Academy's 1/72 M3 Half-track & 1/4 ton Amphibian Vehicle By Kent Kirkpatrick

The Kit

This is Academy's new offering in their 1/72 World War II Ground Vehicle Series. Colorful boxart shows an M3 Half-track, amphibious jeep and motorcycle outside a compound. It makes a good painting and decal reference. There are some color photos of the finished models on the sides of the box. Inside the box is a eight-page multi-lingual instruction manual. As usual, their illustrations are very well done for your assembly. There are twelve subassembly steps to complete your models. Kit instructions have a symbol legend for filing, gluing, cutting, etc. to assist you through assembly. If you have trouble finding a part there is a parts location diagram page. There are three sealed bags containing styrene sprues and one containing a decal sheet. The sprues are molded in a dark green styrene.
My initial inspection is very positive. There is no visible flash on any of the parts which is impressive as this is a small kit. Minor ejector pin markings are some of the parts but appear hidden from view during assembly.

M3 Half-track

Assembly begins with the nine parts chassis and suspension in step 1. I really like the detail on the chassis frame with includes the drive axle, exhaust and bottom-half of the engine. It would be possible to open up the engine compartment and add the upper half of the engine which might be worth the effort. Step 2 completes the chassis by mating the front axle (with tires) and track assembly. I'm not sure if having the bogie, idler and drive sprocket molded with the track as one part. I think if would have been better to have them separate. The front half of the idler, bogie and drive sprocket are separate. I'm not sure what advantage this would give with the rest of the assembly as one part. Remember to remove the segment of sprue on parts A26 and A27 (track / bogie assembly) which is a small inconvenience. The front tires are nicely detailed with lug nuts and treading. In steps 3 and 4 you will assemble the cab of your M3 Half-track which includes seats, dash, steering wheel. The cab's exterior is very nicely details with latches, hinges and rivets. Tools are molded on the cab instead of separate parts. Somewhat of a disappointment is there is no interior door detail. You may have to scribe that in your self. You have the choice of two front ends with open or closed radiator louvers. The cab flooring has a tread pattern on it which looks a little oversized. The 5 piece rear compartment of the half-track is assembled in step 5. Seating for 10 personnel with two gas tanks / stowage bins fill in the detail. Again, the exterior of the rear compartment is nicely detailed with rivets and tie downs but there is no interior surface detail on the exterior walls. I suggest taking a round bit in your motor tool and rough up all the seats to give them a look like someone had been sitting in them. The cab and rear compartment subassemblies are mated together with a rear wall and door assembly. Step 7 brings together the body and chassis of the M3 Half-track. You will have a choice of front bumpers, one with a power winch and one regular. Lastly, step 8 finishes up the half-track with the .50 cal MG pulpit, .30 cal MG mounts, gas cans and tow eyes.

1/4 ton Amphibian Vehicle

This is a very unique version of the famous Jeep but in an amphibian mode. There is not much to this model as it only take three steps to complete it. The suspension and main body are molded as one part. It is very nicely detailed like the half-track. In step 9 you mount the wheels to the main body and add the front and rear axles as well. There is a very delicate three-blade propeller, tow pintle and headlight guards that will require tweezers to attach. You might want to use a magnifying glass. The five piece interior compartment is assembled in step 10. This is nicely detailed with dash detail and reinforcing ribs but the shifters could use some help as they look like oversized stubs. Finally, step 10 finishes our amphib by mating the interior and upper hull with the main body. Included is a trim vain, spare gas can and tire.

Harley Davidson Motorcycle

This has got to be the best detailed motorcycle, out of the box, in 1/72. The amazing detail is captured in the spokes of the tires. This one step assembly requires you to trim off various ejector nubs. This should not present any problems. The two cylinder engine is very nicely detailed, too bad this is not separate from the frame for ease of painting.

The decals are of high quality as you have come to expect from Academy. These are generic US Army vehicle ID numbers and stars. There are paint and decal placement steps that give you the option of one color . . . olive drab. Who would have guessed.

NOTE: I find it puzzling that Academy did not include some clear acetate film to use as windshield glass for the M3 Half-track and Amphibious Jeep or the motorcycle for that matter. I would suggest you use a round bit and a motor tool to install MV lenses on these vehicles for added realism.

Conclusion

This is yet another offering in this series of 1/72 scale ground vehicles. The quality of this kit in 1/72 is no exception to their other kits. I definitely give this kit two thumbs up for these long awaited Allied vehicles. This is the best injection molded half-track I have seen to date. Much better than the old Airfix and Hasegawa offerings. I highly recommend this to builders of soft-skin vehicles. Virtually no flash or sink marks on the parts. I would like to thank MRC for the review kit.