Why the hell would you want Metal tracks for a Sherman? Metal tracks sag on kits and the last thing you want is sag in Sherman track. The Vinyls are excellent and if you are paying that much for a Tasca Sherman shop elsewhere. They are frequently available online for less than half that with modest postage. They are the same price as DML here

Al

Just my opinion, but for the money, you are getting a lot more "beef" (read detailing) with the Diamond T than you are with the Sherman. (Unless it comes with a full interrior!)

Another hiccup with the engine assembly: No locator pins of any kind between the clutch housing and the engine block. If I guessed wrong the engine is not going to set level in the frame mounts!

I figure I can shore up or cut down the engine mounting blocks to make it sit correctly in the frame but I would rather the model would give me some clue towards getting it right in the first place.

New problem found; this time with the front mounted Gar-Wood winch. On one side of the gearbox is a cast depression to accept the winch drum axle. On the other side of the gearbox is the axle protruding out to fit into the winch support frame. Problem is: the axle protrudes out of the wrong side of the gearbox!

But hey it's easy enough to fix - drill it out on one side of the gearbox and add a little Evergreen rod to the other side.

Making progress on mine!



Still considering to order the cargo truck and swap the closed cab to use on the wrecker and the open cab for the cargo truck.

As I suspected grave digger (libor) says the two cabs will swap out with little difficulty!

King Libor

Thx for posting your progress Michael!

Is there a different reason behind the swap other than just to have different version of the truck? Was one of the versions more common or theatre specific, like: closed cab= north europe ?

Cheers,
Greg

Pedro, not to my knowledge. But to my thinking the purpose of the open cab was to allow the vehicle to be knocked down and packed tighter in the hold of a ship for transport. Given the tall Holmes frame on the back of the wrecker it could not be made smaller without some serious dissembly, so to me putting the hard cab on the wrecker just seems to make more sense.

However, I admit either is correct.

Interesting, thanks for clarification Michael!

Cheers,
Greg

OK the wrecker builds up into a beautifully detailed kit, I totally admit this, but . . .

It is a pain to build!

Something that has not been mentioned before is the formulation of the plastic used to mold the kit. Rather a brittle mix. The very large sprue gates often leave almost unavoidable craters in the edges of the parts (even while taking the greatest of care) and the hard plastic is very difficult/impossible to smooth out in these areas even with my best files. This is a totally new problem I have never encountered before.

I assume the brittle plastic was used to produce a more "chrisp" result of molding detail however even the Tamiya solvent recommended by Mirror seems to barely attack this plastic! I have lost track of how many two part assemblies I have put together and let dry overnight only to come back the next day and have these same parts fall apart in my hands as I try to do my finish clean up before adding them to the model.

And yes, I am coating both parts with the solvent then waiting a moment (for the plastic in theory to soften) and then clamping them together while they dry overnight.

Last night the sidewalls of the load box again fell apart - for the second time - as I tried to clean them up for final assembly.

I am sure I will be accused of being inexperienced but I have been modeling non-stop since the late 1950's and this is just not the case!


But again - to finally have a model of the Diamond T wrecker the results are worth the pain.

Just know in advance that glue wise, this kit goes together more like a white metal model than anything you have ever experienced in plastic.

Building this model you need to be ready, because you are in for a long, hard pull!

Libor, I find your kits to be the right niche at the right time. I bought quite a few over the last couple of years simply by subject matter. Good, medium, or bad plactic can be dealt with (although I avoid the real early 70's/80's Soviet block kits like the plague). A few hiccups here and there do not bother me as no kit is perfect. Sure,a little extra time might be taken on your kits vs. a kit you simply shake and it falls together. The hobby is about your skills vs. the flaw of a kit, both which are perfected, and corrected, over time. And less we forget...the word 'hobby' is the operative word here. True, we all want value/quality for the money, but, the hobby today gives us infinitly better kits than say, just 20 years ago, or even 10 years for that matter. I started modeling as a kid (I'm 60 now) and wished we had kits back then like we do now. I consider myself spoiled today with the menu of crisp detail of most kits, while the gravy and desert portion of the build is flavored with photo-etch, resin and metal barrels. I have walked away from manufacturers who would consistantly produce questionable quality...and Libor...you DO NOT give us inferior kits compared to others! I will continue to support your releases no matter the minor corrections needed.

I agree completely - we are spoiled with the wealth of kits and subjects! It's a wonderful time to be modeling!

Here's a question:

Did all 4 ton Diamond T cargo trucks have the front winch installed? I have seen the dump truck version without the winch but I don't know if I have seen a cargo truck without it.

I have the TM but so far have not found a statement regarding this question one way or the other?????

According to David Doyle's Standard Catalog of U.S. Military Vehicles - 2nd Edition :

"All the Diamond T's except the earliest dump trucks, were built with winches.../...In order to reduce front axle loading, the earliest dump trucks did not have winches. However, at the request of the Corps of Engineers, beginning in June 1944, the dump trucks were also fitted with the front winch." (page 165-166)

H.P.

Thanks H.P.

I knew it would either be you or David Doyle who would have the answer.

(In this case it was BOTH of you!)

I was just wondering if I could make my cargo truck a little more distinctive by leaving off the winch. I guess not!

4 ton Diamond T cargo truck as seen at the Victory Museum, Auburn, IN.

(All photos Mike Koenig)





Interesting; Note the framed side window glass but no wing windows on the door glass. I guess with four cab ventilators they figured they didn't need wing windows.

Interesting detail photo on the Diamond T found online. (Source unknown)

Regarding this Diamond T wrecker, I have been talking a lot about this detail and that detail and the model being hard to build but it needs to be stressed: after all is said and done this model builds into a beautiful piece of work! Unlike so many models out there that come through with missing assemblies and down right wrong engineering this model IS COMPLETE AND CORRECT! When finished you will know almost as much about the vehicle as if you restored one!

Again the Mirror Diamond T builds into a beautiful model that will not disappoint! ! ! !






Emergency brake and transfer case assembly.

Beautiful engineering.

Inital coat of paint on the frame - almost don't want to finish the rest of the vehicle, the frame is so well engineered and detailed I hate to hide it!




I did fine a few extra details to add: the brake hoses to the front wheel drums, the fuel line from the gas tank to the fuel filter and the air lines to all four air brake "Glad Hand" connectors.


Also added the lower flange to the bottom edge of the front bumper.

I will be adding a few more brake lines and some wiring cables before I wrap up the work on the frame.

p.s. In case anyone is interested, I give my truck tires a base coat of military flat OD while I am spray painting the wheel drums. Then I hand paint the tires using the pre-thinned ModelMasters Gun Metal color. This gives the tires that slight silver gray aged oxidized rubber look. Add a little pastel sand or dust colored chalk as a final touch to weather them. F.Y.I.

OK everyone: Here is an interesting diorama idea to combine your brand new Miror Models Diamond T wrecker with some of those European rail cars you have in your stash!



A perfect job for the T's split, swing away Holmes boom! Also note the civilian tire tread pattern.

Well the die is cast, I just ordered the hard cab Diamond T cargo truck from Wanamaker Guns & Hobbies in Indy.

But maybe not, cause I have a hankering to convert that one to a dump truck!

Cut the winch off, form a straight C channel front bumper and scratch build the dump body. Doesn't look too hard.

Progress on the main Holmes supplied truss for the Diamond T wrecker:



The white plastic is to cover up the very visible horizontal seams in the top and bottom "I" beams. These seams should not be present on the model.

Much more detail yet to add.

Jumping back into the dump truck: - from the TM