Takom M3 Grant 1/35

[AndrewE 455]

Here is what I will be building for this GB.  The very nice Takom M3 Grant with some added baggage from Black Dog.  I don't think I have ever built an M3 before so this will be a first for me.  Hope to get it started this weekend once I clear an Airfix Hurricane off the bench. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mad Steve 6,266]

Very nice indeed 😬👍

[Grunhertz 10,404]

lovely 

[Walrus 5,274]

Nice one Andrew! 
Loved the Grant since I built the old 1/76 Airfix kit as a kid. 
I know iI'm going to want a bigger one as I watch yours get built!  

[Paul Brown 2,837]

Nice, I have one of these kits and was thinking about releasing it from the stash for the GB, but I have something else in mind.

[AndrewE 455]

Well here is the first update.  I nearly managed to clear the bench before starting the Grant but in the end couldn't resit cutting some plastic whilst waiting for some washes to dry on a Lvt4 Buffalo.  The progress shown here took most of an evening as each bogie is made up of 15 separate parts.  Quite why Takom have designed them like this I don't know.  Supposedly this is to make them workable,  but with no springs included they are not as good as the ones in the Tasca Sherman kits.  However since the kit comes with link and length tracks with long flat sections underneath you would need to source new individual link tracks to make use of the bogie's pose ability.  Having assembled them (then taken them apart and reassembled correctly as I had installed some parts upside down) I applied liquid poly to all of the bits the instructions say not to.  Left on a flat surface to set these bogies are now all ready for the tracks. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Grunhertz 10,404]

Looks like a nice Kit 

[Peter Marshall 974]

just watch the length and link tracks are short by about a link and a half.

[AndrewE 455]

28 minutes ago, Peter Marshall said:

just watch the length and link tracks are short by about a link and a half.

Thanks for the heads up. There are a few spare track links on one of the main sprues so hopefully I can use them to fill the gap.

[AndrewE 455]

Just finished putting on the tracks, it may be more awkward painting them in situ later on but I decided to follow the instructions and get them all glued in place now.  

On the first side I glued the top section first and then worked round the rear along the underside and finished up at the front but I did have a small gap that I had to get rid of by trying to move the long section underneath. I was mostly successful but decided to work the other way around on the second side so that I ended up with a small gap at the rear which was easily rid of by spacing out the links around the idler wheel. Overall I am very pleased with how the tracks have gone on.  I shall give them a quick blast of primer tomorrow before I add any of the superstructure as the front mudguards will make it even more awkward to paint after they have been installed.

 

 

[Grunhertz 10,404]

very nice 

[AndrewE 455]

This is turning into something of a blitz build for me although things will inevitably slow down once the construction phase is finished and I start painting.

Here is where things ended up last night, some added superstructure and I have added some ballast inside to give it a bit of weight for no other reason than its a tank and tanks are supposed to be heavy.

 

 

 

 

Then this evening I have had a good few hours at the bench whilst listening to the cricket.  First job was to mask off the superstructure and prime the running gear with Halfords black primer. After which I finished off the superstructure but leaving off all the tools and fine detail as I am not sure what will need to be left off to accommodate the Black Dog resin accessories.  I think this set is designed for the Tamiya kit but a quick dry fit has shown that most of the pieces will fit with only minor fettling.  I think the part that will need most work are the sand bags at the front.  

 

 

 

And finally a quick picture with the Grant alongside the LVT4 Buffalo that is also on the bench at the moment.  I had not appreciated just how big the LVT4 was until I made this comparison. 

 

 

[Grunhertz 10,404]

these tanks are flying together nice work 

[Peter Marshall 974]

Certainly coming along - you look to have had way less issues with the tracks than I did - probably a slightly different fit on the bogeys makes a world of difference.

Look forward to seeing it progress.

[AndrewE 455]

Time for another update.  The kit is now built and all of the stowage from the Black Dog set that I am going to use has been added.  Most of it fits fine despite it being designed for the Academy kit.  Before I start painting however I am going to add some sandbags to the front and maybe also a canvas cover for the gun mantlet.  These are provided in the stowage set but unfortunately do not fit the Takom kit. 

I have replaced the photoetch headlamp protectors with plastic strip firstly because I could not get them bend into the correct shape and fit properly and secondly because I lost one to the carpet monster.  I am not a big fan of photoetch although the rest of the stuff that comes with the kit went on without a problem.

 

 

 

 

 

[Mad Steve 6,266]

Very cool 😬👍

[Grunhertz 10,404]

looking really cool 

[Walrus 5,274]

Great progress Andrew 

[AndrewE 455]

I have now added some milliput sandbags to the front of the Grant, just about happy with them but the shape could have been better.  I have also added some foil straps to the stowage hanging off the side rails to make them look like they are actually hanging from the side of the Grant rather than just stuck on with glue.  After making the last couple of sandbags this evening I had some leftover milliput so I have started to build up the canvas mantlet cover.  The idea is that I can now overlay this shape with thin strips of keadatite (or similar). I have some on order which should hopefully arrive before the weekend.

 

 

[Grunhertz 10,404]

brilliant work Andrew 

[AndrewE 455]

Quite a lot of progress since the last update.  Firstly some milliput sand bags on the front and the canvas mantlet for the gun also from milliput

 

 

A coat of Halfords black primer

 

Followed by a light coat of Halfords grey primer 

 

 

Then a coat of #desert sand mixed from Tamiya paints. I mixed this up last year for a Crusader and cannot find the recipe I'm afraid, thankfully there was more than enough left for the Grant.  The Khaki Green No.3 is also from Tamiya mixing 2 x XF62 (Olive Drab) + 3 x XF59 (Desert Yellow).

 

 

Baggage painted with various Vallejo colours then given a coat of Army Painter Quickshade -Dark Tone, a very quick and lazy way of giving some shadow to all the folds in the baggage.  The tracks and tyres have also been painted with dark grey at this stage. 

 

 

Decals on

 

And to bring it right up to date some weathering.

 

 

 

Matt varnish and some final weathering later this week and it should all be finished.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Grunhertz 10,404]

lovely job 

[AndrewE 455]

All finished.  A couple of coats of matt varnish and a tad more weathering in between.  

 

 

 

 

 

[Mad Steve 6,266]

Wow that looks brilliant 😬👍

[Grunhertz 10,404]

gorgeous