DIORAMA BUILD
M24 CHAFFEE
DIORAMA BUILD
M24 CHAFFEEhttp://www.airfi xmodelworld.com 25any mainstream manufacturer.
The instruction manual was
simple to follow, with each
construction step clearly laid out
and any potentially tricky aspects
of the assembly (such as aligning
the suspension) illustrated clearly.
Decal placement and colour
charts were comprehensive,
simply because Olive Drab was
seemingly the only tone the
vehicle was painted throughout
its service life, and markings were
sparse to say the least. The rather
evocative winter box art provided
inspiration for the project, along
with several reference photos of
the vehicle in service with a hasty
whitewash winter paint scheme,
obviously applied in the field.General assembly
The first item to be assembled
was the hull, and while the lower
section required minor revisions
to represent an early production
vehicle, this proved to be nothing
more than filling recesses at
the rear (where strengtheningplates were added on later
models). Otherwise no filler was
required, which was testament
to the moulding quality; similarly,
the overall surface detail was
impressive, despite the diminutive
size of the parts. With this first
step complete, the intricate
torsion bar suspension arms
were secured – here the excellent
diagrams proved especially
useful, as any deviation would
have incorrectly aligned the
wheels and tracks.
In a break from the usual
practice of building the main
components and leaving items
such as the wheels and stowage
until final assembly, it was
decided to finish the construction
stage in its entirety. This would
hopefully minimise the possibilityof losing any sub-units, while
making the painting of smaller
items easier when secured to
the vehicle. It was also partially
due to the link-and-length-
style tracks, as painting and
positioning these would have
been very difficult to tackle later,
due to their proximity to the
track guards and side skirts.
Once the wheels were attached,
the tracks were positioned,
albeit not carefully enough
on the first attempt – several
links were added the wrong
way around. After this was
rectified, a reasonably natural
appearance was achieved.
Reference photos indicated the
tracks were quite taut and the
kit-supplied items replicated the
same appearance faithfully.any mainstream manufacturer.
The instruction manual was
simple to follow, with each
construction step clearly laid out
and any potentially tricky aspects
of the assembly (such as aligning
the suspension) illustrated clearly.
Decal placement and colour
charts were comprehensive,
simply because Olive Drab was
seemingly the only tone the
vehicle was painted throughout
its service life, and markings were
sparse to say the least. The rather
evocative winter box art provided
inspiration for the project, along
with several reference photos of
the vehicle in service with a hasty
whitewash winter paint scheme,
obviously applied in the field.General assembly
The first item to be assembleddecided to finish the construction
stage in its entirety. This would
hopefully minimise the possibilitytracks were quite taut and the
kit-supplied items replicated the
same appearance faithfully.ELEPHANTINE
EMBELLISHMENTS
This release was the ‘Mammoth
Edition’, which augmented the kit’s
three styrene runners (available
separately as R72001) with four PE
frets, a turned metal main gun barrel
and a replacement resin idler wheel.
The brass items offered a wealth of
extra refinement, from machine gun
belts to a new turret stowage box
and track guard supports.Delicate PE track
guard supports presented
a much more realistic
alternative to the original
styrene components. Side skirts were moulded integrally
with the track guards and must be
removed before the PE replacements can
be fitted. Removing these items was a
meticulous task, to avoid damaging the
remaining plastic.“THE OVERALL
SURFACE
DETAIL WAS
IMPRESSIVE”