Rubicon Models

Rubicon Models => Work In Progress => Topic started by: Rubicon Models on December 09, 2021, 10:35:17 pm

Title: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Rubicon Models on December 09, 2021, 10:35:17 pm
The long-awaited project that many had been looking forward to after the completion of our M4 Sherman Digital Library is finally upon us!

A total of 8 possible variants is planned for this 1/56 scale multi-sprue plastic kit, including early, mid, and late production variants of the M3 Lee and Grant, plus the Australian and M3A5 (Grant II) too!  Of course, this will depend on sprue space and design...

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/f6/9e/kRyDeJEg_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/fa/2d/5devK1w9_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/67/80/4URce37d_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/b6/8d/rsi5yPQz_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/12/e0/dB84mJm7_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/f7/cf/CNM2lFFb_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/a8/24/0rwJRIQS_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/94/61/BJO15JuM_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/f9/b6/pPeMbXw3_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/0c/d4/oqSrhNVD_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/eb/6a/SP85U6e6_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/47/4f/dVugp4tX_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/a7/58/hhwmv4G4_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/5d/12/ud6Fss75_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/4a/76/kWheZCrE_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/61/85/7whQP7NM_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/5a/85/mOkim3eC_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/0a/ff/44x2KN7N_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/ca/fb/RkLcFMAJ_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/20/10/OkZj9FSg_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/2d/8d/9KYwhUvK_t.png)

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/3b/e5/N6jSacUr_t.png)

Enjoy!
;)
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: viclineal on December 10, 2021, 01:35:24 am
Another excellent addition! Will get a few of these "coffins for seven brothers" for my Soviet collection.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: EarlyWarGamer on December 10, 2021, 04:12:22 am
Fantastic news!!!  I know many, many people have been waiting ages for this very thing!
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Jaeger on December 10, 2021, 07:49:56 am
And an M12 kit to go on top of the chassis?
I need a sniper weapon when attacking Aachen.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Stuart on December 11, 2021, 03:28:53 am
Great addition to my North Africa collection. Long awaited. Greatly anticipated.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: spad on December 11, 2021, 06:12:28 am
More good news
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Heisler on December 11, 2021, 07:22:49 am
What!? No cast hull option?
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Tracks on December 11, 2021, 11:10:26 am
What!? No cast hull option?

Did the cast hull version even see combat?
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Tracks on December 11, 2021, 11:29:09 am
The long awaited Medium Tank M3.  :)
Also known as the Lee and Grant.
However, it will not be available anytime soon.  :(

In the last paragraph in the information below, wouldn't it be better to have said that the British and Americans continued to use the M3s in combat against the Japanese in southeast Asia. Because the Americans (US Army, not US Marines) also continued to use the M3 Medium Tank (Lee) in parts of southeast Asia.

Also, over 1,300 M3s were supplied to the Soviet army (Lend-Lease). It says "nearly a thousand". I will double check this, but I'm pretty sure it was over a thousand.

(https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/67/80/4URce37d_t.png)
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Heisler on December 12, 2021, 09:13:47 pm
What!? No cast hull option?

Did the cast hull version even see combat?

Possibly a few made it into combat, the vast majority remained in the US for training.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Captain Blood on December 13, 2021, 05:10:38 am
Great. Looking forward to this one. Another must have for the Western Desert and beyond.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: viclineal on December 14, 2021, 05:55:35 pm
Also, over 1,300 M3s were supplied to the Soviet army (Lend-Lease). It says "nearly a thousand". I will double check this, but I'm pretty sure it was over a thousand.

Writing from memory, but I think around 1400 were sent but over 400 were lost in shipping (mostly in the worst days of convoy interception in 1942), so that slightly under a thousand were actually received by the Soviets.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Tracks on January 14, 2022, 08:43:37 am
Just a thought. When the M3 Lee/Grant kit actually does get released by Rubicon Models, I wonder how difficult it would be to use the power of plastic to make (scratch build) an M31 recovery vehicle using the base kit and Evergreen plastic sheets and strips. My guess would be that for the average modeller, it should be easy enough, and for the advanced modeller, well, I guess it would be a simple conversion.

(https://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/US/Tractors/M31_ARV-beigeNov42.png)
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: spad on January 16, 2022, 05:45:26 pm
Will the decal sheet include Soviet and Brazilian options?
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: sandsmodels on January 23, 2022, 10:51:22 pm
nice job
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Wabbit on February 18, 2022, 01:05:31 am
Awesome I need a Lee for my British 14th Army force. I hope the decals cover the 25th Dragoons at the Admin Box or other Brigades in Burma. A Grant option and decals for North Africa would be fantastic too. Desert Rats!
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Tracks on March 08, 2022, 01:06:29 pm
I wonder if Rubicon Models will also have a truck version of the M3 Medium tank.  ;D

(https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/m3-grant-tank-op-bertrum-1.jpg)

LOL
Seriously though, I also noticed that there is a growing interest in the M3 lately. Even USTAR (a Japanese company) will release a plastic M3 tank. However, that one will be 1:144 scale, and Takom's recent M3 kit is a 1:35 kit.

