Messages

1816

Work In Progress / Re: Proposed Project: US Tank Destroyer

« on: December 23, 2014, 01:18:38 pm »

I've only seen 17 pdrs in the duck bill turret , no 3 inch guns , but with over 6000 M10 types built, never say never . I know the Brits had official designations for vehicles produced  that they never received via lend lease , so the 17 pdr M10A1 could be one of those as the Ford V8 gas engine from the M4A3 Sherman on which the vehicle was based  was a production type favoured for use by the US Army .  I must admit my collection of US tank books is slim being more interested in T-34s and KVs as well as Cromwells  . And yes it would be nice to have some plastic crew figures,. The first couple of BA/ Italeri  kits had no  plastic figures but the Panzer IV and Puma  do have a crew figure . Hopefully a full crew figure set is on the drawing board , Italeri do have them in larger scales so maybe they can CAD them down to 1/56 . I've converted some BA Brits for my BA Sherman and Cromwell but really would like dedicated crew figure sets . As well , more open hatches to make adding crews easier . The best I've done so far is to open the loader and driver hatches on BA's T-34/85 .

1817

Work In Progress / Re: Proposed Project: US Tank Destroyer

« on: December 23, 2014, 10:40:31 am »

The  M10 was built on the M4A2 chassis ( twin GM diesels ) , and the M10A1 on the M4A3 chassis ( V8 Ford ) , its really hard to tell the hulls apart except for the grills on the engine deck and the rear engine access doors , usually both hidden by kit on the rear deck  and exhaust grills on the rear . For some reason the extra bolt on armor was never fitted and the mounting bosses on the turret and hull sides deleted in later production  , although the ones on the front hull plate could still be found right through the war . Actually the Achilles was built on both chassis  , M10 ( Mk 1C )  and M10A1 ( Mk IIC ), but always with duck bill turret . Have also seen pictures of M 10 early turret without weights , but might have been pre production / test vehicle . Non of the books I have explain the change in turrets or give them a designation , the duck bill almost looks like a Jackson turret with some of the rear weights carved away to balance the 17pdr . As the Jackson was first  produced  in April 44 and the Achilles in late 44 maybe this is the case . Or maybe not  I do think this would be a great kit for Rubicon to produce , all we need is some one to give us a gun crew with a multi versions of heads 

1818

Work In Progress / Re: Proposed Project: US Tank Destroyer

« on: December 22, 2014, 01:27:56 am »

The M 10 used the same drive train as a Sherman but had a different body . If the lower body , wheels and track were on one spure it could be used on various M4 type vehicles . The M 18 Hellcat and M 24 Chaffee  were built by different companies , Buick and Cadillac / Massey-Harris and although they look the same the Chaffee is about 3 feet shorter and had different width tracks . So not really a good 2 in 1 kit . The M 10 on the other hand was used by the US , Brits , Canadians , Poles , Free French and Russians , as well as the Commonwealth forces getting the up gunned Achilles version . The Achilles version had a different style turret with a longer set of rear counter weights (duck bill shaped ) to off set the heavier gun . The original M 10 had a 5 sided turret with triangular shaped weights , but it seems the same gun mantlet was used on both types .  As a side note , the racks on the hull side of the M 10 were for the track groucers , a sort of stud for tank tracks  ( also carried by Shermans , in the rear hull , M3 Lee / Grants & M7 Priests  in boxes on the hull roof and glasis plate , and M5 Stuarts & M8 HMC on the turret sides / galsis plate ) . These were issued to tanks that had the rubber pad track , if all steel track was on the vehicle  , the racks were empty or removed .

1819

General Discussions / Re: Turret attachment scale model vs. gamer approach

« on: December 18, 2014, 08:56:30 am »

I use fiber optic cable as antenna . It paints up nice with both acrylic and enamel paint and takes a fair bit of abuse when I'm playing  with my tanks 

1820

Work In Progress / Re: Proposed Project: Churchill

« on: December 01, 2014, 09:58:28 pm »

Probably  best to do 2 kits . A Churchill III/ IV / AVRE ( as all WW2 AVREs were based on the III/IV tank ) and a Churchill VII/ Crocodile version .  The III/IV would have 2 turrets - welded / cast , 3 gun options -6 pdr / 75mm / petrard morter . And a couple of little side bits for the AVRE.( mounting plates  for engineering equipment) . The VII of course needs a different body ( round side doors ) and new turret . Add on the Croc trailer , the trailer hitch / rear end piping and flame gun .

1821

Work In Progress / Re: Soviet Medium Tank T-34/85

« on: November 29, 2014, 09:56:32 am »

 Your welcome , glad I could help . I would say the hooks on the S53 version were more common through out WW2 tank production , in fact even the post war Polish manufactured tanks still had this type of lift hook . The U shaped hooks were only used by one factory at the very start of the T-34 / 85 production . And as I stated in an earlier post , those  tanks had lots of little details that were deleted to streamline production ie : gunner's vision slit , hull mounted radio , etc . 

1822

Work In Progress / Re: Soviet Medium Tank T-34/85

« on: November 28, 2014, 09:58:12 pm »

If I knew how to find the icon , I'ld give you two thumbs up . Looks great !

