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Hello folks, I have just completed my build of an M3 Lee tank, early production, 2nd Armoured Division, US Army 1942. The kit is from Miniart and is an interior build with a load of details as you will see in the coming photo's. There are quite a lot of photo's coming up, but this is an interior build and there are a lot of details to show... Here's a quick tour around the tank..... With interior builds, I always like to show off as much interior as possible, so I have constructed the model so that the engine and top hull panels are removable.... Here are a selection of photo's showing the interior details... A photo showing the turret cage with the turret and cupola on either side... A few photo's with the tank on a very simple base with a pair of Alpine figures... That's it, a brilliant kit to make, a model very highly recommended, hope you like it... Here's a link to the WIP https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235130113-m3-lee-early-production-miniart-35206-interior-kit-finished/#comments all the best Ed

Hi Pals, This model is well known by many, it is quite simple, with some factory problems, but they can be solved with some skill. I had read about it before, and since I thought I could fix it, I also bought it at a discount time. I remember that the structure of the hull, being asymmetrical and complex in shape, I had some problem fitting it into place, I think I had to "sculpt" some joint, although not what it was...sorry, in case it was useful. .. Another well-known thing is the "union" of the tracks, which although they are easy to finish, they have not measured the length they should have well, and there is a space of approximately one link that must be filled... I saw that other modelers cut a link in half, and it was just right... I tried to cut two, so that the loss of width would be less noticeable... As an improvement I tried making the grip straps for the tools out of masking tape. Another problem with the kit is that the decals, although beautiful, are extremely thick...and that even with the fixing liquids, it was impossible not to notice that they "protruded"...incredible for a brand like " TAKOM"... despite everything, several layers of product and varnish, did the job... The stars and the yellow band, I did try with a mask and tape, to airbrush them, because the quality was just as bad, but the surface was not smooth as with the numerals... I think that after several tests they turned out well... The idea was to make a used vehicle, but one that has not seen real combat, since the paint options offered by the kit are from training schools, except the Soviet one, but since I wanted an American vehicle that I have very few, hence the chose. I added a fiber antenna and that's it.... There are some photos with his "little brother" an M3 Stuart, which he had already done before (and published in the forum in case someone is interested in seeing it, I add a link WIP and RTI), and that seemed appropriate, since they are from the same period and same user, for comparison... RECCE FORCE, M3A1 STUART 1/35 ITALERI https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235074828-recce-force-m3a1-stuart-135-italeri/ Thanks for watching as always. Cheers and TC Francis.👍 SOME PICS ON DETAIL: BROTHERS IN ARMS:

So I'm going to be building this for the GB... I do like obscure subjects and odd looking and/or asymmetric vehicles so this is right up my street. Apparently they were designed to use powerful carbon-arc lamps to illuminate and disorient the enemy at night - though I'm sure in combat that would see them draw more fire on themselves. Apparently the turret gun in these M3 conversions was simply a fake dummy one, in order to disguise them more as regular M3 tanks to the enemy. Onto the kit, the box contains a nice sprue layout on the side... Here's a few shots of those sprues, lots of parts in this kit... Pretty much all individually bagged, apart from the duplicates and also 2 sprues in one bag, though the bag there was folded down the centre so the two sprues were separated. All looks very nicely moulded with lots of detail, haven't seen any nasty flash, ejector marks or mould lines so far. I think this is the first Takom kit I've built but the quality seems great, I like the fact the sprue identifying letters are big and actually cut out voids so easy to see. Only issue I've found so far is that the long piece of photoetch seems to have been bent in the box as it's got caught under the corner of the instructions, but hopefully easy to flatten back out if needed. The instructions are in a nice glossy black and white booklet, with a colour foldout paint/decal guide. My only issue with that is that it's quite small scale but given the minimal number of decals and overall olive drab scheme it shouldn't be too much of an issue (there's also a high quality scan version on Scalemates.com I can zoom in on if I need to help my poor eyesight). So without further ado I decided I'd make a start, fit and detail is great - so good that I mistook some of the detail on the inside edges of the drive wheel casings (I think this is part of the cast markings) for glue drops and started sanding it out. So that'll do for a start, the next part is assembling all the wheels, bogies and tracks. There seem a lot of potentially fiddly little parts and I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to tackle these link and length tracks, wheels and painting everything. Ideally I'd like to paint the tracks separately then attach after painting everything else, I'll have to see how easy that will be to achieve, but that's for another day.

