Hello All,
Looking for imput on the Academy Stuarts.
Has anyone read reviews or actually built the kits?
Fit problems? How accurate? I’m looking for something reasonably accurate, no major flaws. No offense to anyone, I’m not a rivet counter, so pretty close will work for me.
Thanks to any and all who are able to help.
Joe [:D][:D]
There are problems with both if you are an accuracy nut. Both build up nicely and look like Stuarts when complete.
The M3 Stuart Honey has an interior that is proper for an M3A1. The M3 did not have a turret basket and the crew had to move with the turret.
The M3A1 is the exact same kit but has an extra M3A1 turret included. The interior is correct for an M3A1 Stuart, but the kit does not have the rounded rear hull overhang that distinguishes an M3A1. It has the same flat plates as the M3 kit.
What Rob said[:D]
If you want an accurate Honey interior Tiger Model Designs is coming out with one soon. See it at the PMMS website:
http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/newkitnews/newf.htm
Just click on TMD in the list on the lefthand side to go to that page.
Here’s the review and buildup from FSM, found in the “armor” section in the left pane of this site.
Jim [:D]
Hey Guys,
Thanks for the input. Not really interested in the interior. Was more concerned about the exterior appearance. Will give me something to contemplate.
Much appreciated,
Joe [:D]
I finished a Stuart Honey in March. I had some relatively minor fit problems. There are no locator pins on a lot of the assemblies. Test fit the interior carefully, because it can be quite snug. I didnt use the indie tracks. I was told that they were a real pain, and I thought the rubber bands looked good. The turret is a tight fit. I didnt glue mine down, and I couldnt move it if I tried. I also had a hard time fitting the vetical bits that hang down from the sand shields over the running gear. In fact I had to spread them apart, and tore the decal on one of the front fenders. Ill take the blame for that one. I let them bow inwards slightly. I had read lots of complaints about how tough it was to get the decals to sit properly, but the only trouble I had was that a couple of them didnt fit where they were supposed to go. The Caunter paint scheme the instructions use for the Bellman version of the kit is, according to Steven Zaloga among others, very inaccurate. Heres a couple of pics of mine.
And the link to the article I used as reference for the paint scheme.
http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/bellmanwm_1.htm
Dont let the long list put you off. I dont count rivets either, and I really enjoyed it. If you have any more questions, dont be shy. Im still not very good at this, but anything I can help with, Ill be glad to do. One thing, though is that Im leaving on holidays on Thursday. If you have any questions, don`t wait to fire them off. HTH.
I built the Honey a little while ago. Besides the interior problem I had no real issues. I used the Eduard PE kit and it came out fine.
Buff nailed most of the issues. Test fit everything and make sure you understand where it is to go before you glue. Academy’s directions can be vague in places. Also, the decals stink. I did “Tiger” and had a terrible time getting them to lay down. I put multiple layers of future down and still a couple silvered. The yellow band around the turret would NOT lay down period, either. I picked up some spare decals, so I will be replacing some of the bad ones.
Thanks for the replies. I’ve decided to forego buying them at this time. May be a future project. I appreciate all the input.
Joe