Rex Ross

.........all alone to fight Field Marshal Rommel and Italian Gen. Zingales in North Africa. Golly, I've built more Italian armor than British stuff. I guess I could repaint my Stuart and a Sherman, but I'd rather do a Matilda to try and even the odds.

Anyhow.....My Mato VVSS Sherman spoke to me every time I looked at it.......... It kept saying .........."Convert me with the static resin M3 Lee you got years ago into an R/C M3 Grant". So I took both of them apart and put the Lee top on the Mato lower hull. The dimensions of both pieces were within a few millimeters of being a perfect match. Amazing! With a little trimming and a little cheating it was gonna work. All I needed to do was build a new bolted tranny cover, new tool boxes, main gun dust boot and sand skirts. I already did the Grant turret years ago. I also modified the VVSS suspension into an earlier configuration, but that turned out less than satisfactory, and thank goodness the sand skirts hide that mess. Photos of British armor in North Africa shows that they had all kinds of gear strapped on all over the place. That covers up a lot of sins too!. I'm not sure about the helmets hanging on the outside (that's dumb), but I've had them for years and wanted to use them. The Lewis gun doesn't look right to me either, but it coulda happened! As a matter of fact, I believe that Sergeant Major Cecil Higgenbotham had one on his Grant when he was in the Queens Own Royal Guard Grenadiers and Dragoon Lancer Fusiliers, Trent on Avon. That may not be entirely accurate or correct, but that's the story I'm gonna stick to.

The turret ring gear also fit on the Grant turret by some miracle, (after some surgery to the tank hull interior with a Dremel tool). Anything that has a hinge, has a working hinge. I think I'll do the sand and olive drab camo paint job.

If Mato makes a Lee and they use the Sherman VVSS suspension, it will have to be an M3A4 Lee. That was the only version of the M3 that used the suspension that had the offset return rollers. Also, the top skid plate for the track will have to be changed (easy conversion). The tread pattern on the track is not the same for the Lee and Sherman, I don't know what they would do for track with the correct tread pattern. Make new stuff I guess.

I'm really happy with the Mato Sherman. I got two from Phil along with two lower hulls that had suspension and track, but no R/C guts or motors/trannies. I have a few Tamiya Sherman conversions that need the correct shoes.

YHR

Nice conversion. The Mato Sherman is a great building block. The value of its pieces for exceeds the cost of purchase.

Fireman Tim

My Feedback: (3)

I really want a unique tank like this. Your tank is very inspiring. Thanks for posting.

Buckeye36

My Feedback: (3)

Outstanding job, I really like the Lewis gun...........adds a unique touch.

Tangmere222

Beautiful piece of kit!

wright 971

Hi Top quality work ,wish they made them now would love to have one of these ,keep up the great work.

 regards pete

Pah co chu puk

Very nice.

I would like to see pix when it's painted too.

sassgrunt

My Feedback: (1)

That's why you (continue to be) my hero, Rex. A lot of time, I think about projects that COULD be made out of existing things - and then Iturn around and see that you've just gone ahead and MADE them! Always a treat to view, and always superbly constructed. Thank you!

BiggTony

Man, that is some impressive work as usual Rex.

Rex Ross

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Gee! Good timing on your posting. I'm planning on going to Hawaii for the spring and summer and I need a freebie place to crash. I hope your house has a guest room with private bath and hot tub. Do you have a motorcycle I could use? I gotta move on by Labor Day, sorry I won't be able to visit longer. I could really burst your bubble on that "hero" comment, but I won't. But I will subpoena you as a character witness if I ever get arrested.


I love Hawaii. I've been there dozens of times. I wanted to retire there (Kauai) but that didn't work out.......... Bummer.

For years (before I retired), all I did was work and buy stuff for "someday, when I retire I'll build this model". Well, I finally retired and now I have the time to have fun building stuff. Building stuff at home is about all I have the energy and the money to do anymore. The economy turned my 401K into a 301K. Thank goodness my house is paid for and I have a big long bucket list of projects.

