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Modeller Build Logs
M8 HMC |
| By Michael Bedard | | Started: | Nov 14, 2007 | | Updated: | Jul 17, 2008 |
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I received the Tiger Model Designs M8 HMC on October 17, 2007 (a day after my birthday) from Saul Garcia. I was surprised to see how large a box the kit comes in considering the size of the vehicle. The box was packed with several resin cast parts, AFV Club styrene parts, a CD from Toadman, large instruction booklet plus an extra set of tracks and decals that Saul threw in for giggles. My first impression is the amount and quality of the resin castings. The instructions are more comprehensive than any other resin kit I have ever seen. Reading through the instructions one gets the feeling that the owner and master-builder have put together an extraordinary kit but apologize for it not being ‘perfect’. The booklet points out several areas that the initial build came across as points to be aware of when building the kit. Just the instructions alone are a marvel in the resin kit business. As I proceed with the BLOG I may come across points in construction or detail that others may want to be aware. Hopefully this BLOG will inspire others to purchase this extraordinary resin kit and/or help with their own build.
I won’t go through the history of the vehicle or review of the kit since Saul has already posted this on track-link. I will be using as reference for the build past articles in Military Modelling by Steve Zaloga and Cookie Seawell, Osprey books on the Stuart (along with Steve Zaloga’s Modeling book on the Stuart), Hunnicutt’s book on light tanks and my own reference photos of a local M5A1 Stuart and Aberdeen’s M8. I may post some of these references along in the BLOG.
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| Looking at the Lower Hull | Nov 22, 2007 |
Before getting to the actual build a little examination as to the accuracy and detail has been done. Starting with the lower hull the TMD M8 is spot on in dimensions according to the drawings in Steve Zaloga’s Stuart book by Osprey. In Zaloga’s book there is a 1/35th scale engineering drawing available that was used for comparison. The dig on the old Tamiya kit was that the lower and upper hull were too short and had incorrect angles because of this. The TMD lower hull matches perfectly having the correct length and height. I also compared the Formations hull, which has correct length, but height is too short. The Tamiya hull is both too short in length and height. Details on the bottom of all three hulls are different. I did not have my Hunnicutt book available when I was writing this chapter (my best friend borrowed it from me) so I don’t know which is the most accurate. I would assume the TMD is mainly because of the addition of the belly escape hatch. The Formations hull has no internal detail.
The only nit-picks I have about the TMD lower hull is that some of the rivets should actually be hex bolts instead. This is minor since once painted and drybrushed they will appear the part. Also on the left exterior a weld bead is noticeably bent and should be straight. I know these are minor but someone would have noticed at some point.
Picture 1) TMD, Formations and Tamiya lower hulls. Notice the different details and sizes of the details between the TMD and Formations details. Formations lacks the belly escape hatch. Tamiya has the motorization holes.
Picture 2) Interior shot of the three hulls.
Picture 3) Misaligned weld bead.
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