The Iron Cathedral - M3 Medium tank - the ‘Lee’

M3 Medium tank - the ‘Lee’

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Picture 1 The model ‘Photo-shopped’ into a Tunisian action scene.

Introduction

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Picture 2 Overhead view of the pilot M3 medium tank. The early production vehicles lacked the rear stowage bins. Picture 4 A rear view of the No. 1 pilot M3 built at Rock Island Arsenal shows the original exhaust con-figuration with the ‘pepper-pot’ exhausts as provided in the kit. Picture 3 The completed model in a scenic setting set against a photo-realistic backdrop. Picture 5 Close-up of the intermediate ‘quick-fix’ exhaust with the fish-tail stub exhaust coming out of the same circular port as the earlier exhaust, and the air cleaner moved to the outside of the hull. This example is on a preserved Grant tank in the Virginia Military Vehicle Museum collection that may be familiar to British enthusiasts as it was previously in the Budge collection.

Crash Course in M3 Production

The history of the M3 Lee and its British production version, the Grant, has been told in detail many times elsewhere. Here, I am going to deal with some of the more obscure production issues that explain some of the modelling issues with this kit. The M3 was the first medium tank put into serial production in the Untied States and ultimately some five plants were involved in its manufacture. Of the five plants, three of them, Pressed Steel Car, Pullman, and Baldwin, built most of their M3 tanks in the Grant configuration for Britain. As a result, most of the US Army M3 Lee tanks came from the Chrysler’s Detroit Tank Arsenal, or the American Locomotive (ALCO) plant in Schenectady, New York. Four sub-contractors cast the turrets for M3 tanks. All 500 turrets cast by Union were for the Grant programme, as were about 1,100 from General Steel Casting. General was the largest single foundry used in the M3 programme with contracts for 3,712 turrets which were supplied to ALCO, Baldwin, and Pullman. The other key foundries were ASF and Continental for a combined total of 2,752 D-38530 (Lee) turrets, which all went to Chrysler.

This industrial trivia might seem irrelevant to modelling, but in fact it helps explain one of the odd features of the Academy kit. The kit turret has a very pronounced rectangular bulge on the left rear side of the turret below the commander’s machine gun cupola. Some photos of M3 Lee tanks seem to show this feature while others do not. The reason for the discrepancy was the difference between the casting procedures at the different foundries. The turrets cast by ASF and Continental, which appeared on the Chrysler-built tanks, had a very subtle version of this bulge. The turrets cast by General which appeared on ALCO M3 tanks as well as other types such as the ALCO-built M3A1 and Baldwin M3A5, had a much more pronounced bulge. The kit depiction of this feature is a problem for two reasons. The vast majority of M3 Lee tanks used by the US Army were built by Chrysler and had the ASF/Continental turrets with the more, subtle bulge. Furthermore, the markings options provided in the kit are for Chrysler-built tanks.

