M-3 Lee Kit

[c.rainford73]

Some wonderful bits arrived ( in record time again) from Dave ( Mr Forgebear). Now I can add all the parts to detail the Lee

Will be cracking her open and adding all the little bits starting tonight

[lmcq11]

Hi Carl, the Mato head lights are great, but be careful if you plan to modify the guards, the metal does not bend like I expected them, they break easy.

[c.rainford73]

Hi Carl, the Mato head lights are great, but be careful if you plan to modify the guards, the metal does not bend like I expected them, they break easy.

Thanks for the tip Louis I almost forgot about that. I know that you and Mr Painless have mentioned the limits of the Mato metal

[PainlessWolf]

Carl,
I knew that you would not have forgotten the bad batch of zinc that MATO was making accessories with for their M36-B1s. Myself, Ludwig and Dr. Phibes ran afoul of that crumbly nonsense ( as well as Louis did for another build it sounds like ) I ended up waiting two weeks for ETO Armor to get in some Schumo nickel silver sets. It was worth it.
regards,
Painless

[c.rainford73]

Silly question guys.... Is it possible to heat the metal very slowly to assist in bending or am I risking a total meltdown

[c.rainford73]

Ok so after a temporary lapse of sanity I decided to forget my own silly request about heating metal headlight cages and went back into reality....

Threading the wiring through the upper hull fenders into the lower hull was a treat

All wiring sorted and soldered into a nice harness. Mounted the metal horn. Headlights tested fine and mounted into the fenders.

Painted and weathered all the tools for the rear deck. Drilled and mounted them onto the side tool storage boxes and deck.

The lovely antenna is mounted in its proper cup on the top hull. These antennas are most definitely an upgrade for any tank.

Some more bits to do and then onto the electronics.

Will get it outside this week for some better pictures.

Carl

[PainlessWolf]

Carl,
Here is some info on the 'pot metal' most likely used by MATO and others for these inexpensive metal parts. Air bubbles in the cast is most likely what causes these tools to break, that or a poor cast with too much zinc in it. You can try to heat it and work it but prepare to be vexed and or disappointed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_metal
regards,
Painless

[c.rainford73]

Carl,
Here is some info on the 'pot metal' most likely used by MATO and others for these inexpensive metal parts. Air bubbles in the cast is most likely what causes these tools to break, that or a poor cast with too much zinc in it. You can try to heat it and work it but prepare to be vexed and or disappointed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pot_metal
regards,
Painless

Thanks for the information Mr Painless. At this point I will keep the guards as they are and make some brass ones ( I can solder safely) and not worry about a major melt down and a huge debacle....

Have to detail the under hull areas and see to it I work Stian up into a frenzy and get some electronics brewing in Norway.

[nexusys]

Hey Carl,

It looks amazing now with all the accessories added to it.Youre getting there!

I like the details on the antenna. Is it from Mato as well?

[Soeren]

Wow, the solid brown bars in the rivet section were okayish. But now, with some more color modulation and the streaking it looks perfect.