1/16 RC Vandra M7 Priest SP Howitzer conversion build

[lmcq11]

Hi,

I have reworked the rear plate and now I am satisfied. Because the Vandra air filter are larger than scale, they do not make good markers for cutting the angles and placement of the rear plate. What I did was a compromise.

Vandra M7 Priest rear hull

I also installed the ventilation covers. References show these 2 ventilation grills on the early and mid production Priest, in 2 different styles. The metal grills were made from leftover Mato King Tiger grills, (you know, the larger ones that go on top and we never use), cut and rearranged for this kit.

Vandra M7 Priest rear hull

Vandra M7 Priest rear hull

Vandra M7 Priest rear hull

The rear plate must be vertical.

Vandra M7 Priest rear hull

The rear bins are the same as the M3 kit. It looks like they are about 2mm too long so I will need to trim them. The 2 locks will be replaced by a single one centrally located, as per references.

Vandra M7 Priest rear hull

The donor Heng Long Sherman hull was stripped of usable parts. I could spend hundreds of dollars on fancy and really nice super detailed parts but I have a budget and spending too much on kits is not my style. I prefer to use the available material which usually gives good results at almost no extra costs.

Vandra M7 Priest rear hull

The HL lighting gear removed from the Sherman hull and getting ready for installation on the Priest.

Vandra M7 Priest rear hull

The gasoline caps were cut out of the Sherman hull, carved and given a single cast metal look. Its pretty basic and I will try to improve.

Vandra M7 Priest rear hull

Regards,

Louis

[PainlessWolf]

Good evening,
This kit is coming together very nicely! You have an eye for detail and as you noted, are able to add the eye candy in cheap and plentiful amounts. You cannot argue with results and your work is a benchmark for all of us who build combination kits.
regards,
Painless

[lmcq11]

Hi,

Continuing on the rear deck.

The Heng Long fuel caps are not very accurate to start with.

Heng Long Sherman fuel caps

But managed to make these out of the plastic using dremel, file and brass rods while relaxing outside. I tried to give them a cast metal look. Ended up filling the trenches with putty that I will later finetune. They still need improvement but for now I need them on the deck.

Heng Long Sherman fuel caps

Preparation for the rear bins. The fuel caps and bolts are installed. The Meng "Large" nuts fit well with 1/16 scale tanks.

Vandra M7 Priest conversion

I worked 2 hours on those bins and probably could have spent 2 more. Good thing its summer as I could sand the resin outside in the wind. They were way oversized for the M3 Mid Priest deck, they just did not fit because of the more limited length of the deck sides than the M7B1 based on the Sherman. One was also bigger than the other. I had to use the Dremel on all sides to remove materiel, one milimeter at a time until their fit to the main hull looks better; right size, strait lines in all directions, right angles, flat horizontal top, fit with deck, both similar and placement according to references. They were also bulged but the resin is good and there is no air bubbles to deal with. I still have to put the lock.

Vandra M7 Priest conversion

Vandra M7 Priest conversion

Vandra M7 Priest conversion

The Vandra fuel caps had to be removed and replaced. They were positioned too low on the deck.

Vandra M7 Priest conversion

Vandra M7 Priest conversion

Regards, Louis

[c.rainford73]

Super work Louis it's so nice to see your approach and attention to detail. Really impressed with your work

[Raminator]

Spectacular work Louis, the scratchbuilt fuel fillers are fantastic. Are the storage bins solid resin? I find it interesting that it was worth reshaping them rather than remaking them from styrene.

[lmcq11]

Hi,

As this is a kit build, I try to reuse kit parts when possible. I also try methods that anyone can replicate.

I will leave the detailing of the rear hull for later and will now concentrate on the fighting compartment, something I was looking forward to for quite a while. I needed to do a bit a research first.

First, the immediate problem I had to resolve before going further was with the front hull itself. As you can see in the picture, there is a terrible weak point in the hull where the gun mantlet is located, with a lot of warping towards the inside that no amount of pulling, gluing or sanding could fix. The Priest hull has limited structure at that point and truly need reinforcement. The only choice I found was to throw an I-Beam under it, supported by the gearbox frame. It should not show too much once the gun is in place. The I-Beam is a Plastruct 11.1mm no 90519. As mentioned in a prior post, the hull is sealed and all access to the electronics will be done through the former bottom battery trap.

