ISSUE modeller ......22 ivmodeller.com ‘WE DO THE So Oo | and archive features 34> 418007 TTATAT 9CONTENTS a é 2 | samm Flak 36 oleae Part Two. Bernhard Lustig concludes his look behind the scenes of 2 eset aeolian David Doyle takes @ look at the history of the vehicles. ‘ 34 Xtreme Detail ree | Bote | seme ‘lephant Antonio Martin Tello builds a winter Jumbo M4A3E2 Keeping Track ore new releases dner describes how he upgraded the Tamiya kit to the current upgraci USA Subscription Agent ABV Moder welcomes contre tom ‘Wise Owl Worldwide Publications Introsted pare, but cannot accept any 15674 £1 Camino Real Suite resoenaity or uneoxeed mater ‘Cavisbad, Ca 92008-7190 “Te conten of as oubscaton cng a erties, usa heninge end photographs oginated by AFV ‘Tok: 760-009-8768 ‘Moser na become the pubshers cot under Fax: 760-603-9769 copyront tam, Reproduction in any form requres the ‘orn fo@wioeowimagazines.com ‘writen consent ofthe pubher. Wit every care ie ‘website: wirwwiseowsmagazines.com. taten to avokd mitahos APV Moder. cannot be Deputy Falter: Donald Camobot ane i any way fr errs oF erissons. ON 1747-4169Ce eee) ee ee ee ee eee ets forwara enough, just maKe sure you fiw ett td Cee en ed ee ee ee ty Dey te te Wh to d ay hyarauie See) Cd Sted ee en ee es See ae ENO rg Or ee eat eee) Serene ee od Poa eter) in @ winter setting, in @ stato of pee ee tee eee ay ee ey See ee eeDua me acted eR rodface | then Bul " SeeOe eet es band there, These whore held in place with mC eed a eee ety eee teens Se ee Oem eee Where al glued in placo, With all this Coat ae See ct CO eee ene ene De ea aa emery Ce een Dee ee Can Ce ee ee ee eT a SCC eee eee cere eee en) Cen ee aetna Se eer eres Ca ac eters CO on eet ete Ener ee Fe eee reyUa eT SS UC COTTA CUES UTS OTe) AAs | described in Part one of his article, With the venicle and the foures Completed | turned my attention tothe [Groundwork which would be an important ‘component in the finished model and Would also play an important roo in toting the story The wooden frame Its anways a problom to find a good ‘wooden base, which fits perfectly the ‘dorama. For this reason | proauced the frame mysoll. In my local hobby crattsnop ‘ordered thin pieces of plwwood. | cut the. ‘upper edges of the wood to folow the contours of my planned groundwork and (2aV0 Itt a joiner's workshop next to my home. They added a mahogany veneerto the outside faces and | then glued together the panels and used a matching picture frame to form the im at the base. Once completed the whole structure was given a protective overspray of satin varnish, The groundwork ‘The undertying structure of the groundwork was at frst planned out using styrofoam. This material Is easy to cut end shape and allowed me to plan out the composition. working With the vehicle and the figures I was able to adjust tne layout unt | was satisfied that ‘everything wae working. Once this was fished the styrofoam was given a rough base coat using model plaster. After a drying period of 12 hours | formed the surface with ‘Ar Clay’ trom Humbrol. Thi was the first ime that | had used this materia, it's tke & terracotta clay which Is easy to shape into the desired postion and dries in 2- 3 hours. “The biggest advantage of thie material e that fting figures or vehicles to it's really easyIt's leo easy to combine It with the HEKI-grassmat that | used {or the majority ofthe grass. This can be done without using glue, | Just softened the surface using a wide brush and a mixture of Gliuted woodglue and worked In the clumps of grass for a realistic natural ook 80 that the grass is not sitting on top of the ‘eround. This technique can also be used when applying the sand ‘oF earth in ciferent grades and variations, allowing them to be ‘fxod on the eurtace, The downside of working with this material, land this maybe as a result of working ever kt with the cuted, ‘Que, is that after i dried out completely, ctterent cracks formed all ‘over the eurtaco, Not just vory small ones either, also some very Jong, big ones could be seen, €0 | had to go back and fil the gaps ‘The bunker was constructed with balsa wood ‘logs’, which were, textured with Miliput puty. Metal foil was used to mako a corrugated root and the ‘door’ was formed using a rolled sheet of Magic Sculpt “which works 90 much better than using tue paper. The trench ‘walls were also made from balsa along with real sticks for a moreirregular touch. Soft wre was used 10 te the sticks Into the troncn Walls, The trench ‘turiture’ was made up of an assortment of ‘ammunition bexee and erates which came trom both the Mig