PMMS LCM head-to-head review posted

An excellent article, even if in metric.

I had suspicions about the TR LCM, but drove on building one anyway. Then I got some drawings & figured out the side profile was off by at least 1/2" -- then Terry's article came along & confirmed my worst fears. I figure the sides (above the hull) are 6/32" too high at the back & 7/32" too high up front. The hull itself appears to be about 1/8" too high at the bow and 1/2" at the stern. The bow ramp is of course off.

Today, I busted my partly complete LCM apart to see if I could fix it. What I am afraid of is that the hull profile is also wrong & if I take a 1/8" - 4/8" "triangular" slice from the hull, it will then sit wrong -- when the deck is level, the bottom of the hull will be slanted forward-down rather than forward-up.

And none of that addresses fixing the interior. The height is pretty easy (make it match the hull fixes), but my drawings suggest the LCM compartment is wider at the top than the bottom & the TR model is pretty vertical, with a dimension between the two real ones.

Bottom line: I'm not sure the Trumpeter hull & compartment are fixable by mere mortals like myself, but I am gonna try, at least in profile.

What I would like to know is the price on both these kits.The IT kit sounds like the better value then the trumpter kit and can proboily get a PE kit for the IT kit or modify the few things that needs improviment.Digger

QUOTE: Originally posted by diggeraone .The IT kit sounds like the better value then the trumpter kit and can proboily get a PE kit for the IT kit or modify the few things that needs improviment.Digger

Yeah, I'll bet that AM stuff for both kits is just around the bend.

I am thinking the Trumpeter kit could be converted into a Vietnam Brown Water Navy Monitor. They were based on the LCM-3 which was 56' long with a beam of 14' 4". You cut the sides down eliminating the height issue and have to add a new bow getting rid of the door completely. Now you just have to scratchbuild the rest of the boat . Then you can use the PE, the .50's and the other good parts to dress up your Italeri kit.

The 50' length is about all TR got right in the hull ....

Im just glad that Italeri did a good job on this one as I like IT kits (and not just cause Im cheap.......well maybe thats why). Like the included figures from Dragon thats a nice touch. I dont understand why in this day and age with the technology available to them that this kit could be this inaccurate (although the IT kit isnt perfect either).

QUOTE: I am thinking the Trumpeter kit could be converted into a Vietnam Brown Water Navy Monitor. They were based on the LCM-3 which was 56' long with a beam of 14' 4".

Actually, I have been thinking of doing just that. However, the Vietnam era Monitors, ATCs and ATC(H)s were actually made off of the LCM6, which is a stretched LCM3 with 6 feet added to get to the 56 foot length. A standard LCM3 is 50 feet long. All you need to do is add about 2 inches in the center of the cargo area. I am still planning on doing this myself some time in the future. It is on a long to-do list.