You have wandered into the workshop area of the museum. Here, new vehicles are undergoing final preparation or storage before being transferred to the display area. Also, damage caused by age, wear and tear, or unruly museum visitors is repaired. Vehicles are also kept in operational condition by the museum staff, or updated if erroneous paint schemes or assembly details are uncovered during research. This area is usually off limits to museum visitors, as the staff needs to work unhindered.
One kit currently under construction is the Israeli M50 Sherman kit by Cpl. Overby's Motor Pool (#MP049). This review kit was graciously donated to the museum for review.
This is really a conversion kit intended for the old HASEGAWA M4A3E8 Sherman kit, however I intend to complete it with parts from a TRUMPETER kit instead, because the former is notoriously overscaled. (Cpl Overby actually now makes a version of this kit designed for use with the Dragon kit #7313!)
The first picture shows the layout of the parts (Trumpeter suspension parts are light grey). The Cpl Overby parts are the hull and turret, a hull MG, a searchlight, two turret hatches, two hull lamps, two side stowage boxes, four smoke chargers, a rear stowage bin, a turret-mounter MG (in white metal), a round plate for the turret, the gun, three spare wheels, three large stowage bags, three small bags, eight gas cans, and a partridge in a pear tree! The vinyl tracks are also Trumpeter.
I will need to modify the hull a bit to accept the Trumpeter parts. I'll trim the areas shaded in red, which are the locator pins for the large return rollers, and the attachment areas for the HVSS units.
Well, so far so good. I've modified the hull and completed most of the hull and turret assembly. Got the gun straight, all the stowage applied, and the return rollers, drive sprockets, and idlers. No real problems yet. I did need to find some photos to see how the smoke dischargers are arranged.
Here the Trumpeter parts are superglued into place, and the first stages of the paintjob have been applied. I'm using Testors Model Masters "Israeli Sand Grey". Historically, this color was used as a compromise camouflage concerning the lighter Egyptian desert areas and the darker terrain of the Golan Heights that bordered Israel.
This is the final kit with the tracks added, some antennae attached, cannibalized decals applied, and all the details and weathering painted. I'm happy with this kit!
In retrospect, I might have hollowed out the smoke dischargers, as the tubes look a bit thick. I might also adjust the Trumpeter kit return rollers and pull them out a bit, because they kinda bump into the tracks guide teeth.
Overall, a nice representation of the M50. Casting is really good with some nice detail on the smaller parts. All the included stowage is a nice touch
As you can see, the museum staff is currently sorting out the 100+ parts in the Bergepanther 1/72 resin/metal kit from FINE SCALE FACTORY (the kit was donated to the museum by Volker Lachman; thank you). This will be a major project and will take some time. The package does come with illustrated instructions, which will prove very helpful. You can see a completed kit at the company's website (which should also prove invaluable as a reference during assembly).
One important first step in assembling kits with resin parts is to INSPECT THE PACKAGE for any broken bits. The spade had broken in half during shipping and there were two small fragments in the bag, which looked like flash-debris! The fragments needed to be added to the damaged area on the spade to make it intact.
Assembling the kit: Here's the assembly sequence that works for me. There are others that you may feel more comfortable with, so no guarantees!
1. I'm starting with the suspension. This did require cropping the axles for the inner wheels, and wrapping and bending the track sections to get them to fit. Lots of test-fitting and filing, in fact. Also, intermittent painting of wheels as the assembly proceeds. I added the rear idlers as the last part of wheel assembly before adding the tracks.
Questions? You can e-mail me at Contact the Curator: