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M3 Stuart
| Designated M3 “General Stuart” after the Confederate General, the tank served in all theatres of operation as it underwent modifications until it was replaced by the M24 “Chaffee” late in the war. Main armament was the 37mm gun, with up to five .30 cal machine guns mounted at a time. Initially effective, notably during the North African campaigns that the British named it “Honey” but as the war progressed, anti-tank measures have improved. The new threats limited the tank into performing lighter tasks. Nevertheless, the M3 “Stuart” greatly helped in putting a stop to the Axis Aggression. | |||
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The on-vehicle stowage was from the Tamiya 1/35 M4 Sherman kit given to me by Shonen-Red. | What attracted me to the kit is that it was really cheap (Php 250.00 = around US $5.00), so I bought it at impulse when I passed by a hobby shop June 6th of last year. Being a kit from the 70’s, the parts had a lot of flash and required a lot of sanding and gap-filling. It was a real challenge for me, who has only built his first armor kit a few months before. I also thought of adding in a few details, the grab handles and other details were replaced with heated runners and aluminum sheets from soda cans. Using a pin vise, | |
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I drilled muzzles on the guns as well. The .30 cal M mounted on the cupola was replaced with a more detailed version from Academy’s 1/35 US Machine Gun Set. | Finally, the kit was finished using Tamiya Spray Paints, Tamiya Enamels and artist’s oils for the wash. Dusted the tank afterwards with orange pastels to simulate road dirt and black pastels on the gun muzzles. Markings are of the U.S. Armored Division in Tunisia. The decals silvered/peeled, but since it’s my first time working with them, I was quite pleased with how it turned out. | |
| Overall, it was very enjoyable, though it took me almost a year to complete. Thanks goes to Shonen-Red for the stowage, the decal session and the photos. | |||
*Click to open larger pic
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