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

The top of the armor should be flat. The I-beam support the gun position well. Otherwise, the resin of the front hull could break at the slightest tumb pressure while manipulating the model, and the gun shields won't fit well.

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

I decided not to use the Vandra kit part for the floor. For an accurate interior, it will be simpler to rebuild one from scratch. I do not like the use of double diamond treat plates either. The M7 Priest has single diamond plate pattern. So, the new floor will use JTT97449 1:100 single diamond treat plate that closely match the pattern.

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

Picture from Squadron Signal M7 Priest walk around

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

New full length sides are created from 2 layers of 2mm plasticard that are 34mm wide, going all the way to the front. The Vandra upper hull exterior side armor is higher than scale so increasing the height of the floor in a similar way as the discarded kit part is necessary to maintain proportions. Otherwise, the floor will be too deep in relation to the top of the armor. It helps also to keep the gearbox lower.

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

The awful rectangular hole on the side armor has previously been filled with plasticard. The vendor should not have done this... There is no purpose to it. The lower rear kit plate was re-use and sanded smooth for future detailing.

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

Using the great and essential book "M7 Priest Walk Around" from Squadron Signal, I determined that the gun base is made of two I-beams, with metal plates bringing the two.

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

So, I have started replicating the design using Plastruct I-Beams. I am currently deciding on whether to use 11.1mm or 12.7mm I-Beams. This will impacts the depth of the floor. For all placement and scale measurement, I am using my method of taking a 1:35 scale kit, measuring the parts in mm, dividing by 1/35, and then dividing by 16 to get the size/position in relations to other parts. I determined the rear I-beam should be at 96mm from the back wall of the fighting compartment. The floor will be attached below the I-beam. 2mm plasticard sheets was added to the lower vertical side interior.

Vandra M7 Priest fighting compartment

Regards, Louis

[lmcq11]

Hi,

The 12.7mm I-Beam arrangement has been installed at 100mm from the rear wall. I moved it forward 4mm because the fighting compartment is actually longer than scale and I needed to keep the base positioned properly for the gun mount. The gun position was also shifted to the left using measurements derived from my 1/35 model. Vandra put the gun about 5mm too much on the right. This is a critical step and I really hope I did not miscalculate anything or I will pay for it later. In any cases, even if you use the Vendra parts, you will face the same challenge of dealing with the positioning of these and hope for the best.

Vandra M7 Priest conversion fighting compartment

The floor has been installed. It is 10.5mm deep. The tread plates will be installed on top soon for a 10mm depth, the height of the trails. I still need to figure out if I will cover the gearbox with something. On the real M7, this is a open pit for the transmission and driver seat of the left, so I might leave it like that. I'll see.

Vandra M7 Priest conversion fighting compartment

You can see that the center of the gun has shifted and will need to do some minor adjustments on the front upper hull.

Vandra M7 Priest conversion fighting compartment

I determined that the angle of this armor plate is wrong. I will need to cut and reposition it as shown and this will compensate for having moved the gun position. I will wait for the gun to be installed to position it so that I can get the exact fit.

Vandra M7 Priest conversion fighting compartment

I am planning to reuse the kit shaft and the trails. Hovewer, by dry fitting them, it is obvious that the trails are way too long. The length of the left trail will need to be cut from 105mm to about 70mm, the right trail from 95mm to about 59mm.

Vandra M7 Priest conversion fighting compartment

The trail parts will be cut in pieces in order to give them the right shape. Instead of being strait, the main part need to have at least 2 more curves. How the end fit the chassis will also be tricky.

Vandra M7 Priest conversion fighting compartment

Regards, Louis

[c.rainford73]

Louis incredible engineering and efforts on your part. Shame it's so much retooling to make it right but if you're going to make it someone like you will make sure it's "RIGHT".

Very interesting build and for sure very curiously watching your progress

[lmcq11]

Hi,

I was curious about the Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion set so I let aside the M7 hull to work on them. These are sold on Shapeways.com for $50 but you can normally put in a coupon code for a 5 to 15% discount. Considering the hours of work required to achieve the same result, I found these to be a good deal.

