Post by alexb on Jul 19, 2018 2:02:12 GMT
I built this one for an Interiors Campaign over on Armorama. I finished her up yesterday and I figured I'd share it over here.
The M36 entered service towards the end of 1944, where it began replacing M10s. Production briefly shifted to the M36B1, which used a M4a3 chassis. Production began to adopt the M10 chassis again, prducing the M36B2 during the final months of the war. Most M36B2s were built after the war and I don't think any B2s saw combat against German forces. The M36B2 and M36 production continued after the war and saw use as late as the early 2000s.
The kit is Academy's M36/M36B2 Jackson (#13500). This is the open-topped 90mm turret mounted on the M10/M10a1 chassis. This one was reboxed as part of their "Battle of the Bulge" kits. The kit comes with an interior but no engine. It utilizes a good bit of their Sherman and M10 parts trees. Markings include one probable Battle of the Bulge M36 of the 703rd TD in Belgium 1944, one M36 with the US 82nd Airborne in Belgium Dec. 1944, one US 2nd Cav M36 in Germany in March 1945, a M36B2 in ROK service 1953, and two French M36B2s in service in Tonkin 1951 & 1953.
The suspension assemblies are pretty much in-line with most Sherman kits. The hub inserts are keyed so a little care is needed to make sure they sit correctly. The detail is nice though.
I started on the interior...at least the forward section. There's a good bit of detail there, plus you can go all-out on detail if you want. Since you really won't be able to see it, I kept the hull interior pretty much OOB for this build.
The trans looks really nice.
Lower hull assembly was typical. You add the drive mounts as extensions. There is some interior detail on the lower hull interior. I don't remember this on their M4a3 kit so I assume this is a special lower hull for this kit. I only really note this to add some descriptive text to what would overwise be a pretty skimpy step in the assembly.
Lower hull done. Front interior painted and ready to go in. I painted it flat white (rattle-can). Before anyone says anything, the instructions call for the whole interior to be white. There's variation on actual M36s. Since the turret is open and you can see part of the chassis interior, I went with an OD fighting compartment floor and rear firewall. Sides (ammo stowage) and the front driver and co-driver areas are white.
I then turned to the fighting compartment section of the chassis. There really wasn't much to it...the floor and rear firewall. For some reason I included the lower turret build in this picture. I think I had moved to the turret while the front interior was drying. It's got a good bit of the drive mechanisms and a turret basket.
Interior mounted in lower chassis. Placement is a bit vague. This was further complicated by the fit of the trans in the cast front-end. I used the rear placement tabs as a common spot for the interior sections. I had to test fit and adjust a few times to pursuade it into place.
Anyway, I went ahead and gave the interior a wash and drybrushed it.
Back to the turret. It has most of the core details like the sight, round thingy, etc. I added a few electric boxes and some wiring (thanks Jeff). As an aside, the turret ammo rack looks a bit wonky and the kit does not come with any rounds or round ends to go in them.
Back to the hull...the rear to be precise. Again, pretty standard assembly. The M36 and M36B2 has different exhaust and rear ends. I had to decide to go with a M36 so I went with the M36 rear. The exhaust grills are left off for now.
Note the engine compartment has detailed sidewalls but no engine.
I shot some olive drab on the turret interior and lower hull. I thought I had a picture of the ammo placed but I guess I was mistaken. The ammo is stored in tubes and sit in racks. These are a bit fiddly and placement of the middle and forward rack supports are a bit vague.
Turret time...part 2. The kit gun has a guard assembly....and it eats up alot of the turret interior space. I've seen M36s without the guard so I was worried it might be a post-war feature.
I finished up assembly on the upper hull. Engine hatch varies between the M36 and M36B2. By the way, I want to add that the instructions are pretty clear on which parts are specific for each version.
One thing they mess-up on are considering the hull details in with the markings. For example, the rear jerry can racks are where the side stars go for several examples. I would take some artistic license with mine....I moved the side stars to the turret sides.
I didn't hang all the cleats. I wanted to use the mounts for stowage.
Base coat of Olive Drab. I used Testors OD for the exterior and Tamiya OD for the interior. I tend to prefer Testors' OD for exteriors. To me, the lighter shade looks more worn and weathered.
Tracks are rubberband type. They look pretty good. They are tight so you have to be careful when putting them on the vehicle. The front roadwheels will actually pivot up. You may want to glue those in position.
And yeah that rear view is missing the tracks. The original post-painting pictures did not have the tracks on yet. I had to retake some pictures.
Finished her up with light washes and drybrushing. Painted on mud on running gear and bottom edge of lower hull. Decals utilized some artistic license on their placement. I had planned to add a good bit of stowage, but decided against it at the 11th hour.
And I proclaim it done. This was a build I started and stopped on a few times for about 4 months. It wasn't a bad build. Academy cut a few corners, which seems to be their deal. A shame there was no engine included. I'll probably use it in a diorama at some point.
I would recommend it and I wouldn't mind picking up another copy to make a straight-up Cold War M36B2, maybe a what-if Soviet invasion into Alaska...but not right now. I've sort of overdosed on olive drab for a bit. I'll probably do something with this one at some point. For now, I'll stick it on the shelf and move on to something else.
