I’m just about to start working on Tamiyas M3 Lee.
Now I know this kit has some problems but I don’t really care if it comes out completely accurate but considering it looks like an easy build and an even easier paint job I’m thinking of trying to fix some things. (Not all of them. Just want to get some practice in on fixing stuff and make the project a little more interesting.)
I remember seeing a list of all the errors and how to fix them but can’t find it anymore. Anyone know where it is or have a list of the errors?

Thanks.

Hi,

I don' t know of a list offhand, but I can give you a couple of pointers straight away:

1. The bogie wheels never existed! They have an extra spoke, and are best replaced with either the ones from any of Italeri's Shermans or the Tamiya M4.

2. The tracks not only never existed; they'd never be able to function. The end connectors, rather than connected each link with the next, simply attach to one link. Which means that the links are not, by any mechanical means, linked. Many options here, the easiest of which are the tracks from the Italeri M4A1, M36B1, or Priest, as this was the most common found on Lees. Or you can go the indy track route, a waste of time, in my opinion, for this dog.

HTH
Rob

In addition to the problems above, the engine deck is for a radial engined version but the tail plate is for the diesel version (the Tamiya Grant has the correct tailplate and air cleaner parts, if you can find one to cannibalize).
On the turret, the slot for the gun sight is positioned for the gun at full elevation, so you either have to open the bottom of the slot and fill the top, or fix the 37mm gun aimed at the sky. The 37mm should be mounted lower on its rotor shield. Turret shell tapers too much (to make the part easier for Tamiya to demold). Fixable, with some photos and enough putty.
Upper hull is too tall, pretty much unfixable without a complete replacement resin upper hull--again this kit is not worth the investment. Radius of the 75 mm gun mantlet (also called a rotor shield) is too small. Enlarge the slot and add a layer of sheet plastic to the rotor to enlarge it.
The old Eduard photoetch set offers some useful parts, including the engine grill.
Up to you how much sweat (and money) you want to sink into a thirty year old kit. From a standpoint of money and time, the Academy kit is a better investment.

Thanks guys.

I’m not planing on buying any aftermarket items or other kits for this one. Just plane to fix up what I can with plastic, putty and perhaps a thing or 2 from the spares box.

One additional jewel that Messers Tamiya threw into the equation is that the lower hull is about 1/8" too wide, thus no aftermarket 3-piece trannys will fit. In fact, they just fall into the hole! You have to add the casting numbers & texture to the kit parts yourself. Watch the flanges on the tranny cover as the real things were pretty uneven so smoothing out the visible seam is _not_ the thing to do. In fact, I emphasized the mismatch on mine to show the machining marks and the like.

On top of the road wheels being bogus, the idler mounts are a complete fabrication, steel them from another kit, including the mount flange and the side gussets.

The pistol port on the turret is waaaay too small and the casting bulge isn't integrated properly into the turret shape. The port on the hull is the right size.

Personally I'd get a Grant for the hull, get wheels and idlers off of an old Italeri M4A1 76, Reshape the turret and add the missing details while also using the hull pistol port from the Grant to replace the POS on the Lee turret.

Update the tranny cover as mentioned above and add texture to the MG cupola as well as the casemate for the sponson 75mm.

On the nit picky side is the fact that the access door on the top of the hull is too cloase to the turret (this doesn't matter to the Lee, but the Grant turret actually blocks the doorway), the drivors visor is too small by about 1/32" on the sides and bottom. The rotors are off a mentioned above and the 37mm tube could stand to be replaced.

There are still a lot of other even smaller mods that can be made, if you are of a mind...

Paul

Thanks Paul.

If you know of any of the smaller ones I would love to hear about them. (I’m probably more likely to do smaller things then bigger ones anyway.)

I’ve been looking at some pictures and thinking I could rebuild the back by boving some of the parts around and adding a little scratch work. I’m just not exactly sure how everything would line up.
Does anyone have a picture of the back of the finished kit? It would be a big help.

http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/lee.htm

Chris Hughes' website of pictures.

Maybe go over to your LHS and look at the new Academy M3 Lee. It may change your idea about correcting the ancient Tamiya M3. The Acad isn't flawless but much more accurate than the Tamiya kit.

Thanks Roy but I meant the back of the actual model. (But I’ll add that link to my references.)
The box and instructions don’t show it from the back and I need to see how the top and bottom fit together bach there.

As for the academy kit I hope to get it one of these days but for now I have the Tamiya one in my stash so figure I should build it.

To be honest, unless getting the new kit is difficult or you're real short of cash, I'd bin the Tamiya POS and build the Academy kit. Waaaay less frustration there than in the Tamiya kit.

As for the smaller changes, they are frequently more difficult to fix than the larger items we've been talking about. Still, I'll try to come up with a bit of a list.

Paul

is the academy Lee more accurate? I built the tamiya a couple of years ago and thought that it was a fun model to build, I didnt worry too much about the accuracy.

Paul I would appreciate that.

Robert I havn’t seen the kit in person pot from the pictures I’ve seen from it the academy kit is much better.

And like I said above I’m not really to concerned with making this kit perfect I just want to use it for some practice on making improvements to kits.

Robert:

I have the Academy and I had built the Tamiya Grant which was identical except the turret. The difference is like heaven and hell.

First, the Academy gives an almost complete interior, with details of both guns' breaches, 0.303 LMGs, and so on. Given that there are three large doors across the hull plus the commander cupola, it is a valuable addition. The hull is complete with sponsons, so you can open those doors, won't see the track, like the Tamiya.The details are finer, no surprise, the Tamiya kit is some 30 year old.

I know that there is a discrepancy with the angle of the hull's front armor plate, there are some rivets not in place and the stowage bins aren't correct, but construction was quite easy up till now (I have made the upper and lower hull, the turret basket and part of the interior yet), and it will be a very nice beast, so I don't give a damn. It is a good sport, but in difficulty a level higher than the Tamiya.