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Armor/AFV: Allied - WWII
Armor and ground forces of the Allied forces during World War II.
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Meng M4A3 pictures.
m4sherman
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Posted: Monday, August 26, 2019 - 02:54 PM UTC
I'm not the best photographer, but here are some pictures of the new Meng kit. It looks good, the only annoyance is the hull is a little warped, however I think it will be ok.

The real volute spring.



Over view of the hull and turret.



Turret casting numbers. Readable, and fine molded.



Very hard to see, but the hull cast numbers on the hatch plate. The welds are very fine.



Welds and casting numbers on the turret protective strips. The tab by the filler cap reads GAS OIL.



Turret parts.



Casting numbers on the mantlet.



Hull parts, and the tracks. The tracks are a combination of the Kaizen and Bronco designs. The stubby version of the extended connectors are there.



Suspension, well molded, and both types of return roller supports.



Over view of the suspension and rear hull parts.



They added detail for the spring adjusters, but not very well molded.



Road wheels. There is a cast number of the rubber edge. Nice details.

russamotto
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 03:17 AM UTC
Thank you for the photos. Are you going to do a build log? I would like to see how it all goes together. Is the VVS spring part of a working suspension or just there for improved detail?
panamadan
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 03:49 AM UTC
Thanks for this.
Dan
m4sherman
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 10:48 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Thank you for the photos. Are you going to do a build log? I would like to see how it all goes together. Is the VVS spring part of a working suspension or just there for improved detail?


I have been dry fitting parts to see how the fit is. So far the hull is looking good, despite the warpage. One thing that I do not like is the separate engine deck piece. It makes no sense, and all those beautiful welds will get ruined. Time will tell, but!

I might do a build log, however my track record isn't that great. Life tends to shift my focus suddenly.

I am very curious about the suspension. Now that I am home with a few hours to relax, I'll put one together and test it out. I'll probably glue it fixed later on.
m4sherman
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 10:51 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Thanks for this.
Dan

The large hatch 'A3's are my favorite Sherman's. I have high hopes for this kit.
panamadan
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 10:57 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

Thanks for this.
Dan

The large hatch 'A3's are my favorite Sherman's. I have high hopes for this kit.

When ever this gets to my place it will be started.
Dan
panamadan
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 01:01 PM UTC
I think the turret should have the smoke mortar.
http://the.shadock.free.fr/sherman_minutia/manufacturer/m4a376w/m4a3_76w.html

Dan
27-1025
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 01:48 PM UTC
Thanks for posting these. I'm sold and will grab at least one. The usual gripes on other sites but it looks like a great kit to me - they may missed a few things but not much.
m4sherman
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 01:50 PM UTC

Quoted Text

The kit has options for a smoke mortar, a capped smoke mortar and no smoke mortar. I think you could even easily back date the kit to the first production 'A3's with the non-threaded gun tube. They provide the extra lift ring for the left side of the turret seen on the very early turrets.

I plan on a generic early 'A3, fall of 1944.
dwnrng44
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 01:51 PM UTC
They do. They have you drill out a locating hole from inside. You then have optional parts for flush hole or the capped one.
m4sherman
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 02:01 PM UTC
One of the boogies assembled. The glue is still setting up, but I found you can compress the springs. I'm not sure how much, yet.

More or less, if you've done an Asuka M4 boogie, you'll find these are very similar. The plus for is the better molding of the plastic. No frustrating sink marks.



The hull loosely fitted. It fits well, except the rear deck insert. It's not the best fit. It could have been done a lot better.



More to come, and I'm hoping to get the other kit I ordered soon.

That odd line on the turret might be an attempt at a casting line. It shows up in the color drawings.
m4sherman
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 02:18 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Thanks for posting these. I'm sold and will grab at least one. The usual gripes on other sites but it looks like a great kit to me - they may missed a few things but not much.

