French M24 Chaffee in
Indochina War
Bronco Models
1/35th scale
Kit
No: CB35166
Build
Review by Brett Reynolds
Background
The
M24 Chaffee was an American light tank designed in 1943 to replace the M5
Stuart. It was a new design using torsion bar suspension, though using the
tried and tested drive train of the M5. The combat weight was 18 tons and the
armour was up to 38mm thick. Armament was a lightweight 75mm gun, with 2 x .30
Browning machine guns. Powered by a 220 bph Cadillac 44T24 petrol engine, the
M24 had a speed of 56km/h.
After
the end of WWII many surplus tanks were passed to allies, and France received a
number of M24's. Some of these were sent to Indo-China, now Vietnam, to fight
the Communist Viet Minh. The tanks gave good service in the harsh jungle
conditions. They were used mainly for infantry support and mobile artillery.
Ten tanks were air lifted to the fire base at Dien Bien Phu in March 1954 to
try and stop the Communist advance on Laos, but after a two month siege the
base was overrun by a vastly superior Viet Minh Army. The French abandoned Indo
China shortly afterwards. Other French M24's served in the French colony of
Algeria.
– Bronco Instructions Front Cover
The
Kit
This
is Bronco’s fifth variation release of their M24 Chaffee kit. It was preceded
by a “US Army NW Europe 1944-45” (CB35069), “British Army” (CB35068), “Post-War
Asian Service” (CB35072) and a “US Army Korean War” (CB35139) releases.
Opening
the box it is evident there are a large number of parts included in this kit. Approximately
half the sprues are for two different track options. Also included are some
very nice individual slide-mould styrene parts, one sprue of clear parts, one
brass photo-etch sheet, a length of nylon cord (for a tow cable) and a decal
sheet. Unfortunately unlike the box art picture and in a couple of previous
editions, no crew figures are included.
The instruction booklet is 26 pages with
42 steps.
Decal
options with this kit are as the box suggests, French Indochina 1953 (8
options), mostly standard olive drab finish but a couple in camouflage.
First
impressions, the quality and detail of the kit are excellent. This is my first Bronco kit I’ve built and my
first armour subject for a number of years. It’s impressive how good the
moulding technology and kit options have become for these armour kits. I looked
forward to getting into it.
The
Subject
I
had a sheet of Bison Decals of US Army Korean War M24s I wanted to use and this
boxing of the kit gave me all the part options I needed. One scheme I liked was
the 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team at Yong-dong-po, Korea, April 1951.
It is standard US olive drab finish with white stars but the tank’s turret
carried an Airborne crest of a white parachute with yellow gold wings. It also
had a pair of angry eyes on the mantlet above the main gun which looked cool. This
would be the subject of this build.
(source:
Squadron-Signal M24 in Action)
Building
the Tracks
I
decided to get the task of cutting all those individual track links out the way
first. As mentioned earlier, there are two track options are provided in the
kit. The earlier all-steel T72E1 and the later T85E1 track with rubber
chevrons. This French Indochina edition of the kit utilises either type
depending on the marking options chosen.
If you choose to build a different scheme other than the box options
then you’ll need to check you references. The Bison Decal sheet tells me to use
the all-steel T72E1 track for my Korean War tank.
The
tracks consist of individual links that click together to give that ‘work-able’
track action. The instructions tell me I’ll need 75 for each side. I would
later finds out that is an error in the instructions. For the T72E1 track, 73
links will be needed. 75 are needed for the T85E1 track.
Each
T72E1 track is attached to the sprue in three places which needed only a little
clean up.
Linking
the tracks together was fairly straight forward; click, click, click. I grouped
them in 10’s to make the count easier. Detail either side of the track is nice
and matches my references.
Building
the Wheels
The
completed tracks were set aside and I then moved onto the wheels. The
instructions have you building only half the wheels at a time, building up the
right side of the hull and then the left. But the road wheels, return wheels,
drive sprockets and idler wheels are identical for both sides, so I assembled
them all at the same time.
The
road-wheels compose of four main parts: the inner and outer wheel hubs and
outer rims. This has the benefit of hiding any sinkholes from the injection
moulding. Detail is quite nice and includes the ‘Firestone’ manufacturer’s name
on the wheel rim. Bronco utilises a pin in each wheel which then glued into a
socket on the suspension swing-arm. The pin inside the wheel needs to move, so
the builder needs to be careful with the glue. An outer hub cap covers the pin
recess on the wheel hub.
The
main part of the drive sprocket and idler wheel are done using slide moulding
which allow for a single part which includes the lightening holes. The idler
wheel utilises a separate outer and inner rim ring to complete the assembly.
It’s not completely clear in the instructions but this rim needs to be slightly
recessed in the wheel and not flushed to the outer edge. Again, a hub cap and a
pin complete each idler wheel assembly.
Each
drive sprocket consists of 7 parts. Two
options are provided for the inner and outer toothed rings in the kit but the
instructions only tell you to use one of them (Part Ga7). Looking at my
references and images found on the internet, I think part Ga7 is used with the
T72E1 track and part Ga8 is used with the T85E1 track.
The
toothed drive sprocket parts are sandwiched together and the inner hub is
inserted. Make sure the hub lines up with the locator pins. Again an axle pin
is used to attach the sprocket to its drive housing and to allow rotation, so
be careful with the glue.
Similar
to the road wheels, the return rollers come as two halves, with the same pin
and hub cap arrangement.
Building
the Hull
This
is probably the hardest part of the kit, assembling the working suspension.