Productions and Tank ranges, and | scratchbuit some open ‘examples from plastic host. "The grass mat clumpe were eupplomentad with other vegetation to give a more natural appearance. For this | used some natural ‘moss and grasses as weil as some photo otcned folage, Having a variety of neignte anc textures isthe key to orvaiiiy @ natural teoking flekd and small rote wore algo added to the sides of the tronen. { painted the groundwork with aitforent sandbrown colours and tho ‘smal stones were picked out with a small brush and a bright ‘colour. The grass was sprayed in varying shados of green, keeping ‘ne colours natural looking and Blending them in with the ‘surrounding earth tones. Finishing toushes wore the abandoned Russian weapons, the Ant “Tank rife | took from a old Tamiya 7:04 kt. The heavy Russian machine gun ie from the Tank-range. It's not cheap, but has very fine detale, anc the Russian stick grenades, anc ammunition ccanistors were also taken from the TANK range would ike t9 dedicate the diorama my late tend, Reinhard Huber, who began working on this Ferdinand but was unable to complete it before nie death. His wife gave me the kit and | Aniated I in his memory.found that the bracing strut between the ‘wo booles part A17 would not Mt as it was ‘liptcal Inetead of round eo | replaced it with some plastic rod. added the drain ‘holes to elther side of the bogies and ‘made 2 bracket to hold tno ond of tno ‘exhaust pipe. The tracks are aloo cloverly designed and supplied as two havies spit engtiways and | decided to leave both them and the sprocket and idler as ‘coparate parts to help ease painting them. ‘The more | looked at the two suspension ‘rings the less happy | was with the solid ‘moulded kt versione eo | cut thom away and replaced them with new copper wie versions Its la about this time that you really need to ‘make a firm decision about which version ‘you bulla with the option of the bow roller ‘or the Miz and the winch for the MAX. 1 100k care to hide the joint seam on the two halves of the roller and | replaced the ‘epring mechaniem on the mounting brackets with my own springs made from ‘copper wire. Moving to the cab tho kit Jacke nothing apar trom tne anver's pedals which | addes trom plastic card although they are largely Invisible on the finished model eo you can comfortably ekip this addidion. On the outside faces of the vehicle the armour plato le bolted together win domed screw head things. The kit shows these as just domed heads without tho slot, an ommisaion that le quite roticeable but easlly corrected, | used a Micro Crise! to indent a alot into @ach rivet Read mating for a quick and effective fix Another small improvement wass to remove the moulded tie down eyes from the hull ‘and replace them with ABER photoctched versions ‘The aseomoly ofthe hulls simple and the ‘i generally good. | decided to join the cabs ‘and crew compartments and leave the whole upper hull separate to help fitting the tracks after painting. | found that some ‘agjustment wae nocoscary to got the ‘mounting brackets forthe crew Compariment to tthe chassis as they are fractionally too narrow. The kit inloudoe a choice of opened or closed radiator grille ‘and | have to admit to choosing the closed Version over te opened wt ts pPhotoetched louvres simply because of the iticuties ot appiina the national ‘markings over the open version. Dragon supply some really excellent weapons with the kit but! driled out the holes on the sleeve of the .80 Cal and for the .90 Cal ‘Guns | replaced the barrels with new ABER, ‘versions with hollow sleeves which proved 1to_be quite painiess to assemble,Painting Keen to move away from an overall Ole (Drab fish | plumped for an tlian or ‘Scicilan scheme with oversprayed sand as eploted on the box art. This would also (olve me the perfect excuse for a nice dusty fish. | gave the whole model a base ‘coat of Tamiya service folowed by a topcoat of Vallejo Otlve Drab which i really good chado in my opinion. I did ‘spend come time applying a Kahtened shade of Olve Orab to the centre of the ‘panels but by the time | applied the sarc Wis wes not really apparent. Next, comothing of a fret for me as | apple the ‘markings using some recently released Archer dry rub decals. Thee proved to be romarkably opaque and the application wont erocthiy with the excoption of sore ofthe raleed dotalle where I retoutched any flaws with white paint. | wil refer you to the photo sequence for the prosression of the weatnering process. | painted the tracks in a faced black before ‘adding some polished metal ish tothe wack teewn