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Picture 6 M3 W-309,490 of Co. D, 2/13th Armoured on 23rd November 1942. Close inspection of the road-wheels will show one of the early D85163 pressed disk wheel bodies instead of the more familiar D38501 spoked bogie wheel body. Picture 7 Good view of D-11, registration number W-305,797 of Co. D, 67th Armoured Regiment, 2nd Armoured Division during the Carolina manoeuvres on 5th November 1941. The 2nd Armoured Division used a national insignia the reverse of the more familiar Army Air Corps style with the roundel in red instead of blue. This was carried on the hull sides, turret rear, and glacis plate. The company letter/numbers are on the turret side. The registration numbers are probably in blue drab. This marking quickly disappeared after the Pearl Harbor attack due to the fear that the red circle could lead to misidentification. The crew wear early pattern tankers’ helmets. (NARA) Picture 8 Rear view of the M3 ‘pseudo-Grant’ in the APG collection shows the final exhaust configuration with the exhaust stubs up under the centre of the rear overhang and the two air cleaners in either corner. Picture 9 A British Lee in early non-standard camouflage at the ordnance school outside Cairo Egypt in 1941. It is fitted with WD-212 rubber blocked track. Picture 10 Another alternative for modellers who wish to build an early production M3 Lee would be one of those that served with the 8th Army in North Africa. This photo is especially interesting as it shows the US Ordnance liaison team in Egypt with British officers; Captain Bill Summerbell (in the pith helmet) and Lt.Col. G. B. Jarrett (in garrison cap) who was instrumental in founding the Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground. The Lee is fitted with British manufactured sand shields and has a stringer with loops attached to fit the ‘sunshade’ lorry disguise. (MHI) Picture 11 A M3 of Company C, 69th Armoured, 1st Armoured Division in November 1941 during the Carolina manoeuvres. The 1st Armoured Division used the Armoured force triangle insignia carried on the glacis plate and in the rear on the engine access doors. With the company tactical letter/number on the upper glacis and split on the hull rear. (NARA) Picture 12 An M3 of Co. F, 69th Armoured, 1st Armoured Division unloads from a rail-car in Rock-hill South Carolina on 31st October 1941 prior to the manoeuvres. This photo shows several interesting details such as the original ‘pepper-pot’ exhaust configuration, the 1st Armoured Division insignia on the rear engine doors, and the company markings F7 split on either side of the hull rear plates. The angle of this view prevents viewing of the blue dashes around the base of the turret. (NARA) Picture 13 The first combat use of the M3 medium tank was by the 2/13th Armoured Regiment, 1st Armoured Division during the race for Tunis in November-December 1942. The battalion was heavily photographed during a maintenance break near Souk el Arba on 24th November 1942. This is the crew of M3 W-309,576 of the 3rd Platoon, Co. D, 2/13th Armoured displaying different types of 75mm ammunition. The company tactical markings were painted on the crews’ helmets as well in the form of a yellow circle with the marking in OD; these show Cos. D and E. (NARA) Picture 14 An M3 tank W-309,503 of Co. F, 2/13th Armoured is another example of a Chrysler-built tank with the distinctive reinforced bogie castings. Close examination of the helmets will show that they were marked with the company symbol in Olive Drab on a yellow circle and this is shown in the inset illustration as well. (NARA) Picture 15 An M3 of Co. A, 751st Tank Battalion moves through Bizerte during the final fighting of the Tunisian campaign. This is an interesting view as it shows an ALCO built tank with untypical steel tracks, and a partial array of grouser stowage boxes with only one on the glacis, not the usual two. It is armed with the later and longer M3 75mm gun.

The second problem is that Academy misunderstood the shape of this bulge. The M3 D-38530 turret has its sides angled at 5º off vertical except for the area alongside the cupola, which is vertical. So this bulge should follow the round contours of the turret, and not be flat as depicted in the Academy kit. To further complicate matters, this bulge was actually accompanied by another bulge over the trunnion area further forward on the left side of the turret, which is omitted on the kit. From a modelling perspective, this means that the bulge should be considerably reduced if depicting a typical US Army M3 Lee. If wishing to duplicate an ALCO M3 or one of the other production variants such as the M3A5, the bulge is a bit more prominent, but it still must be reshaped from flat to round. Hopefully the accompanying photos will make these points a bit clearer. The second production issue raised by the kit is the configuration of the rear of the vehicle under the superstructure overhang. The kit accurately depicts the first arrangement of a pair of ‘pepper-pot’ exhausts nestling under the rear overhang. Visitors to the Tank Museum at Bovington will recognize this configuration as the Grant there is one of the few museum tanks still fitted with the original exhaust outlets. This early exhaust system caused problems as it overheated the engine deck plate above, posing a scalding hazard to the crew. So a ‘quick-fix’ was introduced in late 1941-early 1942, doing away with the ‘pepper-pot’ exhaust mufflers and substituting simple fish-tail exhaust stubs which exited from the same circular plate. At the same time, the box air cleaners were moved to the outside rear corners, under the overhang.

