Sow's ear, AKA Tamiya M3 Lee

[rbaer]

Another "Pound Puppy", this one has been in my stash for at least 10 years, with a $9 price tag on it, and I've had an itch to do something with it for a while now, and since I've got so many Sherman spare parts out now, I thought why not. Plus, I've built this kit a number of times, with the last two in the bottom of the case, built with some corrections. Me being me, I thought it would be fun to go all out, or near to it, using as much of the original kit as possible. Then I found a Panzer Art turret on eBay for next to nothing, as it was on.
IMG_6850 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
IMG_6851 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
I'm using Tamiya Sherman road wheels, Tasca sprockets, lots of sheet stock and MrSurfacer 500 along with an old Eduard PE set. Lots of fun!

[Leon]

Looks like the Sherman factory is in full swing Russ!

[joelsmith]

Russ's address has "AKA Chrysler Tank Arsenal" attached to it.

[rbaer]

I've actually been in the old Chrysler plant in Evansville, it was being used as an indoor repair and storage facility for a large regional trucking company. I'd go in delivering parts, supplies, Cummins blocks and heads, stuff like that. It was a cool place, lots of big wood timbers, lots of soot. No tank parts though.

[rbaer]

More fun with PE:
IMG_6867 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
IMG_6868 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
Yes, the headlights and siren are wired. Just shoot me now.
And I forgot to mention that I did some basic correction on the hull bottom since Tamiya gives you an M3A5 in the box:
IMG_6869 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

[roland66]

Looking good, fine details.

[rbaer]

Thanks.

[Kharkov]

Is that a Tamiya Easy Eight I spot sitting in the background, It's a good kit, I've just started one, but haven't got a clue what to do with it yet.

Nice work on another ancient kit.

Matt

[rbaer]

Yup, that's the one in the background, I'll get a pic or two posted soon. It's a really good kit, only a few simplified details and lots of very thoughtful touches, a real pleasure to build. Of course I'm building something other that what's in the box, but I have a stack of them in the closet.....
And thanks, I'm just enjoying the living daylights of it. I'm thinking I'm about ready to do a Takom Lee of some sort now, kind of like a comparison between the two kits, similar to the two T-62s I have going (the Tamiya kit is done, the Trump kit nearly so but I got off on a tangent).

[captfue]

Looks fantastic

[rbaer]

Counting rivets.....
IMG_7140 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
And adding weld beads to the tool boxes, maybe something I could have skipped:
IMG_7143 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
I've also used some Academy Sherman (?) tools here, with straps from masking tape. The Eduard PE straps are really big and maybe out of scale, and since the Academy tools have fair representations of strap buckles, I just added the straps, something I've done before and been satisfied with.
The turret splash guard (seen on "some" M3s according the the David Doyle M3 Walkaround) was made from steam-curled strip, with weld beads from stretched sprue.

[rbaer]

Ready for paint:
IMG_8045 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
IMG_8046 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
IMG_8044 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
One more in line for paint.....

[panzerjager2]

Pretty darn cool 

[rbaer]

Once the paint shop was open, it was OPEN.
IMG_8914 by Russel Baer, on Flickr
This is Vallejo US OD in the can, great stuff.