Like any kit there are things that bother me. The engine deck is not the way I would like it, however, that is not a kit killer for me. I spent several days last week getting a Takom Panther A engine deck sorted out, and it's supposed to be the best on the market. It comes out well, but what a pain to get it all lined up.

I am going to post only what I find I don't like. It does not show up in the pictures, but the casting marks are on the nose.
m4sherman
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 03:09 PM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

The kit has options for a smoke mortar, a capped smoke mortar and no smoke mortar. I think you could even easily back date the kit to the first production 'A3's with the non-threaded gun tube. They provide the extra lift ring for the left side of the turret seen on the very early turrets.

I plan on a generic early 'A3, fall of 1944.


Inside the turret.

panamadan
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 11:45 PM UTC
It looks like a interior might be planned?
Still need to drill that hole.
Dan
m4sherman
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Posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - 10:04 AM UTC

Quoted Text

It looks like a interior might be planned?
Still need to drill that hole.
Dan

There might be a fighting compartment interior thought of or planned. There is a gun breach and it's related parts, but not much else.
m4sherman
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Posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - 11:19 AM UTC
The hulls dry fitted with the rear hull glued in place and the turret glued together. The circular insert has been glued in the turret and the hole opened for the smoke launcher.



Casting numbers on the nose.



Lower hull. I glued .015 x .040 strips on the hull edges to fill in a gap in the upper and lower hulls.



The gun. I won't be needing an interior, but will use the recoil to be a bump stop for the gun.

panamadan
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Posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - 11:37 AM UTC
Does the suspension truck have the four holes drilled in it?
Dan
m4sherman
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Posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - 02:32 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Does the suspension truck have the four holes drilled in it?
Dan

No, and the boogies have the typical seams that will need to be filled in.
m4sherman
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Posted: Wednesday, August 28, 2019 - 02:41 PM UTC
More work on the hull. I cut out the front hull vent and removed the cover details like many early 'A3's. I have the rear plate on, and did some rework on the turret. I removed the 50 cal mount angles, and cut down the top of the add on extra antenna base. The part is a solid disc, but should have a step which I will add later along with new bolt heads.

I read some comments about Mengs plastic being soft and/or hard to work with. So far I have had no problems with how it glues, or how it can be cut, shaved and sanded.



The fender mount strips are well done, and has weld detail.

m4sherman
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Posted: Thursday, August 29, 2019 - 11:17 AM UTC
There was a question about how the suspension works. Not too bad actually. No pressure:



Compressed until it stopped:



Compressed and tilted:



The springs went back to normal when pressure was released. It might be a gimmick, but it does work.
russamotto
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Posted: Thursday, August 29, 2019 - 12:02 PM UTC
It is an impressive gimmick. Gives the suspension a more realistic pose. I like the details you are showing. Looks like the kit is well worth getting.
m4sherman
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Posted: Thursday, August 29, 2019 - 04:05 PM UTC

Quoted Text

It is an impressive gimmick. Gives the suspension a more realistic pose. I like the details you are showing. Looks like the kit is well worth getting.

So far I like the kit. It has some issues, but what kit doesn't.
m4sherman
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Posted: Thursday, August 29, 2019 - 04:18 PM UTC
The gun mantlet is supposed to be held on with two small tabs! Not good enough for me, so I glued some plastic scrap between the two parts.



I'm using the DEF gun barrel, #DM35049. It is a perfect fit. I secured it with super glue before adding the plastic to the inside.



The gun looks good.



It has been slow going. I have a bad tooth and it keeps flaring up and driving me crazy. It will get fixed next week, and the drugs I'm taking aren't helping much right now.

So far I'm liking the kit. I think it can be more easily turned into the very early M4A3 than the Asuka kit. I'm using the pictures of the tank Champaign as reference for this build.
Owengate
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Posted: Thursday, August 29, 2019 - 09:00 PM UTC
Nonetheless, it still looks amazing. Good luck on this.
panamadan
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Posted: Friday, August 30, 2019 - 11:01 AM UTC
Doesn’t the kit come with a metal barrel?
Dan
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