This remained the production configuration for most of the spring of 1942 and many M3 Lee tanks in the US Army were modified to this specification based on a maintenance work order (MWO). In the late spring/early summer of 1942, the final design for the rear area was introduced, blanking over the round plates and ducting the exhaust along the centre of the engine deck roof with two exhausts pointing downwards from the overhang. This will be familiar to most Sherman buffs as it is the same configuration as the Tamiya M4 or DML M4A1. The Academy kit provides only the first exhaust configuration and this is fine, except that the decal options are for two US tanks in Tunisia, both of which are March-April 1942 Chrysler tanks with the intermediate ‘quick-fix’ exhaust configuration.

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Picture 16 A fine, laser-cut saw is a useful tool for removing the detail from the top of the bogies. Picture 17 Once the top detail is safely out of the way, a vertical cut behind the bogie front face removes the spring casing, which is then reattached 2mm lower. Picture 18 The rear bogie parts have their top spring casings removed, and 2mm removed from their lower portions.

The third production issue was the armament of the M3 Lee. When it originally entered production, both the M2 75mm gun in the hull and the 37mm gun in the turret lacked stabilization systems. When stabilization was introduced later in 1941, it was accompanied by counter-weights to balance the guns. On the 75mm gun, this took the form of a prominent two-part casting bolted onto the barrel near the bore of the gun. On the 37mm gun, a tubular counter-weight was attached on the mantlet under the 37mm gun barrel. The kit lacks either counterweight. So unless modelling one of the early production M3 tanks, it’s necessary to add these features.

The third and final armament configuration for the M3 Lee was the introduction of the longer M3 75mm gun in the March-April 1942 period. This longer gun did not need the counter-weight fitted to the M2 75mm gun, and the kit provides this gun barrel as an option. However, when fitted with this gun, the 37mm gun mount should have the counterweight!

Technical Trivia

To summarize this technical trivia, the kit accurately depicts a 1941 production M3 medium tank, but the shape of the turret casting needs attention. The main problem is that it does not represent the more common Chrysler March-April 1942 configuration typical of most US tanks in Tunisia in 1943, such as those represented in the kit decals. As a result, modeller’s will be obliged to either select another markings option such as a British M3 ‘desert tank’ or one of the US Army tanks used in training in the US, or alternately upgrade the model to the later configuration suitable for a Tunisian campaign M3 tank. I decided to do mine in Tunisian markings.

The Lee in Combat

A few words are probably in order to provide a thumbnail portrait of the combat use of the M3 medium tank by the US Army. Aside from extensive used for training purposes in 1941-43, the US Army made very little combat use of the M3. When the US Army took part in Operation Torch and the subsequent campaign in Tunisia starting in November 1942, only one battalion, the 2/13th Armored Regiment of the 1st Armored Division was equipped with the M3 tank in this theatre. The remaining three medium tank regiments in the division converted to the M4/M4A1 Sherman tank before deploying to Tunisia. The 2/13th Armored saw extensive combat in the race for Tunis in December 1942, losing most of its M3 medium tanks in the process. By the time of the fighting around Kasserine Pass in February 1943, the 2/13th Armored had mostly been re-equipped with M4A1 tanks. The 2/13th Armored was the only US medium tank battalion with any combat experience at the time of the Kasserine Pass battles, and gave a good account of itself in the defence of Sbeitla and the later efforts to stop the German/Italian advance into Kasserine pass; it was the division’s other inexperienced battalions which took such a licking.

The heavy losses of M4/M4A1 tanks in February 1943 could not be made up by existing supplies in North Africa, so older M3 tanks were used to re-equip some of the battalions, notably the 3/13th Armored which ended up with many M3 medium tanks. So actually, there were more M3 tanks in combat with the 1st Armored Division after Kasserine Pass than before. The only other US unit to use the M3 in combat in Tunisia was the 751st Tank Battalion, which served in support of the 34th Infantry Division. One of this battalion’s tanks is depicted on the Academy decal sheet (tank number 3). The only other combat use of the M3 by the US Army was by the 193rd Tank Battalion that deployed a few medium tanks on Butaritari Island in the Makin atoll in the Gilberts on 20th November 1943 to support the 165th Infantry Regiment. However, these were M3A5 tanks fitted with wading gear and so would take a significant amount of work to build from the Academy kit.

