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Modeller Build Logs
Tasca M32 Recovery Vehicle w/ T1E1 Mine Roller |
| By James Wechsler | | Started: | Apr 15, 2008 | | Updated: | Aug 14, 2008 |
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First off let me say that Paul Owen is a great guy, even if he is a Vancouver Canucks fan. Having built 44 Shermans, I really hadn’t planned on buying the Tasca M4A1 kit since I’d built that variant a few times over. But Paul sent me this kit and it is a really, really great gift. So I got motivated to do something special.
After thinking about it for a while, I realized that simply building this kit as a gun tank really didn’t get me excited. Then it dawned on me, it would make the perfect conversion base for an M32 Armored Recovery Vehicle. I mean the old Italeri kit was just staring at me and screaming ‘I need a new hull, suspension, and transmission cover!’
So there it was, my mega project. But then I got to thinking a little more. Why not go further? Let’s scratch build the T1E1 ‘Earthworm’ mine roller! Never heard of this massive contraption? Check here:
http://www.jedsite.info/engineer/tango-number-us/t1_series/t1e1/t1e1-intro.html
But wait, there’s more. The M32 has two huge hatches on the turret structure that just scream ‘interior’. At last, my project has reached planning fruition. This blog will be of an M32 ARV w/T1E1 Mine Roller and a full interior.
Plan on a lot of chapters. |
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| Transmission | Jun 19, 2008 |
Most of this is also from the CMK set. I’ve seen several variants of the fittings on the transmission, both in Shermans and in the M32. One variant I’ve seen is for the center periscope holder to be removed and a large compass mounted on the upper hull in its place. But I like this version so I decided to stick with the CMK pieces.
I did add a few additional items. First, I mounted the two Tommy guns into their brackets. These are included in the CMK set but not indicated for use. The guns’ ammo clips were removed since the photos I have don’t show them mounted. I did add the tie down strap to each one using left over parts from an Eduard photoetch set.
Also, I decided to add two periscopes to the holder box. The box can actually hold 4 but I’m going to show the other two in the hull hatches. The periscopes were left over from a Tiger Models hatch set. There’s also the drivers fowl (I spelled it this way just to annoy Row Chow if he’s reading this) weather hood that mounts on top of the periscope holder box but that will be added later since it has clear items that I don’t want to accidentally paint.
Finally I added a short belt of ammo coming out of the 0.30 cal MG ammo box. This would be fed into the bow MG but I chose to leave it hanging since the vehicle will be under going maintenance. I didn’t have a 0.30 cal ammo belt so I made this one using the 0.50 cal ammo in the Tasca MG set and trimming it to the right width. It may not be perfect but it’ll do the trick, especially since it’ll be buried deep in the guts of the vehicle.
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