Tanks For The Memories

LOTS of nice 1/48 scale kits......but die cast are few compared to kits.

Corgi made a gaggle of 1:50 tanks

Tanks, fellas.

I understand Tamiya sells finished 1/48 models.

I found some and ordered.

Eliot

Scrapper,

Where did you find the Tamiya finished models?

Joe

coach Joe,

Do a Google search for Tamiya 1:48 Sherman Tank finished model.

I went to the auction site and did the same.

There were a gaggle of them.

There are some that ship from Hong Kong for about $25 plus shipping, which was pretty reasonable.

Good luck.

Scrappy

Tamiya makes the finest plastic out there IMHO. Their 1/16 R/C kits are great fun to build also

troop transport trucks (I forget the name)

 Duce and a half, or five-ton, as I remember it.

Fifties tanks were M-48's, left-over from Korea, made after the Sherman

When I made my "War Train" in Jun '12, (https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/t...war-train-army-train), I bought from Flying Mule, Amazon's toys & games section, and Diecast Direct, in that order.  Flying Mule had a lot of stuff, but Amazon is a good source if you search it carefully. When they had something I was looking for, they were nearly always the cheapest source.   (E-bay has a lot of stuff, too, but I don't do e-bay, and buffalo Road imports has a few military things - usually only military construction stuff, but worth looking.)

Bob, Lee and everyone,

...thanks so much for your input. The OGR Forum is THE place for knowledge and instant advice. What a great place to go when you are a modeler.

You have all given me some great ideas. Let me tell you of my plans.

1) Unbeknownst to my wife Ginny, I am planning a dedication to her father, a military hero at the Battle of Cassino in Italy 1943. The Munoz Lines is, of course, named after her dad, Fil.

2) The dedication of the Munoz Lines will be the theme but Ginny will not know of the dedication to her dad.

3) I will have World War II veterans on hand that we will also dedicate the railroad to. My friend, Don Smith, Sheriff of Putnam County, New York is a retired Brigadier General and graduate of West Point. He will be one of our honerees.

4) If any of you know of a World War II Veteran or a family of a World War II Veteran that would like to participate in our ceremony here in Carmel, New York, please contact me.

Thanks sooooooo much.

Eliot

Wow!  That is a wonderful idea and a great plan.  It ought to really be a special event.  Good luck with everything.

That IS and excellent idea, Eliot!

Good luck.  Best to Ginny!

M46 Patton's fought in Korea,M48 Patton's fought in Nam! Still in service in some parts of the world.

Gunny

There are some that ship from Hong Kong for about $25 plus shipping, which was pretty reasonable.

Good luck.

 

Scrappy

Thanks! That's good to know! the last time  I Purchased a Tamiya Sherman Kit was $25.00 over 5 yrs ago!

Eliot,

Are you looking for WWII (40's) or the Korean War (50's)?

Jim

Jd

i would like WWII.

i found four today.

eliot

Here are some of my WWII vehicles on my set:

1/48 Corgi Shermans

More 1/48 Corgi Shermans

1/48 Corgi Halftracks

1/50 Solido DUWK (left) 1/48 amphibious jeep (don't remember brand)

1/48 amphibious jeep and 1/48 willy's jeep (dont' remember the brand)

Crates are easy to make.  These started out as 2 $1 wooden boxes

1/48 Hobby Boss LCM plastic kit.  Pretty easy to build and since the plastic is already grey, it doesn't really need painted.

Jim

p.s. my daughter was born on the 50th anniversity of D-Day, so that's one of the reasons I put my set together.

Eliot

My father was also at the battle of Cassino  He was in a Sherman

How about a WWII US Army scraper? 1/50

My father told me that the engineers would bring these LeTourneau's in even before his units were done "clearing" the Japanese off the islands.

Great price at Ebay ... $40   http://www.ebay.com/itm/SpecCa...944235031#vi-content 

Jim

Thanks so much for all of the replies.

i love the stories.

Eliot

I sent you an e-mail with some thoughts on what I learned when building mine.

Bob Severin, Eliot

     It was the M24 Pershing heavy tank that came out in late 1944/45 during WWII. This tank also served in Korea during the 50s. Tamiya makes a 1/48 M24 Pershing that would be appropriate for both WWII and Korea.

