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Moon Puppy's 75mm GMC M3 Halftrack

moon puppy

Administrator
Staff member
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Ok, here's what I have, Dragon's M3 GMC75. Going to use all this Griffon PE and the chevron tires left over from the M2A1 I did last year.

Just have to pick a subject, going to be from North Africa for sure, I think I'm pretty safe saying this dueled in the sun during Operation Torch. I'm sure someone can check me on that if i'm wrong. Will update with I start cutting sprues and sniffin' glue.. :face: (that's the nontoxic Tanex7 variety for those who are humorless).

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I've got it primed now but have some other stuff to add to it, think this is about all the soldering I'm going to do.

I got started on this in earnest yesterday. Looking over the 4 separate sets of instructions and trying to figure out which way to go, I thought I would start with what looked to be the most difficult. The Gun Mount.

I have one question for those in the know about Halftracks. KEN!!!

I see that Dragon and Griffon instructions call for the optical site to be installed but from the looks of the assembly, the gun is modeled in travel mode, locked down or stowed. Was the optical site permanently mounted?? I thought there was a stowage location on the gun shield for the site.
 
moon puppy wrote:
I see that Dragon and Griffon instructions call for the optical site to be installed but from the looks of the assembly, the gun is modeled in travel mode, locked down or stowed. Was the optical site permanently mounted?? I thought there was a stowage location on the gun shield for the site.

I would say no, it would be easily removed for protection during travel etc. I could very well be wrong though.

Interesting that you say the gun is in travel mode, I have this kit and really need to go over the sprues. I wanted to model mine elevated and such, thanks for the heads up.
 
Well I say it's in travel mode, it looks like some brackets have it locked down but I'm sure you know which ones would have to be removed to get it in firing position. Guess I need to figure out if I want it displayed in travel or firing position.

Another question, looking in the books I see there looks to be a fuel selector switch behind the drivers seat down on the step back into the fighting compartment, Was this a selector type switch or more of a treeway valve that was behind the wall on the undercarriage.
 
Hey I believe you about the travel mode, I just hope it's easy enough to rectify.

As far as the fuel line I think it's just where both tank fuel lines tie into one and not a selector switch. I would think a selector switch would be placed in a more easily accessible area such as the dash or something similar. Where is this picture, maybe I have the book?

Wait, didn't you just ask me in another thread how much detail one could really add to these things? ;)

I think you've caught a bug. :lol:
 
I'll have to look it up, pretty sure it was the Hunnicutt book. Was not a picture but a diagram of the fuel line routing and components. It labeled the threeway valve a selector switch so that got me thinking. I know, that's dangerous.

Yeah, I've been bit...I was just thinking that would have been an obvious thing to have there that's missing.
 
Got started on the GMC This weekend, while looking over the 5 separate sets of instructions, trying to reconcile them into one plan of attack I figured to start on the most difficult first. That being the Gun Mount.

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I can understand how you Armor [strike]Nuts[/strike] Folks really enjoy working in this genre when you have folks like Griffon supplying stuff like this barrel.

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I like the way Dragon treated the kit barrel, instead of two halves running the length of the barrel, resulting in a seam that needs to be address, this is 4 slide molded tubes that connect one to the other. Not really anything wrong with the kit part.

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But this one will be used... (y)

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The kit Gun Mount, nice part within itself...

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...that is cut to shreds. The options we have with this mount is early vers, late variants, just like so many builds we face today. I'm going early, more complex.
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And a quick dry fit and test. hoping the digital camera can pickup some problems thus far. Looks good to me, if you see anything wrong please let me now.
 
You have a gift for the understatement Laura, I was about to go out and get some higher power reading glasses for this thing.

Meant to add for Ken, or anyone else. Yes you can model this in a firing position very easily. In fact someone with the skill and knowhow could easily make it workable by having the lock pin removable on the travelbar.
 
Nice stuff, glad to see this going together.

I agree about Dragons barrel, it's a pretty darn good way to get it seam free. The only plus to the aluminum version IMO is the rifling. I may try to fake that on the plastic one, if I don't ruin it in the process.

This may or may not be what Griffon mean by early/late differences but it might be worth looking into. I think the M3 gun mount is what comes with the Dragon kit, it has two elevation handwheels on each side (three all together) right? If so then yes, if not it's the older style, the M2A2 which only has one elevation handwheel on the right side (two handwheels total).

The Hunnicutt book goes into more detail as does that site I gave you a link to, the AFV Database. Maybe Griffon has taken this all into account, I dunno but I just figured I'd throw that out there.
 
They do have two configurations of the elevation wheels. I really need to pull out the Hunnicutt book and look closer and get that page number we were talking about with the fuel selector. there are some other details that are different, that plate covering the elevation cylinders (guessing that's what they are, some sort of stabilizers, look like hydraulic lifts but I know that's not how that gun was elevated) and some stuff just removed. what were the two elevation wheels, one for fine/slower adjustment?

I can't help thinking, while working in this area, what would Watanabe-san do, of course all the links and gears would work and be made out of brass...
 
I think they did the same thing to be honest, just more convenient to have them on both sides?

Though to be honest, this and almost any question about the gun and mount would definitely be better handled by an artillery type guy, my 'off the top of my head' understanding of the GMC's and HMC's center around the vehicle that carried them and get a bit fuzzy beyond that.

Your observations about the differences between the two are pretty much the same as what I remember noticing, maybe a slight difference in the mounting base/ammo area as well.

As far as Watanabe-san...

:blink

I bet he'd have threaded nuts and bolts holding her all together!
 
No doubt there would be some worm gears doing the transfers and elevation.

The Fuel System diagram is on page 37 in the Hunnicutt book. It's labeled 3way valve. I read something about a selector switch on something else and got the two transposed I guess...
 
Thanks Noel, spent 3 hours today down in the garage, I fixed two pieces..the same two that are dry fitted above. At this rate I'll be finished by NEXT Christmas.

OK Halftrack Experts. Here's the first question about the Dragon Kit parts and the 75mm gun. It looks to me that between the Griffon and Dragon parts we end up with a hybrid of both early and late configurations of the gun. Most notably is the breach. If I read and followed the references the late 75mm gun had a square breach block, the early had the oval. I'm going for the early but the pictures I'm seeing doesn't have this sight mount, the PE thingy at the top.

you know, I don't even know what I"m asking right now, started watching a movie and had a couple of pieces of pizza so I'll just be hangin' out in the neutral corner.
 
Very nice work .

Looking at all the etch and metal barrel I think I'd get thaf for sure.

Great effort so far.

Michael :)
 
Thanks for all the positive vibes folks, but I just spent about 2 hours working on a part that will NEVER be seen again. Think I'll work on some push rods for the Wildcat tomorrow. :mpup
 
You guys are being kind. Got some more work done but doesn't look like it.

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Got some more work to do to it and then prime and paint it. I'm not going to try to paint like some of you guys painting the complete build, don't know how you guys paint completed builds.

Get this done and start the traditional building starting at the chassis and working up.
 
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