Mirage Hobby 1/72 M3 Lee Medium Tank By Wojtek Bulhak Translated By Wojtek Matusiak

Editor's Note: This article was submitted by Mirage Hobby themselves, but we thought it excellent and deserving enough to warrant publication within Internet Modeler. Our thanks to Mirage Hobby.

Design of Kit

Preparing a model for production is a very complex process. Many modelling experts can evaluate the good and bad features of commercially available model kits. But when they are invited to assist in making of a new kit, it turns out very quickly how many questions remain unanswered and how many parts of the model are difficult to "reverse engineer". The M3 medium tank model kit was based, first of all, on the excellent book "Sherman, a History of the American Medium Tank" by R. P. Hunnicat, which includes 1/48 scale drawings and most specifications. However, not all data necessary to make a 3D computer model of the tank could be found in this and other publications. Consequently, we used photos, both historical and of surviving examples, from the collection of Wojciech £uczak. Additionally, we have measured those components of the chassis of the Grizzly tank (Canadian derivative of the Sherman) at the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw, that were the same as in the Lee/Grant. The computer model was than broken down into individual parts, and turned into a mould. This was the basis for a specialised company which then made an injection mould. The design team consisted of Przemek Kaczmarek who did the 3D computer modelling, Arek £ukszo responsible for the mould and production, and myself checking the model accuracy and ease of assembly.

Detailed description of the contents of the box by Doug Chaltry can be found at On The Way!

Construction

Assembly of the model is simple and pleasant. Apart from the plastic parts it includes a photo-etched set with alternative elements: headlight guards, engine grill and internal structure of the side doors. I suggest that you select the painting scheme before assembly. Individual variants differed in the gun type, air filter arrangement, exhaust system, and equipment. Since the fine details are rather delicate, they should be cut out very carefully, in order to avoid breaking them (in particular components of the commander's cupola and delicate elements of the equipment).

Several spots require special attention during assembly, where the details need to be matched carefully before cementing. The transmission housing at the front of the hull has to protrude above the side walls (as shown in the drawing in the assembly instruction). This will allow correct matching with the top of the hull. The latter has to be matched very accurately to the chassis, in order to avoid a shift to port.

During assembly of the gun you have to note the groove running vertically on the inside of the starboard wall of the hull near the gun rotation axis. In order to obtain full horizontal rotation of the gun this groove has to be removed with a modeller's knife. The groove acts as a reinforcement, to prevent breaking of this part when the injection mould is opened.

If we decide to use the photo-etched grills, the plastic ones should be carefully removed with knife. This will allow to cement the rear wall of the combat compartment without problems. Other details of the engine cover can be protected when removing the grills by placing masking tape over them.

Assembly of the undercarriage is very rapid. Mould joint residue can be quickly removed from the individual wheels by placing a number of them on a needle (I used a needle from an old, cheap airbrush) and sanding the on a piece of sand paper. When fitting the driving sprockets pay attention to tooth alignment, so as to avoid a shift that prevents track attachment. The track itself is made of a special plastic: it is elastic, but not as flexible as rubber. It is easy to cement with either superglue or normal plastic cement. It has one link more than the original. In Sherman type tanks the track was straight and it did not sag like those in German tanks. If the model is placed in a diorama on uneven ground, the additional link allows, to some extent, to displace the track to match the ground profile, without the need to change the deflection of individual bogeys. This makes it easier to give the model more realistic looks. When building mine, I removed the extra link by cutting both end of track links in the middle and I cemented the track just tight.

After assembly all areas I suspected flaws were brushed with Mr Surfacer and Vallejo acrylic putty.

Painting

I started painting my model by priming it with Mr Surfacer diluted in liquid glue. With the surface painted like this, I applied dark green (Vallejo Model Air 013). In the 1/35 scale modellers often start by painting the model black. In smaller scales, in my opinion, paler colours should be used, to maintain the "scale effect". Then the model is airbrushed with paler colours, and the dark colour creates the deeper shadow in deeper places. In my case Model Air 025 was the paler colour. The next stage was to use a wash of dark paint to bring out the surface structure. Water-thinned Vallejo Model Color 855 Black Glaze is perfect for this. I emphasised protruding elements by dry brushing with Model Color 988, and then finer with Model Color 858. The effect of the painting was unnaturally strong, but that was what I wanted at this stage. I then applied traces of rust and leaks, using Model Color 851 and 854 paints. I painted tracks, made up of rubber links and metal connectors, with Model Color 855 (rubber) and Model Color 851 and 854 (connectors).

After these stages of painting I obtained emphasised surface structure of the model. Different colouring of individual surfaces of the model as during operation was an additional effect. All these features were toned down and combined by spraying a mixture of Model Air 043 and 026 paints with the Polish version of Future (Pronto Floor Polish). I did it in such a way that the colours of previous coats showed through the last one. I believe that to obtain natural appearance of the model you should try to obtain subtle colour differences on individual components. The several stage method suggested here allows to obtain this.

After painting I applied the decals. I selected the scheme of the tank that participated in the first combat of US medium tanks at Djedeida on 28 November 1942. Geometric company markings were characteristic of the 13th Armored Regiment tanks at the time. The decal sheet includes a full set of these markings for the entire regiment, and the instruction provides a description of these.

In spite of the varying surface structure, the decals have set all right. I only failed to avoid dot silvering at the rivets in first decal placed . Using Set and Sol (Aeromaster) has solved the problem with subsequent decals.

I painted the silvering spot with a touch of Olive Drab. It was eventually covered at the next stage - muddying. This I did by spraying the lower surfaces of the model with Model Air 026 paint.

The next stage consisted in application of metal wear traces with a pencil. This showed in those areas that were often walked on by the crew or worn by obstacles. Upper surfaces of the model were left in semi matt, to stress, by contrast, the soiled bottom surfaces. However, I now think these look too glossy.

Then I applied traces of soil left by the crew and then washed by rain, in form of spots and trails using Model Air 025 paint. At the very end I coloured the tools using tan-brown (wood) and pencil (steel).

Conclusion

Building the model was a lot of fun. It took me one weekend to build it straight from the box. My next model is going to be another M3, but a long-barrelled one. This time I will scratch-build the entire interior and will place the model in a diorama. I think I am addicted to M3 Lee, after building one in 1:35, one in 1:72 and superdetailing another one.