     The M48 Patton was a Vietnam era tank.

JohnB,

Thanks for helping me learn about the different tanks, their years of service and the wars in which they were used. My primary goal is to use tanks that would have been appropriate for use in the Battle of Cassino. That was the battle in which my late father-in-law was wounded. I believe, and please correct me if I am mistaken, that would have been the Shermans.

Eliot

Actually the M24 Chafee was a light tank that was introduced in the final months of WWII.  The M26 Pershing was a heavy tank intoduced at the same time.  It was later reclassified as a medium tank.  Then came the Patton tanks,M46 and M48.  In the early 70's came the M60 medium.

Norm

Eliot,

The M5 Stuart light tank would have been used also.  It was used more for recon.  It's armor was about an inch thick or less and it had a small 37mm cannon along with a couple of machine guns.  This tank was hopelessly outclassed by anything that the Germans had.

My Dad told me that the M5 was used against the Japanese with more success on the islands due to old designs of their tanks and no 88's!

You might go for a halftrack with quad 50 cal. machine guns,a common vehicle in use at that time.

Norm

Sherman tanks were called ronson burners by their crews after the cigarette lighter-no match for a german tiger or panther.

flying mule is a good source for 1/48 or 1/50 scale corgi us tanks-of course ebay.these were made several years ago so finding them might be tough.

my ex boss was in Europe in a recon patrol in a jeep on france-he was telling me how they went around a curve in france doing over 50 mph and ran mack into a german tiger tank in the middle of the road-he tod me you never saw a jeep do reverse so fast in your life.

Norm:

I took tank training at Fort Knox in 66.  We trained on M-60's at that time, complete with the 105's.  Pretty loud.  Later, I was in the Ohio National Guard for six years, and we used M-41 (left-overs from WWII, and later, M-48's with 90 mm guns)  I had thought that the M-48's were produced from the early 50's, or late 40's until 59.  I know they saw service in Viet Nam, but, for the most part, were too heavy (52 tons) for the ground over there.  I thought the army had a lighter, aluminum tank for service in Viet Nam.   

Bob,

You are thinking of the M-551 Sheridan.  This tank had aluminum armor and fired a missle called the Shilleligh along with conventional rounds.  I think that this was a lighter tank,around 15 tons.

Gee,there is a real need of 1:48 scale tanks:all of the WW 2 tank destroyers,the M-5,the Pershing,the Patton the Chaffee,the M-551,the M-43 Walker Bulldog,M-44,M-46,and M-60.  It is even hard to find Shermans,let alone the Sherman Firefly.  Then support vehicles:the list goes on and on.

Norm

Solido makes several different 1/50 WWII vehicles.  They make a 1/50 Sherman as well.  Check ebay.  Some are listed on there now.

Neal Jeter

Norm,

    You are correct the M24 was a Chafee and the M26 was the Pershing (just missed by 2). The M26 developed into the M48, M60 Patton Tank which was used up to the Gulf War. You are also correct that the US tanks were no match for German Tiger and Panther tanks, which is why the M26 was delveloped. I seem to remember the ratio was 8 Shermans to knock out one Tiger. Fortunateley the Allies had enough Shermans but lost a lot of brave tank crews.

Eliot,

    The Sherman and Stuart were the basic US tanks at the time of Casino Don't forget to include the M10 Tank destroyer, half tracks, 2 1/2 Ton trucks, armored cars called greyhounds, gas trucks etc all the stuff that went into an armored division in WWII. I also run a WWII era tank train at my club's open house in honor of my father who served under Patton during WWII.

    I don't think there is a 1/48 or 1/50 M5 Stuart available maybe someone else will know of one. Solido does make some neat 1/50 stuff but watch out for the tracks, they get a white powder on them like oxidation. I brushed mine clean and then painted the tracks with camo rustoleum paint. This should protect the tracks and makes them a lot better looking (not bright silver as they come in the box). I even have a Solido Sherman with a bulldozer blade attached to the front. Corgi makes alot of 1/50 Shermans, half tracks, duce & half trucks that match up pretty good with 1/48 and their detail is the best. MTH uses Hobbymaster 1/48 Shermans on their flatcars and they are real nice too but the tank number is all the same in one production run. Don't think anyone will notice if you go that route.

Good luck with your train.

JohnB