I decided that since this was not to be so much a build as a finishing, I used AK mud, Magic Grime, a wash, and whatnot more I cannot even remember. The black basing paint technique was subtle, so it is obscured by weathering.
I cannot bring to mind any other tank that has a "windshield (windscreen) for the driver. I thought about filling the holes and skipping it, but WWII photos show it. So I added a clear window, wishing all along that TongDe had provided a clear window in the kit.
No registration number came with the TongDe markings; rather, I found 30127281 from my folder of decals left over from some other U.S. tank, likely an M4. The TongDe markings do include the stars for the sides of the turret and the big one for the front. Of course, such a big star on the front says "Shoot me here!" So in keeping with U.S. tanker practice, I skipped it. (Some tankers covered the stars with mud. But I noticed in photos that a number of Chaffees retained the turret stars.)
- Tongde Chaffee 3.jpg (519.62 KiB) Viewed 443 times
The
Chaffee comes with a rear carrier curiously held in place by a rather too squarish tarp roll. The carrier is anachronistic for WWII, so I skipped it, filling the holes. (Some WWII photos show a somewhat smaller carrier with an open heavy wire mesh basket, but it seems that not all Chaffees were supplied with one.)
You might notice in this photo that the turret bustle is open on the bottom. I was disappointed that it is so, but left it because the tank is rarely seen from this low angle. Were I to do another TongDe
Chaffee, I would fill the emptiness.
- Tongde Chaffee 1.jpg (603.76 KiB) Viewed 443 times
I cannot confirm that the gun-cleaning rods were ever mounted on the left side. However, I know from photos that tool placement on U.S. tanks varied greatly from unit to unit, maybe even among tanks in a given unit. So I decided to move the cleaning rods from the rear to the left side where there seems to be plenty of room.
- Tongde Chaffee 2.jpg (551.1 KiB) Viewed 443 times
I did some Photoshop adjusting, but this overhead shot still looks way too green. The Vallejo paint certainly is not so.
I could see that the thick, plastic antennae supplied with the kit were just waiting to be broken and would certainly prevent the tank's going back in packing. So I cut off the plastic antennae and added brass stock ones. I had no steel stock of the right size, so I primed the brass and painted it steel.
- Tongde Chaffee 4.jpg (733.11 KiB) Viewed 443 times
. Too bad: for about 48 hours I had a Dunkelgrau M24 Chaffee Beutepanzer. 
