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M36 Tank Destroyer in the ETO 1944/45


Proud Kraut
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As mentioned before I have started a new modeling project. Main actor is the 1/35 scale M-36 Jackson ACADEMY kit.

 

36-01.jpg

 

It's a very detailed kit with more than 500 parts. Different M36 variations from WW II to Korea can be build.

 

36-02.jpg

 

An excellent and very detailed description of the kit can be found here:

 

http://www.usarmymodels.com/MANUFACTURERS/Academy/academy1395.html

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I decided to build the WW II variant that saw action with e.g. 705th Tank Destroyer Bn 1944 in France. Decals of this unit are part of the kit. I have already started to bulid the chassis.

 

M36-02.jpg

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Obviously me and the M36 had a bad start. Confused by the different variations and by the kit manual I choosed the wrong boogie wheels. Doing some online research I found out that stamped boogie wheels were used with the M36 not these (also included) spoked wheels I used, aaarghhh.

 

w1.jpg

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Okay, I removed the wrong spoked wheels carefully with a plastic saw and will replace them with the right ones.

Lesson learned: always do some proper research BEFORE glueing any parts together.

 

w3.jpg

 

 

 

 

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Another great project to follow. I am sorry for the extra work that you had to do, but I am glad to see that I am not the only one......

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Hey Lars;

I'm glad you were able to fix the bogie wheels to the ones you wanted. As Dennis stated I think we've all been there when we make a mistake.

But it looks like you did an excellent job fixing it. I'll be following this thread.

 

Semper Fi.

 

Manny

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Terry, Dennis and Manny thanks for your kind words. Although the interior of the M36 will not be visible finaly I spent some time for modeling and painting it today. Interestingly different shades of light green and white can be found online when searching for the right interior colors of a M36. I decided to paint the interior white. I think the turret was painted OD inside as well.

 

M36 Int 1.jpg

 

Another online research came out with nothing. Can someone please tell me what the parts I have encircled red are used for? I have seen these with Tank Destroyers only but not with M4 tanks yet. Thanks in advance.

 

M36 int2.jpg

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Lars,

Those are track grousers in their storage racks. Applied to the tracks when needed for better traction in muddy conditions.

 

Regards, Paul

post-9787-0-87682800-1509738731_thumb.jpg

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Think of them as American ostketten!

Lars, I applaud your devotion to authenticity concerning those bogie wheels. I would have just plunked the kit into a mud-filled dio base.:)

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Think of them as American ostketten!

Lars, I applaud your devotion to authenticity concerning those bogie wheels. I would have just plunked the kit into a mud-filled dio base. :)

 

Today we call those "Schneegreifer" (snow-gripper) Yeah, good idea with the mud but unfortunately that doesn't work with my new dio. A buddy gave me a very well done dio base he didn't wanted any more. I'm thinking of a street scene: A M36 crew is painting it's TD with white winter camo, so it probably will not get so muddy this time. Here's the base I safed from the dumpster:

 

Dio.jpg

 

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Guten Tag, Lars

 

That's going to be a very nice M36 and I will closely follow the rest of your progress :). Regarding the interior: the turret was OD but the floor was also done in OD. I believe this was done to make the tank less recognizable for enemy aircraft.

 

post-169612-0-81707800-1509800408_thumb.jpg

 

Rene

 

 

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Thanks for your kind words, Ron and thanks for adding theses fantastic pictures, Paul & Rene. Obviously I missed that when painting and washing the interior today, lol.

 

Int.jpg

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Thanks Ron! I continued building the hull and the turret today. I have ordered the AFV etched parts upgrade set and will see what exactly the set contains before completing the kit.

 

05Nov01.jpg

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Most of the M36 pictures I have seen online show the GMC with metal T54E1 tracks. Unfortunately these are not part of the kit. So I replaced the rubber block T51 tracks with T54 ones from a Revell M4. Same with the power wheels. They fit better with the tracks.

 

05Nov02a.jpg

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I'm waiting for some additional parts I have ordered so working on the M36 pauses for a while. First blocking rehearsal with the figures. The GMC has a crew of five. In my dio three of them are loading ammo, two have just started to paint the M36 with white winter camo color. Two additional figures will complete the scene.

 

06Nov.jpg

 

 

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Lars,

REALLY LOOKING GREAT!!! U.S. TD is one of my favorite subject matters. Just in case you have not seen this site before there is a lot of good information and photos here. Also a lot of good veteran accounts and memories.

 

http://tankdestroyer.net/

 

Thanks to Dennis's step by step tutorial on figure building & painting, and you and the other folks here on this forum I've actually been inspired to hit the work bench again. After twenty something years of buying kits and putting them on the shelf in the work shop I'm now begun work on a 1/16th scale figure diorama of the 814th TD Bn. and 7th AD in Holland during the fall of 1944. Will see how this turns out but having a great time doing it in the mean time. THANK YOU ALL!

Best regards,

Mike

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Thanks very much, Mike! That's a great website indeed. Looking forward to see some of your model kits built very soon!

 

Meanwhile the abandoned Kübelwagen has morphed into a gutted DEMAG 2t Halftrack. I have had this ESCI kit for more than 30 years. Since it was broken decades ago I used to test some winter camo with it. Yesterday I airbrushed it with black primer color.

 

07Nov1.jpg

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