"...first injected kit of this variant..."

<full review here>
- Cookie Sewell

DML 6467: M3 75mm Gun Motor Carriage
1/35 injection plastic kit with decals, driver figure and photo etch

With the outbreak of war in Europe, the American Army quickly realized the need to develop tank destroyers. This lead to the mounting of the existing M1897A4 75mm gun (which has French origins) on the M3 half-track. The US used this improvised tank destroyer or Gun Motor Carriage (GMC) in North Africa, Sicily and the Pacific. While it provided mobile firepower and was capable against the lighter Japanese tanks, it was soon eclipsed by the more potent M10 tank destroyer in units facing the German Army and their Panzers. The British and French used the M3 GMC in Western Europe.

OVERVIEW

This new Dragon release is in the new Smart Kit format and share some parts with the recent releases of US half-tracks, while having new parts specific to the 75mm GMC version of the M3. New parts are provided for the 75mm gun, mounting and shield, fighting compartment, side and rear panels, armoured cab and varying smaller fittings. This kit features extensive use of refined molding techniques, such as slide molding, to produce crisp detailed parts and hence has reduced photo etch. As such an impressive kit can be built out of the box by most modelers, while it also provides a solid basis for super detailing. The open fighting compartment offers plenty of potential for adding all the stowage that troops carried.

The gatefold instructions have 14 steps of line drawings that are clearly laid out. The kit has a modular approach where the four modules (chassis, forward cabin, rear fighting-compartment and 75mm gun) come together in the last steps, which allows for the interior to be painted beforehand. Photo etch is provided for the armoured front grills, bases for the front tow hooks, headlamp guards, cab visors and the mountings behind the jerry cans attached to the sides. The few injection marks have been hidden in spots, such as underneath the fenders. Clean up should be very quick.

NEW PARTS

The M1897A4 75mm gun is all new tooling and comes complete with crisp hand wheels, guard, levers and breech. The barrel is a three-piece plastic barrel tube without a visible join as the plastic pieces are cylinders with hidden butt joins. The gun’s traverse mechanism is detailed and realistic. A slide-molded shield surrounds the gun and has sharp bolt heads and no visible sink marks. The shield is connected to the gun by four rods. Below the gun sits an ammunition rack, which is already filled with shells.

The fighting compartment is full of new tooling and is based around a large tub, which features the M3 floor plan and has integrated sponsons. The side and rear armour plates are new parts for the M3 series, as is the separate rear door. As expected these parts have plenty of details for bolt heads and panel gaps and hinges. Separate parts are provided for the various fittings such as seat backs, the internal fuel tanks, jerry cans, small stowage bins, rear bucket and both types of the GMC’s rear storage bins.

CHASSIS & CAB

The chassis has considerable detail including a one-piece exhaust pipe and muffler, transmission shaft, drive shaft for the winch, differential housing, and the basic engine block with radiator, sump, fan and gasket heads. The front tires have the bulge indicative of bearing the engine’s weight and the suspension springs, brakes and axle ends behind them are replicated. For the rear tracks the sprocket is slide-molded and the bogies have plenty of small detail. The tracks are injection molded and built from two halves, which join down the center and thus no join marks visible when looking side on, while replicating the inner detail such as the guide chain. Given the tracks were single lengths of rubber over steel bands that sat tightly on the bogies, this approach works well for displaying the kit on a flat base and will simplify assembly and painting. A roller is fitted in front of the forward bumper. Slide-molding has been used to produce sharply detailed drive sprockets and rear idlers which capture these parts 3-D ribbed profile nicely.

The cab is based around a large piece, which has the cabin floor, forward mudguards, running board and divide with the engine bay. New parts are provided for the side panels, bonnet and the metal plate that replaced the windscreen to reflect that the M3 GMC had a lowered cab to accommodate the gun. The upper half of the cab doors can be built either up or down and there are PE visor covers. The floor and running board have the anti-skid nicely detailed and the separate driving controls are crisp. The spade and axe are fitted to the front and are crisply molded with integrated brackets. The winch assembly behind the front bumper is new to this kit and includes nylon chord for the cable with metal chain provided for the last length that was attached to the hook.

The engine bay hood is molded closed, but it would be possible to cut along the panel recesses to open it up and reveal the engine. The cab doors can modeled open or closed and the PE visors can be left up or down, and the upper half of the doors can be assembled folded down. The front grill can be built open (with options of a PE or plastic) or closed. The front window armor can be assembled open or closed and the windscreen is clear plastic, as are the lens for the headlamps.

The driver is assembled from seven parts (traditional injection plastic design) and wears a M1 helmet and a field jacket. One nice feature is the inclusion of an alterative seat squab, which is contoured to reflect the weight of a man; hence the driver sits in and not on top of his seat (a standard squab is included for use without the driver).

DECALS

The Cartograf decal sheet is crisply registered and the painting guide outlines seven GMCs, which offer a representative selection of how this half-track was deployed. The instruction sheet has 3 view profiles for each vehicle and there are colour side profiles on the box.

The scene from the box art is from 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion, Tunisia 1943 which is olive drab with light coloured mud smeared over it (no decals); US Army in Sicily 1943 which is olive drab with white stars inside a circle; US Army Stateside in 1943 which is olive drab with white stars; L Company, 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines USMC, Saipan in 1944 which is olive drab with yellow; 1st King’s Dragoon Guards, British Army in Italy 1944 which is dark yellow and green; 1st King’s Dragoon Guards, British Army in Germany 1945 which is overall dark green; and A Squadron, 27th Lancers in Italy 1945 which is also dark green and named “Acorn Inn”.

RECOMMENDATION

This new release from Dragon will not disappoint the many modelers who have been eagerly looking forward to its release. The combination of the 75mm gun in an open fighting compartment and the crisp tooling ensures that this half-track will be a rewarding kit to make and display. Definitely recommended.

- Neville Lord