Falling behind a bit as I work on the Sherman, but as it is going to together well so far. I figured it's time to introduce another part of the family of this project. In fact 2 more starting with Tamiya's classic Willys Jeep.

Lets see what is in the box first.

Popping the lid we see 2 bagged sprues and the instruction sheet at the bottom of the box.

The instruction sheet is typical Tamiya fold out easy to follow format. Listing color call outs with their paint line, options and the 4 optional schemes all in OD.

The body is one piece and wrapped in it's baggie apart from the rest of the sprues.

Nice to see that the decals are in it's own baggie as well with a protective sheet.

Sprue A, contains the frame, body and engine components and exhaust system.

1 piece frame is nicely detailed with the lower engine, transmission and transfer case moulded as part of the frame.

Nicely molded hood panel, dashboard and radiator support with nicely detailed radiator and headlamps.

Sprue B, contains the wheels, axles, frame and body detail components.

Well done wheel assy's including the spare.

M1 rifle and .30 cal machine gun are included.

Rear axle and leaf springs.

Will review the other vehicle tomorrow. More to follow.

Interested to see the next instalment, Chuck! As you say the tank is going together very well, indeed!

Woof! Woof!

Now the next subject. Italeri's GMC 6x6 Cargo truck, 1/35th scale.

Now let see what is in the box. First this was bought at Pegasus Hobbies in Montclair, Ca. The shop is usually given an opportunity to buy out collections from those who are no longer into the hobby or estate sales. This kit was one that was part of a bought out collection, and for $10.00 it was a good deal, already opened and unstarted but lots of loose parts in the box. So far everything seems to here. The box itself just showed some wear and being stored on a shelf with several other kits on top of it.

The instruction is the typical Italeri early design of folding out, starting with the multi piece frame. Showing 3 different options, all in OD. One option is to modify the frame to add a winch which is provided in the kit. Color call outs for Testor Model Masters brand of paint. The decals were loose in the kit and does show some moisture damage. So some decals will need to be sourced from the decal bin.

Sprue "A" contains the frame rails and crossmembers, cab fenders w/lower engine and trans details., wheels which includes the spare. Grille and radiator support.

The left and right fenders are molded in 1 piece with the lower half of the engine and trans incorporated into the lower section. There is no engine itself in the kit unlike the Tam Jeep. The wheels have good detail and will suffice for this build. The multi piece frame will be fun to build carefully so not to throw the whole truck serving as the foundation of the whole thing if not true or straight when complete, other wise cab, suspension and bed will have alignment issues as the build progresses. Nice grille and radiator is provided. The grille has wide columns that will give a good view of the radiator behind it. 3 axles are provided for the 6wd drive suspension system, driveshafts and transfer case.

Sprue B, contains the cab and bed components, .50 machine gun, and ring mount., doors, hood and side panels.

The kit can only be built as a hard roof cab, some mods would need to made to convert to a canvas cab. The dash panel is not bad, only the gauges have no detail, so gauges could be fabricated if the decals provided in the kit don't work.

The bed assy comes with fine detailed wood rails and benches but no canvas cover. Down the road some accessories and supplies will need to load her up.

The kit also provides a nice Browning .50 cal machine gun mounted on a ring mount over the cab.

The optional winch assy that can be used and will keep for a future project.

Soon to get started on both vehicle as the Sherman gets closer to completion...more to follow.

Step 1 is the frame assy. Right off the bat take your time and as you attach each crossmember to the RH side frame rail and test for alignment. Any oopsies will through the whole model off.

First the frame rails. They are straight and no warps. I will work from back to front.

1st is to attach the rearward most cross member which also serves as the mount for the trailer hitch. It also has the inner rear cross member and braces as one piece

The next crossmember is a 2 piece unit that supports some of the suspension bits.

Next up are a pair of identical braces that will be under forward section of the bed.

Then the transfer case crossmember is next to be attached to the frame rail.

Then front frame brace is installed.

Before aligning the LH frame rail, (all the cross members were attached the RH rail), the support brace bar is installed and then sandwiched between the rails.

The frame looks straight and not diamond. No warpage as the cement sets on all attachment points.

Next a cannister is installed on the RH inner frame rail.

Finally the frame rear bumper braces and trailer hitch/pintle are installed on the rear section of the frame assy.

Now to set it off to the side. Next up to install the susupension and drivelines and rear differentials. more to follow.

Thanks Paul, though mostly build in aviation, armor and soft skin vehicles are a change of pace. Besides the automotive industry is where I make a living. So trucks I can identify with as working with them over the years the parts will be familiar. Though military application is quite different from civilian side.

“Woof! That’s my other dog”.

Keep ‘em rollin’ Chuck.