1823

Work In Progress / Re: Proposed Project: Tiger II

« on: November 28, 2014, 09:28:33 am »

I guess you could make 2 Tiger  II kits . The Porsche turret version with 2 turrets , one with , one without zimm . Then the hull could be made so the glasis plate and sides are separate pieces  ( sort of like the side panels of your Panzer IV ),with or without zimm . The same for the Henschel turret version . This would give you 2 basic sprues , body and wheels / track for the kit , and then add the Porsche or Henshcel turret sprue  as needed .  I seem to recall , Dragon does the same kind of thing in 1/35 for the glasis plates of their Panthers , it gives them a basic body with the front plate added depending on the vehicle type .

1824

Showcase & Gallery / Re: Sherman M4A3

« on: November 26, 2014, 10:17:36 pm »

Your right , the hatch does look weird . I guess the turret and mantle can be sanded and / or puttied to match the picture of the vehicle you wish to build . I've built lots of kits need a little bit of extra attention, love that Green Stuff    . More a fan of the 75 turret tank myself but may have to do a post war Canadian 76 mm ( Korea ? ) if I can find photos of this body type .

1825

Work In Progress / Re: Proposed Project: Tiger II

« on: November 26, 2014, 09:49:16 pm »

I'll also vote for a zim - less Tiger II . Depending on which actual tank I decide to model , if needed I will add my own zim. 

1826

Showcase & Gallery / Re: Sherman M4A3

« on: November 26, 2014, 10:46:52 am »

What's wrong with the turret , Pinky ? According to the Sherman Minutia Website , there were about 6 versions of the T-23 turret , maybe it's one you've  not seen before . Depending what tank  Rubicon used as there template ,it might be a limited run one off ,or  it could be a Museum franken tank mash up , and we've all seen those at American and Canadian Legion halls . I think the one in a town south of me is an ex Israeli Sherman , one day I have to go get pictures

1827

Work In Progress / Re: Soviet Medium Tank T-34/85

« on: November 26, 2014, 10:30:38 am »

The roof top C looks good for a mid 44 pattern tank . If you use roof top A , a Jan - Feb 44 tank with the hatch situated forward , you will have to give both sides of the turret - vision slits , it will also need those U shaped lift rings , the radio is in the hull by the bow gunner ( same as T-34 / 76 ) , the body  will need round front fenders and the early dish style wheels to be accurate . Might be easier to make a roof with the two piece hatch located in the same spot as the large hatch . Add the antenna pot and the tear drop / oval style periscope and your good to go . These later tanks had various wheel types and square front fenders . In fact the factories that were building the tanks as well as the  SU - 100 SPG are the ones who started adding the square fender.  Some factories kept the round fender and dish wheels through out the war . There were about 8 factories building tanks , about 5 of the factories also made turrets so they shipped various styles to the other builders .So you could get a real variety of turret and body features , not to mention about 18 different styles of wheels and IRC about a dozen styles of T-34 track . 
What ever you end up doing will be a great improvement on the kits out here already . And those of us who want too , can add or remove the features that bother us . All ready going through the parts box looking for U shaped hooks ...

1828

Work In Progress / Re: Soviet Medium Tank T-34/85

« on: November 24, 2014, 02:36:46 am »

I would say leave the double dome fan alone , true its a little too far back but we can live with it , I mean other companies have a lot bigger problems on some their kits and most gamers don't care , or maybe they don't know . lol  . You mention the cone shaped ventilator , I think you mean the cone/ pear shaped periscope cover , it was an intermediate type used on the early 85s , so I would still keep it , just add the antennae mount behind it.  Many pictures I have show both types of periscopes on one tank  ( T-34 / 76s as well ). I guess the factories just used whatever they had in stock at the time , there was a war on you know . lol  Aside from that , both roof styles look great , and  yes, the 2 piece hatch cupola was a smaller diameter than the one piece version , so your right on the money there . Sorry , don't mean to nit pick , so if I get out of line , send me to my hobby room . I  spend way to much time on the computer as it is  and I really should be  building more Russian tank riders   

1829

Work In Progress / Re: Soviet Medium Tank T-34/85

« on: November 23, 2014, 11:16:47 pm »

In the drawing of Plant 112 Jan - Feb 44 turret , notice both roof hatches are located forward on the roof , this was because the turret only had a two man crew as it used the original T-34 76 turret ring . There was  no room for a third crew member or radio which was located  in the hull just like the 76 model   .  The Feb - Mar 44 picture shows the hatches relocated aft as the larger turret ring was now being manufactured  giving more room for the three man crew and radio . The gunner's vision slit on the early Plant 112 turrets was a hold over from manufacturing the T-34 Hex turrets , when the turret design was finalized it was removed . In Pinky's photo it shows an early Jan 44 turret , notice how far forward the commanders hatch is  .  A good cheap reference book ( under $ 20 ) is the Squadron / Signal  T-34 in Action book ( No 20 ) . It shows most of the turret types and various changes in all the T-34 models . Lots of clear photos and drawings . In fact Pinky's tank is shown with about  20 others of the same  regiment on parade , all having 4 man crews .

1830

Work In Progress / Re: Soviet Medium Tank T-34/85

« on: November 23, 2014, 11:09:43 am »

Your right Pinky , the dome should almost touch the commander's cupola . I totally missed that . All my books show double fan domes on the 1943 pattern T-34 / 85 . A couple of factories started splitting the domes , one front , one rear on the 1945 model .