Those Suspension Bogies!

When I first saw photos of the Academy M3 kit from the Nuremburg Toy Fair, the detail that struck me was the shape of the bogies. On getting the kit, I plopped the suspension parts on a set of Ordnance drawings. Unfortunately, the main body of the bogie is about 2mm too tall: 12.5mm tall instead of the proper 10.5mm. Most modeller’s will probably find this discrepancy too minor to worry about, so they should just ignore the following discussion.

To correct this problem takes patience, but I was able to carry it out in a couple of evenings work. To begin with, carefully cut off the top detail from the front (part E1) and rear (part E21) of the bogie halves, which consists mainly of the supports for the return roller. Put these parts aside as they will be needed later. Next, on the front half of the bogies, make a vertical cut of the bogie (part E1), separating the spring pocket from the front panel. Reattach this 2mm lower on the bogie. The rear half of the bogie assembly (part E21) requires less delicate surgery since it won’t be so evident. I cut off the top portion containing the spring housing, and then attached this to the front half of the bogie in order to clean up the whole assembly. I then trimmed 2mm off the remaining lower section of the bogie. The resulting front bogie assembly can be improved by filling in the rectangular holes on the top which I did using sheet plastic. Once the glue had dried, I trimmed off the excess and cleaned up this assembly. Once cleaned up, I reattached the return roller sup-ports, and added the stiffening ribs (part E7).

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Picture 19 Although 2/13th Armoured was first unit into combat with the M3, the type was later used by other elements of the division; a tank of Co. H, 3/13th Armoured seen here in Tunisia on 8th February 1943. The tactical markings of the 3rd Battalion used a slanted rectangle instead of the vertical rectangle of the 2nd Battalion. (NARA) Picture 20 Rear view of M3 E6, registration W-301,043, of Co. E, 69th Armoured, 1st Armoured Division during the Carolina manoeuvres on 13th November 1941. The DTA tanks appear to have had their registration numbers painted in black instead of the new blue drab. The regiment followed the divisional practice of painting three-inch-high dash markings around the base of the turret in the regimental colour of medium blue, which on the M3 medium tank were about three inches tall and 12 inches long. (NARA) Picture 21 The front and rear spring housings are joined, and some plastic strip glued into the excessive gaps of the top stiffening bars. Picture 22 Once the cement has dried thoroughly overnight, the bogies are cleaned up. The springs also need to be lowered by 2mm by shaving off their tops. Picture 23 The reconfigured bogie with the various bits reattached to the top. Picture 24 This composite photo shows the original kit bogie superimposed on an Ordnance plan of the suspension to show the dimensional problems.

The bogie uses the same springs from the alternate D47527 (aka M4) bogies that are provided as an option with the kit. Unfortunately, these are 2mm too tall for the corrected bogie and so have to be trimmed down. By the way, the D47527 bogie is not really usable on this configuration of the M3 Lee as it only appeared on the later hull, which did away with the side doors and introduced other changes not included in the kit. On the other hand, it nicely reinforces a Sherman spares box! With the front/top bogie assembly complete, I attached the rear part of the bogie assembly directly to the hull, then the suspension arms (parts E-18/-40) and wheels. For more fastidious modeller’s, the return roller provided in the kit is slightly small and not exactly the right shape. The return roller should be 6.5mm in diameter, but is about 6.2mm, and should have a flat front while the kit return roller is bevelled. I ignored these discrepancies, as they are not particularly evident. With the bogies in place, I added the rear idler. The idler mount provided in the kit is not very well detailed, especially where it meets the track tensioner (parts B16/-17). I made some cosmetic improvements to this area, but in reality it would have to be substantially rebuilt for true accuracy.