area an 10 areas or wear on ‘ho sprocket anc ialer. A pastel pigment ‘wash unified the finch ofthe tracks before ‘tne wnole track and sprocket accomply ‘waa ftted to the chasota with a ite gentle ‘persuasion. With the tracks flted the hull ‘was at last glued to tne chassis ana | was ‘able 10 MK the gune and the headlamps, both of which had been lett separate to holp In painting thom. To nish off tho vehlole | added some stowage, turning to 4 election of Blast Models vets to provide a ‘Quick solution a they just had to bo painted and fted. Looking back over the build I found it an ‘eriovable project with the quality of ‘mouioing ana mt extremely nion. Carainiy tore wore come oversights is the sorow heads but | would expect to aee these ‘corrected on future releases and ite great © 2¢e Dragon tackling eubjecte tke the wa,“The collection of US halftracks can be quiet challenging, with ‘many varieties having been buit. Pecnaps more #o than any other type, the haiftrack was frequently modified into cient configurations, some even betore leaving the factory. Many halftracks wre bult as one model, only to be converted into ‘another before being shipped to using troops, and then often was eltnerfeld or depot rebult into another form. Extensive remanufacturing programs in the U.S. confused things even more. Its possible for given vehicle to have had 3 or more model numbers during its service Ie. “The M2 haifvack, as well as the M3 haitrack, had its rocts in the 14 halftrack. The White Motor Company of Cleveland bult the “T14 in earty 1940, In September of tho same yoar, tho M2 was .ndardized. Concurrently the Diamond T Motor Car Co developed a version with the body and frame lengthened 10 Inches to the rear, and it became the M3. Both were to be powered by the White 160A engine. In an unusually cooperative move, representatives trom three twee, Write, Dlamond T ant we Autocar Company ms well asthe ‘orananee Depanmont formed the Hal-track Engineering ‘one bullder could met, this committee was charged with not ony ‘doclgning haitraove, but alco encuning tat ragarciess Of mnutacturer, all pate excont armer plate, were interchangeable. Petre Neots The M2 In May of 1941 White delivered 62 M28, the frst of 11416 t0 be bbult by White and Autocar. The M2s were armed with a M2 hneavy barre! .60 callbor machine gun, and two water-cooled .30 ccaiber M1917A1 machine gune. Those weapons were mounted ia trolleys on a skate rail thet surrounded the interior of the, ‘vehicle. In later production the pair of water-cooled weapons. ‘gave way to @ single ar-cooled M101044 .90 caliber machine ‘Gun. Extamaly, on the rear of the body, tripods were stored 80 these weapons could be diemounted from the vehicle and vaed (on the ground. ‘The M2 had a bottom hinged door ust behind the driver's door, _and another one in sirar location on the other side of the Vehicle. These doors provided access to large ammunition ‘storage compartments, These compartments were also ‘accessible from Inside the haiftrack by opening the top of the compartments. These compartments were integral with the M's role 28 an artillery primo movor. Two thifty-callon fuel tanks were ‘mounted in the rear ot tne crow comparemnt, one on either side ‘Goats in the rear comparment provided coating for 8. The M2s Wore proviaga with Bows and Canvas to prow the crew fOr the weather, but those were not popular because they hindered the se of the woapans,‘The front of the M2s and M88 were fitted “with elther an unditching roller sierilar to tmat on the MAT Scout Car, or a Tulba Model 186 10000 pound se-recovery nike their German counterparts, ‘American halfvacks had thei tront wheels riven through the vehicles transter case. “The rear of the haltrack was driven by means of a drive sprocket atthe front of the suspension. The track itself, developed bby Goodrich, was made of rubber molded ‘around ateol cables with steel crosapieces The M3 ‘As White churned out the M2, Diamond T ‘went about tne puoineae of pulling Mis perscnne! camers. The fst being delivered in May 1941, later White and Autocar Joined in unt their combined production reached 12991 veneies, In addition to the lack of the side storage doors of the M2, other alatinguiahing characterises Include a door in the rear ‘armor, and the fact that the body extends ‘beyond the end of the tracks. On the M2, the run of the tracks extends beyond the rear of the body. The twin fuel tanks of the (M3 were moved forward, Into the location ‘occupied by the ammunition compartments on the M2. There was, ‘seating for ten in the rear of the vehicle, diver and