Kit: No. 35228
Scale: 1/35
Manufacturer: Tamiya, distributed by Tamiya America, 2 Orion, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656-4200, phone 800-826-4922
Price: $30
Comments: Injection molded, 220 parts (8 vinyl), decals.
Developed in 1941 by Ford, the M8 armored car was designed as part of a tank- destroyer force. By the time it reached service, its 37mm gun was inadequate for the task, so the vehicle's mission was changed to infantry support and reconnaissance. While the vehicle was used primarily in Europe, where the British named it Greyhound, some did see service in the Pacific Theater. More than 8,500 vehicles were built on the M8 chassis by the end of World War II. France and several other countries continued to use the M8 long after the war ended.
While there have been injection-molded kits of the M8, they are decades old and lack the detail and finesse of modern kits. Armor modelers have anxiously awaited a new kit of the Greyhound and will not be disappointed by Tamiya's latest release.
The kit is molded in dark olive plastic and features excellent detail. While the interior is sparse, all of the major components are present. Options include early rear-post mount or late turret ring for the .50-cal gun and land-mine racks or storage bins for the vehicle's sides. The fenders (also called sand shields) were removable, and Tamiya has molded them separately. The forward hatches can be posed opened or closed. The parts breakdown suggests that Tamiya will be able to issue an M20 armored utility car, which was based on the same chassis.
Only a little parts cleanup was needed; faint mold-parting lines and just a few ejector-pin marks needed attention. Tamiya has molded the complex three-axle drive train as one piece, assuring the axles are in perfect alignment and fit the chassis correctly. I painted the interior of the hull flat white except for the olive-drab floor.
I left off the main gun assembly to make painting easier but attached the machine-gun turret ring and the other details. I also left off the turret basket assembly until painting was finished.
I sprayed my model with Tamiya acrylic olive drab lightened with a little flat white. The turret interior basket was sprayed flat white, and the lower framework was brush painted olive drab after the white had dried. I painted the tires with Polly Scale grimy black and dry-brushed with light gray. The wheels were sprayed with olive drab, using a draftsman's circle template to mask the tires.
Tamiya provides markings for four different vehicles. The markings for the 2nd Armored Division machine I chose matched a profile in Armored Fighting Vehicles in Profile Volume 4. They snuggled down over the detail with a little Super Sol. The decal for the star on the rear deck comes in three pieces. Even so, it was difficult getting this marking to conform to the complex shape of the deck, and a little touch-up with white and olive drab paint was required.
After painting and decaling, I popped off the tacked-on fenders to install the wheels. My wheels fitted loosely and interfered with the fenders. After checking the instructions, I discovered that I had inadvertently installed the inner wheel hubs (A26) backward on all of the wheels. (Real modelers don't read instructions.) With the hubs installed correctly everything fit perfectly.
The tow cable was made using the nylon string provided. Antennas were added from stretched sprue. I bent the spring antenna mounts (A17) back slightly (they are easily broken doing this), then tied back the antennas using fine wire.
It took me about 17 hours to build my Greyhound, not bad for an open-topped vehicle. The finished model scales almost exactly to the dimensions in Squadron/Signal's U.S. Armored Cars in Action. Any armor modeler with a little experience should have no trouble building this kit.
- John Plzak