Propaganda Company M5 conversion for the Corgi halftrack?

See:
http://propaganda.kompany.free.fr/

A few of the halftracks I'm interested in are M-5/9's. This seems like it might be an easier way than dealing with a metal Corgi model.

Thoughts?

Art

Arthur, the Corgi die-casts are 1/50 and the Monogram Snap-Tite is 1/48, so I doubt the PK conversion parts will fit the Monogram kit exactly, though they may be close enough you could "convince" them to fit..... The biggest difference is the front fenders, then the welded body with rounded rear corners. The front fenders are very simple to make as they are all flat, no compound curves. The rear body is thick enough to round out without going through to plastic. You could add some plastic to the inside rear corners and shape it to a round inside corner contour if you want. The angled rear body panel will have to be straightened up to the vertical, but that is a fairly simple cut and fill procedure. I think I'd rather try to work on the Monogram kit myself, but then we much each choose our own insanity......

If this is the same half-track which comes in a set including a "Sherman" tank on fake tracks and rolls on wheels, and some kind of helicopter, I threw it out in disgust. I considered it a waste of time trying to make it look anything like what it was supposed to be. Probably easier scratch-building a new one.

but, it's a 1/48 sow's ear. I've compared it to the better detailed Wespe kit, and it does have promise IF you are willing to accept that it will take a certain amount of work to get it up to current standards. I'd love to see Tamiya or someone (yes, even resin) do the M2/M3 series right, but that could take years. Oh, and as for the angled rear wall? It takes maybe 15-20 minutes to cut it loose at the top and sides and insert a couple of slivers of plastic stock to fill the gaps. And that's for the full-length M3 body; if you want an M2/M2A1 scout car/TD 3" gun tractor, or the M4/M4A1 mortar carrier, the back wall has to be moved forward and there is no gap at all. I still don't know if Monogram HAD to do that, but I guess they thought it would make molding the model more reliable. Considering that the delay on the AFV Club '251 is due to molding hangups, they may have been right. The interior is a simple floor section and straight boxes for the seats and equipment stowage, pretty easy to scratchbuild..

Improving the suspension in 1/48 will involve PE for the drive sprocket and rear idler. I doubt even the best resin molding could reproduce the open cage structures and still look accurate. I am going to look into this with my friend who does resin casting. One good thing about Tamiya doing this is if they use the hated metal frame (), at least the crate won't warp - my Wespe T19 is warped in the frame, and while I'm sure I can straighten it, will it STAY straightened? I'd hate to see my resin M3s take on the "low rider" look after a couple of years.....