The M3 White Scout Car was part of the pre-World War II motorization of the U.S Army. While seeing limited combat service with U.S. forces, it was highly used by the Allies and continued after the war in many small conflicts around the world.
HobbyBoss gives us an all-new model of the White M3A1 Scout Car that supplants the old Italeri (ex-Peerless) kit.
The parts are cleanly molded in dark yellow plastic; clear parts are provided for the windshield and headlights. Special features include a detailed engine compartment and early-type machine guns. No crew figures are provided in the kit.
I started construction according to the instructions, assembling the engine. It’s a good representation of the 6-cylinder Hercules engine but, surprisingly, there is no radiator. The hood panels are separate pieces and can be posed open to show the engine detail.
The chassis has one main component to which the front and rear bumpers, exhaust, engine, suspension springs, and drivetrain are attached. I needed several dry runs to determine the proper set of the axles and springs. If you don’t get this right, you might not have all tires touching the ground.
The kit calls itself an “early production” version, but some details, such as the later wheels and tires, make this description somewhat of a misnomer. However, the tires do have a slight bulging to simulate weight.
The crew compartment features nicely detailed seats and internal details with separate parts for the two-piece doors. I did have a problem installing the steering wheel because of how the steering column attaches to the instrument panel; I would recommend mounting the steering column lower and farther forward than the directions indicate. While the prominent antenna mast is present, no radio gear is provided. The unique 360-degree machine-gun skate-rail mount is built up from three pieces and went on with no problem. The M2 .50-caliber machine gun features elongated cooling vents seen on early M3A1s. Two .30-caliber water-cooled machine guns are also included.
The armored radiator cover is built from several pieces, and the slats are meant to be movable. I found they were a problematically tight fit and moved poorly. I just glued them closed.
I painted the model with a combination of Tamiya spray and acrylic paints. Decals are provided for two vehicles — one pre-WWII U.S. Army, the other an unidentified New Zealand army vehicle. The decals applied well over a gloss coat with the help of decal solution.
My primary reference was R.P. Hun-nicutt’s Armored Car: A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles (Presidio Press, ISBN 978-0-89141-777-4). This finished model looks good against the photos and drawings, but the book confirms that some of the kit details are not appropriate for an early version of the M3A1.
I completed my White Scout car in 20 hours. It was great to build an up-to-date kit of this interesting U.S. Army vehicle, but the intensive construction makes this a kit for experienced builders. Still, modelers of Allied vehicles can’t go wrong with this new release from HobbyBoss.
