M32B1 by UM

[nsmekanik]

Another subject I like is American WWII recovery equipment, and although I haven't actually built anything I have acquired a few kits, one of which is UM's M32. The plan was to get a Dragon M4A1, which I did, and do some kit bashing and to that end I started the UM kit as a bit of practice.

2017-08-08_03-09-36 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

One thing that tends to keep pushing project back is trying to decide what paint to use/buy and Olive drab is one of those cans of worms many seem to shy away from......sssoooooo after a long sporadic search and research mission I've settled on Lifecolors Easy3 olive Drab set. The nice thing about Acrylics is that they strip easily with good old Alcohol(so, apperantly, do I :drunk ) From I've read, Olive Drab is very close to 4B0, with the later being a bit more bright greenish. A couple of bombs on a T-34 painted with Akan's rendition of 4B0, close enough to my eye. I've kinda always wanted to build a Katyusha mounted on a Studabaker........

IMG_0912 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

039 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

040 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

I've more or less decided not to bother with Bashing kits, to much like work, instead I think I'll see if I can fill the visible void with plastic shapes upon which to throw paint

041 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

:drinks

 

[moon puppy]

Whenever we start talking about OD I like to pull this picture out.

Looks great though.

 

[jknaus]

Cool
James

 

[razordws]

Nice!

There are a few UM kits I am wanting to get so I'll be watching this one closely.

 

[nsmekanik]

Nice!

There are a few UM kits I am wanting to get so I'll be watching this one closely.

This is how I go off on modeling tangents :frantic ........

So anyway, this is the finish I'm shootin for, so far so good

IMG_0915 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

So then along comes Dave and says "Hey There are a few UM kits I am wanting to get so I'll be watching this one closely" and I go Cool I've built a couple let me take some pics lets see There's the Gaz, Su 76......

IMG_0913 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

IMG_0916 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

oh...and that BT 7 with 3 layers of paint on it that I'm starting to strip, maybe now would be a good time to pull it up and splash some paint remover on it....... :woohoo:

IMG_0922 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

And then there is that inevitable Chemical disaster where a gallon of paint remover runs directly to and viciously
engulfs my just finished track :facepalm

IMG_0918 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

IMG_0917 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

UUuhhhhhmmmmmm why just last week I'd manage to do the same thing with a jar of lacquer thinner and totaly soak the belly of one of my P-47 projects

Gawd

:drunk :java

So after a bit of

IMG_0919 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

And

we are now back to this
IMG_0935 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

With a soon to be posted BT-7

:drinks

 

[moon puppy]

I've had some issues with clear liquids in the past also. I keep an 109 on my workbench to remind me to snif before dunking.

 

[nsmekanik]

I just spill stuff :frantic , got all my bottles labeled though nothin like pushing an open full bottle of lacquer thinner over on a bench filled with plastic plane parts :facepalm fortunately things were salvageable :zen

 

[razordws]

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm I thought I had a make work project.

 

[nsmekanik]

It's all your fualt Dave :angry:

Oh and UM/UMMT kits, they are not the most accurate kits on the market, the molding is generally crisp with fine details, but they can have a few molding flaws, usually nothing to serious. Definately not Dragon but they fit well mostly but.......test fit,I almost forgot the transmission cover had to be ground down a fair bit on the sherman. and with a bit of work look pretty decent I think, and they are cheap.
:drinks

 

[nsmekanik]

The cast detail on the UM Sherman does need a bit of "enhancement" as it is a bit soft and is lacking on the sides, I've been stippling with lacquer thinner and a stiff brush.
IMG_0940 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

This is just to get an idea how much has to be shaved off the mating surface of the transmission cover, otherwise this is the gap that will exist at the join between the upper and lower hull.
IMG_0941 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

And here is a comparison between the UM and Dragon's more accuratte rendition. After a knee deep foray into all things Sherman and M32 that going down that path is far more challenging then it's worth considering that just finishing something is a challenge unto itself for me

IMG_0942 by nsmekanik, on Flickr

:drinks

 

[Iron Mike]

As long as you're having fun.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Wow, I finally caught up with this. I have one of these in the stash too. I'll be following along to see how it goes together.

I've noticed something about UM kits: the German vehicles practically fall together while all Allied vehicles seem to have the worst fit problems. I built two German vehicles from UM and they went together with no drama or hassles. I started four UM Shermans and have only been able to come close to finishing one. The other three are unbuildable for one reason or another.

Looking forward to seeing more.

 

[nsmekanik]

That's interesting Mark, I've only built 3 UM kits, The SU 76 fell together, the BT-7 had a few niggles but wasn't bad, the Gaz was a bit more work then the BT-7. So far the issues with the Sherman are the transmission cover need to be thinned on the inside alot where it joins the front of the lower hull, and I also got cuaght off guard in that one hull side sits higher then the other...and while the track links are a little wonky where they go around the sprockets all and all they don't fit to badly. I've not yet built any of their German offerings.

What other 3 do you have? As I see a few others I was thinking about, and what were the issues if you don't mind my asking?

 

[razordws]

The only UM kit I have is a russian Su 122 which I built like 10 years ago. Don't recall any issues with it. The kits I am interested in getting are the American M10 and M36 as well as the M7 variants etc. Have you built any of those Mark?

(sorry Tim, don't mean to hijack your thread :pp )

 

[Duke Maddog]

That's interesting Mark, I've only built 3 UM kits, The SU 76 fell together, the BT-7 had a few niggles but wasn't bad, the Gaz was a bit more work then the BT-7. So far the issues with the Sherman are the transmission cover need to be thinned on the inside alot where it joins the front of the lower hull, and I also got cuaght off guard in that one hull side sits higher then the other...and while the track links are a little wonky where they go around the sprockets all and all they don't fit to badly. I've not yet built any of their German offerings.

What other 3 do you have? As I see a few others I was thinking about, and what were the issues if you don't mind my asking?

I had no real issues with my Su-76 either; and my SAu-122 fell together... once I found the missing sprue of wheels. my UM BT-5 fell together too. On the three Shermans, I had one with the wrong panels that were supposed to go underneath the upper hull bulges that overhang the tracks. One of the others had the wrong tranny cover that was either misshapen or incorrectly molded so that no matter what; it didn't fit no matter what I tried. The third one had turret parts that were so messed up they wouldn't go together to save your life. The one I'm doing now with the mine rollers is the first one that I was able to get close to done.

The only UM kit I have is a russian Su 122 which I built like 10 years ago. Don't recall any issues with it. The kits I am interested in getting are the American M10 and M36 as well as the M7 variants etc. Have you built any of those Mark?

I also had no problems with my Su-122 once I found the missing wheel sprue, as I mentioned above. I have the M-10 and the British tank destroyer based on the Sherman chassis too, as well as the M-36B(?) engineer vehicle and the other engineer vehicle wiith the gun turret on it. My apologies for forgetting the names of these. I haven't started any of these yet, but I do hope to get to them soon.

(sorry Tim, don't mean to hijack your thread :pp )

I apologize as well. Now back to your regularly scheduled program....

 

[nsmekanik]

(sorry Tim, don't mean to hijack your thread :pp )

I apologize as well. Now back to your regularly scheduled program....

but personaly I don't mind a bit