The final vehicle in this series is the M5 105 motor carriage. Which will be represented by the White M3 T-19 halftrack. The difference is the M5 was produced by International Harvester, and a good way to tell is the rear part of the body has rounded edges. Not sharp corners like the M3/M2 has.

The movie has a good shot on the back side of the halftrack showing that detail.

The kit finally arrived the past week. Nice sturdy box.

Let see what is inside. First thing you will notice is that Dragon has moulded the vehicle in grey plastic not the normal OD or dark green plastic like say Tamiya or Italeri. All the parts sprues are in separate bags. 250 parts in the kit. Not all will be used.

The instruction booklet is a bit tall with instructions in several languages. The parts map is on the first page.

The paint codes are for the Gunze line of either Acrylics or Enamels. (Mr Hobby/Mr Color).

Dragon calls this a "Smart Kit" which means it contains either PE, metal and or resin parts within the kit. Which has a fret of PE in that is included, the radiator/grille slats that can be displayed open and the headlamps grille guards.

The decal sheet are for 4 European theatre and 1 African campaign vehicle. A nice touch is an extra sheet with extra set of numbers which you can create your own Id number.

The 105 comes with a nice turned barrel really nice touch.

Finally we can start looking at the sprues. No AM stuff really needed for this kit. First Sprue "A"
contains the frame, engine, cooling, engine components, driveshafts, axles. Most of the suspension.

The frame is 1 piece, which is nice, most kits this size would be a multi piece affair which can easily be off a bit no matter how careful you are. The lower part of the engine with the trans and transfer case is moulded into the frame.

Nice detailed radiator and fan shroud.

The 6 cyl gas engine, with intake and exhaust manifolds, fan and drive belt with pulleys. And air cleaner assy.

Differential and rear drum with nice hub detail.

Sprue "B" contains the the floor and fender molded as one piece. Front cab parts that will not be used on this version. There is a separate sprue with those parts that will be shown later in the review.

The fenders and floor assy as 1 piece. Very nice diamond plate detail on the floor.

The hood is very nice, with crip detail and bolts. Though this one will not be used on this version.

The instrument panel is very nice. One can really enhance the gauges with careful steady hands. no coffee when doing this step.

Next Sprue "C" contains, the ft bumper and roller assy, frame and interior detail bits. Trailer hitch and parts within the fighting compartment.

The front bumper roller frame rails.

Trailer hitch and rear frame detail bits.

Sprue "D" contains the front wheels, tracks, seats and rear suspension parts.

The front wheel is very nice, even with a slight bulge for weight. No need for a resin set. As the details are nice, the bolts are hexed and well represented.

The tracks in this kit are plastic, not the typical vinyl bands that are provided in the Tamiya kit which is a weak point as it tends to wreck the suspension when you try to attach them. These are well detailed and has the correct style of guides that keeps the tracks centered on the bogies and idler wheels. Nice nice!

Nice set of seat with the wrinkles in the cushions that look pretty good.

Rear suspension parts, real nice details on the suspension trucks.

Sprue "E" are the clear parts, the windshield and headlamp and parklamp lenses. Kept in the baggy for safekeeping.

There is no sprue F. but Sprue "G" has the rear body floor, side panels, rear panel, door, gun shield and seats.

Again the floor of the fighting compartment, nice diamond plate as a 1 piece unit will help when assembling the rear body section. It will help to keep everything squared up.

Nice gun shield for the howitzer.

105 shells

Personnel rear seats, again with nice wrinkle detail on the cushions.

The back panel also can have the rear door posed open.

The .50 cal pedestal comes in it's own baggie. Interesting packaging by Dragon. At first I though it was a resin piece, but no it's plastic.

The next sprue is "H" which actually has 2 parts, the close grille slat option or the open grille frame to attach the PE parts too.

Then next sprue is" J", (there is no "I"), this contains the interior parts, pioneer tools, the .30 and .50 cal machine guns. weapons and the radio set.

The .30 and .50 cal guns are well detailed. Very nice as no AM are needed here.

The radio set is well done, and again a steady hand can enhance the details with detail painting.

Kind've confusing on this sprue which is "A", but to explain is that it is a sprue from a stand alone kit of the 105, which is used for this version. So the whole sprue is supplied in the kit to build it as a T-19. And the parts don't disappoint.

First the fine detail in the elevating mechanism. The fine gear teeth represented in plastic is well done and defined.

The center portion of the gun is well done as well.

The last sprue is "T", which contains the T-19 version of the cab section. Ft side panels and hood.

The RH cabside is well detailed and include the ability to pose the door open.

And finally the drive wheels and sprocket are in separate baggies. Very delicate fine detail, another way that Dragon thoughtfully kept them separate and removed from a sprue. And will remain in the baggies until it's time to install them.

Looking forward to start on this final vehicle. This one may be the most intense one of the 4 currently in process. Did I say this kit had lots of parts. More to follow.