M3 Lee

By Michael Hatch

Manufacturer:Hasegawa/Revell/ESCI Kitbash

This model represent a midproduction M3 Medium Tank of the US 1st Armored Division inTunisia during the winter of 1942/43.

I used the Hasegawa Lee'shull, turret, bogie trucks, and various other doodads.Revell/Monogram's M4A1 76 mm Sherman provided the road wheels,drive sprockets and rear idler wheels. An ESCI M4A1 Shermanprovided the 75 mm gun barrel, the .30 caliber machine gun in thecommander's sub turret, hull roof fans and the armoured fuel capunder the antenna base.

I cut down the Britishstyle mud guards front and back and then added rib detail to therear mud guards. I built up the ribs holding the three piecetransmission cover by applying successive layers of crazy gluegel on top and filing down the sides. I increased the height ofthe ribs by about a millimeter or so. For bolts and nuts I usedthe smallest plastic rod that I could find and cut them as shortas I could work with. Upon close inspection, they appearover-sized but when painted and viewed from further away than sixinches the effect is OK. When I do this again I will try usingbrass wire instead.

I drilled out one of thehull machine gun openings and thinned the commander's hatch down.I drilled out the center of the headlights for MV Product lensesand used brass photoectched frame material for their guards.Towing shackles were obtained from one of the above kits andtheir mounts were made from sheet plastic. Storage box latcheswere also added using sheet plastic bits. The antenna mount wasreshaped and hollowed out. The antenna itself is soft steel wirewith a heavy coating of crazy glue gel at its base. Soft steelwire was also used for the handles above the hull side doors.Plastic rod was used to make the coaxial machine gun barrel, taillights and to add hinges to the turrets armoured vision portcovers. The crew commander and the American jerry cans are bothwhite metal MMS products.

The yellow geometric unitsymbols, stars and turret stripe were made by first sprayingbright insignia yellow on the bare plastic, masking off theshapes and spraying on the base faded Olive Drab coat over that.The masking were then removed and the markings touch up by hand.The U.S.A. war department number decals were those supplied withthe kit and they were applied next. The smeared on mud effect wasachieved using a "Fine Microbrush". These brushesstarted out being used by dentists to precisely apply smallamounts of glues and filling material. I find them very handywhen I want to simulate field applied paint or mud finishes. Ialso use them for weathering nooks and cranny on my models. Theyare handy and robust and you can get them from"Micro-Marks".

Weathering wasaccomplished with various water colour washes, pencils and pastelchalk dust.