Academy's 1/35 US Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 Priest
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M7 Priest
Based on the venerable old Sherman medium tank, the M7 Priest was the
backbone of the Allies in World War II for mobile artillery support. This
open-top self-propelled vehicle armed with a 105mm howitzer was used for
mobile artillery support.
The Kit
The boxart rendering of an U.S. M7 Priest in action that will make for
good painting and decal reference. There are some color photos of a finished
model on the sides of the box. Inside the box is a twelve-page instruction
manual. The instructions are very well illustrated and should be easy
to follow with no difficulty. There are nineteen subassembly steps to
complete this model. 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 multiple
sealed bags containing part sprues and one containing the decals.
The sprues are molded in a dark green styrene. Upon initial inspection
I do not see any visible flash on any of the styrene parts. Injection
pin markings are mostly hidden on the back side of large parts and there
are none on the small parts. The one-peice rubber block chevron tracks
are molded in a gun metal vinyl. They are somewhat stiff but very well
detailed. Some pre-flexing of the tracks might make them easier to mount
when the time comes.
Keep in mind some parts may be unused. Make note to review the 'Unused
Parts' listing at the bottom of the parts location diagram.
Assembling the M7 Priest begins with suspension assemblies, drive sprockets,
and idlers wheels in step 1. The suspension assemblies are made up of
10 parts. You will also mount the idlers to the lower hull. In steps 3
and 4, you assemble a nicely detailed transmission and driver's compartment.
The transmission cover with details and drive sprockets are mated to the
lower hull as well as the tow lugs. For step 6 you will take the assembled
transmission and driver's compartment and mate it to the lower hull along
with gauge panel and fender sponsons. Don't forget to glue in the plug
for the bottom of the lower hull. I am puzzled as to the reason why this
plug is even here. The plug has no detail therefore it cannot be a hatch
of any kind. Step 7 is the most complex assembly involving the 105mm howitzer
and its mount. There is 7 subassemblies to this one step. Here the detail
on the howitzer is very nice and appears to be accurately scaled. Atleast
the 105mm barrel is a one-piece tube instead of it being split into two
halves but there is no barrel rifling detail. You will then mate the assembled
gun mount and flooring to the lower hull. There are alot of small parts
in step 7 so be careful when you cut them off the parts sprue. You will
start to detail the inside walls of the fighting compartment but before
you start you will have to fill some injection pin marks . . . . what
a pain!!! Once that task has been dealt with you can continue with your
interior detailing. You will them mate the sides, engine deck, front and
rear fighting compartment wall as the upper hull. More detailing is added
to the exterior including gas caps, headlights, guards, radio, pulpit,
etc. I would advise drilling out the molded in head lamps and replace
them with MV lenses. There are some nicely detailed M1 Garand rifles to
be attached to the interior walls. Added detail to the rear plate and
engine deck are completed in steps 9 and 10 including tools, stowage boxes,
air cleaners, engine access doors, exhaust, etc. The finished upper and
lower hulls are mated together in step 11. The .50 caliber machine gun,
one-piece tracks and 105mm ammo and bins as well as fire extinguishers
and bolted transmission bracket complete this kit's assembly. You have
the option of accessory parts for this kit and they are Allied and German
gas cans.
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When you are ready for painting and decal placement you will have the
choice between four M7 Priests from World War II. You can choose from
US 2nd Armored Division from Sicily 1943 or Normandy 1944, British 1st
Armored Division from El Alamein 1942 or French 2nd Armored Division from
France 1944. The US and French versions only have one color choice and
that is olive drab while the British version requests you use dark yellow,
khaki green and red brown for its finish. Dry brushing on this model would
really enhance its appearance. The decals represent vehicle IDs, white
stars, colorful unit markings and vehicle names. The quality is very nice.
Conclusion
I would definitely rate Academy's version of the M7 Priest ahead of
Italeri's venerable offering. Academy has continued their high quality
model kits with this new release. I highly recommend this kit to the armor
modeler. I would like to thank MRC
for the review kit.
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