(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiTJ3Yys78IxkO7vrcLg7aKGjmXRRnOIb-q4EbFoG50sv9wD_L7thhPxfGBFqxh2M3sYGGpmQEzF-__lv4_HoTc-TAsJgGM9nGgKRumgH8qmEFR9EWZk_OLeFChSZV_hwmF7LnkFY2GNq7TmM-kv5VhbJ4usWv6yTcJy6I4B3X9i-AUYQGSlVo=s760)

I think a lot of miniature gamers and some hobby modellers will be really looking forward to the new M3 Medium tank that Rubicon Models is planning to release. I predict that this new kit will be a good seller for them.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: SheriffSherman on May 17, 2022, 05:55:13 am
This is very exciting, I can’t wait to get a few of these…
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Tracks on May 28, 2022, 10:35:16 am
If and when this kit is released, I suspect most tabletop miniature gamers will get the kit to use as a standard M3 Lee or Grant. I know I will. For sure, those that have British Army miniatures will want these the most for their North African collections, but as mentioned before, the M3 medium was used all over the world by several countries. The main countries being the Americans, British, and Soviets.

There are so many uses for this kit. This kit would be a nice one to get for a conversion to a recovery vehicle (if you needed one), but a few were also used as prime movers, which would be a very easy conversion.

(https://i.postimg.cc/2ykJZ71b/M3as-Prime-Mov.jpg)
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Tracks on September 05, 2022, 09:18:41 am
Is this still on the production table?
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Tracks on December 14, 2022, 10:39:41 am
All quiet on the Rubicon front.

it has been pretty quiet here on Rubicon Models website for these last few months.

Not even a "Project of the Month" for quite sometime now. Maybe RM needs some good ideas?
How about some more Soviet WW2 stuff?

Soviet vehicles and equipment in plastic:
Plastic AT-Guns  - these would be popular; especially the ZiS-2 and ZiS-3 AT guns.
BA-64 – one of the most produced Soviet armored cars.
Note: The BA-3/BA-6 and BA-10 from Rubicon Models are very good model kits.
BT-5 or BT-7 - a BT-7 is coming soon?
T-60 or T-70
SU-76

And of course the Medium Tank M3 (AKA the Lee) was also used by the Soviet Army in WW2.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Rubicon Models on December 14, 2022, 01:31:47 pm
Not even a "Project of the Month" for quite sometime now. Maybe RM needs some good ideas?

We'd announced halting "Project of the Month" feature at the beginning of the year.  There are just too many open-ended projects and we would like to spend time finishing them all firsts before starting new ones.

Being that said, we are still starting new projects, but not at the rate of "at least" one per month.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Rubicon Models on December 14, 2022, 01:43:28 pm
Soviet vehicles and equipment in plastic:
Plastic AT-Guns  - these would be popular; especially the ZiS-2 and ZiS-3 AT guns.
BA-64 – one of the most produced Soviet armored cars.
Note: The BA-3/BA-6 and BA-10 from Rubicon Models are very good model kits.
BT-5 or BT-7 - a BT-7 is coming soon?
T-60 or T-70
SU-76

And of course the Medium Tank M3 (AKA the Lee) was also used by the Soviet Army in WW2.

We had not been updating the forum a lot this year due to limited resources handling social media.  We currently are focusing on Facebook only, hopefully, this will improve next year.

Here is an update on the Soviet related projects you mentioned:

Plastic AT-Guns  - these would be popular; especially the ZiS-2 and ZiS-3 AT guns.
>> ZiS-3 drawings are done, awaiting mould making.
>> ZiS-2 is still on the wishlist.

BA-64 – one of the most produced Soviet armored cars.
>> BA-64 is still on the wishlist.

BT-5 or BT-7 - a BT-7 is coming soon?
>> BT-7 & Variants drawings are done, awaiting mould making.

T-60 or T-70
>> No plan at this moment.

SU-76
>> No plan at this moment.

M3 Lee/Grant
>> Drawings are done, awaiting mould making.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Wabbit on January 09, 2023, 11:40:32 pm
Hi Any update on the m3 lee/Grant? Its been a very long time now almost 2 years? I really want a couple for my Burma and North Africa Bolt action forces. They look great. Fingers crossed its coming soon?
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Tracks on May 17, 2023, 09:15:19 am
Was this project cancelled?
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Rubicon Models on May 17, 2023, 01:00:25 pm
The project is still ongoing... just finished digital sculpting of "organic" parts, awaiting approval.  Once approved, it will send to mould-making.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: H0ffmn on October 14, 2023, 09:17:20 am
Hi. Any chance of the M-3 Lee/Grant being released in your next wave of kit releases??
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Rubicon Models on October 14, 2023, 05:58:09 pm
Possibility not.  The project is still on hold in the drawing stage because of some production issues.  Not because of the M3 Lee/Grant but the M7 Priest.  Might have to wait for a while before we can move both projects to mould making.  Sorry.

:(
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: Jaeger on October 14, 2023, 11:28:32 pm
The M7 is interesting news. 
Looking forward to both. 
I still want an M21 also.
Title: Re: Project of the Month - Dec 2021 - M3 Lee & Grant
Post by: H0ffmn on October 15, 2023, 08:17:03 am
Rubicon,
       Thank you for responding so quickly. Is there any chance that you could let us know what your next wave of releases may be? You've went through and turned all of your projects on the Production Schedule into kits on the market. That's very commendable!!