Thanks Rich,

Just a quick update on progress so far, I've adjusted the front hull so that it now looks right, the new airbox has built for the rear engine deck. work has started on the airfilters.

















The modified front end







Cheers

Dan

Nice work mate.

Are the rivets Archer decal ones?

Rich

Cheers Rich, they are the Archer decal rivets, very handy indeed .


Dan

Nice looking upgrades so far! Keep up the good work. If I may, it appears that the hull mounted .30cal barrel is protruding a bit too much. Perhaps slide it back 1-2mm? Compare its length with photos -- it just looks too long to me. Hope this helps.

Thank Roy,

The .30 isn't glued yet, it will be painted later once the bulk
of work is done. not sure if I should add the sponson mounted .30's yet?


Dan

Depends on when/where you want to depict your M3. They were quickly eliminated in combat zones. But are present in stateside maneuvers

Cheers Roy, I'm going to show the mounting points blanked off,
Found the blanking parts on the AFV Club suspension kit.
Now sitting on the running gear for the first time, only tacked on with CA glue so I can remove it for painting. It also makes track fitting easier, as I'm using the Bronco indi
links I can adjust the running gear to take up the tension.

Rear Idler needs to be moved further back :-)







Exhaust grill modified from the Eduard Stuart set for the Academy kit.




Cheers for looking

Dan

Well it's been a while since my last update, life once again gets in the way. Well I'm back on the M3 now.

I'll let the pictures do the talking.

































More soon once I have finished the track bash...

Regards

Dan

Lookin' good Dan!

One problem with using indie track links on US tanks is that properly depicting the tight live track is difficult, Individual pads want to go out of line if the track is really workable, but they should be all nice and aligned. I would recommend gluing them at some point to force them into alignment. Which can be difficult with the idler in a fixed place if the track length doesn't match up exactly.

Wit regards to markings, you're pretty limited, notwithstanding the markings in the box. The Canadian markings are wrong and for a differnt type of M3, the faceted turret version.

The horseshoe turreted tank didn't see combat with US foreces anywhere, I don't think and if it did, it would only have been 2 or 3 on Guadalcanal. These were used for training stateside and in England in the 42 period, but by the landings in North Aftrica they had been replaced by M3A1s and M5s. The Brits used a few of them in the desert, but you need a bunch of Brit stowage to make that work.

Way back when, Tamiya really couldn't have chosen a less representative version of the M3 to model.

Paul

Cheers Paul,

I know what you mean, some thought has gone into this build in terms of version and decals, I' m still at a loss. Track wise I'm leaving the rear idler off untill I'm finihed with painting, this will allow me to tension the tracks correctly. I've worked on tracked vehicles for 6 years of my Army career so I know what you mean about live tracks and the importance of track tension

Cheers for looking

Dan

Good to see you back in the saddle mate.

You have a few weeks to finish this before you get the large grey distraction back.

Crack on fella.

Rich

Cheers Rich, I reckon I should be able to get this one done in time fella,
Looking forward to seeing Das Boot after you have worked your magic

Right, almost one track done, i reckon two more links and it should be okay...







Added the cables for the headlights.



Next up is the other track

Cheers for looking

Dan

A micro update,

I've added the tie downs to the rear deck, only 8 more to go on the front fenders..
At least its a break from track bashing.







Thanks for looking

Dan

Almost ready for paint now,

Headlight guards on fitted, and the fender tiedowns for the .30 cal tripods.







Second track main assembly is almost done





Regards

Dan

Hi Dan,
Missed your re start - the trials and tribulations of holidays

Looking good buddy, looking forward to see some paint going on . . . .

Richard, don't let him have das boote till he's finished

Cheers Kev

Cheers Kev,

Anyway, after much time and effort the tracks are done.
Almost 800 parts make up the two tracks








Worth the effort? Oh yeah...

Regards

Dan

Every time I see this thread, I get the itch to build an M3. BTW some M3s did make it to N. Africa IIRC.

Damon.

Nearly at the end now fella. Looking forward to the painting to come.

Rich

Hi, ALL!!! GREAT WORK and SUGGESTIONS by all of you guys. I solved a lot of my problems with building my Stuarts by getting the various resin "Corrections" and Update kits from the NEW TMD, which are specifically intended to be used with the ACADEMY M3/M3A1 kits. I built my British M3 Honey in the "Caunter Scheme", my late US ARMY "Torch" M3A1, and my USMC "Guadalcanal" M3A1, by using 3 of the AFV CLUB M3/M5 Suspensions and Wheels kits, 3 of the NEW TMD M3 Lower and Upper Hull Correction kits, and other aftermarket goodies from EDUARD and FORMATIONS, plus A LOT of patience and more kit-bashing/scratch-building work...

I also built an M5, using the GREAT little NEW TMD M5 "Back-date" Conversion kit for the AFV CLUB M5A1 (Early), an M5A1 (Early) and an ACADEMY M3 Lee Medium (with LEGEND M3 Lee Update) - all to match with the "Torch" M3A1.

Suffice it to say, I've got my M3/M5 Light-series tanks pretty much covered. I built a USMC M5A1 (Early) in the Tri-Color Camo scheme, (Dark OD, Brown and a few Sand squiggles here and there.) which was used at Roi-Namur, 1944, and 2 more M5A1s (Early & Late versions) France, 1944. In addition, I kit-bashed/scratch-built a T8E1 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, (no turret) and a T18 75mm HMC, based on the M3 Light. This little vehicle had a superstructure very similar to the M7 105mm HMC- the howitzer in the T18 was offset to the right, mounted in a casement reminiscent of the M3 Medium... Kinda weird, but different, nonetheless...

As I mentioned previously, it would be nice if some
up-to-date hobby manufacturer such as MENG, HOBBY BOSS, etc would come out with entirely new CAD/Slide-Molded M3 Light-series kits, so we wouldn't have to buy all of that aftermarket stuff and spending several times over the ACADEMY/TAMIYA M3s. If only AFV CLUB hadn't dropped the M8 HMC from their "Future Kits" line-up. I'm lucky that I picked up the NEW TMD M8 HMC Conversion Kit, which can almost be called a "Full Resin Kit"- expensive, but worth every penny...

Keep up the GREAT WORK!!!

Thanks for all the great comments chaps.

Paint time, Vallejo US Army Olive drab set used,
Quite impressed by these sets, they spay really well.

Anyway onto the pictures.














I'm no photographer so I'll apologize for my bad phots, the build does look better in the flesh. Still more painting to do with the OD, I've noticed a few rough areas that require a bit of sanding.


Regards

Dan

Brilliant job so far. I have always loved these little tanks. To me,they just " LOOK" like a tank,if you get my meaning. Probably picked up this attitude from the days of my youth reading the Ghost Tank comics.
J

Thanks Jerry,

As the kit is of vintage age the decals were rather fragile to say the least. I was going mask off the stars but totally forgot about it Anyway I added the armored glass to the vision ports using silver and Tamiya clear green which has come out okay.
Then the decals, just the turret ones to start to see how good/bad they were. I've had them in a clear bag taped to my window to reduce the yellowing which worked rather well and applied the stars...... They broke up and to add to the matter the decal solution reacted with the satin varnish. I think I've rescued it fairly well but the star on the left hand side is not quite level. I've painted by hand most of the right hand side star.
















Headlights added





Thanks for looking

Dan

Decals going on the hull.





Cheers

Dan

Really coming along now fella. I like the varied modulation of the base colour, as it adds interest to an otherwise bland colour scheme.

Are you going for a well weathered look, or something more applicable to a training unit?

P.S. Just wondered if you've still got that recipe for killer onion bhaji's.