The M8 was a fire support variant of the M5 Stuart light tank used by the U.S. during World War II. It carried an M116 howitzer in an M7 mount and saw action in Western Europe, Italy, and the Pacific Theatre. Nearly 1,800 M8s were delivered, and now Tamiya has introduced a completely new design for a 1/48 scale plastic model kit that includes a figure, chassis weights, partial interior, link-and-length tracks, and markings for two vehicles.
The multipart lower hull — bottom, sides, and firewall — fit together neatly. Tamiya provides two steel weights that you can glue inside to give the model heft. I didn’t feel the model needed the weight, so I left the ones from my sample out.
With good access to the hull bottom, floor, and firewall, I painted and weathered at this time. Then I painted the running gear and added it to the lower hull without difficulty. Once the running gear was dry, I assembled the link-and-length tracks following the directions in Step 8. Pretty painless!
Up top, the kit provided the upper hull and front as separate parts. The hatches are molded shut, which isn’t a surprise, given the lack of interior detail in this area. The panniers and back panel were installed without any trouble. All I had to do was glue handrails and brush guards, paint, and then the whole subassembly was glued to the lower hull.
The molded-on tools are a bit of a disappointment, especially since Tamiya also provided a shovel, pickax, and bar as separate parts. Still, the detail is good, and they look fine with careful painting.
I painted the equipment for inside the turret, as well as the howitzer, after building it, and then assembled the turret. The .50-cal machine gun lacks detail overall and should have spade grips. This part feels like it belongs in a Tamiya kit from the ’70s.
The tow-cable ends have a half-round opening and space for you to insert the cable. The way the cable sits proud of the recess doesn’t look right, and trying to cover it with glue and smoothing it out will leave a lump.
I chose the markings of the 75th Tank Battalion. The turret decals needed some decal solvent to get them to lay down correctly. The well-sculpted figure is a nice touch.
It took me 10 hours to build and paint this kit. There are a couple of shortcomings, but all in all, Tamiya has provided an affordable kit that’s easy to build and would be no problem for a modeler with a few builds to their name.