Weekend Build M8 HMC

Very nicely done for a weekend build You should have joined us on the Weekend Madness Groub Build with it ;-)

It looks nice!  The empty brass on the ground seems too long for the M8 HMC's 75mm howitzer however.  Maybe check that?

Stick-  I missed that GB but am looking forward to the North Africa GB in Jan.

Roy-  its funny, I noticed they were to large but it did not dawn on me to just cut them down to the proper size.  I'll just tack on another 0.5 to the build time and sort it out tomorrow.  Thanks for the comments,

You might want to consider replacing the tracks, any for the M3/M5/M8 series would be better than the OOB ones, they are junk.

OR you could just cover them completely in crud! 

Jon_a_its

You might want to consider replacing the tracks, any for the M3/M5/M8 series would be better than the OOB ones, they are junk.

OR you could just cover them completely in crud! 

The issue with many Tamiya tracks, the M3/M5/M8 included, is that they molded them with the end connector at the end of a track block, not spanning two adjacent track blocks. In other words, Tamiya tracks "magically" stick together and the end connectors don't connect. Same deal with their original Abrams tracks and their M60 & M48 tracks.

I just wanted this to be a quick weekend build and did not plan on adding any aftermarket tracks, PE, ect.  The wife would kill me if I bought aftermarket for every kit I build.  

udel09

I just wanted this to be a quick weekend build and did not plan on adding any aftermarket tracks, PE, ect.  

Sometimes I say the same thing. Just want to build something quick just to make the stash one less but then.........  something takes over me and I start opening panels, adding scratched  stuff and then it turns into a major project. I'm lucky to have a wife that supports my hobby and appreciates the added details and enjoys going to the model shows with me. 

Yes, building out of box is sometimes very hard to do. I saw your comment about that in the original post and agree with you completely. I also agree with Plastic_Junkie that the Tamiya tracks fit like a glove compared to aftermarket tracks and to the untrained eye, will look pretty good. But for an accurate model accessory, they are junk.

I only pointed out Tamiya's age old track problem when the discussion turned away from the finished kit and was redirected towards the tracks.

thanks to the river-counters....  

Without rivet counters you're stuck building 30 year old repops.

Considering we STILL have those same 30+yr old repops....your point is moot.

And my actual point was that the original poster already pointed out the track issue and yet you rivet-counters still felt the need to bloviate.

p.s. you should be thanking them for those repops - modelers buying those kits are what's paying for the new molds!

OOPS  My bad pyrman64, I didn't notice Udel09's 1st post comment about  the tracks.

Likewise NOT being a fan of individual track links, I thought there were decent rubber-band tracks available from eg., AFV club,  (but thinking about it, the AM tracks I got in the stash, are for Shermans), & a quick Google suggests the tracks available for this chassis are single-link sets.

A nice build nonetheless,  I'd still crud-up them though. 

Jon: no blood...no foul!  I have an old M3, M8 and a couple M5A1s with those AFV Club indy track sets - which really scare me.

pyrman64

Jon: no blood...no foul!  I have an old M3, M8 and a couple M5A1s with those AFV Club indy track sets - which really scare me.

pyrman64

Considering we STILL have those same 30+yr old repops....your point is moot.

And my actual point was that the original poster already pointed out the track issue and yet you rivet-counters still felt the need to bloviate.

p.s. you should be thanking them for those repops - modelers buying those kits are what's paying for the new molds!

Well.....I see you were to busy counted rivets to get the point. I'm out.

pyrman64

Well.....I see you were to busy counted rivets to get the point. I'm out.

Greg, I have done the AFV indies on 2 Tamiya kits. they are time consuming but will give an accurate good looking product. they assemble just like the real track links and end connectors. I built a small jig to help keep them lined up as I assembled them, just push the pieces together and they will stay put until you paint and weather them. give 'em a try, you'll be pleased with the end result.