I pretty much finished adding the details to the turret and I think it is a lot more interesting with the small items often overlooked. The next step will be smoothing any unwanted marks or glue and priming it with black acrylic paint to inspect the surface before the first shade of O.D. Green. The most fiddly parts were probably for the M2 .50 Machine gun. I lengthened the machine gun pedestal, added the pintle locking handle and made the folding base and hinge. I added the pivoting barrel travel lock after bending and folding three of the barrel clips out of thin copper before I got it right… two more to go now. I also detailed the M2 stowage array at the rear of the turret. This consists of the cast socket that comes with the kit and adding a locking handle to it. The bracket that held the cooling jacket of the gun was a bit more tricky as I wanted it to be durable, so I decided to use the steel staples from my Arrow stapler re-bent to duplicate the triangular bracket. To insure that it was anchored firmly I used two staples, one shaped for the upper bracket including the semi circular retainer, and a second one for the lower part so both could be glued into holes I drilled into the rear of the turret. The spring clip was simulated with a modified model railroad nut-bolt-washer casting and the hinge with a thin piece of round plastic.
I detailed the cover for the gunner’s periscope with some rivets and evergreen plastic and added the commander’s vane sight using a combination of another steel staple and evergreen plastic with some model railroad rivets. In many of the photos the turret spotlight is turned with the lens facing down, so I decided that the quick fix was to drill into the casting, insert a shortened steel shirt pin, then use a micro saw to cut the resin where it meets the light housing so I could spin the light down and secure it with superglue. I suppose I could have left it movable but I worried about it coming off.
I also added the muzzle of the M3 2-inch breech loading mortar with muzzle cover in place on the left upper section of the turret. These were apparently disliked by the U.S. crews and they were discontinued in the later production D78461 turrets. I have a few things to do to prep the hull for the final details and that included filling some of the mounting holes with epoxy putty so I can add more refined details…more on that part of the project soon…
Below: A number of details were added to the kit using metal and plastic.
Below: The pedestal mount for the .50 Cal M2 was lengthened and details with plastic and them spotlight was cut to pivot in a downward position with a pin.
Below: I used metal staples reshaped with jeweler's pliers to make the bracket that supports the M2 in a traveling position and the handles for locking the gun in place was made from bent brass wire.
Below: This was the first of three M4A3 (75) Campaign Miniatures resin kits in 1/30th scale that were built to represent vehicles of the 9th Armored Division in the Spring of 1945. With each one I was able to improve small details, some of which you should notice as the build progresses.
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