Hello everyone, This is my last build, M3 Stuart "Honey", of the 5RTR, probably while it was attached to 22AB, sometimes around the time of Battle of Alam el Halfa. Although. I must say that I am not 100% convinced that this was 5RTR tank as Airfix suggested. It might also be 3RTR tank IMO. However, I decided to go with the 5RTR "Connecticut IV" markings that Airfix provided. This is one very interesting kit. It is originally an Academy kit, superbly engineered, but it has many issues with the details. I enjoyed building it very much! I am quite sure that it would not be that much fun if there were no issues to fix. It's like the Academy introduced all those issues on purpose. Anyway, accuracy wise, and regarding dimensions, I didn't bother to do any measurements. It looks fine to my eye and I decided to settle with that. However, there are many details that bothered me. Road wheels are wrong, original sand shields are not looking right, light guards are too thick, stowage mounts attached to the sides are completely wrong for the 5RTR "Connecticut IV" tank (compared to reference photo), many rivets are missing, and many more. Part of the problem is that this is originally Academy kit, which is correct for the marking options offered by Academy, but not to the ones included in the Airfix kit. To help with all these issues, I used some AM parts: Royal Model detailing set (great stuff!), Miniarm road wheels, Accurate Armour carbon fiber aerials, some additional rivets saved from my previous build, Black Dog stowage and some additional spare stowage from other kits. There was some scratch building involved as well: stowage mounts, wiring, etc. Tracks are indy tracks supplied in the kit, and they are great. And some details. Painted with MRP lacquers and Vallejo and Gunze for detail painting and weathered with Mig's nature effects and pigments. This was quick build compared to my usual builds and as I mentioned, I enjoyed it very much. And few on a black background. Here's the real thing: Trying to take a similar angle shot. Thanks for looking, and I apologize for so many photos. Cheers, Nenad

Hello all While the Churchill AVRE has got its SCC 15 base coat and is still drying, I would like to show one of my other projects today, which I am working on parallel to the other models. My planned vignette will show a half-destroyed Grant in North Africa - therefore the title "The English Patient". 🤕 In my imagination the damage was caused by a shell exploding inside the tank close to the side hatch and bent some riveted plates. In addition, a few rollers were also burnt out. My plan is, as in the film, to leave one part destroyed and one intact 🔥 Have fun with the first pictures! MD Vallejo Putty works also fine in this case open hatches first damages on the plates fuel cup modifications Next steps are the boggies and PE

TopDrawings #92 Medium Tank M3 Lee / Grant (9788366148796) Kagero Publishing via Casemate UK In the years before WWII America realised that they were lagging behind in respect of armour, a fact that became especially clear when Germany came out from under the Versailles treaty to show off and then use their new tanks and Blitzkrieg tactics. The M3 Lee was conceived in 1940 as a medium tank carrying a powerful 75mm gun, partly for manning by their own crews, but also because Britain had requested a large number of tanks to make good their losses from Dunkirk. The Lee was a decent tank but suffered from a high silhouette and limited traverse of the sponson-mounted 75mm gun, but was still widely used. In British service it was known as the Lee if it was fitted with the original American turret, or the Grant when using the lower-profiled British specification turrets. The Grant eschewed the mini-turret on the commander's cupola that resulted in a reduction in height and a minor simplification of construction and maintenance for very little loss in flexibility, due to the coaxially mounted Browning machine gun in the turret. It was used primarily in Africa and the Pacific theatres where the 2nd line equipment seemed to be fielded (for the most part) by the enemy, and against the Japanese who were far behind with their tank designs and tactics. The book ideals with the the M3A1, M3A2, M3A4 and M3A5. It is written in English on the left of the page with Polish on the right, which translates to top and bottom for the captions to the various drawings within. The book itself is bound in a card cover and has 28 pages,. Throughout the book, there are numerous smaller diagrams that show equipment layout; as well as the sometime small differences between Marks, here is also one A3 double sided sheet of profiles and top views. Conclusion These books are essential for the modeller that enjoys comparing their models against scale plans, and wants them to be as accurate as possible, with the separate scale plans quite useful. Currently (at time of writing) on offer at a discounted price from Casemate UK Review sample courtesy of

Having finished the T34 and almost completed the T55a I’m enjoying large scale armour so I’ve decided to start on my M3, as with the previous it will be largely oob but I’m going to do a Caunter scheme as I think it’s a wonderful looking camouflage. The kit has rubber band and link and length tracksThe rubber band tracks are quite good and could be stuck down to get realistic sag so I’m not entirely convinced that the individual tracks are all that much better, but I decided to use them. So I’ve started on the individual tracks, talk about fiddly, but I shall just chip away at them.

