M36B1 813th TD Battalion

[Beekster]

OK, I admit it...I am currently not enthused about building a set of tracks for the Achilles Ic project.  I have therefore fallen down another rabbit hole.  As you all know, I recent purchased the incomparable Rye Field M3A3 HVSS kit with full interior.  And that got me thinking about starting on another project I've always wanted to do, an M36B1 90mm GMC on the M4A3 chassis.  I've got the AFV club kits for parts (see the corrected turret thread), and an Asuka M4A3 hull and late VVSS running gear.  And that Rye Field accessory Ford GAA engine.  The plan is to put all this together (and lots more) to do a full-interior M36B1.  This lousy scan from Zaloga's Concord title US Tank Battles in German 1944-45 is the inspiration, presented here for discussion purposes only.  Note the middle photo:

Yes, this is the same unit as my M10 project.  The 813th converted to M36s in March of 1945 with a mix of M36 and M36B1 vehicles.  Like their M10s, the tanks got partial overhead cover installed as seen in the image.  And duckbills, which means another set of tedious tracks.  Eventually.

Since a full interior will happen, I started with something I've not tackled before:  The engine compartment.  Behold that lovely Ford GAA:



This is a lovely little model in itself.  Construction requires a fair amount of time and careful work.  You'll note that a couple of pipes have been replaced with rod stock; the kit parts didn't want to fit.  Also the forward engine mounts have been rather crudely added.  Those attach to the firewall and are not in the accessory kit because that includes only the engine sprue.  The forward mounts are on another one with firewall parts in the larger M4A3 kit.

I have not yet cut out any parts from the big kit, just eyeballed and measured parts in place.  I have done a lot of work on the front of the firewall and on fabricating the fighting compartment floor.  The latter still needs detail added for the lift handles.  I cut apart the floors from two AFV Club M36 kits, one AFV Club Achilles kit, and two Academy Achilles kits to get the treadplate parts (and some are left over).  The M36 and M36B1 had a different floor arrangement from the M10 or the M36B2 converted from the M10.  When finished, I will make a mold and cast up a couple of copies for future builds.  In the engine compartment, the Rye Field motor fits well with a little trimming of the exhaust pipes and my simplified scratch-built fuel tanks can be seen tucked into the front corners of the bay.






And as nice as Asuka kits are to work with, when an interior is contemplated problems crop up like the undersides of the engine bay doors, seen here:

Yeah, nasty ejection pin marks on the underside.  Even with the air deflectors installed (I will copy the Rye Field parts), at least two of those on each door will be visible.  Looks like I will finally be taking that trip to the hobby shop with a list of Evergeen stock to purchase.  I'm out, but there's a sheet of .020 material that has just about the same pattern on it as the doors have so that's on the list (and so is the Mr. Surfacer that I'm out of, and some more liquid glue, and some more filler putty...).  I'll just measure up the size of the panels I need, cut them out and square them up, and replace the kit texture entirely after grinding it off.

[RLFoster]

Outstanding scratch-work, Beekster! Great attention to detail!

[Beekster]

Thanks, Robert! I have to admit that I find the creative process of construction like this more satisfying than painting and finishing. Though I do finish things on occasion.

[JCON]

Nice, I'll follow along also...

[DuckyShot]

A good start! Good luck with this!

[JED]

We have faith that The Beekster will overcome these little niggles to produce yet another masterpiece

[rustybaer]

I just love this kind of modeling!

[bravo1jon]

Awesome start, can't wait to see more.

[Beekster]

Yeah, long time no report on anything. But I do have an excuse. As you all know I have a propensity to be distracted by shiny objects. And lately such has been the case; said shiny object is a lustrous deep blue and residing in my garage. As The Tubes once sang, "She's a Beauty!". But back to modeling...



I've been working on the turret basket. An original part is on the left in these images, with a few kit elements missing. On the right is the modified assembly now complete. The power traverse handle was far too fragile to survive, so that's been replaced with brass strip and styrene stock. Lots of hydraulic hose detail has been added to the traverse motor and vertical fluid reservoir, and wiring from the control box above and from the intercom box on the rear strut. A brass wire handle has been added to the TC's seat. The gunner's seat has a vertical block to support the seat bottom instead of a scissors mechanism. I ground away material and added strip stock to make it look better should any sight lines exist down to that area. If I was going to display the turret separately I would have ground off everything and scratch built it, but because I'll not be doing that and adding field-expedient overhead cover this ought to suffice.





The gun on these kits is a real trial because of the silly spring recoil thing that AFV Club engineered. The durned thing is necessary to keep things lined up, but has a tendency to push the breech back into full-recoil out-of-battery position. Not very useful. I trimmed the spring, and forced everything into position with the breech full forward in battery. I've tweaked a few details here and there. No elevation wheels are added yet; too fragile. The gun will go in and out numerous times as I continue to work on the turret interior and it's safer to leave them off for a while.

The barrel is decent, and represents one fitted to vehicles from production #601 and above. It has a thread protector milled on the end; after #600 all M-36s were fitted with barrels that were threaded to allow a muzzle brake to be fitted. The latter was almost never seen in WW2 service but is universal in post-war use worldwide. Unfortunately, the turret doesn't accurately represent one of these later units because it's lacking a vertical recoil equilibrator spring to the left of the gun, mounted to the turret ring. Yep, that's another thing that I will have to fabricate from scratch.

[JCON]

Looks good but what's in the garage???

