Well here it is, the New grant tank and boy is it a beauty. I'm not one to rivit count however i did count rivits and everything in my line drawings of a grant tank is here on this grant tank.
Some of the kit highlights are rubber tracks that can be glued together. Nice detail around the main gun mounting, particulary the small screws runnign around the top of the main gun race. Correct wheels and track. Great rivit detail.
Building this was a bit of a pain since there were no instructions in the package. However years of building models,a nd good resource material allowed me to compinsate for that.
Building the suspension was straightforward, with no problems. There was very little flash or mold seams on this kit. THe tracks were a bit long however there are quite easy to cut and reglue and the sand skirts hide that well. The tracks took paint well and were a real pleasure to work with.
THe hull is the most difficult part of this model. You are given a framework on which to hang the plates. However mine was slightly warped so it took some time and care to get everything alligned right. Once alligned it sat nice and true on the lower hull. As usual the armored plate runnign around the back of the hull with the visor in it was the most difficult to get right. In the future i will simply sand off the rivits at the ends and sand and putty it in, then replace the rivits.
The turret was quite easy to work with, and i sanded nice and smooth. I had to drill out the openings of the guns (with dragon today making pistols with open barrels this is not up to standard for a main gun not to be bored out, bad going there "A") Also all the pictures of grants i saw had the counterbalance removed, so i did the same.
The detail on the back deck is very nice and pops out well with a little work.
The hardest construction was the sandshields, as they did not fit well at all. Especially aroudn the front tranmision casing. I will look for this problem in the future when i redo this model. As the sand shields would make getting the tracks on a real pain, i painted and weathered the lower hull first, installed the tracks, prepaitned the sand shields, then installed them. I had to really do some putty work on the front of the fenders to get them to blend in. HOwever i am happy with the result.
One final note on the sand shields. Mine are curved at the front, however i saw pictures of those that were angular also. Perhaps one style was a field install.
I picked the color scheme out of the polish M3 grant book. THe markings arent exactly right however 98% close is fine by me. I couldnt find any photos of the tops of the tank to see if the camo carried up. My logic said no as it was to break up the outline when seen from the ground.
Weathering was light, i follow the Tony Greenland school of thought on that. I plan on putting lots of equipment on it, however i thought you would all enjoy a "first Peek".

Here are some pictures. Enjoy.







All told i think this is a great kit from AIRFIX. In fact for a 1976 kit it is fantastic. As far as i can tell they made a nice crusader, a lee, rommels halftrack, a 17 pounder, monteys command car, and this one. If you have the kit or have a chance to buy it i can really recommend it as the ideal OOB build. SInce there are no aftermarket products for it it makes for some great model building experience. Plus the grants had tons of equipment on them and great paintjobs.
Sorry i played a trick on you I really was just having some fun. LOL Plus the box said NEW in big red letters.
Bill

Ok, the computer made the post read Building the New Grant Tankf from Acedemy, i Wanted to just say from the big "A" That wasnt me, it was the computer.
Bill

I've got a couple of the original M3 Grants and M3 Lees from Airfix. Much better than the Monogram or Tamiya renderings. The other Airfix tank I have is the Crusader. Also a very nice model despite being 30 years old.

Dammit, I remember being 15 and wondeirng when Airfix would get around to 1/32 German armour! It was not to be! Instead they reboxed some 1/35 Max kits, and went out of business, and then Italeri's Pz 1 restored my hope...

David

When I was young all I built was Airfix... Mind you, it was all I could get.


I have a very soft spot for Airfix and I like the Grant.

That looks like a nice, clean build Bill.

If I may say so, I think possibly a very, very light misting of something like Tamiya buff would tone down the sheen and make it just a wee tad dusty.

It might help, but you have to be very careful that it is a very light mist coat.

They did do Rommel's Grief half track. I think that was it.

I am going to tone it down, i was just waiting to get the equipment on and then "bring it all together". Its still a nice build though. Bill

It looks very good indeed! you managed to paint it in a good desert camoflage scheme! The colors only need weathering now! Congratulations!
Cheers and happy modelling!
Prato

They did do Rommel's Grief half track. I think that was it.
Robin,
Yes, it's dated 1975 and it's a nice kit as well.
Has a Rommel figure with it.
Decent kit for it's age.
Paid $6.50 for it new in '75. :-) :-) :-)
Their armor kits from that period had some of the best Box Art.
Gary

Nice one Bill! Since I have just finished mine recently(pics soon),I can vouch for all that Bill has said about the build. I left some of the gapping in the front sandshields as they were on/off for maintenance and could have suffered from lost bolts and frustration :-) Adde a little turret texture for casting marks.
Cammo job looks really great on yours and makes it distinctive.As was said before,maybe a little more dusting from it's environment.
cheers!
Rick