My M3A1 Stuart

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

Well here is my Academy 1/35th M3A1 Stuart. I fought through poor fit in a few areas (gun breech was the worst), bad decals(wrinkled and would NOT respond to solvaset) and vague instructions( different options available but sometimes important things are unclear and also the directions do not match the box art or box build), not to mention my own mistakes brought on by frustration with this kit (I noticed I allowed a couple decals to silver, so I will need to go back and fix it). Well, I am done for a while. On to something easier…

Full size
http://jasonwest7529.fotopic.net/c431558.html

2

wow that looks great. I was thinking of getting one but of the short description that you gave of your experience with i’m having second thoughts. great build thinks for sharing it.

3

The kit looks real nice when it is build, but it isn’t a walk in the park. The gun breech assembly is difficult and doens’t fit together real nice. I wouldn’t let my comments scare you off, but it is a challenge. Thanks for the comments!

4

Get started on your new Tiger!

You know you want to.

BTW the model looks great.

Love OD!

5

I cannot wait to get to the Tiger. So much to do! Thanks

6

I noticed those decals silvered a little. Going to have to go back and correct that

7

Jason, It came out pretty nice, considering the problems you apparently had. Any Idea if this kit is based off their M3 Honey kit (or vice versa)? BTW, nice job on the Jadgpanther

8

Thanks, Pete. The Jagdpanther went a whole lot better. Yes, this is based on the honey. There are some common sprues. Ted just did the Honey and he had similiar issues with the fit and the decals, but he can fill you in a little better on his experience. I need to tone donw my comments, because they were typed immediately in the aftermath

9

jason, looks good. really like it a lot… built one of those as one of my first forays back into modeling and i understand 100 per cent what you went through… that’s why i’ll never post a pic of mine. but you did the kit justice.

10

Thanks Geoff- this one really isn’t my proudest moment but it looks OK

11

Another great build!!! I bet painting that stripe around the turret was loads of fun !!??

12

I think it looks great despite the decal problem. Very nice weathering. I really like stuarts, thanks for the pictures.

13

Sheesh, I got the same kit in the mail yesterday, and I now see your post. Well, it was going to be in the stash for a bit anyways. BTW yours looks pretty darn good despite your woes.

14

[:D]Jason your m3a1 looks great,keep up the good work[:D]

15

Jason,

I agree with you on some of the fit issues and the stinking decals. You did a great job on the finished product, and that’s all that counts. My hat’s off to you.

Ted

16

I-beam- the stripe was a royal pain in the butt! Tigerman, just leave it on the stash pile long enough to forget what I said. Thanks guys

17

Nice work Jason, I missed this post, so excuse me for just now getting around to it. That Academy kit didn’t sound like too much fun. The last M3 I built was a Tamiya I believe. Anyway, a really good job on that Honey.

Steve

18

I appreciate it. I just wasn’t happy about this at all- both the kit and my work. Well, I am going back to fix a few small things I noticed, like the decal and the color of the track- missed a little on the bottom front with track color. Amazing what you notice after you sleep on it

19

Very nice work Jason. I just started the same kit as my first Armor build in several years, and now you’ve got me scared.

Regards, Rick

20

I think your M3 looks great Jason. The problems you experienced building this kit certainly are not evident in the finished product. Thats why you’re a great modeller! you can overcome those bad fits, and poor directions, and “Oh my”[:O] another masterpiece.
Thanks for sharing your work with us. Semper Fi, mike