Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) Hello everybody... Im going to jump in here with an M3 Lee. The Tank i will build is from the Armored Fighting School at Ft.Knox Kentucky in 1942. I have a familial connection to these tanks. My Grandfather, trained in them in 1941-42. He was originally part of the 4th Armored Division Headquarters company, under Creighton Abrams. Im not building his specific tank, at least im not sure i am. Currently i have no records of serial #’s to go by. However the tank i am building was used at the school he was stationed at, during the same time period. Theres room for hope that he was in this vehicle at some point. He ultimately went on to serve in the Pacific with the 706th Tank Battalion in 44-45. The model i am going to use is Takoms Excellent cast hulled M3a1 Lee. I will be starting this in a few days once i finish up my other two Group builds. Questions, comments, or jokes if you please. Dennis PS : I will add the sprue shots in my 1st post. This is a brand new kit and never opened until now. Edited February 21, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle Edit 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Excellent! Delighted to see you going ahead with this one Dennis 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 Wot Col said eh. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
German Armour Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 Cool! This is going to be an interesting build! It's cool to see when modelers build something with a personal connection to them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 22, 2019 Author Share Posted February 22, 2019 Ok so here goes folks... Sprue shots as required, you can see everything is still bagged. I will be starting the build officially tomorrow. Questions, comments, or jokes if you please. Dennis 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 (edited) Morning everyone... So i started Grampa’s Lee. I built up the entire lower hull - the running gear and tracks. Wont add those till after my first round of paint. As i want to get around/behind the running gear. This is how she looks as of 20 minutes ago. Those lights/horns are tiny and almost got devoured by the Carpet monster multiple times. Questions, comments, and or jokes if you please. Dennis Edited February 23, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle Re-edited photo’s 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisk Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Nice to see a tank in the mix Dennis. Just curious, are you using the teeth floss for model related tasks and if so, for what? Cheers, Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 23, 2019 Author Share Posted February 23, 2019 Hello @Basilisk ... Took me a second to figure out what you were referring to ? The little green cases are old mouth wash tabs from 15-16 years ago. I actually cut my sand paper into small rectangles and use the cases to store the various grits. Easier to find what i need that way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisk Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 And I was hoping there is some use for the stuff outside dental care But they look like handy containers for the little things Cheers, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 24, 2019 Author Share Posted February 24, 2019 Hello everybody... Not much for today. I was able to build up the upper turret. I will attack the upper hull starting tomorrow or Monday. Im liking the Takom kit, however i think they're a bit over-engineered and fiddly. Ive never had to cut and glue bolts to springs before ? The suspension arms will need 12 of the little suckers ? My biggest complaint thus far. The commanders turret .30 gun doesn't elevate ? It’s permanently locked into whatever position you glue the gun in ? The ancient Tamiya M3 Lee had a backing plate on that piece, so it could be posed in any elevation at will. The main 37mm & co-axial .30 can elevate yet the other gun doesn't, weird design flaw ? So i figured id share a few photos of the M3’s (Riveted & cast) from my grandpa’s yearbook. These are from upstate New York Camp Pine during training & Manuevers. Questions, comments, or jokes if you please. Dennis 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 Aloha Everybody... time for todays update. I was able to knock out the majority of the upper hull. I opted to not go for the gimicky move the main gun/ moves the periscope bits. Too toy like for my tastes. So the main sponson gun is in a fixed position. I figure about 25% of the upper hull is left. Then its on to Paint. Once thats done its on to the running gear and tracks. Then i can glue the upper & lower hulls together. Heres a couple more photo’s of M3’s Questions, comments, & or jokes ? Dennis 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Very well fir now! Too toy like you say? But the turret moves, no? This is serious modelling here! