The M40 came along in the closing days of WWII and didn't see a lot of action but during the Korean war it was a different story. The M40 was our primary mobile arty and was used extensively.
The Kit is the AFV Club M40 "Big Shot" released back in 2006 but I didn't get mine until 2009. I read that it had a lot of delicate parts and some might be broken so I opened the box for inspection and found this:
I called the E-shop where I bought it for a replacement but was told it was their last one and to call the distributor in California. I sent them an e-mail with pictures but never received an answer what so ever.
Out came the pan of boiling water and I commenced to dip and bend until it looked so what reasonable and put it back in the box. The next day when I checked it it was trying to warp back so I glued some of the parts in place and clamps to hold its position.
I stared at the front and worked toward the rear.
It's not perfect but at least I can work with it.
You've already seen the fix for the short barrel:
I added some more parts yesterday and I'll post those later. BTW, there's a lot of knock out pits to fill
Post by Allied-Eric on Jul 24, 2013 17:36:00 GMT -5
HOLY COW TONY!!!! My hat is off to you my friend. I would have contacted AFV Club directly, forget the distributor. That Hull is totally UNSAT!! Your the the man for working with it! If I ever get one I'll buy from a Brick and Mortar so I crack the box there to inspect it before handing my card over. I'll most definitely be following this one to see how it all turns out, but then you are a master so I'm thinking it will be a good show all around!!
Allied-Eric
Vancouver, WA, USA
AMPS-2652
-In the Ready Rack-
Improvised Assault Sherman-M4A3DS(ETO)
Hyper-Sherman
Crispy-44
Eric I had my doubts when I started in on it but I refused to give up. What's strange about it is everything else in the box was perfect the sprue trees were even flat. Somebody let this get hot and sent it back to the vendor who in turn swapped it out from the kit I got and then passed it on to me.
Tony, I am in awe my friend. Wow! Looks like you pressed on and won. I am never any good with Arty pieces but following your build I may just give this a try. Carry on, looking good.
Your phrase below made me laugh.............
"The kit has adjustable idlers so we're going uptown" Tony lee
What a difference! So, guess you have to mask off all those port holes, just so they can see out??? I'm still waiting for someone to put LEDs inside to show off the interior controls
Bruce I tried using a masking fluid on the ports but all is did was bead up??? I'm thinking i'll spray the OD and go back and paint them black with a coat of future for the shine of glass.
Tracks to a tank are like the cockpit to an aircraft. They make it what it is.