The kit comes with the same T51 rubber block track as in other Academy M4/M12/M10 kits. To be perfectly accurate, this kit should use T41 tracks for total accuracy if depicting an early/intermediate M3. The T41 and T51 appear to be identical but the T41 was reversible with the same thickness of track pads on both sides while the T51 was a mid-1943 non-reversible type designed to correspond with the new steel Sherman tracks and had a thick pad to the out-side and a thinner pad surface to the inside. Personally, I don’t think that the difference is really noticeable in this scale. I don’t particularly like vinyl track, and so I substituted some AFV Club T51 individual link styrene track for the kit’s vinyl track, but this meant using another drive sprocket from the spare’s bin as the Academy drive sprocket is a bit narrow.

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Picture 25 This close-up shows a reinforced D37893 bogie assembly with the body casting by National Malleable and Steel Castings Company, a configuration common on the Chrysler-built M3 medium tanks of the 2/13th Armoured Regiment. The springs on this bogie are old leading to ‘suspension sag’. Picture 26 The rear superstructure overhang is reworked with a pair of fishtail exhaust stubs, new air cleaners with the lower pan from the Sherman spare’s box, and the later metal enclosure from sheet plastic. Picture 27 A close-up of the transmission cover showing some casting numbers added from Aber 1mm PE lettering, injection pin filled in on the flanges of the cover, new brass brush-guards, and other small detail additions. Picture 28 There is too much space between the gun mantlet and the gun shield, so this was filled with plastic strip. The 75mm gun counter-weight was made from a piece of plastic tube and plastic discs. The yellow paint is a preliminary stage for applying the unit markings. Picture 29 The intermediate style of exhaust with all the various bit in place. Picture 30 The rear bins in the kit are too small and so were replaced by new ones made from sheet plastic. Picture 31 The .30 cal tripod has straps attaching it to the mounting strips. Since AFV Club track was used, a new drive sprocket was need from the Sherman spares box. The small bars on the bogies are the reinforced type common on the Chrysler tanks.

Tweaking the Hull

I usually try to get the suspension out of the way first as it tends to involve most of the tedious work. With the bogies in place, I added the front transmission cover and the rear hull plate. One minor detail, when removing the flanges for the front of the transmission covers (parts B47/-48) don’t clean off the mould seam running on the face of the part! In actuality, these flanges are made up of two pieces and should have a seam running down the centre. Unfortunately, the kit parts are marred by a series of injection pin marks, which are on the more obvious side. I cleaned these up by gluing small discs of .010 thou plastic sheet into the depressions, made with a Waldron punch-and-die. The front transmission cover requires little other attention except for extra detail and I added some casting numbers on the centre portion, and then added casting texture using Mr Surfacer 500. Incidentally, the casting numbers on US tanks are not just random numbers. There are usually three elements to each set: a manufacturer’s symbol (such as the C in a circle); the part number (in this case E1232 for the centre portion of the trans-mission cover); and finally an individual part sequential number. The rear of the hull involves a lot of potential improvement as mentioned above if reconfiguring the model to the intermediate exhaust configuration. I actually skipped this until the upper hull was complete since some of the parts such as the air cleaners have to fit under the overhang.

Picture 32 While the 1st Armoured Division was deployed in combat in Tunisia, other US tank battalions were training in the UK. This is Buccaneer W-3,028,835, a late production M3 tank near Perham Downs on 6th December 1942. These later production tanks can be distinguished not only by the long M3 75mm gun, but also by the absence of side doors and the two, grouser stowage boxes on the glacis plate and roof. (NARA) Picture 33 A detail view of the corrected suspension after painting. Picture 34 Another example of M3 tanks of the 3/13th Armoured Regiment in action in the Spring of 1943. The rear markings on this tank identify it as belonging to the 2nd Platoon, Co. I, 3/13th Armoured. By this time, US tanks were camouflaging their tank by painting them with swathes of mud. (NARA) Picture 35 Aside from the 1st Armoured Division, the only other US unit to use the M3 in combat in Tunisia was the 751st Tank Battalion that supported the 34th Division. This unit painted large tactical numbers edged in white on the rear of their turrets as seen here. (NARA)