[Beekster]

This is in the garage; her name is Luna:








2023 C300 4Matic sedan, Lunar Blue over Sienna brown/Black leather, AMG Night package, acoustic glass, Distronic radar-directed cruise control, MB navigation system, voice control, and about ten thousand other features. It's a starship, and it will take months to learn everything. The wife will retire in a couple of years, and this is the retirement road trip car. The maiden long distance trip is coming up in early September when we return to Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks.

[JCON]

Pretty!!!

[Beekster]

Thank you! She ought to be, considering the size of the check we wrote to bring her home. Luna is the Mercedes-Benz version of a mild hybrid. There's a big starter/generator and small battery sandwiched between the turbo four engine and the 9-speed transmission. The generator setup runs a 48-volt subsystem that powers the ancillaries like AC, power steering, and engine cooling system. There are no belts and pulleys on the front of the engine, reducing parasitic drag. The engine shuts off when power isn't needed, even at freeway speeds (especially when going downhill) and coasts. An engine function display shows that sometimes the engine is turning 1500rpm when that happens, but fuel use is zero and the battery is charging. Other times the engine just shuts off. It takes some getting used to, for sure. The resulting fuel economy is impressive; we've seen 37mpg on short highway runs and I expect around 40 on long interstate runs. Not too shabby for a 3800-pound sport sedan.

[Dukemaddog]

Nice model work, and beautiful new ride! Maybe if yoiu feel like it, once you finish at Yellowstone, come on down to LA and we can get together for a day or two.

No worries if that's too far; I completely understand!

[Beekster]

Too far for this trip, Duke! But eventually...

We've got lots of road trip plans once she's retired. I turn 61 in August, and a year after that I can spend $80 on the best travel deal anywhere: The senior citizens lifetime pass to the National Park system. When a standard week's pass for a park is $35, the lifetime pass is an unbeatable deal. We're hoping that a state law passed a couple of years ago to encourage certain classes of state pension beneficiaries is amended this legislative session. It's supposed to sunset in 2024 but might be made permanent; she hopes to retire or cut back to part time in 2025. It allows people in the old legacy pension system to retire earlier, locking in their benefits, while still allowing them to work full time or part time for a couple of years. That would be perfect for us, especially if the city decides that it needs to ditch the hodgepodge of HRIS software that they currently use in favor of an integrated system. Getting something like that up and running would be a great capstone to her career.

[JCON]

I love my America the Beautiful Lifetime Pass!!! It allows you and three others in your vehicle in the parks anytime for free!!! Just show it at the gate and they smile at ya and say welcome to your park!!! Its awesome!!! It pays for itself in just over 2 visits!!! We use it all the time to go to Mount Rainier, Olympic Natl Park, Yellowstone and the Tetons as well as Glacier Park as we are both wildlife and scenery photographers!!!

[JED]

Great model work, very nice car and a great deal you get for your national parks

[Robbo]

Very nice model and a very nice car too, you must be pleased with that purchase

[Beekster]

Mar 16, 2023 10:58:30 GMT -6 Robbo said:

Very nice model and a very nice car too, you must be pleased with that purchase

We are quite pleased with the purchase, Robbo.  It's proving to be everything we thought it would be.  Only one minor issue has cropped up, which I will have the dealer attend to in the next couple of months.  The passenger side shoulder belt adjuster rattles occasionally when the suspension is tightened down in Sport mode and the pavement surface is scabrous.  They'll have to pull the B-pillar trim and put some extra cushioning material on the sliding surface, I imagine.  But that's the only issue that has cropped up so far; the South Africans know how to build cars.  The voice control system is rather entertaining and very polite, and the navigation system is working really well now.  At first it wasn't all that accurate, but a combination of learning how to tell it what you want and the car learning its local surroundings has helped immensely.  I am having to re-learn what it takes to keep a dark car clean; I haven't had one in a couple of decades.  Luna looks stunning when freshly washed, but she stays that way for about an hour before dust begins to settle, even in a closed garage.  I'll need to wash & wax more often, and I need to have a chat with my local Griot's Garage supplier about obtaining a foam gun and other necessary supplies.

Now back to texturing weld seams, putting together master patterns for making RTV molds, and other stuff directly related to model projects.

[Beekster]

Slow going on the turret, but some progress lately. The interior detail is sparse, and what there is of it has some inaccuracies. For example, here are the fire extinguisher and gunner's indirect fire sight for the forward left and right sides of the turret. For each, on the left is the kit part and on the right is my modified version to add some detail.


And here's something that isn't there at all, in any M36 kit: The equilibrator spring, fitted to all but the first 600 M36s. It attaches to the recoil cylinder and underside of the roof when a muzzle brake is installed. Most tanks in WW2 didn't get muzzle brakes but did get barrels threaded for it. It will go on the left side, attached to the turret ring adjacent to the gun.


That spring is real and made of some exotic unobtanium material. I can't recall what; it's a relic from my days building scanning ion and electron microscopes nearly thirty years ago. Once part of a spring-loaded pogo pin to supply high voltage to one of the focusing columns, the pins were rendered obsolete by a new and different column design. When the parts were officially scrapped, I snagged a bunch and extracted the springs.

On the outside there is texture on the bustle now since I finally went to the hobby shop and bought the Mr. Surfacer that I needed for that job. I splurged and got both the 500 and 1000 bottles; this was done with a couple of coats of the thinner 1000 material. Though it's quite chilly here, the window is open when I use this stuff because it's lacquer based and has a really strong odor.





The gun is fitted with the trunnion pins loose just so that I can work out placement of the stuff that fits around it on the turret ring and side walls. I will have to snake it in there from below and on it's side once the rest of the interior stuff is done (and painted) and the turret basket is installed. Barely visible is the gun barrel, now with a coat of primer on it. There's one blemish out of frame that I will have to lightly sand and respray.