did you use for the halftrack? I see the deuce is the italeri kit, am i right?
You built a great lookin and unique model!

[quote]


I used the old Peerless Max M3 Scout Car - mainly because it is what I had on hand and also the forward armor and driveline parts were a near copy of the M3 Halftrack.