This time, I will build a vehicle equipped with a mortar developed based on the US military’s half-track, M2 half-track. I remember this kit was quite successful when it was released.
The assembly process for chassis and wheels. The part mold is fine.
The chassis frame and the rolling wheels of the rear track have been put together.
The front wheel reproduces a slightly sunken state due to its own weight. I’ve assembled most of the components, so all I have to do is attach them to the chassis.
Well, I was able to assemble it without any problem. The biggest problem is whether it can be bonded to the upper part of the body properly. The tracks are plastic and one-piece, so the assembly is smooth if it can fit into the rolling wheel well. This type of half-track is not so loose, so it seems to be fine as it is.
It is well reproduced even when you look at the body from the back.
(2025/03/18)
It comes with a driver figure, which is rare for an overseas kit. In the case of overseas AFV plastic models, there are not many figures.
I masked both front and back of the windshield in consideration of painting.
A lot of shells are stocked in the back of the vehicle. It seems that it was loaded with about 90 shells in total, so I think this part is also one of the highlights of this AFV. The figure is going to be painted and then fitted into the seat, so the handle is glued to the hand.
The 81 mm mortar’s barrel is made of metal. This is a luxurious kit. If the door is closed, it’s impossible to see the sideways shell mold, so opening the door is one way to show it.
(2025/03/21)
The assembly is complete. Before I built it, I thought that an AFV with only one mortar was simple and not very cool, but when I put it together, there was a sense of density in various parts, and I became quite fond of this.
If I look closely, I can see that there are radios and machine guns in addition to the shell stock space.
The headlight is a clear part, so the inside is silver painted and masked. The headlight seems to come off when I peel off the masking sol, so I haven’t bonded it yet.
The front radiator is a mesh etched part, so I opened the panel.
I used a separately sold vehicle load. Rainbows and other things I bought in the past.
Since there are many complicated parts, I primed it with black first.
(2025/03/24)
I painted the body with olive drab. In the instruction manual, the uniform of the figure was the same color, so I airbrushed it, but I think the designated color of the uniform is different depending on the kit, from the experience of figures made in the past. I do a little washing, so the color may change at that stage. Also, the driver figure won’t be visible much when it’s fitted into the seat.
Most of the fine painting is finished. I decided to attach headlights at the very end.
Originally, there wasn’t much space to put a decal, but if I get so excited and put a load on it, the nationality mark and the unit mark will be hidden. I think it would be more interesting to have more decals in a model performance, so I will put star marks on the empty parts.
It was my wife’s birthday the other day, so I ate Yakiniku and ate fruit parfait at Senbikiya in Nihonbashi. All the guests except me were madams, so I felt totally out of place. When I ate parfait at Daimaru Tokyo a while ago, there were several groups of old salaried men, but I wonder if they were killing time on the Shinkansen due to the location. Anyway, the strawberry parfait was very delicious.
(2025/03/27)
I completed a US Army half truck with a mortar. According to the description of the kit, about 500 cars were produced at the beginning of the war based on the body of the M2 half track. 81 mm mortars and mortar shells inside the rear personnel quarters of the M2 half truck, with a total of 96 mortar shells in each ammunition compartment. The 81 mm mortars on board were usually lowered to the ground before firing, but in an emergency, they could be fired backwards from the vehicle.
It’s a pretty narrow car but it has 6 crew. Assuming that the driver is also a mortar operator during the battle, the 81 mm mortar would need about 5 people to operate at full capacity. Looking at the photos, I often see about 3 people operating mortars in photos.
As the track is made of hard rubber wrapped with a base material made of steel cable, I thought that the metal base will not come out and shine. I feel that the US AFV tracks are often covered with such rubber.
This time the marking is set as the 2nd Armored Division in Belgium in 1945. Probably just after the Battle of the Bulge. In addition to the designated decal, I attached various things such as nationality mark and car body number to emphasize the appearance of a plastic model.
I assembled and painted the figures that came with the kit. It is difficult to paint the face with the injection kit. It was harder to paint around the eyes. When I let him sit on the seat, his eyes were unexpectedly high and I felt that he could see the front properly. When seated, it’s hard to see the face or the front of the body, and it may only mean something like a symbol so we can see the back and know the crew is seated.
It’s more interesting to see the details from above.
In this kit, the windshield wipers are thin and narrow with etched parts, so they have a nice texture. The headlights are good clear parts and I think they are very similar to the actual car. The light guard is also realistic with etched parts.
It was fun to install loads on the side of the AFV, so I put a variety of resin bags and canvas sheets on it, but if I don’t think about the position of the decal, it will fall apart later.
It looks like a U.S. military vehicle when a lot of backpacks and sleeping bags are loaded. I had a lot of fun making the M4 half truck with the mortar.
(2025/03/29)
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