M-3 Lee Kit

[Afrikakorps]

Hi Carl,
I found a few pics, I'm not one for taking many as I build.
I used a small 6v motor with built in reduction gears (8 rpm) and fight s HL turret rotation gear to the shaft.
Then scratch made a housing for it and bolted it to a nut mounted inside a block of resin glued to the roof.
For the turret ring, I heated & cut down a HL ring to fit, then got a friend to machine one from 3mm acrylic.
The turret has elevation and traverse with a modified aber .30cal barrel and red led with fibre optic in the mg. The 37mm uses a smd for a flash.
Anyway, I won't bore you with the details, but if you want to know more, just ask.
Cheers
Steve

8rpm 6v motor.png (126.94 KiB) Viewed 3133 times

[c.rainford73]

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

No no no .......Herman you must start over again

[c.rainford73]

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

John I would say for sure it's quite thick and strong as resin goes. Some of the thinner parts can snap if one is not careful. It's really a nice kit

[c.rainford73]

Steve I really admire your efforts on your build. Amazing ability to overcome the unusual design of this giant layer cake tank. I will message you when I have some time to ask some questions. Where did you source the lovely decals BTW?

cheers

Carl

[c.rainford73]

Hello again. Today I primed and sanded the hull and turret. Filled holes and imperfections with putty and sanded some more.

The first coat was grey etch primer. Then I added four thin coats of Tamiya TS-5 olive drab with the small rattle cans. About an hour between coats.

I wanted something a little different than my M-36 Jackson so I took the liberty to accomplish this with a mix of Vallejo model air Gunship green and Light Grey Green. About 4:1 ratio.

I've always found that adding the darker shade base makes the final colors come out and define the model.

Washes and dust will be added later once the tank is final assembled.

Loaded into my airbrush and added some testors Aztec acrylics thinner. Photos attached. I'm awaiting some parts to complete the drivetrain and mount the tracks. Also need to purchase the electronics and fit them.

Thanks for looking

[sassgrunt]

Beautiful paint job, Carl. Makes me want to go watch Bogart in "Sahara" again!

[Ludwig von wigbearer]

Looks stunning carl, its amazing how different it looks with an all over colour coat on, its nice to know you
have built a model that's a one off to you and no one else has, superb paintwork, think next tool for me is
an airbrush.

regards john

[Afrikakorps]

Hi Carl ( c.rainford73 ),
I didn't use decals, instead I referenced as much material as i could,and decided on yellow just to be different.
Then made computer cut vinyl stencils and airbrushed the numbers, stripes and stars. (very painstaking work)
Here is a side view with markings before I changed the wheels.
Cheers
Steve

Unfinished

[c.rainford73]

Beautiful paint job, Carl. Makes me want to go watch Bogart in "Sahara" again!

Mike thank you for the compliment

[c.rainford73]

Looks stunning carl, its amazing how different it looks with an all over colour coat on, its nice to know you
have built a model that's a one off to you and no one else has, superb paintwork, think next tool for me is
an airbrush.

regards john

Thanks John much more to do but it's getting there.