Yes you're correct.  My wife was proof reading my comment and that was saying too much, so I dropped it.  We did not like naming things.  That was what other folks did,  the Brits also named the Sherman and Stuart, among others.

Real G

Greysnake - Yeah I was eyeing the Miniart tracks.  But I HATE end pin connector type link to link!  I need to think it over.

Ogrejohn - Thanks!

Oh man, rookie mistake!!!

I removed the seam down the split transmission case flanges.  Arrrgh, they should have been left alone!  Am I going to scribe recessed lines down their centerlines?  Ha-ha, nope!  

Lay a piece of fresh DYMO tape on the flanges and align the edge to where the seam should be. Use a strait pin clamped in a pin vise (hand drill) with about a 1/4 inch sticking out. Holding it at an angle, scribe it in with repeated passes to get the effect you want.

It's easy, simple, and it's not hard to do. It'd actually would look better than the original mold lines.

DYMO TAPE!? As in a DYMO label maker?? I haven't heard that mentioned in about 20 years. Does anyone still have any of that stuff!! ;)

M1GarandFan

DYMO TAPE!? As in a DYMO label maker?? I haven't heard that mentioned in about 20 years. Does anyone still have any of that stuff!! ;)

 

I want to say Target had the stuff last time that I was there.

I have a roll of Dymo tape in the drawer.

M1GarandFan

Does anyone still have any of that stuff!! ;)

BK

tankboy51

One way I learned  to tell the Grant and Lee apart, was the Grant and  was redesigned by the British and named for the winner in the US civil war while the Lee, which was the original American design was named for the loser. 

It was more like they got the M3 first and called it the Lee. Then they submitted changes they determined necessary. The one built to their specifications they called the Grant; two of the famous ACW generals who faced one another at the end. They called the winner the version they preferred.

The US convention of naming the M3 light tank, M3 Halftrack, M3 medium tank, M3 submachine gun was confusing. The British already named their tanks Crusader, Valentine, Matilda so it made more sense to use American generals to name American tanks.

Yes , I knew all this a long time ago.  I've been into all armor since the mid 1960's.  I was making an over simplfied observation on how I quickly tell the two apart.

M1GarandFan

DYMO TAPE!? As in a DYMO label maker?? I haven't heard that mentioned in about 20 years. Does anyone still have any of that stuff!! ;)

 

Real G

I have a roll of Dymo tape in the drawer.

 

M1GarandFan

Does anyone still have any of that stuff!! ;)

There's some sort of AF thing that dymotape is required for putting flight instructions on the blank plate in the T-38

OK! I got it! The tape still exists. I actually always liked those labels. Just didn't know they would still be around now that we have all this new technology.

Real G

Greysnake - Yeah I was eyeing the Miniart tracks.  But I HATE end pin connector type link to link!  I need to think it over.

 

Yeah Dymo tape is the thing. I've tried masking tape but it's too thin, the blade wants to slip off for me. 

I was looking at the HobbyLink Japan website this morning and looks like now the tape is being made as a hobby product! 

https://www.hlj.com/scribing-guide-tape-hard-6mm-x-3m-2pcs-hqphrdt-6mm

Wonder what the devious shipping cost would be?

I'd "stick" with buying in the U.S.A.

I found all of mine, (basically a lifetime supply) in a thrift store in a box around twenty years ago for around (I think) $5 total....... that'd be 5¢ a roll.

What luck.

Disastermaster, well once you add "hobby" to the product description, expect to pay more!

I haven't been working much on stuff this weekend, but I did make some progress.

The 30 Cal barrels will be replaced with spare parts from Tamiya's new M3 Stuart.  A BIG difference in apperance!

For me, the headlight brush guards on US WW II tanks never look right in plastic, but in keeping with the "no aftermarket" mantra, I thinned the kit guards while still attached to the sprue.  I learned that if you remove the guards first, it is nigh impossible to thin the parts while trying not to crush them.  It took me several hours to thin the Stuart's brush guards doing it this way, but only about 20 minutes to do the Lee's while still attached to the sprue.  Lesson learned.

And since I have settled on using the wonky kit tracks, I tried my hand at the old heated screwdriver method of securing their ends.  Worked like a charm.

