M2 Half-track Car, Philippines, 1942

[Guest]

The cab is mostly finished now, inside and out:

[ATTACH]506122[/ATTACH][ATTACH]506123[/ATTACH]

The etched shutters for the radiator come with the kit, but are tricky to fit because they don’t really want to stay flat and straight. I also think they need careful handling so I don’t bump them and break them off. Dragon does also provide a part with the shutters moulded integrally, but closed, though.

Inside the cab, I painted the bits that will be hard to spray later on, and also replaced the gearshift lever because the real thing has three bends rather than two like Dragon’s part.

I also did some more work on the rear compartment:

[ATTACH]506124[/ATTACH]

Mainly painting here as well, but I also added a lip around the lid of the left-hand stowage locker, which is missing in the kit. The right locker will be open, but I’ll have to scratchbuild the lid for it because the kit part is far too thick where it doesn’t show. This is very odd, really, because Dragon gives you both shelves inside both lockers but no way to display those open … For an M2 I would have expected the side doors to be separate parts too, but they’re moulded integrally with the sides. It’s not too hard to open them, of course, because they’re just rectangular lids that sit in the corner of the armour plate, making them easy to cut out and replace by some plastic card, but it’s an odd design choice.

The painted part, BTW, is because it will be covered by the machine-gun skate rail. That rail is nicely moulded, though it has a mould line down the centre, which needs careful removing by scraping, filing and sanding.

Dragon also missed the two raised edges to the skate rail, along the bottom and top, but those would have been impossible to mould except by making the rail in a top and bottom half, which would probably have left a join that would be a lot harder to remove. To replicate those edges, I’m using 0.25 by 0.5 mm strip:

[ATTACH]506125[/ATTACH]

Only the bottom edge done here, and as you can see in the picture, the piece of strip I used was exactly 4 mm too short for the full length. After taking the picture I’ve of course glued in a bit to close the gap

[Jim R]

Coming on very well Jakko. Your work on this has certainly improved it's accuracy and detail.
I remember those PE radiator flaps. I ended up gluing a styrene strip behind each flap to keep it rigid.

[Guest]

I was thinking of reinforcing them from the inside too, but then figured that would probably be visible so I’m trusting in them being a bit out of the way to keep them from damage …

[Scratchbuilder]

Looks a nice project Jakko, and I'll try to keep up this time. Is that Scottie standing on the left, in the 4th picture???...

Prost
Allen

That was before he was kicked out of the army and went abroad where he grew a mustache and parted his hair down the middle, changed his name to Tojo....

[Scratchbuilder]

Very interesting background Jakko. American half-tracks crop up somewhere in just about every WW2 film made. After the war the Israeli army procured quite a few and they were in use for many years.
I look forward to another detailed and informative build from you.

We kept ours as well and the REME procurred some and used them as mobile workshops.

[Guest]

The Dutch army kept them in use for quite some time too, though they seem to have been phased out in the 1950s or so, from 512 of various versions in 1948 down to 439 in 1951 and 112 in 1954. Then back up to 242 personnel carriers plus 224 M16 quad-fifties from MDAP deliveries. I can’t find when those were disposed of again, but probably in the 1960s after the AMX and M113 came in. I also saw an interesting photograph taken at a RNLAF firing range at (IIRC) Vlieland, of a truck of a make I don’t remember, which had been fitted with M2/M3 halftrack bogies in place of its rear axle, plus tracks from an M29 Weasel. There’s a model I kind of want to build

[Guest]

Four months later and I finally got back to working on this one, largely because I have to wait for some parts in the mail for the unidentified 6-pounder thing, and there are no deliveries on Sundays or Mondays here And I do want to get this half-track done too sometime soon, so …

I had already glued the cab, the rear area and the machine-gun rail together, but not glued them to the chassis, for ease of painting. Now, I finally managed to put a bit of plastic card together with four bits of strip to make the lid for the open stowage bin:

[ATTACH]515979[/ATTACH]

You can see a dark bit shining through because I already painted the half that will be hidden behind the rail and side wall.

Also, the very early vehicle I want to build usually had wheels without the extra rings securing the tyres, but the M3 scout car wheels I bought do have those. I initially thought about cutting out the centres entirely and transplanting some from elsewhere, but decided to try something else first:

[ATTACH]515980[/ATTACH]

On the left the Panzer Art wheel, with a plastic disc glued to the hub (that still needs a little truncated cone added), on the right one where I cut off all the bolt heads and carved away the bits of the ring between the spokes, then filled the line left on the spokes by the rim with putty. This proved easier than I expected, but now I need to make sure I don’t mess up the second one

[tr1ckey66]

Nice details Jakko and a great start.
I have the same kit with the aim of converting it to an M9. A lot of lend-lease half tracks were M5s, M9s etc. The International harvester mods will be a challenge but I'm hoping my 3D print skills will be up to the task by the time I get round to it.
Cheers, Paul

[Guest]

Nice details Jakko and a great start.