The M36 entered service towards the end of 1944, where it began replacing M10s. Production briefly shifted to the M36B1, which used a M4a3 chassis. Production began to adopt the M10 chassis again, prducing the M36B2 during the final months of the war. Most M36B2s were built after the war and I don't think any B2s saw combat against German forces. The M36B2 and M36 production continued after the war and saw use as late as the early 2000s.
The kit is Academy's M36/M36B2 Jackson (#13500). This is the open-topped 90mm turret mounted on the M10/M10a1 chassis. This one was reboxed as part of their "Battle of the Bulge" kits. The kit comes with an interior but no engine. It utilizes a good bit of their Sherman and M10 parts trees. Markings include one probable Battle of the Bulge M36 of the 703rd TD in Belgium 1944, one M36 with the US 82nd Airborne in Belgium Dec. 1944, one US 2nd Cav M36 in Germany in March 1945, a M36B2 in ROK service 1953, and two French M36B2s in service in Tonkin 1951 & 1953.
The suspension assemblies are pretty much in-line with most Sherman kits. The hub inserts are keyed so a little care is needed to make sure they sit correctly. The detail is nice though.
I started on the interior...at least the forward section. There's a good bit of detail there, plus you can go all-out on detail if you want. Since you really won't be able to see it, I kept the hull interior pretty much OOB for this build.
The trans looks really nice.
Lower hull assembly was typical. You add the drive mounts as extensions. There is some interior detail on the lower hull interior. I don't remember this on their M4a3 kit so I assume this is a special lower hull for this kit. I only really note this to add some descriptive text to what would overwise be a pretty skimpy step in the assembly.
Lower hull done. Front interior painted and ready to go in. I painted it flat white (rattle-can). Before anyone says anything, the instructions call for the whole interior to be white. There's variation on actual M36s. Since the turret is open and you can see part of the chassis interior, I went with an OD fighting compartment floor and rear firewall. Sides (ammo stowage) and the front driver and co-driver areas are white.
I then turned to the fighting compartment section of the chassis. There really wasn't much to it...the floor and rear firewall. For some reason I included the lower turret build in this picture. I think I had moved to the turret while the front interior was drying. It's got a good bit of the drive mechanisms and a turret basket.
Interior mounted in lower chassis. Placement is a bit vague. This was further complicated by the fit of the trans in the cast front-end. I used the rear placement tabs as a common spot for the interior sections. I had to test fit and adjust a few times to pursuade it into place.
Anyway, I went ahead and gave the interior a wash and drybrushed it.
Back to the turret. It has most of the core details like the sight, round thingy, etc. I added a few electric boxes and some wiring (thanks Jeff). As an aside, the turret ammo rack looks a bit wonky and the kit does not come with any rounds or round ends to go in them.
Back to the hull...the rear to be precise. Again, pretty standard assembly. The M36 and M36B2 has different exhaust and rear ends. I had to decide to go with a M36 so I went with the M36 rear. The exhaust grills are left off for now.
Note the engine compartment has detailed sidewalls but no engine.
I shot some olive drab on the turret interior and lower hull. I thought I had a picture of the ammo placed but I guess I was mistaken. The ammo is stored in tubes and sit in racks. These are a bit fiddly and placement of the middle and forward rack supports are a bit vague.
Turret time...part 2. The kit gun has a guard assembly....and it eats up alot of the turret interior space. I've seen M36s without the guard so I was worried it might be a post-war feature.
I finished up assembly on the upper hull. Engine hatch varies between the M36 and M36B2. By the way, I want to add that the instructions are pretty clear on which parts are specific for each version.
One thing they mess-up on are considering the hull details in with the markings. For example, the rear jerry can racks are where the side stars go for several examples. I would take some artistic license with mine....I moved the side stars to the turret sides.
I didn't hang all the cleats. I wanted to use the mounts for stowage.
Base coat of Olive Drab. I used Testors OD for the exterior and Tamiya OD for the interior. I tend to prefer Testors' OD for exteriors. To me, the lighter shade looks more worn and weathered.
Tracks are rubberband type. They look pretty good. They are tight so you have to be careful when putting them on the vehicle. The front roadwheels will actually pivot up. You may want to glue those in position.
And yeah that rear view is missing the tracks. The original post-painting pictures did not have the tracks on yet. I had to retake some pictures.
Finished her up with light washes and drybrushing. Painted on mud on running gear and bottom edge of lower hull. Decals utilized some artistic license on their placement. I had planned to add a good bit of stowage, but decided against it at the 11th hour.
And I proclaim it done. This was a build I started and stopped on a few times for about 4 months. It wasn't a bad build. Academy cut a few corners, which seems to be their deal. A shame there was no engine included. I'll probably use it in a diorama at some point.
I would recommend it and I wouldn't mind picking up another copy to make a straight-up Cold War M36B2, maybe a what-if Soviet invasion into Alaska...but not right now. I've sort of overdosed on olive drab for a bit. I'll probably do something with this one at some point. For now, I'll stick it on the shelf and move on to something else.
