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I'm certainly interested, but I can't get either of the links to open. I assume by blue you mean it'll be a militia vehicle?
SLA (South Lebanon/Lebanese Army)
I was afraid of that. SLA or Christian militia, there'll be some reworking to do to the Tamiya kit. This makes three times in one week that I have to be
that guy. The Tamiya kit is good for up to about 1970. The engine deck then underwent some changes. Later it underwent more changes, and by the time the Israelis started getting rid of their Shermans, they were on to the fourth incarnation of that engine deck. There is somewhat good news - for the Tamiya kit, Legend offers an upgrade erroneously labeled for 1973. It is actually not correct for that time period, but later on. You can use that conversion, which includes a drop in engine deck to replace the Tamiya part.
Now, I know you're building an M50. However, one of the dings on the DML M51 kit was the hull extension on the cast hull which appeared sometime after 1973. (I don't quite recall when, but Googophiles can find it) Since it is pretty much the same cast hull as on the M50s, it's reasonable to assume that the same extension was added to the rear plate of the M50 as well, which angled it out slightly. The welds on the extension are very noticeable.
So while the Tamiya kit is great for what it is, the DML kit might be the better starting point for your project as you get the extended hull
and the later exhaust.