Before assembling the upper hull, a few warnings are necessary for the more accuracy-minded readers. The angle where the left side plate (part F6) meets the front side panel (part F5) is off by about 3º. I ignored this problem as it would be a nasty job to fix and I just don’t think the problem is obvious enough. Likewise, the inner right plate (part F2) is a bit too vertical, but once again, a fix would be tough. Another problem related to Part F2 is that the rear section is, in fact, part of the casting around the 75mm gun opening and, in reality, the corner is much more rounded than depicted in the kit. Once again, this is tough to fix and not particularly obvious on the finished model. Having decided to avoid dealing with these problems, I assembled the upper hull out-of-the-box. It is important to carefully clean up the joints of the numerous parts and do some dry fitting. But by and large, I found the engineering on the upper hull to be excellent, and it accurately captures the actual configuration of the tank armour plates. I didn’t bother at all with the kit interior because I am not a big fan of modelling tank interiors as they take an inordinate amount of time to assemble, especially if detail is added; and in the end they are hardly visible. This is up to the personal taste of each modeller, and I have provided a bunch of interior photos for those valiant souls wishing to super-detail their model. The two stowage bins provided in the kit (part B53/-54) are too small, measuring 10mm x 26mm instead of the proper 14mm x 30mm (W x L). I replaced these with new ones made of sheet plastic. The rivets on the rear superstructure plate (part B32) have a distorted oval shape on the side panels, and I removed these and replaced them with rivets salvaged from under the stowage bins or you could use Grandt line plastic rivet heads. Another area that could use some attention is the 75mm gun shield (part D32) as there is too much space between this and the mantlet (part D5). I used plastic strip to fill the gap.

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Picture 36 Work begins on the turret by substantially reducing the incorrect bulge under the cupola using a file. At the same time, the bulge adjacent to the trunnion is added with plastic and putty on the front left side of the turret. Picture 37 The turret port on the right rear side is reconfigured and blended into the turret with putty. Picture 38 The front of the cupola can use some reshaping, and the upper part should be faired into the main body of the cupola and reshaped with a more rounded edge. Picture 39 The finished cupola includes the tank commander figure, an improved .30 cal machine gun with ammunition box, and a brass .30 cal Barrel from Adler’s Nest.

The Turret

As mentioned earlier, the kit turret has shape problems and the solution depends largely on the actual tank being modelled. Since I was intending to depict a Chrysler-built M3 of the 2/13th Armored Regiment with an ASF or Continental turret casting, the bulge under the commander’s cupola needed to be substantially reduced. The overhang from the cupola also needs some reshaping as can be seen from the accompanying photos. After dealing with this, I added the trunnion bulge to the front left side roughly in the 10 o’clock position. The kit’s depiction of the side port (part D52) is not well done, lacking the distinct separation between the port and the lip around it. I carefully removed the port, built it up by adding some .020 thou plastic sheet behind it, and then carved out the opening. I then attached the trim to the turret and faired it in with putty. I was not particularly careful to smooth out all these changes, as I intended to add casting texture. I did this by roughly coating the surface with Tamiya Grey Liquid Surface Primer, and then sanding it a bit smooth after it had dried.

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Picture 40 An interesting photo that shows the wooden mock-up or pattern for the M3 turret casting. As can be seen, a vertical protrusion is evident on the turret side under the commander’s cupola, and a bulge is also evident further forward on the turret reinforcing the trunnion. Picture 41 This interior view of a M3 pilot cupola shows the ammunition belt feed assembly for the .30 cal machine gun. Picture 42 The confined space inside the cupola necessitated changes to the Browning M1919A4 ‘fixed’ machine gun including a unique pistol grip and trigger unit under the bottom of the receiver and an equilibrator spring under the front to balance the mount as shown in these drawings. Picture 43 A nice close-up showing details of the cupola of a M3 tank of the Co. D, 67th Tank Battalion commanded by Sergeant William Meek in early 1942. The hatch folded in two with the front portion folding below where it was held in place with a small spring-actuated clip. Picture 44 This particular M3 preserved in Newark, Delaware was the first production M3 tank and built at the Chrysler-run Detroit Tank Arsenal. The turret uses a casting from ASF and under some lighting conditions; the subtle bulge on the turret side under the cupola is barely visible. Picture 45 Close-up of the ASF turret on the Newark M3 shows that the side bulge blends in very gradually and is not as prominent as depicted in the kit. Picture 46 A detail view of the side port on the M3 turret. Picture 47 Cupola on the Newark M3 helps explain the reshaping needed on the Academy kit part. Picture 48 Another view of the Newark M3 cupola showing details, such as the right view port cover.