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 25, 2019 Author Share Posted February 25, 2019 (edited) Thanks, Yes the upper turret moves the sponson main gun is fixed. Edited February 25, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 (edited) Halo everyone... Not much for tonight. I added the P/E grill on the rear deck, a couple of antenna mounts and a couple of more visors. I finally lost a piece to the carpet monster tonite. it was a “T” shaped tiedown about 1/2 the size of this “T”. ⬅️ Will finish up the little stuff tomorrow and i should be able to paint on Wednesday or Thursday. Dennis Edited February 26, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorby Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 We've lost another one to the dark side! Looks like I'm late to the party again, you've nearly finished – looks good so far. Psssst, it's a secret, but I'm toying with building a target as well. Might even do a WIP so everyone can have a laugh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 4 hours ago, Gorby said: We've lost another one to the dark side! No ... You didn't lose me Gorby ! I still build aircraft 😉 But i did want to get into a groove with building targets. I do have the “Patton S/Type build starting next month which i started and will be hosting. So i figured id build the Lee to get used to working on armor stuff. Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 Just caught up with this one Dennis. I don't report for duty for a few days, and what do you know it's nearly ready for paint. Nice to see a personal link too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 (edited) 16 minutes ago, nimrod54 said: I don't report for duty for a few days, and what do you know Thank you for the nice compliment. Yes its become a passion of mine to build my Grandpa’s tanks. I also have an uncle that served in the R.N. from 1940 - 42 on a Hunt class D.E. (ORP Kujawiak), In an all polish crew. He also served in the U.S.N. from 43 - 54 on CVE’s and LST’s. Those 3 ships will also be built in the future. I have other relatives that served in WW2, however they were all infantry so not much to do for them. I cant do figures to save my life. Thats the one nice thing about the M3/M4 family, they practically fall together. Ive built about 12 Shermans and this will be my 4th Lee since the mid 90’s. They all went together within a 5-7 day time frame. Add a week for paint and decals and thats about where they fall. Dennis Edited February 26, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 (edited) Hi everyone.. One thing i did notice about this kit that points to it being over fiddly. The fact that all the hatches and vision slots can be posed open. They have intricate minuscule parts to represents handles and prop arms for everything ? However the catch being is there is no interior ? Maybe there is another version of the kit that offers an interior however mine doesn't ? Here are a couple examples of what im talking about. This is the left/right crew entry door. Here is the drivers hatch. Like i said great if you have an interior to show off. This kit didnt come with one, so im leaving the fiddly bits off. The only hatch i may leave open is the commander’s cupola hatch as i have a Tamiya figure i may have a go at for that ? Dennis Edited February 27, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 Hello everybody... Well i did it. I decided to paint the Lee today. Forgive the quality of the photo’s (cellular camera). On top of that the light isnt well today. Next up is to start the tracks, and finish up the Vertical suspension as well. Questions, comments, or jokes ? Dennis 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 On 2/25/2019 at 10:39 AM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: I opted to not go for the gimicky move the main gun/ moves the periscope bits. Too toy like for my tastes. So the main sponson gun is in a fixed position. Well, colour my eternal, internal 8 year old disappointed. And there was I thinking that you were one of the cool kids. 15 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Forgive the quality of the photo’s (cellular camera). On top of that the light isnt well today. The solution to decent photos from phones is right there- add more light. Phone cameras don't like low light conditions, it makes things ugly. With good light and a small tripod, excellent photos can be made with most modern phones (does that sound slightly... odd... to anyone else? Weird world that we live in...) Sterling work there Dennis, the Lee's looking right grand! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 1, 2019 Author Share Posted March 1, 2019 (edited) There will be a temporary delay in the build folks. Spent a few hours in the E/R this morning. I found out i have a kidney stone. Will be taking a few days off to deal with it. Dennis Edited March 1, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 You're making great progress with this one and the addition of your grandpa's photographs is a lovely touch. Good luck getting the kidney stone passed through Dennis. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorby Posted March 3, 2019 Share Posted March 3, 2019 Sorry to hear about your medical problems Dennis. Take it easy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 3, 2019 Author Share Posted March 3, 2019 Thanks @Col. & @Gorby... Health issues or not i added some of the VVSS components yesterday. Took me a while but got some work done. Continuing the photo’s of Lee’s, Just need to add the road wheels and work on the tracks. Promise more tomorrow or Tuesday. Dennis 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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