British M3 Stuart Honey 1:35 Airfix A1358 The M3 is officially the Light Tank M3, later M5 just to confuse things. This was developed in the US and armed with a turret mounted 37mm gun, and an impressive 5 browning machine guns in various positions. Originally powered by an aircraft radial engine the M5 used a conventional V8 powerplant as aero engines were need for aircraft. The British would name the Tank The Stuart after the American Confederate General JEB Stuart. British crews liked the M5 as it was faster than current British Tanks and the gun could fire High Explosive shells, there were though complaints about its layout and lack of range. By late 1942 it was recognised the gun was increasingly in-effective against armour and the tanks were used primarily for reconnaissance. The Kit Before anyone gets too excited about Airfix doing 1/35 Armour all the new kits in the range are in collaboration with Academy. This kit though seems to be well liked by the modelling community. As well as the main hull casting and the turret there are 5 additional sprues in the recognisable caramac plastic as well as four spures of black plastic for the tracks. If individual track links is not your thing then rubber ones are also included. Construction starts with the running fear. Four main bogie units are made up with two wheels each. the rear idler wheels and front drive sprockets are then made up. All of these parts attaching to the lower hull as are the return rollers for the tracks. We then move onto the interior, this is not highly detailed like some kits on the market but should be more than adequate for what you can actually see. The interior and floor are then added into the lower hull. Work then moves to the upper hull this has the ports for the machine guns added along with the side skirts over the tracks. Various light fittings and equipment boxes are added. The driver and gunners observation flaps can be open or shut as needed. The rear exhaust area and additional stowage boxes / fuel can holders are then added. The tracks are then added. As mentioned there are traditional rubber ones and link & length tracks in the box. For the linked ones these are individual links to which end plates are added linking them together. To finish things up the turret is made up ad added. There is a complete 37mm gun which id added into the turret basket the turret is then built up over this. The turret mounted 30 cl can then be added along with the side mounted smoke dis chargers and a few other turret parts. The turret is added to the hull and the model is complete. Decals The small decal sheet has no maker on it, but looks to be in register with no issues. Two main decal options are provided (though only 1 is British?); "Connecticut IV", A Sqn, 5th Royal Tank Regiments, 7th Armoured Div, North Africa 1942 "Helen", B Company, 192nd Tank Battalion, Philippines late 1941 Conclusion This is a great kit of an of the M3 and is to be recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi all, Second Entry is the M3 Lee I'll not bother with a running commentary on the construction of this one, it all went together with no trouble and fitted well. As I said, there were no real issues building this but I now need to decide on the end user - The box artwork shows the subject in Soviet service, then there is always the option of American or British markings. These two would, according to photos, require the addition of some extra stowage boxes on the rear hull and, if going for the 8th Army option, the addition of sandskirts. Probably have a sleep on it... Kind Regards IanJ

M3A1 Half track, pics thanks to Dave Haskell.

Hi all, not sure if it's normal to have 3 separate threads on the go for one subject, but I'll give it a go anyway and worry about the fallout if any after Indeed, this is the 3rd part of my project to show a 3RTR M3 Grant 'at leaguer' on the evening of 1st September 1942, during the Battle of Alam Halfa. Having never made a diorama base ever at all, I have relied heavily on other threads shared here, as well as You-Tube clips to show me the way. This thread, then, is my own journey of discovery, with all its pitfalls and set-backs; hopefully someone will find it of interest. For some background I am trying to build a diorama of this particular day during this battle, as in the course of my familiy history research some years ago I learned that my father had taken part in it as a driver with the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, and been wounded in action. The 1st September this year will mark the 75th anniversary of that event, something I felt I had to recognise, hence this diorama. The tank and figures WIPs are described separately: tank WIP here and figures WIP here, should you be sufficiently curious to wish to take a look. So, the diorama base - a photo frame 10 x 8 - not sure if it's too big for the whole thing, but I am going with it anyway. Glass removed and safely set aside for some future purpose yet to be determined . The edges were built up to the desired profile with thin fibre-board, some packaging remnant from something I've long-since forgotten. The basic topology was then built up with expanded polystyrene shaped with a sharp knife, and glued in with plenty of PVA. Cocktail sticks were used to persuade the more reluctant pieces to lie flat as requested: In the time-honoured way, I decided to use Das air-drying clay - mainly because I had it readily to hand: I spread this over the polystyrene, with some water to get the Das to flow a bit more freely: Now for the sand. I read in another thread on here, that someone recommended 'Chinchilla dust' - no, I hadn't ever heard of it either. But I figured £3.50 for a big bag of the stuff from my local pet store was worth a punt, and indeed it has a very convincing sandy look. However, from my research of the geographical aspects of the battle told me that the area was rather stony as well as sandy, with some sparse vegetation. With that in mind, I mixed in a handful or so of fake coal - the kind beloved of railway modellers: With the Das still wet from being laid down, I liberally sprinkled this mixture over the top of it, from about 12 inches up, then gave it a bit of a press down. Tapping the framework to shift the loose material left me with this: That's as far as I got with it today, but I have to say to my hopelessly inexperienced eye it looks pretty good. Hope this is of interest to someone!