Over the weekend I started a build of General Patton's M1A1 light tank by Perry's Paper, available at ecardmodels.com.
This model depicts Patton's tank as painted for the June 1941 "Tennessee Maneuvers". The Tennessee Maneuvers were the first of a series of wargames conducted by the US Army in preparation for entering the European Theater. Additional wargames followed in Louisiana and North Carolina. In June of 1941, Patton was a newly-minted Major General and had been awarded command of the 2nd Armored Division. The division performed admirably throughout the exercises as Patton used this opportunity to prove his theories of large scale armored combat based on 19th Century cavalry doctrine. In a foreshadowing of the race across France yet to come, Patton's division completed 48 hours worth of objectives in only 9 hours. His command M1A1 light tank was painted, badged and flagged in such a way that no one would mistake it for anything other than Patton's tank.
This model comes in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale and arrives as a 7 page pdf. The first 2.5 pages have a brief historical introduction, assembly diagrams, and a few color photos of the completed model. There are no written instructions, but I don't think they are needed as the exploded-view diagrams are excellent. Sub-assemblies are color coded in the diagrams, and the part numbers on parts sheets have the corresponding color. The 1/72 version has 1.5 pages of parts and the 1/48 version has 3 pages of parts.
I'm building the 1/48 version, which seems massive to me. Lately I've been working in mini-scale (1/100) and micro-scale (1/300). At some point, I'll likely scale the 1/72 down to 1/100 and give that a go.
I printed 2 copies of the model, one on 110 lb and one on 67 lb. I did this for 2 reasons. (1) The 110 should be plenty stiff for the tank hull and turret without bracing, but the 67 will be better for curvy bits like fenders & treads. (2) Tanks are bumpy, with lots raised edges around hatches and such, so I can cut out details from the 67 and use them to create a little more depth to the model. I'm likely to print page 5 again, on lightweight stock, when it's time to roll gun barrels.
In my first building session, I assembled the turret structure; I'll add the guns at the end of the build so they stay out of the way. So far, so good. It's a complex little structure, but everything fits very nicely. Lots of folds to be scored on the turret sides, and it matched exactly to the turret top and bottom (more of a testament to the design than my skill). Overall I'm pleased with the outcome. It seems like the model is designed for the turret to be glued in place, but I think converting it to rotating turret won't be too difficult.
I likely won't get back to this until next weekend, but I'm looking forward to tackling the tank hull next!
This model depicts Patton's tank as painted for the June 1941 "Tennessee Maneuvers". The Tennessee Maneuvers were the first of a series of wargames conducted by the US Army in preparation for entering the European Theater. Additional wargames followed in Louisiana and North Carolina. In June of 1941, Patton was a newly-minted Major General and had been awarded command of the 2nd Armored Division. The division performed admirably throughout the exercises as Patton used this opportunity to prove his theories of large scale armored combat based on 19th Century cavalry doctrine. In a foreshadowing of the race across France yet to come, Patton's division completed 48 hours worth of objectives in only 9 hours. His command M1A1 light tank was painted, badged and flagged in such a way that no one would mistake it for anything other than Patton's tank.
This model comes in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale and arrives as a 7 page pdf. The first 2.5 pages have a brief historical introduction, assembly diagrams, and a few color photos of the completed model. There are no written instructions, but I don't think they are needed as the exploded-view diagrams are excellent. Sub-assemblies are color coded in the diagrams, and the part numbers on parts sheets have the corresponding color. The 1/72 version has 1.5 pages of parts and the 1/48 version has 3 pages of parts.
I'm building the 1/48 version, which seems massive to me. Lately I've been working in mini-scale (1/100) and micro-scale (1/300). At some point, I'll likely scale the 1/72 down to 1/100 and give that a go.
I printed 2 copies of the model, one on 110 lb and one on 67 lb. I did this for 2 reasons. (1) The 110 should be plenty stiff for the tank hull and turret without bracing, but the 67 will be better for curvy bits like fenders & treads. (2) Tanks are bumpy, with lots raised edges around hatches and such, so I can cut out details from the 67 and use them to create a little more depth to the model. I'm likely to print page 5 again, on lightweight stock, when it's time to roll gun barrels.
In my first building session, I assembled the turret structure; I'll add the guns at the end of the build so they stay out of the way. So far, so good. It's a complex little structure, but everything fits very nicely. Lots of folds to be scored on the turret sides, and it matched exactly to the turret top and bottom (more of a testament to the design than my skill). Overall I'm pleased with the outcome. It seems like the model is designed for the turret to be glued in place, but I think converting it to rotating turret won't be too difficult.
I likely won't get back to this until next weekend, but I'm looking forward to tackling the tank hull next!
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