The commander’s cupola provided in the kit has some subtle shape problems particularly in the front. I have also included some detail photos here for anyone interested in adding some interior to the cupola. This cupola was fitted with the M1919A4 ‘fixed’ tank machine gun, which had a vertical buffer fitted to the rear of the receiver (replacing the conventional pistol grip and horizontal buffer) which is represented by a vertical bar on the kit part. Curiously enough, the cupola M1919A4 had a unique pistol grip and trigger remote firing linkage and cocking mechanism, and the drawings here show this feature along with the equilibrator fitted under the front of the gun. I didn’t bother with either of these features as I planned to add a tank commander figure so the details would be covered up. I did add the ammunition feed carrier over the top of the receiver, which is shown here in photos. The kit hatches are a bit thick and I replaced them with new ones made from .010 thou plastic card. The kit’s 37mm gun assembly is nicely done, though the co-axial .30 cal M1919A4 machine gun opening is a bit low. I replaced the kit barrel with a Jordi Rubio aluminium barrel as it better captures the slight flare at the end of the gun tube.

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Picture 49 Composite photo of views from underneath the cupola showing the padded dark green strips around the edge, the machine gun mount, and the small levers for opening the view slit covers. Picture 50 Turrets cast by General Steel Castings had a somewhat more prominent bulge than the ASF and Continental castings, and this one is seen on a M3A5 at APG. Picture 51 Front view of a General Castings turret on the M3A5 at APG shows the trunnion bulge fairly clearly due to the lighting. Picture 52 An interesting view looking down into the turret basket on an early production M3 tank. Picture 53 View down into the turret of an ex-Brazilian M3A3 medium tank preserved at the Patton Museum at Fort Knox. Picture 54 Interior detail of the turret basket of the Patton Museum’s M3A3. Picture 55 A view from the bottom of the turret basket looking up into the turret of the Patton Museum’s M3A3 showing the complicated details under the 37mm gun. Picture 56 Stowage arrangements for 37mm rounds in the M3’s turret basket. Picture 57 Clips for 37mm ammunition on the right sidewall of the M3A3’s turret basket. Picture 58 Turret basket floor details on the Patton Museum M3A3. Picture 59 For the true detail fanatic! A view of the arrangement of the SCR-193 found in most M3 medium tanks throughout 1942. Picture 60 A general view of the M2 75mm gun in the M3A3. Picture 61 An interesting wartime factory view inside the hull of a M3 showing the 75mm gun position more clearly since the turret is not yet fitted. Picture 62 The M2 75mm gun in the Patton Museum’s M3A3 is fitted with a stabilizer. Picture 63 Detail view of the 75mm gunner’s seat. Picture 64 Driver’s station in the M3A3. This is fitted with one of the later SCR-500 series radios, not the SCR-193 found in Tunisia. Picture 65 A close-up of the transmission and driver’s station in the Patton Museum’s M3A3 with the mount for the two forward firing .30 cal machine guns evident as well. Picture 66 The rear bulkhead inside the Patton Museum M3A3 immediately behind the gun. Since this is a diesel-powered version, the details of the engine bulkhead area are different from the M3 con-figuration for the Wright R975 gasoline engine version depicted in the kit. Picture 67 An interesting photo from the Second World War shows an M2 75mm gun and mounting removed from the tank.

