Hi all!

This model was also build in the same period as the Tamiya Bren Carrier that I posted earlier.
The picture was taken in the hard March sunlight of 2003.
Weathering with oils and drybrush.





Paul

Paul

Sharp looking M3 Stuart What kit did you use?

It's the Tamiya kit, out of the box.

Very nice Stuart...

Please humor my question for a moment though here...

Has anyone else noticed the one huge mistake on the tamiya kit, namely the tracks.

Look at the track connectors....How do those tracks stay together? :-)

Thanks for the comments!
Yes, it's the Tamiya Stuart, completely OOB.
It are vinyl tracks and there are indeed no track connecters. But actually I did not notice that untill Academy came with their Stuart (with bether tracks) and all of the sudden magazines and modellers began to mention the error in the Tamiya tracks.
(And I remember I was so supprised about it, because at that time I always thought Tamiya was always way bether than any other maker).

I am thinking of "upgrading" this Stuart. I think it must be possible to remove the vinyl tracks (simply cut and remove them) and replace them for AM tracks. Does Friul has Stuart tracks?

Very nice Stuart, very nice indeed.
If you can find AM tracks, replacing the vinyl tracks should be fairly easy.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for sharing some fo you old builds with us, the Stuart looks pretty good for it's age.

Cheers

Al

I still have the copy of MM with the original review of the Tamiya M3 somewhere. Can't remember if the track issue was mentioned or not (though the standard of Tamiya figures was adversely commented on even then), but I'm pretty sure the same error was pointed out in the review of the Monogram M3 medium which came out the previous year.

I have a surplus set of Acadamy rubbertracks you can have if you want, they are still rubberbands, but way better than the old Tammystuff.

PM me if it has any interest.

Your work is so nice, that it definately deserves a second life with some decent tracks.

Cheers

Nice little tank, made in your early years, Paul.
Upgrading of the model would be nice, but be carefull as always.
Cheerrs 043

Jan, that's for sure very nice!
PM is on it's way!

Paul

Actually, the Tamiya kit is pretty bad, accuracy-wise in a number of areas.

- The tracks are off, as noted.
- The turret is 1/8" too small in diameter. The turret ring is off by the same amount
- The upper and lower hull proportions are off, but the running gear has been shortened to get the thing to sit at the right height (but it makes it more difficult to add the AFV club suspension to get an accurate look).
- The aircleaner piping is proper only for the diesel variants and there were very few of those made and even fewer issued for service outside the US.
- The transmission housing bears little resemblance to the real thing.

Unfortunately the Academy kit is a copy of the Tamiya kit and has inherited a lot of the inaccuracies of it's forebear and, at the same time, managed to lose the good detail that was the main redeeming feature of the old dog.

The Academy running gear is substantially worse than the Tamiya kit, although the wheels are the right thickness, that's about it for the benefits. The stowage boxes and the like for the "Honey" kit are useless as there is so much moulding draft angle that the sides are noticably sloped.

When the Academy kit was announced I got rid of a bunch of my Tamiya Stuarts in the mistaken hope that Academy couldn't possibly miss correcting the errors in the Tamiya kit as they have been known for 30 years. Alas, I was mistaken. I have been re-acquiring Tamiya Stuarts and will use them as parts bins to help out the Academy kits. I may just avoid the Academy kits altogether adn go straight to aftermarket as there is so little left of the original kit after you've corrected the Tamiya/Academy kits that you might as well avoid the hassle.

Paul

Hi Jan!

I recieved the Academy tracks! Thanks!
They look WAY bether than the Tamiya tracks!
I'll try to replace the tracks soon and show them here.


Paul

Looking forward to see before and after pics

The old Stuart looks great though. Back to the days when we just built plastic. I'm not an expert, but after reading the comments on the Academy and Tamiya Stuarts, it seems like the only one I haven't seen being dogged out is the AFV Club M3A3.

Hi Paul, its looks good for it's age. I try to resist the temptation to go back and change finished kits. I like to see the progress in my styles and skills. If I re-did kits, I would loose this perspective!

Whatever about the track issue, its still a fine little model. I like the weathering on it. Wheres the chips? :-)



Id have to agree with the above statement ... its better to move on. Once you´ve changed the tracks (and fixed anything broken in the process), you most likely will spot something else than can be improved. Its a never ending circle!
I also built this kit in 2003, funnily enough. Took 5 hours to build, including filling the sponsoons. Faults aside, it was fun and fast.

Oh, absolutely. I'd never advocate going back and rebuilding an older kit (unless you really wanted to). It's always easier to start again. I just wanted to pass on a few comments on that old dog.



The reason for that is that it's just a really, really sweet kit. Almost perfect. I'd say perfect, because I haven't found any flaws, but I know nothing is perfect. Still, this is d*mned close, let me tell you. Pity they didn't do the earlier M3s or the later M5, stillI have a couple and look forward to building them.
Paul