M-3 Lee Kit

[lmcq11]

Ho how wonderful, I have to get a hold of these.

Louis

[c.rainford73]

Thank you fellas much appreciated I was growing ever and ever frustrated with my initial design so I went to the internet and after a long surf I found these beauties.

Painless so sorry for the delayed response time.... I've been resting due to a very bad cold that really took me for a loop . Much better now so I plan on returning to this little beast this week.

I've recieved the new set of Mato plastic tracks for the M-3 Lee and will need to order proper sprockets and the adjustable Mato idlers to make them a proper fit. These tracks are quite nice and much more robust for sure with very nice metal end caps and dual pins. So kudos to Louis and Mr Painless for the suggestion.

Mr Raminator they are indeed a very nice kit and for the price very good quality. So many sizes and options.

Mr AfrikaKorps I'm very interested in the design you went with to get the result in your tank. Please send me a link or some photos so I can check it out

[PainlessWolf]

Carl!
Take care of your health, my Friend. The tanks will be here when you feel a little more upright.
Regards,
Painless

[c.rainford73]

Ho how wonderful, I have to get a hold of these.

Louis

Hi there Louis I've a few spares of any are needed

[c.rainford73]

Carl!
Take care of your health, my Friend. The tanks will be here when you feel a little more upright.
Regards,
Painless

Thanks as always my friend. I much needed return to work tomorrow and then some time with the family and off to the workbench this weekend

[c.rainford73]

Currently my build has hit a limited and somewhat expected road block....

But with a little help from my friends... (Sassgrunt) Mike has assembled a little treasure trove of Sherman gold bits that will work thier way to New England

So Mike a very very Big Thank You

So for now I have recovered from the big cold I had and after a long day of something called work??? I attempted to rework the 75mm sponson mounted gun with the proper Shapeways gun MichaelC provided.

In the original pictures I fitted a basic aluminum airsoft tube to dial in the recoil mechanism. So now I have the correct barrel and flash setup. I cut the round bulb flat with my hobby saw and then polished and sanded it til clear with my dremel at low speed. It is starting to look like a Lee a bit more now.

I made the rear grill out of copper screen mesh and a plasticard frame inside and out. Very easy..... it needs filler and sanding around the edges.

The dual 30cal MG mount in the front has been accomplished with a little bit of hardware trickery. I simply cut the heads off a pair of 6d finish nails and drilled the resin recesses to accomplish this. Just for show really. The tips on the real thing only show the very end of the barrel so these will accomplish this for me. ( Kinda like a flying fortress with all the machine guns)

My favourite part of these builds and for every different tank I build or paint for that matter is the research involved is so rewarding as I read and learn so much about each model as I go. Almost like seeing it for the first time again.

Stian ( Mr Maxmekker) is up to his old tricks behind the scenes working on the Clark board setup with the proper radial engine sounds just like the one in his Sherman.

I will source an Aber metal 30 cal for the turret mounted machine gun. This will be exposed so I want the details.

The Mato plastic tracks are excellent compared to the stock Heng Long plastic ones. They will require some drivetrain mods in the form of new idlers and sprockets. ( Well worth it for sure)

Carl

[HERMAN BIX]

197,198, 199.................................

[MichaelC]

Carl, looking great ! Just as an aside, I have some flat head LEDs (5mm and 3mm) if you need some. No need to sand down a round one. They also has the notch so it will go into the exact spot.

Love the dual MG in the hull. Didn't know that they existed. The Mato plastic tracks are excellent. They are almost as good as metal ones. They are however a little wider, so you might have some side to side movement on the bogies. I am not too sure if the Shapeway bogies are same width as the Heng Longs or the Matos.

[PainlessWolf]

Carl!
I love the industrial look of the Lee and you are capturing it perfectly. As with Louis, a set of the MATO sprockets and idlers will allow you to use the Shapeways road wheels without any side to side slack. Following along!
regards,
Painless

[Ludwig von wigbearer]

cracking job carl, looks great, the resin looks of a high quality, how would you rate it for durability as I have
had some resin slot car bodies in the past which were quite fragile but obviously this is in a larger scale hence
thicker resin.

regards john