M3 Lee (Work in Progress)...PART 3 (4/17/2009)

usmc1371 wrote:

Anyway, here is what I did to fix those seems.  First, I loaded each seam with Tamiya's Liquid Surface Primer.  Sometimes it took 3 or 4 applications.  After it dried, I used Testors Easy Lift Off Paint and Decal Remover to smooth out and remove excess primer.  There's still a slight seam there but I guess this is ok since the plates were riveted together.  If you look at my pictures, you'll see a gray tinge in some areas.  That's the residual primer.

Hey Jesse,

Denatured alcohol works great for doing this (at least the Australian equivalent, methylated spirits, which is >90% ethyl alcohol, does). Doesn't harm the styrene and you can wash your brushes out with it. I'll hazard a guess and say it's much cheaper than the Testors product too..

Karl,

Thanks for the offer but I already have the AFV Club tracks.  I've never really been a fan of the rubber band tracks.  I kind of enjoy the torture of filing and sanding 504 pieces to make two runs of tracks.  Since baseball session has started, I can watch a game and work on those mundane items in this kit.  (The Orioles are looking to sweep the Yankees today.  Go O's!!)

Have you guys seen all the individual rounds with this kit?  Yeah, they're fun to clean up too.

-Jesse

Smeagol,

Yeah, I hear ya.  The seams on this kit are kind of lousy.  I was really disappointed with the fit of the kit especially since it's a new release.  I recently did Academy's CH-46 and that fit great.

Anyway, here is what I did to fix those seems.  First, I loaded each seam with Tamiya's Liquid Surface Primer.  Sometimes it took 3 or 4 applications.  After it dried, I used Testors Easy Lift Off Paint and Decal Remover to smooth out and remove excess primer.  There's still a slight seam there but I guess this is ok since the plates were riveted together.  If you look at my pictures, you'll see a gray tinge in some areas.  That's the residual primer.

It seems like Academy made this kit unnecessarily complicated.  Maybe they're trying to compete with Dragon in terms of complexity.  Just a thought...

I know this kit is more accurate than Tamiya's offering, but I feel like I'm "polishing a piece of poo" here.  This is kind of funny.  I was working on the kit at the kitchen table and my wife said she was going grocery shopping and asked if I needed anything.  I said "Yeah, some poo polish".  She just looked at me with that special "wife-look".

-Jesse

T26E4, 

Thanks, I hadn't notice that.  I actually haven't attached the upper hull to the lower hull yet but when I do, I'll fill that area in.

Thanks,

Jesse

Looking good Jesse. Nice to see your efforts at making the Acad kit more accurate.  One thing you might want to do is fill in the gap below the 75mm mantlet and the horizontal triangular fillet below it.  Look here:

You'll see how it was one large integral casting.  Hope this helps.  Keep up the good work