oo-drvor. Iniaty, the 39 eater machine guns wore ‘mountod to the skate rall using te M29 ‘kate mount, white a N90 akate mount was used for the .50 caliver at front. Later production used the M38 or SSC skate ‘mount in all positions unt the advent of the Maat M2A1 In Apri, 1942 the Ordnance Committee recommended that the skate rail on the M2 be replaced with a ing mount. This recommendation was approved on May & of the same year, The new ring mount, the M49, not only replaced the M2s skate rai, but also the pedestal mount of the M3 and the International Harvester MS. The new ‘and MEA\. In adsition te the ring mount ‘and ite M2HB Browning, there was a pinto ‘20¢hotinctaiod on each aide and the vohicle rear for instalation ofthe single M1100 air-c0o'ea .20 eatloer macnine {GUN. There were not ae many ot the AYVohiclos built as there were thelr predecessors, only 1643 M2Ate were bull Other changes during production In adaition to the obvious change In machine gun mounting mentioned above, numerous other changes were made uring the production of thee vehicles, ‘The earlost of the M2 vehicles used what looked tke truck wheels, These wore spit ‘iene, which while looking silar are in fact very aitferent from split-ring rms used on lator military vehicles. The locking ring le of ‘the split rim of the M2 (and early M3 hatt- ‘rack, and early M3 Scout Can io a continuous circle of steel. Six somewhat ‘oval-shaped scalloped cutouts are provent (on these rims, (On these rims were mounted 8.25-20 tires with a chevron or Vtread pattern. These ten-ply directional tres were made by Goodyear, and known ae “Super Grp, Hanvy Duy, Trick and Bus, Balloon” tree ‘Those tros were fitted with bullat-esiating setl-sealing inner tubes..the thick tubes ‘alone tip the seales at 65 pounas each ‘The construction ofthe V-treaa pattern tires Ie ouch that oven with absoiutery noSant eeu eg cetera ect eaaeente iad reeked Pree tence cer enone aperk ree ee tee eo ee eae er ee es ee een Se ieee eer et eS papier rae Sas errsfir in the tube, the sidewall of the tre ‘mounted on the halftrack, barely bulged. Later the halftracks began to be fted with What Is commonly referrad to as the ‘Combat Rim. This is recognized by the 18 ‘bolts around its circumference. The non- directional tres mounted on these rms were not nearly as robust as the chevron tread tres. Tho design of these rims was, ‘such that when the tre is mounted a stea! band was sandwictwd between the tire boade, which held them in place in the ‘event the te lost pressure, In Apri 1942 heavier bogies suspension ‘springs began to be used. The heavier ‘springs were also to be fitted to vehicles ‘already in tho field per Moxitication Work ‘Order (wrwo) 6102-29 and eometine ‘between duly and September 1942 tne cooling fan wae changed from six-blades to fhe. At about the same tine the fu {iter bow! was changed trom glass to moral. ‘On Juyy 20, 1942 ne OMtee, Chief of ‘Oranance issued a directive requiring that body hand grips be installed, These were {0 help the passengers and orew during ‘cross-country operations. Grips were to be ‘etroited to vehicles already In the fold ‘according to MWO G102.Ww22, In August 1942 the + quart fre extinguisher then in use was replaced with a 2-pound Unit. During the same month a dua! intake air cleaner began to be used. This unit ‘would allow air to be drawn trom either the engine or driver's compartment ‘An August 21 1942 directive from the (Oice, Chiet of Ordnance called for the {Adltion of sido-mounted mine racks. A February 1943 MWO (6102-W21) directed mine racks be rotroited to vehicles ‘already in the fel. On the M3 tney ran tho full engtn of te crow compartment while ‘on the M2 mey extended trom the rear of the ammunition compartment doors tothe rear of the body. In Septembor 1942 the idler became ‘spring-loaded to minimize track throwing, MWO G102.14 described a fed ‘expediont ior, but By July of the following Yor eutficient quantities of the factory-type Were avallable for that sive to be refitted to vehicles in tho fel. In November 1982 demountable armored Vehicle headlamps were standardized for al hall-tracks. Howover, only felded aun ‘motor carriages were to be retrofitted with them - as there was concer about ‘concussion damaging the fed type. ‘Soviousty this was not a concer for prime ‘movers or personnel carters In April 1943 the Miltary Standard ol fiter ‘became standard on hait-tracks. Aloo in Apri 1949, the idler post began 10 bbe rointorcea, In May the idler shackle began to be ‘equipped wih an ice scraper. Also In May 11943 heavier front sorinos began to be