Having bought these in June last year I have finally gotten around to finishing them. As you can see these are WW2 US halftracks. They are by the Plastic Soldier Company and come with 5 sprues in a box and each sprue capable of making one halftrack. There are several options on each sprue allowing for different weapons mounts, different bumpers, optional stowage and up to 8 people in each vehicle. With all the options I wanted to peep them fairly uniform though and have just changed the bumper on one of them. This allows me to identify a platoon leader vehicle should I need to. And that is the only reason I changed one. 
I found them quite fiddly to put together due to their size but would happily get more if I needed them. The instructions were clear and concise and once you had worked through the process once or twice you knew how to do them. They did not come with the decals though but I had some spare. As already mentioned you could put up to 8 figures in each M3 Halftrack I settled on 3each though as I want to use these more in a battle taxi role. So my three figures are the driver and co-driver (a one piece casting so easier to have them both than just a driver) and a guy to operate the .50 Browning. 2 of these are just sitting and "relaxing" in the back, the other three are poised at the guns. The soldiers manning the machineguns are two piece castings allowing you to position them and the weapons at different angles should you choose. I felt no need to do this.
This should bring my US PBI force to a logical end. Well as much of an end as any project has as there are still more options I could select and knowing me I will want to tinker and try out different things. As I type this I immediately realise I have no flame throwers or mine detectors or anti aircraft support. But for now this is enough and I have reached critical mass on this project.
Thanks for reading. I may update tomorrow with some terrain board information as the last two boards are now dry and I just need to colour them up and do the edging and plant trees. So I hope to see you all soon. All the best Clint
The PSC range is really good but with my big lumpy fingers I'm not sure I could manage all the small parts without a significant amount of swearing!
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure you could manage them Lee. They were easy to put together and only a bit fiddly. And as you do 1/300th scale you are used to fiddly! Thank you Mate.
DeleteLooking good Clint. nice painting on them also, especially the mud effects. Something that I am struggling with at the moment. Always nice to see another review of things like this. Good chance to know if it is something to invest in or not!
ReplyDeleteIf you want 15mm US Halftracks I would recommend these.... not without faults of course but as good as anything else I have found and a bit cheaper. Thank you MR
DeleteI like them a lot, Clint. You've done a cracking job on the paintwork, especially your mud effects. The one thing that puts me off is their bases. I'm of the opinion that vehicles of this size should never be based. However, if the rules you are using state that vehicles should be based then fair enough and just ignore me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Bryan. I would normally not base them. however as they are very light I wanted to give them more stability and table weight.
DeleteThey look very good Clint and there's even some subtle variations in the models too (stowage bins etc) which all make for a more interesting group.
ReplyDeleteSo the big question - When are we going to see these in action ?
Thank you Jo. No idea when they will see action, nothing planned at present.
DeleteAs I sad before, nice work my friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you Fran. Done some more SCW troops for the planned game.
DeleteVery nice Clint. Liking the weathering on the mud guards and wheels very realistic looking.
ReplyDeleteI'll let you into the secret.... I struggled to paint the tracks and wheels so I just got a rough brush and slapped brown paint on thickly so it was all covered up... but sssh! don't tell anyone!
DeleteThank you Simon.
I love those, Clint! I'd probably build them with more peeps in, I like having people in my open topped vehicles :D
ReplyDeleteThank you Mathyoo. As mentioned there is the option of putting up to 8 people inside. Unlike you I like mine nearly empty, just enough to crew it.
Delete