1944 M36 B1 Tank Destroyer

PainlessWolf · Post by **PainlessWolf** » Wed May 17, 2017 3:58 am

Good evening all, Spent a little more time on the M36B1 today and began the work around the turret. I added the little pads you see in photos and painted the back one that MATO had already cast in place and cleaned up the paint around the turret edges. I installed the sprockets and checked for run out ( much easier to see if the tracks are off of the vehicle ) MATO did a fair job, there was only a little waver and that vanished at full throttle. ( well, it didn't but it's a lot harder to see ;o) I installed the idlers as well and bumped them forward a notch to take away some of the track tightness. I am sure I will have to play around with those adjustable idlers to get it right. I have been using needle nose pliers to get their nuts tightened down but I think that MATOs metal adjuster wrench might actually fit. Some fun for tomorrow. ( I have a spare in case it is crumbly )
Carl! Thank you, my Friend. It's all in the primer used. Tamiya has not let me down ever.
Herman, you are not only a great Admin but also a worthy successor to the Generals sense of humor. You know you want a Sherman or Variant, you know you do. It doesn't have to be a 700 .00 jobbie. My best Sherman is the HL M4A3 105MM 'Maxene' ( This M36B1 is getting darn close tho' )
Pics:

Post by **HERMAN BIX** » Wed May 17, 2017 4:46 am

Oh yeah, thanks R Wolf you've gone & put the curse on me now !!
I get banned soon

There was a time when I would have done one, but I'm ok now thankfully

Yours is looking more like the book each day, in its combat record, what success did it have in the over all scheme of things ?
I assume it was an expedient way of putting a big gun into action quickly rather than a long term vision ?

PainlessWolf · Post by **PainlessWolf** » Wed May 17, 2017 5:19 am

Herman,
Thanks Doc! I don't think that you'll get banned any time soon. *chuckles* You are right about the M36B1. There weren't enough hulls for existing turrets to make the M36 so they quickly came up with the plan to drop those turrets on 187 M4A3 hulls. It required almost no adjustment of either component. They accidentally came up with a troop favorite and one of the best tank destroyers of the War. They saw service with the US through Korea and with other armies up until the 1990s. I'm really pleased with the scale version and hope to have it finished this Spring.
Regards,
Painless

PainlessWolf · Post by **PainlessWolf** » Thu May 18, 2017 4:51 am

Still waiting for parts and bits. The bits I hope to get within a couple of days, the parts may be an early June thing. Tonight I stood up at the counter and scratched out the radio boxes with wire on the cable reel and plugins added to it. I had to build a mic and a set of headphones as well. It's done tho'. Phew! I also mounted the .50 tripod and began work on detailing the tools. Pics:

sassgrunt · Post by **sassgrunt** » Thu May 18, 2017 5:39 am

The scary part is that you put so much detail into a WORKING open-top tank destroyer! Please don't permanently attach the armored roof - it really needs to be removable to show off all of your hard work!

PainlessWolf · Post by **PainlessWolf** » Thu May 18, 2017 3:36 pm

Good morning, Mr. Mike,
I promise not to attach the roof. Had not planned on it as WibblyWobbly gave me the idea to dress it up and "leave the tin roof off". So it will be off when running and on to keep the dust off while on display in the Tank Room. More fun today.
regards,
Painless

tomhugill · Post by **tomhugill** » Thu May 18, 2017 4:22 pm

She's a beaut painless!

PainlessWolf · Post by **PainlessWolf** » Thu May 18, 2017 5:35 pm

Mornin' Tom,
That is greatly appreciated! I have been meaning to ask how yours is coming along? I know it is Top Drawer because you are doing the building. *bows* Pics when you get the chance, please. I can use the inspiration from you and Doc Phibes.
regards,
Painless

P.S. Has anyone heard from Ludwig lately on how his is shaping up?

PainlessWolf · Post by **PainlessWolf** » Sun May 21, 2017 4:56 am

Busy day today with nothing in the mail. I sat down tonight to do a little more work on the turret. Got the Binocs case and the last canteen mounted. Then on to a stickier problem. To this date, I had ordered three supposedly 1/18 fire extinguishers for this build. The Singapore based one turned out to be one of those 'sell two million cheap parts ( 3 or 4 dollars apiece ) ship none and return the possible 100,000 complainers money and pocket the rest' scams. I got my 4 bucks back and turned to buying the next two from the States. Both of those were way out of scale. 1/10 and 1/6 respectively. I kept the 1/6 one for the Stuart build and after prodding from a Superior, set about to build my own. Using a couple of pieces from the 1/10 extinguisher ( including the nice mount ) some tubing and some left over brass, it turned out OK. It will look better once painted but is at least the right scale. Pics: