Home >
Reviews >
USA >
Academy 1/35 Scale Kit No. 13210; U. S. Howitzer Motor
Carriage M7 Priest
U. S. Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 Priest
Reviewed by Cookie Sewell
Summary
Stock Number and Description
Academy 1/35 Scale Kit No. 13210; U. S.
Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 Priest
Scale:
1/35
Media and Contents:
414 parts (412 in olive drab styrene, 2 in
gunmetal vinyl)
Price:
USD$40.00
Review Type:
First Look
Advantages:
New kit of early/interim model of the
popular Priest; new suspension mounts and options for mounting;
different method of assembling the howitzer but seems to be well done
Disadvantages:
Some "mixed metaphors" in features, one
error which requires fixing on the engine deck but this may not be a
problem (see text)
Recommendation:
Recommended to all "redlegs" and US armor
fans, as well as Allied forces and postwar
FirstLook
During WWII there were four iconic open-topped self-propelled guns
used by the major powers: the German 15 cm "Hummel," the
Canadian-designed "Sexton" with a 25-lb gun, the Soviet SU-76M, and
the American M7 105mm HMC "Priest." The latter three were excellent
designs and went on to live long after the war, all three serving
into the early 1960s with various second- and third-world armies.
Two of them, the Sexton and the M7, were based on the reliable US M3
medium tank chassis.
The M7 came about due to a perceived need for self-propelled armored
artillery weapons to keep up with armored divisions. After a number
of prototypes were tested, the M7 entered service and full-scale
production in April 1942. While it was based on the M3 chassis, it
also absorbed many of the changes that came about due to the
introduction of the M4 series medium tanks and reflected those
changes as production proceeded along. A total of 2,814 were built
as well as 826 of the later M7B1, which used the M4A3 tank's Ford
GAA engine in place of the original's radial air-cooled engine.
Roughly one-quarter of these vehicles served with the Allied forces,
going to the British and Canadians (and later replaced by the
Sexton, which carried the preferred 25-lb gun in place of the
American M2 105mm howitzer) and the Free French forces as well as
postwar MAP deliveries to many other countries.
Academy had promised this kit for some time, but after the major
problems that cropped up with the M3 Lee kit it apparently went back
for some revisions. The kit is now on its way to the shops, and as
the critics have already started making comments on this kit without
ever seeing it, the best way to review the kit is to say what it is
and what it is not.
What it is, is a fairly accurate representation of what appears to
be a mid-production M7 with a riveted hull, T51 tracks and some of
the MWO changes that went with it. It comes with the increased
ammunition stowage racks which appeared about the time of the
Operation Husky landings in Sicily, based on combat operations in
North Africa. It has the production three-section bolted
transmission housing with the full-size E4151 right side housing
section vice the E1230 used on very early production vehicles and
taken straight from the M3 medium tank. It has the top-opening
stowage bins on the rear deck vice the side-opening ones from the
early production series but not the mesh baskets which appeared on
top of them or vents which are seen on late production vehicles. It
also has the early model shallow "pulpit" for the .50 caliber
machine gun.
Analyzing the kit, it comes with the M3 lower hull pan (with some
subtle revisions, as it does not totally match the one in the M3
kit) and many of the M3's parts for the suspension, but this is
primarily to give the modeler his choice of road wheels and idlers.
A new set of bogies and drivers is provided separately. Note that
very early production M7s and all of the M7B1s appear to have used
the welded "spoke" style of road wheels whereas the bulk of
production vehicles used the welded "pressed" type with the domed
six-ribbed covers. They also used the "fancy" type of machined drive
wheel rings (on the new sprue) but with most vehicles using the
welded "spoke" type idlers. (This combination seems popular, for you
see it on the M10 3" GMC as well.)
Using a simple Staedler steel rule, my best estimated is that the
new bogie assemblies are 11mm even from the bottom of the hinge
mount to the flat top of the bogie casting; those on the unfortunate
M3 kit were a hair over 13mm, so the changes have been made to the
design. (Hopefully this will be retroactively provided to the M3 kit
as well, as it solves it major bugaboo.) The new bogies also come
with a choice of facings, either original or with supplemental
cross-brace webbing for stiffness; so far I have not seen this on
any of the WWII photos I checked on for the model.
Each bogie consists of ten to twelve parts – wheels, rocker frames,
spring sets, front, rear, return roller, and side flanges for the
top of the rear section. Note that the directions would have you use
the welded "spoke" road wheels, but as noted this is not as accurate
a choice as the welded "pressed" wheels.
As noted the transmission cover is the original production
three-section bolted one and comes in a total of six pieces
(housing, joint strip, bolted flanges, and final drive covers). The
hull rear is new and has separate doors, but for some reason comes
with the later "square" air cleaners and not the early model "round"
ones. The fasteners are provided but as Steve Zaloga has noted look
much better if replaced by etched brass ones.
The interior of the hull includes all bits which can be seen from
the outside, such as the transmission, driver's position, and other
basics which go in front or around the gun mount. Note that there
are a number of fine ejection pin marks on the inside of the hull
sides and glacis which will need removing. The driver's instrument
panel is the later M4 style rectangular one and not the longer
thinner M3 type. Academy includes the same odd little oval hatch in
the belly of the hull, which is some sort of quirk they have in
every one of their kits. This is annoying and I wish they would get
rid of it, for it serves little or no purpose that I can see as the
kits are not motorized.
The gun is nicely done but in a totally different manner than I
would have suspected. The main portions of the gun come in three
sections: muzzle section, main section, and breech. The muzzle is a
hollow "slide molded" tube and the main section is a solid plastic
molding. Normally this is asking for the appearance of our old
friend "Sammy Sinkmark" but Academy cleverly "slide molded" the
heavy end of the tube and it comes out smooth and even. The
remaining parts are fairly conventional for an artillery piece, and
the entire assembly mounts on a subfloor which is installed when
completed. (At this stage the kit has the lower hull with details
and now the modeler moves to the upper hull.)
Most of the upper hull details are well done. Academy has added the
boxes usually noted as being grouser racks but instead uses them to
stow eight links of T51 track. I looked over my photos to see it
that matches and while I found a number of other items in the racks
(!) no track links.
The one glitch in the entire model that I found is the engine deck.
On the original early and mid production M7s, due to problems in the
geometry under the decking the vehicle had to have two large mesh
vents placed on the rear sides to prevent a buildup of heat and
fumes from the gasoline tanks. To prevent them being blocked by the
usual kit tossed on the engine deck, they had a bent steel guard
over them with two sturdy braces to keep it from collapsing (see
photo.) Academy apparently used a late-production or post-war
refitted vehicle, as it has the late engine deck without the vents.
These will have to be added for an early or intermediate production
variant. (The way around this is to do what the MWO said, namely
weld some steel bars across the engine deck and use it for expanded
stowage. The stowage can then be arranged to block the view of most
of the engine deck – bags work wonders! – and obviate the need to
fix the vent problem.) Also the three-section vent at the front of
the deck is solid, and most modelers will want to replace it with
etched brass.
The original M7 came with four crew seats which folded in the rear
compartment and at least two versions of stowage before the MWO came
out. One had six rounds in a 2 x 3 arrangement at the right rear and
six in a 1 x 6 rack down the left side of the hull. The other had
two bins, each 3 x 4, at the rear corners of the compartment. The
MWO upgraded this by adding 1 x 6 racks in front of the bins and
moving the seats, giving the vehicle a total of 36 rounds of ready
stowage. This is the option proved in the kit. However, Academy
gives you the ammo as two strips of 4 tubes and one strip of 10
tubes per side, and they mount directly in the bin. This means the "eggcrate"
slots for individual rounds are not present, so if you want an
"in-action" vehicle you will need to add the racks from thin sheet
styrene or just strip and black paint. (This isn't wrong at all, but
it does limit your options.)
The tracks are nicely done but are the non-cementable vinyl type and
only attach with one link. My experiences with Academy track is they
tend to be a bit loose, but nothing much to worry about. However, I
would bet many modelers will switch to better-looking single-link
tracks instead.
The kit provides a total of three machine guns but only one .50 is
used, so you get two of the excellent Academy weapons for the spares
box.
Markings are again one of the shortcomings of Academy kits, and
while they have selected four options none of them seem complete.
(It's like Academy seems to forget there is a front and rear to the
vehicle; I wish that, like DML, they would have solid researchers on
that subject provide them with the necessary info to get it right.)
The four options offered are: 2nd Armored Division, Sicily 1943; B
Battery (Baboon), 14th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd
Armored Division, Normany 1944; 11th Regiment RHA, 1st Armoured
Division, El Alamein 1942; and 31st Firing Battery, 64th RADB, 2nd
French Armored Division, France September 1944. The first one is a
solid olive drab vehicle, which strikes me as odd as most of the
vehicles were painted in a sand over OD finish for Husky. As noted
the side markings look complete, but bumper codes seem missing
across the board except for one set for "Baboon."
Overall, however, this is probably Academy's best effort to date and
even with the snafu on the gas vents for the engine provides the
basis for a really nice model of the M7. The rest is up to the
modeler, but even out of the box it will produce a pretty decent
representation of the vehicle.
Thanks to Bob Lewen of MRC for the review sample and Steve Zaloga
and Joe Demarco for their research and assistance.
(Photos are of the VMMV (Cors) Collection vehicle, M7 serial number
1364)
Highly Recommended
Sprue Layout
A 55x2 Sherman series - road wheels
and drivers
B 63 M7 interior and rear hull details
C 60 M7 upper hull and engine deck
D 73 M7 - 105mm howitzer and OVM
H 65 M7 - M3 series tanks suspension items and transmission cover
X 2 Vinyl T51 track runs
Y 25 Generic US – two .50 caliber machine guns and accessories
Z 15 Generic US – two jerry cans and .30 caliber machine gun
1 M3 lower hull (riveted)
Thanks to
Bob Lewen of MRC/Academy for the review sample.