1/76 M3, M5A1 & M9A1 US Armored Halftracks
Posted: March 4th, 2017, 7:33 pm
There are three versions of US Armored Halftrack injection molded kits available in 1/76, from Airfix, Nitto (now Fujimi) and Matchbox (now Revell). The Matchbox kit represents the M16 AA version. I have read that it is underscale, but if it is, the difference is maybe 1mm or so on the width. However, it is not the version I need. As a teenager, at the time I decided I needed US halftracks as troop carriers, the Airfix kit was out of production and the Nitto kit very hard to get, so I did convert two Matchbox M16 to M3A1. Badly... So, I recently added three Nitto M3A1 and two Airfix M3A1 kits to my stash to replace the two Matchbox ones and add three more. But... neither the Airfix nor the Nitto kit actually represent the M3A1 troop carrier version as advertised.
Most of you probably already know all this, but in case someone reads this who doesn't, here is a little history on the US halftracks. Two manufacturing standards were involved. White (the original developer), Diamond T and Autocar produced the standard versions intended for the US Army. International Harvester were added to produce a substitute standard version intended for Lend-Lease, with inferior quality but thicker armor, making their halftracks heavier and slightly slower. Externally, the most obvious differences between the two types was the shape of the front mudguards and the shape of the join between the side and rear armor plates. The White version had front mudguards with the sides enclosed towards the rear, while the International Harvester (I.H.) versions were open at the sides. White halftracks had a straightforward 90 degree join between the sides and rear plates, but the IH version had the sides bent in a curve round to form part of the rear armor. Many of the specialized versions were duplicated in both versions, with different and confusing (to me at least) designations:
- Artillery Prime Mover: White M2 and M2A1; I.H. M9A1 (the A1 indicates that the 0.5" MG Ring Mount 'Pulpit' was fitted)
- Armored Infantry Carrier: White M3 and M3A1; I.H. M5 and M5A1
- Twin 0.5" Anti-Aircraft Turret: White M13; I.H. M14
- Quad 0.5" Anti-Aircraft Turret: White M16; I.H. M17
Other specialized versions were only produced on the White version, I believe: T30 75mm Howitzer; T48 57mm ATG; T19 105mm Howitzer; M4/M4A1/M21 Mortar Carriers; T28E1/
M15/M15A1 37mm AA Mounts etc.
So why is all this relevant to these kits? Because the Airfix kit appears to have been based on the I.H. M14 twin 0.5" AA version, and the Nitto kit is widely regarded as a copy (albeit a superior copy) of the Airfix kit. In this case it's good that Nitto copied Airfix, as the Airfix kit is dead nuts on 1/76 (not 1/72 like some of their packaging has claimed over the years...), so Nitto's occasional habit of adding great detail to inaccurate base dimensions was avoided! In fact, the Nitto kit even comes with the M14's M33 twin 0.5" AA turret as an option. Both kits have the I.H. style front mudguards, but neither have the I.H rounded rear/sides. Both are intended (as an option at least for the Nitto kit) to be Armored Infantry Carrier versions, but neither has the interior even close to being correct for that. All that said, choices need to be made and then modifications created!
Nitto Kit:
Airfix Kit, Type 1
Note this this packaging comes with a tilt...
Airfix Kit, Type 2
No tilt...
And I also purchased a conversion kit from Matador for one of the Airfix kits:
So my plan at the moment is to produce an M3A1 from one of the Airfix kits (sans Tilt) with the Matador conversion parts and one M5A1 from one of the Nitto kits. At some point in the future , I will then convert the other two Nitto kits to M5A1 and maybe the Airfix with the Tilt to an M2 or M9A1 for a 6-pdr ATG. Start with two... baby steps...
Most of you probably already know all this, but in case someone reads this who doesn't, here is a little history on the US halftracks. Two manufacturing standards were involved. White (the original developer), Diamond T and Autocar produced the standard versions intended for the US Army. International Harvester were added to produce a substitute standard version intended for Lend-Lease, with inferior quality but thicker armor, making their halftracks heavier and slightly slower. Externally, the most obvious differences between the two types was the shape of the front mudguards and the shape of the join between the side and rear armor plates. The White version had front mudguards with the sides enclosed towards the rear, while the International Harvester (I.H.) versions were open at the sides. White halftracks had a straightforward 90 degree join between the sides and rear plates, but the IH version had the sides bent in a curve round to form part of the rear armor. Many of the specialized versions were duplicated in both versions, with different and confusing (to me at least) designations:
- Artillery Prime Mover: White M2 and M2A1; I.H. M9A1 (the A1 indicates that the 0.5" MG Ring Mount 'Pulpit' was fitted)
- Armored Infantry Carrier: White M3 and M3A1; I.H. M5 and M5A1
- Twin 0.5" Anti-Aircraft Turret: White M13; I.H. M14
- Quad 0.5" Anti-Aircraft Turret: White M16; I.H. M17
Other specialized versions were only produced on the White version, I believe: T30 75mm Howitzer; T48 57mm ATG; T19 105mm Howitzer; M4/M4A1/M21 Mortar Carriers; T28E1/
M15/M15A1 37mm AA Mounts etc.
So why is all this relevant to these kits? Because the Airfix kit appears to have been based on the I.H. M14 twin 0.5" AA version, and the Nitto kit is widely regarded as a copy (albeit a superior copy) of the Airfix kit. In this case it's good that Nitto copied Airfix, as the Airfix kit is dead nuts on 1/76 (not 1/72 like some of their packaging has claimed over the years...), so Nitto's occasional habit of adding great detail to inaccurate base dimensions was avoided! In fact, the Nitto kit even comes with the M14's M33 twin 0.5" AA turret as an option. Both kits have the I.H. style front mudguards, but neither have the I.H rounded rear/sides. Both are intended (as an option at least for the Nitto kit) to be Armored Infantry Carrier versions, but neither has the interior even close to being correct for that. All that said, choices need to be made and then modifications created!
Nitto Kit:
Airfix Kit, Type 1
Note this this packaging comes with a tilt...
Airfix Kit, Type 2
No tilt...
And I also purchased a conversion kit from Matador for one of the Airfix kits:
So my plan at the moment is to produce an M3A1 from one of the Airfix kits (sans Tilt) with the Matador conversion parts and one M5A1 from one of the Nitto kits. At some point in the future , I will then convert the other two Nitto kits to M5A1 and maybe the Airfix with the Tilt to an M2 or M9A1 for a 6-pdr ATG. Start with two... baby steps...