An interesting variant of the M5 Stuart was the M8 Gun Motor Carriage, a 75mm howitzer mounted in an open turret. I've vaguely hankered after one of these for a while and even downloaded some plans with a view to converting one of my spare PSC M5s, but the complexity of the turret shape put me off.
Anyway, Battlefield 3D came riding to the rescue with this very nice model of one.
This model is better than most with exquisite detail (possibly it is one of the outstanding Night Sky Miniatures STLs?). It is mainly single piece with a separate turret and .50 cal MG which stuck on fine) . Unfortunately the crew (not supplied) obscure the lovely interior detail in the turret.
The tools on the engine deck are nicely modelled. I picked them out with a pinwash here.
The crew are a cut down Battlefront jeep crewman and a resin figure from another Battlefield 3D vehicle. He is even holding a 75mm shell in his hand! The turret space is very restricted so I had to cut off most of their bodies and trim their torsos down.
I just did this one in plain OD although it has a darker green wash for shading, coupled with a light drybrush. I added Allied stars to it as it wasn't a vehicle sent to Russia via Lend Lease (afaik anyway). I usually like to keep the LL option but not in this case. I also figured that a tank with an unusual silhouette was going to have very prominent national markings on it to avoid any 'unfortunate accidents'.
Neil of Aufklarungsabteiling noted recently that the PSC Stuarts are way over scale. Here you can see in order (L-R) - a QRF M3 Stuart, the M8 Scott and finally one of the PSC bloaters. I know the M5 hull was slightly taller than the M3, but even so...
And here are both M5s hulls next to each other. The PSC hull is a bit exaggerated due to the rear stowage bin, but you can still see how much larger the basic hull is. That is a bit of a poor show really, although as all my M5s are PSC, it shouldn't show up on the table too much.
The lendlease Stuarts were virtually all M3s according to Zaloga. A handful of M5s, no M8s. The French used M8s in Indochina. I had thought that all the BPM models were from their own files, I see they now sell files as well as printed models.
ReplyDeleteI have to think of teh M* as a "lovely ugly" tank brought on by expedience - but it did the trick! Giving teh infantry a little bit more umpf when and where they needed it!
ReplyDeleteThe “Scott” was mostly assigned to support companies of light tank battalions I think? Have to check if they also went to armored infantry. Zaloga’s books on U.S. armor in the Med and NW Europe are good on this.
DeleteOoops: M8 not M*
ReplyDeleteMartin, nice work.
ReplyDeleteThe scale difference is noticeable; probably even greater in 1:72!
Neil
I really enjoyed your write-up of the Battlefield 3D M8 “Scott” model; the detail work you describe—the tools on the engine deck, the paint wash, that interior turret modeling—even if partly hidden by figures, all make it feel like a labor of love. It’s awesome how you’re willing to go through scratch-job modifications (cutting, trimming) for realism and scale accuracy. Your comparison of the PSC vs. QRF hulls was eye-opening too. Thanks for sharing a build that speaks to both craftsmanship and history. Also, I recently came across Jeetbuzz.
ReplyDelete