Yeah, shipping from Japan isn't that expensive if it's not a huge box. But if it says 'hobby' you can expect anything to be marked up three or more times. And Dymo tape works just as well as anything. I've got a small roll I've been using for five years and it's barely used. The adhesive is strong enough that you can reuse the tape over and over. Normally I only use one piece on a model since you can reposition it multiple times. You had some great luck DM finding that lifetime supply! 

Real G: Nice work there on the headlight guards. Thinning them is a good idea but I'm so butterfingered I'm afraid I'll break them if I did the same. 

Nice build, G!

Real G

A long time ago, in a childhood far, far away...

In 1976 I got my first Tamiya kit as a Christmas present from one of my dad's friends.  Being a little kid busy with Revell, Aurora, and Monogram kits, I had never heard of Tamiya.  When I opened the box, I knew this was not an ordinary kit.  The instructions were unlike those of any other manufacturer, and the whole package felt very "grown up"...

Yeah, that takes me back!  I had a similar experience.  I had built Monogram's tank kits before that, and never paid attention the Tamiya (or Hasegawa) stacks at the LHS.  My first Tamiya kit was the Tiger I, and I was amazed at the detail.  It was also an illustration of the difference between 1/32 and 1/35 scales.  I liked the Tamiya armor kits, but I was disappointed that I couldn't mix Monogram and Tamiya in a diorama.

Real G

I learned that if you remove the guards first, it is nigh impossible to thin the parts while trying not to crush them.  It took me several hours to thin the Stuart's brush guards doing it this way, but only about 20 minutes to do the Lee's while still attached to the sprue.  Lesson learned.

If you can do "that", you're going to do very well with this hobby.

While faffing around last night, I decided to add cast texture to the turret, main gun casemate, and the transmission case.  Mr. Cement Deluxe is relatively thick, so I mopped some on a bit at a time, and while still wet stippled it with an old stiff brush.

I used a smaller brush to mop and stipple around details and along edges to keep things neat.

After a light sanding, I brushed on a coat of Testors liquid cement to even things out.

I figured I'd better get on with scribing the split lines on the transmission cover, so I used a Hasegawa PE scribing temlplate along with a Tamiya scriber.  The template bridged the two flanges, so it was easy to keep it straight.

Any goofs were entirely due to my carelessness.

Time to blank off the open sponsons.

Real G

Looks great.

Excellent work.  Here is something for your M-3 viewing pleasure from 1941:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Bs29vsZ1c

Thanks Disastermaster, I don't think I would have scribed those lines had you not chimed in.

Richs26, that film is neat!  I'll have to watch the full thing when I get home tonight!

So I plated over the open sponsons last night using 0.040 sheet plastic.  I just cut a piece to fit right across the hull, making cuts to fit around things.

The rear where the exhaust system is looks sufficiently busy, so I didn't bother detailing it further.  BTW, I was able to glue all the pipes and mufflers together, so they can be painted as a unit then installed.

I also test fit the Tamiya M3 Stuart 30 Cal gun into the commander's cupola.

I might knock down the cast texture on the turret and other areas a bit to look more realistic.

Looking 

Cool the armour texture looks good! And the sponsons look so much better blocked off. 

Gamera,

I had a second look at the cast texture, and decided it did look OK.  So I will leave it alone until the primer goes on, then decide if any sanding will be needed.

I've got an old salvaged Grant hull that I'm letting rest on my shelf of shamelessness, and for kicks I fitted a set of Academy Sherman tracks, the old melty-pin style, and they fit nicely. They're actually well detailed, just a bit stiff. I also tried some Tasca tracks on it, and they also fit, so there's a couple of alternatives. Tasca tracks are really nice and should be available through their website.

Unless I have a problem of the kit tracks snapping off, I'll keep them warts and all.  And that's the plan Ripley.  No take-backs, no studying aftermarket sets...

I got the Tamiya Stuart 30 Cal barrels fitted to the turret.  They look a heckuva lot better than the pencil thin kit parts.

Starting to patch that pesky gap in the hull.

And here is the complete exhaust system, removable for easy painting.

Now for the boring part of slogging through the sand-fill-sand process for the hull plating and the ill fitting suspension.

Your extra efforts are paying off, this is gonna be a sweet looking little tank.

BK

Neat, she's lookin' good G!