Basically All Olive Drab & Yellow

I decided upon a tank of the 2/13th Armored during the initial Tunisia fighting in December 1942. (I built a Tamiya M3 some years ago and finished it in the later scheme with mud camouflage.) Although the kit provides decals for one of the tanks of this battalion, ‘Kentucky’, I decided to do my own markings, as yellow decals are seldom opaque enough on a dark paint finish. I began by airbrushing some Tamiya flat White XF2 over the areas where the markings would appear, followed by Tamiya Yellow XF3 once this dried. I then reverse masked the stars using some of the pre-cut Eduard masks, and did the turret bar using some Tamiya yellow tape cut to the proper width. Likewise, the company markings were masked using Tamiya tape. Once this was done, I began the main paint finish, by painting the lower hull in Tamiya Khaki Drab XF51 followed by Tamiya Buff XF57 on the exposed surfaces of the bogies and track to replicate accumulated dust. On the upper surfaces, I used a lightened Olive Drab consisting of roughly 60% Tamiya Olive Drab XF62 and 40% Tamiya Dark Yellow XF60. I then broke up this finish by airbrushing swathes of Tamiya Dark Yellow and straight Olive Drab to create a more streaked appearance.

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Picture 68, 69, 70 & 71 The finished model prior to painting.

Company Markings

With the basic airbrushing done, I then turned my attention to the markings. The 2/13th Armored used battalion markings on the hull sides and rear consisting of a vertical bar with a small square to the right, at the top for Company D, in the middle for Company E and at the bottom (like an ‘L’) for Company F. To the right of this was the company number in yellow which I duplicated using a small dry transfer number. The US Army also introduced a system of transport markings around the time of Operation Torch consisting of a four-digit number with letter suffix and an accompanying set of three coloured bars. In the case of Co. D, 2/13th Armored, the number was 6258-F and was usually painted on the side access doors, and sometimes on the front and rear; I did these using small dry transfer numbers. The coloured bars for this unit were Olive Drab on the top and bottom edged in white for visibility, and red in the middle. These usually appeared on the transmission cover on the right side and the rear hull on the left side, though they are seldom visible in photos as they tended to get covered with dust or painted over. I also did some detail painting at this stage such as the tools and tow cable.

Image 72, Image 73, Image 74, Image 75, Image 76, Image 77, Image 78

Picture 72 The first phase of painting is shown here with the basic airbrushing completed, and the markings in place, but before the wash and accent painting has been undertaken. Picture 74, 75, 76 & 77 The finished model after painting. Picture 78 A close-up of the commander figure after painting. This figure uses one of the new Hornet US tanker heads.

None ‘Pigmented’ Weathering

I wanted the tank to look dusty and weathered, so I used a somewhat different approach than my usual weathering technique. I am not fond of pigments due to their lack of permanency and still prefer paint for weathering. Instead of my usual dark wash of mineral spirits (white spirits) and sepia oil paint with a light-coloured dry-brush for accent painting, I reversed the combination using a wash of Humbrol Buff and Titanium White oil paint in a solution of mineral spirits, with dry-brush/accenting painting, with a dark Olive Drab mixed from Humbrol Olive Drab and Sepia artists’ oil paint.

Crew Figure and Stowage

The crew figure is a jumble of parts with the torso from a Corpus figure, the arms from the spares box, and the hands and head from Hornet. The rear deck stowage is from Apoxie Sculpt epoxy putty except for the left bedroll, which is from one of the excellent Blast stowage sets.

Image 79, Image 80

Picture 79 The rear stowage, except for the bundle to the left, was made from Apoxie Sculpt epoxy putty. Picture 80 The 2/13th Armoured Regiment during December 1942 had a two-digit number painted or chalked on the glacis plate, done here with a white pencil.

In Conclusion

Overall, the kit is a big improvement over the old Tamiya kit and will certainly look a good deal better straight out-of-the-box. On the other hand, Academy continues to have problems with basic dimensional accuracy issues, and I wish they would spend more time on this than gimmicks - such as the interior. But I suspect that gimmicks like interior details sell a lot more kits than pinpoint accuracy!