Thanks for your kind words

Rex

Rex Ross

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I keep looking at this paint scheme on the M3 at Bovington, it looks interesting, but it's too fancy, too complicated. I guess it's legitimate, (it's in a British museum) but looks too perfect for something that didn't want to be seen in the desert. I have only found two grainy photos of that paint job on an M3 in North Africa. And the paint looked worn and faded. Without the black and white border it's a possible paint job for mine, and maybe less olive drab. From what I understand, Grants were shipped from the factory with OD paint and sand camo paint jobs were quickly applied in Africa (with a mop). Another possibility is that Caunter style camo job on the Matilda on the left rear side of the photo. I'm not real excited about that one, but it's different.

thecommander

Hi Rex,
Your M3 looks great. The Lee and Grant series have always held a special facination for me from when I was a kid and watched Humphrey Bogart in the movie "Sahara". Even the remake with Belushi was good. I've aways wanted one for a IR battle tank. Just think of the possibilites. I could shoot two different tanks in different directions at the same time. We would really have to burn thru the RCAN rulebook to figure out that one. The Bovington tanks were beautiful. Have you been there? The museum is like the Smithsonian Inst. for tanks. Just don't look down the barrels. The schoool kids must be tall there. Please continure to dazzle us with your project. Here are some additional pix of the Grant and Matilda from my trip in '09. I took many of the M3 planning to do a project of my own... but 24 hours still is not a long enough day for me. Maybe these pix can help with your camo job and I can enjoy it vicariously.

Bob

Rex Ross

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Bob.......

Those extra photos have done the job.........Thanks........I'm gonna carefully copy what's at Bovington. This is gonna be fun. I have never been anywhere except Aberdeen and Fort Lewis and Jacques Littlefields museum and a few other small museums. One of my retirement plans was to go to Europe and go to every museum there and in Russia. So much for daydreams.

I still may do the Bogart LuLuBelle. I have always wanted to build a diorama with LuLubelle next to that building at the well and get some figures to man the trenches like it was in the movie. I agree, the Belushi remake was pretty good too. Here's a pic of the Static Lee before I converted it to the R/C Grant.

I gotta paint 8 projects that are starting to beg me for paint and I will do the M3 first, sometime within the next month. Then I will post it.

thecommander

Hi Rex,
I'm happy that I could fill the information gap for you. I guess we both had the same idea. Yours, however, will come to fruition long before mine. I also share your dream of seeing all the tank/military museums in Europe. I went to many in England and France. Most in France were privately owned which we Americans are not used to seeing too much. My dream when I retire (only 8 months away) is to travel Europe in a RV and trade the use of my RV with a German family. They can wander the USA and we'll do Europe. If you need partner in crime for the tank tour, keep me in mind.
Bob

Pah co chu puk

Wow Rex,  Europe, Hawaii or Colorado, how will you decide?  I think I'd go for Europe, more tanks there.  I haven't ever seen a real tank around here.

Rex Ross

It's done!........sort of.........This was an interesting paint job for me to do. I finally got it done in spite of old eyes, fat fingers, shakey hands and no patience for things that are complicated. OK..........it looks like it just rolled off of the production line snd is heading for the parking lot for it's first day in the sun. I want to weather it to tone it down a bit and make it look like a victim of the North African desert. I gotta figure out how to do that, I haven't done a lot of weathering and don't want to mess things up. So far, so good.........

strong622

Love the paint job it looks so cool. Great work.

wright 971

Hi Can you tell us who made the kit ? could keep an eye out for one.Could you show us more photos of the 3 piece tranny cover and how you made it would love to fit one on my Firefly and also to another Sherman I am doing .

  regards pete

Rex Ross

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Pete.......
The resin hull was made many years ago (over 15) by a guy back in Michigan who was known as Mad Max, and he had a small business called Max Trax and/or the Armor Asylum. I'm not sure he is doing anything anymore. We lost track of each other.

The tranny cover was scratchbuilt out of styrene plastic and a PVC pipe coupling. I'm surprised that what I built worked out. But miracles sometimes happen. I hope the poor photos help. It was a close fit and took a lot of fiddling to get it so it looked right.

YHR

Great Job on an interesting tank.

I suggest you seal the paint you have applied, and then start weathering with acrylics. If you don't like them you can spray windex on the tank and they will wipe off. Knowing that anything you try can be easily removed takes away the fear factor.

Buckeye36

My Feedback: (3)

Outstanding work, I love the camo paint.
I'm jealous..........

Spitvalve

Sublime as usual, Rex.

Excellent paint scheme that will look even better once weathered. Very reminiscent of prewar and early-war Polish and French colour schemes. 3-piece tranny cover is very interesting. To the shop!

Mike.

Tanque

I'm running out of superlatives with which to describe your work Rex. In fact my mental presence is reduced to a crepuscular
state from which I might muster enough for a "Oooo wow".

You remain an inspiration to the rest of us; we mere hacks....

Jerry

edoubleaz

My Feedback: (1)

No more excuses, now that you have a collection of true "desert" vehicles we expect you to battle with DAK soonest!

Rex Ross

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Hey!

You and Fred Dorn were the ones who got me started on this hobby almost 20 years ago. Sheeeesh....I'm still trying to catch up with you both.

And another thing............quit using words like "crepuscular". Now I gotta do a Google and a Wikipedia on that.