Sunday, 8 December 2013

M3 Honey Conversion - Losing the Fat Head

stuart8 
Photo copyright Phil Steele. Old Glory M3 with the PSC conversion
After letting the paint dry on my M3 and staring at it on the workbench, I came to the conclusion that the turret was too big, wide and just generally fat. Finding an old 20mm turret confirmed that it was also too chubby at the front. The deal breaker for me was that the turret angles were not sharp enough making "the look" unconvincing. I trimmed it and although it is still too long in the front (The commander's hatch should cover the roof when open, just about), it looks about right now. I could have just measured it, but hey?
After trimming  the turret, the model was airlifted  round to Trebian's Shedquarters, as  he has one tricked out for Burma (Skinner's Horse?). Cripes, I thought, the whole thing is massive compared to the Old Glory offering! A quick impromptu meet of the Greek Philosopher's scale debating club convened over tea and cake after the game, before Phil and I separately went off to count the camel's teeth!
stuart9
It turns out that the PSC is accurate, and that by skill or luck, my M3 is bang on the nail for height and width, but short at the back. The OG model is undernourished, although it looks fine on it's own. I love 1:100 as a scale. Even I can do the sums!
A quick paint to get it "table ready", then it's into the box to await a game or bulk weathering session. As ever, I fudged the Caunter scheme - My M3 doesn't have sand sheilds, so I went with Tamiya Mid Blue on the turret roof, Olive Drab lightened and desaturated with Light Blue, and Desert yellow, all over a khaki undercoat. It's not as garish as my first attempt with the Massive Moritz.

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