Here is the process I used.

The Heng Long M4 bogies are taken apart.

Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion kit

These are the Shapeways part for a single bogie. The material is harder than expected, the 3 plasters on my fingers can attest. Don't know what material is used but It is much stronger than the usual model kit plastic. But it can be cut, sanded and reacts well to superglue.

Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion kit

Here is the before (top) and after (below) preparation work on the HL parts.

Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion kit

Both parts must be at the same height and sanded smooth and strait. The upper part is cut just above the screw hole. I think is a very bad Heng Long design to have put this screw hole on the front of the bogies. They should have found a way to screw the bogies from the inside of the hull. The Shapeways early style spoked roadwheels are installed. They look great.

Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion kit

The new M3 Lee style top fits perfectly on top. However, I am no expert in M3 Lee bogies but I found the side spring housing (the ears) to be somewhat too wide when looking at them from this angle. There are many factories that produced these bogies during the war so maybe they represent a specific model but I decided to make them fit the size of the reference pictures I had for my M7.

Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion kit

I cut the spring housing from the main section just before the little hole that is supposed to be used to insert a rod through the simulated spring.

Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion kit

The hook at the bottom of the springs and some material on the inside face were removed to avoid them interfering with the Heng Long suspension spring.

Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion kit

Everything is superglued back in place. The HL suspension is moving freely. I personally like them better like this.

Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion kit

The HL roller is installed. A 6mm rod must be used as a spacer. I filled some Sherman style cavities that are not present on the M3 bogies I have seen.

Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion kit

Voila.. an M3 "like" bogie ready for installation on the M7 Priest. I will finalize the sanding of the front face once the plug is in place to cover the main screw hole. 5 more to go. I am extremely please with the results.

Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion kit

Regards,

Louis

[c.rainford73]

Hi,

I was curious about the Shapeways M3 Lee bogies conversion set so I let aside the M7 hull to work on them. These are sold on Shapeways.com for $50 but you can normally put in a coupon code for a 5 to 15% discount. Considering the hours of work required to achieve the same result, I found these to be a good deal.

Here is the process I used.

The Heng Long M4 bogies are taken apart.

rsz_img_8663.jpg

These are the Shapeways part for a single bogie. The material is harder than expected, the 3 plasters on my fingers can attest. Don't know what material is used but It is much stronger than the usual model kit plastic. But it can be cut, sanded and reacts well to superglue.

rsz_img_8669.jpg

Here is the before (top) and after (below) preparation work on the HL parts.

rsz_img_8682.jpg

Both parts must be at the same height and sanded smooth and strait. The upper part is cut just above the screw hole. I think is a very bad Heng Long design to have put this screw hole on the front of the bogies. They should have found a way to screw the bogies from the inside of the hull. The Shapeways early style spoked roadwheels are installed. They look great.

rsz_img_8691.jpg

The new M3 Lee style top fits perfectly on top. However, I am no expert in M3 Lee bogies but I found the side spring housing (the ears) to be somewhat too wide when looking at them from this angle. There are many factories that produced these bogies during the war so maybe they represent a specific model but I decided to make them fit the size of the reference pictures I had for my M7.

rsz_1img_8704.jpg

I cut the spring housing from the main section just before the little hole that is supposed to be used to insert a rod through the simulated spring.

rsz_img_8712.jpg

The hook at the bottom of the springs and some material on the inside face were removed to avoid them interfering with the Heng Long suspension spring.

rsz_img_8718.jpg

Everything is superglued back in place. The HL suspension is moving freely. I personally like them better like this.

rsz_img_8731.jpg

The HL roller is installed. A 6mm rod must be used as a spacer. I filled some Sherman style cavities that are not present on the M3 bogies I have seen.

rsz_img_8756.jpg

Voila.. an M3 "like" bogie ready for installation on the M7 Priest. I will finalize the sanding of the front face once the plug is in place to cover the main screw hole. 5 more to go. I am extremely please with the results.

rsz_img_8755.jpg

Regards,

Louis

Louis I'm blown away by the way it came out Those look so nice. Expertly executed!