Thanks

I have the same kit with the aim of converting it to an M9. A lot of lend-lease half tracks were M5s, M9s etc.

You can’t really convert this to an M9, unless you mean you intend to recycle the interior parts to put into a completely new body The M9 had exactly the same body as the M5, except the interior was different; if you’re going to convert any M2/M3-series halftrack into an M5, you need new front wings, a new cab (including doors, armoured windscreen shutter, etc.), a new rear body, and a new front axle at the very least. The only major bits you can use are the chassis, front wheels, suspension units with tracks, bonnet, and stuff like the seats. Even with that, starting with an M3-series halftrack would probably be easier than with an M2, I think, because the M3 and M5 both had a longer chassis than the M2.

[tr1ckey66]

Thanks Jakko for the information. I thought the M2 and M3 chassis were the same but the bodies were different lengths? I have the M3 too I’ll have to compare them both. As for the conversion i know it’s a challenge, the front fenders alone will be a real test, but not impossible.

There is a guy selling the M5 and IDF conversions on the Shapeways site, unfortunately not the M9. Interestingly, he claims you can use either the Dragon M2 or M3 as the donor kit. I could mod the conversion but I feel that is just too expensive for the effort involved. I’m therefore looking into modelling the fenders, body and all the other bits in 3D myself. It will be a challenge but I’m using this as a project to hone my 3D skills on.

Best of luck with M2 half track. This will be really interesting
Cheers, P

[Guest]

I thought the M2 and M3 chassis were the same but the bodies were different lengths? I have the M3 too I’ll have to compare them both.

The main difference is in the body length (and layout) but IIRC the chassis for the M3 is longer, too. Of course, that’s easy enough to extend.

There is a guy selling the M5 and IDF conversions on the Shapeways site

This one?

[ATTACH]515991[/ATTACH]

That would be Marcel von Hobe, who used to scratchbuild tank transporters like American M1070s in 1:35 scale! I’ve seen a few of those in the flesh when he took them to a show our club was at, and my first thought was, “Rather you than me” About ten years ago he turned to 3D modelling/printing and began to offer conversion sets on Shapeways.

I feel that is just too expensive for the effort involved

The set sells for rather more than a Dragon halftrack kit, and though I would kind of like to have an M5-series halftrack myself, I think that it’s too expensive. Especially given the typical quality you get from Shapeways.

I’m therefore looking into modelling the fenders, body and all the other bits in 3D myself. It will be a challenge but I’m using this as a project to hone my 3D skills on.

Definitely.

[tr1ckey66]

This one?

Yes, That’s the one.
Some time back, I contacted Marcel about any possibility of 3D modelling the M9. He said there’s wasn’t enough info? I found this odd as, as plenty of drawings of the layout can be found online or in books (the Kagero book has detailed drawings). Maybe he was too busy with other projects.

The reason I’m so keen on the M9 is because I would like to build an accurate diorama of the Villers wrecked half tracks. That said, I’d build an M5 too. If I can successfully model the parts digitally then I can build both. That’s the plan.

Anyway, enough of the M9 on with the M2!
Cheers
Paul

[Steve Ski]

Well, I'm glad you got back to this Jakko, cause this is a really well detailed SBS. Those ref books look to be excellent and a necessity. Awesome SBS!

[Guest]

Some time back, I contacted Marcel about any possibility of 3D modelling the M9. He said there’s wasn’t enough info? I found this odd as, as plenty of drawings of the layout can be found online or in books (the Kagero book has detailed drawings).

That is odd, yes, because there are plenty of photos of what the interior looked like — basically like an M2, but with a bit more room at the back. I will give you a tip about the Kagero books, though: use them when you can’t get a fire going. This is probably the best you can do with them, as the drawings in them are pretty much useless. For starters, they’re not even 1:35 scale, as I showed earlier:



Let me quote noted American halftrack expert, Ken Abrams:

I have both of their halftrack books, I believe there are only two.

IMO they are absolutely worthless.

and a few posts later:

Easily the worst references in print for the Allied halftrack.

Their M5 drawings are basically of an M3 with some tweaks to turn it into an M5 at first sight, that’s it.

Maybe he was too busy with other projects.

Could well be, of course.

If I can successfully model the parts digitally then I can build both [M5 and M9]. That’s the plan.

Yep, all it takes is some changes in the rear area. A bit more work, but once you’ve drawn a whole M5 (or M9), the other is not much more.

[Guest]

this is a really well detailed SBS. Those ref books look to be excellent and a necessity.

Thanks The Dragon kit is pretty good (I’ve not built one of their halftracks before), but it has a number of shortcuts and omissions that can be improved fairly easily. But why, oh why, did they mould the jerrycan mounts integrally with the hull when they were open top and bottom on the real thing?!