Rare Medium Tank M3 variant, from a MiniArt kit

[Jakko]

For filler I use car stopper filler as I find it does not flake as much as the model products.

This is car filler as well

“Plamuur” is Dutch for “filler”, this type is intended for metal and polyester car bodies but works fine for plastic model too, and it can be thinned with liquid cement.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Many years ago I used to use Holts body stopping, haven’t seen it for years though.....used to thin it with cellulose thinner. It was great on etched brass kits!

 

[Jakko]

TBH, the main reason I’m using this putty is because my tube of Revell Plasto ran out soon after the nearest model shop closed a few years ago, leaving me with nowhere to get that without either a much longer trip or having to order more than just a tube of putty for it to be economical. However, there was a tube of this stuff around the house, so I thought I’d try it instead. It’ll be a while before it runs out, it’s a 125 ml tube that’s still more than half full (for comparison, Plasto comes in 25 ml tubes).

 

[Jakko]

More rivets, that I finally got myself psyched up to make:



Though I’m not even halfway done on with the ones for this structure yet.

Also hinges for the hatches, made from a few sizes of plastic strip and some thin rod. Not as tedious as the rivets, I’m glad to report

 

[scottie3158]

I'm going to throw a guess in here, an observation vehicle for the early American Rocket program.

 

[Jakko]

Ooh, that’s a good guess! Not right, but something that hadn’t occurred to me at all, so a point for you

I put on the rest of the rivets all around the … thing on top, and started on the … smaller structure as well:



… and then I had had enough of those little blighters for one day

 

[Jakko]

To celebrate the milestone of having put all the rivets on the top of the tank, here’s some overall views of where things stand now:



The commander’s cupola is also on, as I don’t need to handle the model as much anymore now all those bloody rivets are on, so it doesn’t stand as much chance of being damaged. The same goes for the handles on the engine deck, but other details, like the headlights, still remain to be added.

I also built a periscope housing on the right front:



This is just a base from some card, curved sides from a piece of 5.5 mm pipe cut in half, with another bit of card for the back, and a cut-down Sherman periscope inside. It still needs a roof, when the glue on these parts has dried.

 

[CarolsHusband]

Has anyone suggested observation vehicle for nuclear tests ?
If not, I'd like to...

 

[GerryW]

I'm still perplexed as to what this is heading to

Has anyone suggested observation vehicle for nuclear tests ?
If not, I'd like to...

Hadn't thought of that

 

[Jakko]

Has anyone suggested observation vehicle for nuclear tests ?
If not, I'd like to...

So sort of like Paul’s rocket test vehicle, but nuclear? Could be … but again, a good suggestion that is, unfortunately, not right

I'm still perplexed as to what this is heading to

Glad to read that

 

[GerryW]

Glad to read that

Don't worry, if it's not common, I wouldn't have a clue! Tanks aren't normally my area of interest

 

[adt70hk]

Has anyone suggested some sort of APC trial. The current lack of a big gun suggests it would not be expected to take on other AFVs. The sloped front plate suggests increased protection for the occupants and the ability for increased internal storage. The periscope suggests that at least one other occupant other than the commander and driver need to see out too....

 

[Tim Marlow]

I think it was an apprentice piece for Rosie the rivete!

 

[Jim R]

Hi Jakko
This is coming on well. Neat work. It's like a good book - a riveting read but you just can't work out who the murderer is so will have to wait until the last chapter
Jim

 

[Jakko]

Has anyone suggested some sort of APC trial.

I don’t think they have. I like your speculation — I’ll let you know later if it was right, as I intend to post proof this vehicle really existed

 

[Jakko]

Another fitting added to the front of the superstructure:



The green bits were sawed from one of those leftover bits from a Tamiya kit, needed for the motorised version so that a serious modeller always has them left over The rest is plastic card and a bit saw from a tube, though I still need to file the top and bottom so they curve like the green parts.

 

[Jakko]

Let me muddy the waters a bit further:



The large barrel is 2 mm plastic rod with a brass tube around it for the thicker bit. I initially wanted to make this from that rod and 3 mm sprue, but they needed pinning together, and drilling a hole for that in the 2 mm rod proved almost impossible. I tried four times, and though I started centred well enough every time, the drill soon moved sideways and I ended up with an off-centre hole anyway. My father then turned a brass barrel for me on his lathe, but the muzzle hole ended up off-centre as well due to the barrel being pushed aside slightly when the drill hit it Rather than try again, we decided to drill out the thicker part so the plastic rod fits through, leaving me with a brass sleeved for the plastic rod. (I would have built the barrel completely from plastic tube, if I had some of the correct diameters.)

The upper barrel is simply thinner plastic rod, which I also used for the MG barrel. I drilled dimples into the sides of the latter, because the real thing had ventilation holes. The flash hider was made from stretched sprue, the conical part between the actual stretched bit and the base sprue.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Nice additions. Still don’t know what it is though…..

 

[adt70hk]

How about a flamethrower version....

 

[Jakko]

I’m having fun thinking about these suggestions, anyway