Torsion bars are inserted into the lower hull and fit within a slot. They are
glued only at the far end to anchor them. A cover is then glued over each pair
of torsion bars to keep everything aligned. This will also keep the suspension
swing-arms at the correct angle when fitted later.
As
previously mentioned, the kit instructions have the assembly of the lower hull
starting on the right side then the left. The suspension swing-arms are left
and right handed, so it’s important to work on only one side at a time so not
to mix parts.
The
shock absorbers come next. Each consists of a hollow cylinder and a movable
piston rod. The piston rod gets attached to its corresponding swing-arm by a
glued pin, while the cylinder parts get pinned to the hull. The idler wheel
suspension assembly has a few more parts. Again very important to note where
parts need to remain glue free otherwise the suspension won’t work.
At
the same time as assembling the working suspension, the instructions have the
lower front hull being attached. Two options are provided here; one with crew
boarding steps, the other with bulldozer mounting pads. So again, important to
check which version your build subject has.
Not
for the faint hearted, Bronco gives you very small brass photo-etched
individual numbers to be used as casted hull numbers on the inside of the drive
housings. Had to give my eyes a rest are doing those.
The
lower front hull part was attached to the main hull using Tamiya extra thin
liquid cement. The slower curing time allowing me to ensure correct aligned the
two parts so that the drive sprocket housings will fit cleanly.
The
assembly then moves onto the driver’s windscreen and the headlight guards. The
driver’s windscreen could be assembled in the up or stowed position. I left the
clear part off the driver’s windscreen until the painting was completed. The
head light guards are provided in both brass photo-etch and in plastic. The
photo-etch part is utilized with a template to form the brass into the guard.
However, I didn't have much luck with it and had to fall back to using the
plastic light guards.
We
now move on to the upper front hull plate and fitting of the transmission
access cover and a few hand-holds and lift rings. The windscreen and headlight
guard sub-assemblies could now be attached to the upper front hull plate. At
this point a forward firing .30-cal machine gun is fitted or not, depending on
your version being built. Alternate
parts are provided to blank off the gun port. Unfortunately no driver
compartments, even minimalistic ones, are included in this kit.
The
engine deck comprises of seven separate engine grills and access panels just
like the real thing. Each is treated as a small sub-assembly, some with very
small details. Photo-etched screens and fixing brackets are included for some
of the engine grills. The small brackets are difficult to install and may have
been better served being moulded into the plastic part.
The
individual engine deck panels also have the benefit of the engine compartment
being able to be opened as in a diorama. However, you’ll need to rely on your
scratch building skills or you’ll need an aftermarket set, as no interior parts
are included. However, this is one thing I like about this kit … it gives you
the option.
There
are two rear hull plates included on the sprues, however only one (Da 7) is
utilised in this kit and it includes a wire mesh stowage basket. The kit also
includes parts for a fold-down stowage shelf with side hinges, but no
instructions on assembly. The parts are fairly easy to identify (Db sprue) and you
use the alternate rear hull plate (Db 4). All other assembly is per the kit instructions.
For my build, the fold-down stowage shelf was required.
All
the engine deck and rear hull panels really look the part when assembled. The
panels also align pretty well when fitting to the hull but take your time
gluing the panels in place to avoid any mistakes.
Each
of the track fenders consisted of two parts. Gluing was with Tamiya extra thin
cement, starting a one end and working down to ensure correct aligned. Jerry
cans and a first aid box were fitted as per the instructions. I also opted to
use the infantry phone on my build. Again this is not documented in the
instructions but the parts are easily identified on the Db sprue. Some of my
researched showed them on Korean War tanks.
At
this stage, the instructions would have had the builder already fit the road
wheels and tracks to the hull. However, these can be left off to make painting
easier and fitted at the end.
I
left the driver’s compartment hatch cover steps until last when doing the upper
hull. Each hatch cover includes a clear plastic periscope, periscope cover and
a grab handle. This kit gives you the option to display the hatches in the
opened or closed position, but you need to orientate the hull’s hinge point
(step 12, part Ga32) so that the hatch swing arm sits down correctly. But once
again, no driver compartment detail is included if the hatches are left opened.
You might get away with it if you have a driver figure to obscure the
nothingness. I left them closed for this build.
On
the right side of the hull above the track fender are the vehicle’s pioneer
tools; a shovel, axe, sledge-hammer, and a pick. It looks good when assembled but
getting everything to stay in place can be challenging. The kit also provides
parts for a tow cable made from nylon string with styrene ends.
Building
the Turret
Construction
now moved onto the turret which is divided into upper and lower halves. First
up is the assembly of the main gun barrel and breech. The kit provides a
plastic coil spring to give the main gun a recoil action. If you want this to
work make sure you avoid glue in the areas identified in the instructions. The
barrel end is also bored-out.
The
main gun is completed with a breach guard. The gun sight and the turret mounted
.30-cal machine gun are completed as sub-assemblies. The gun mantlet and forward
turret part are cleaned up for assembly.
The
forward turret part is then sandwiched between the gun mantlet and the main gun
to complete the assembly.
The
forward turret and main gun assembly is then attached to the lower turret
assembly, which includes all the crew stations; commander, gunner and loader. A
couple of different radio sets are included as well, so check you references
for what you need. The turret interior
is not super-detailed but provides enough if the builder wishes to leave the
commander’s and loader’s hatches open and add additional details if they wish. For reviewing purposes, I gave the turret
interior a coat of primer to show off what detail is provided in the kit.
The main gun can also traverse up and
down.
The
upper turret / roof section is nicely detailed. A turret stowage bin supplied
for the rear of the turret. Additional turret details include a gunner’s
periscope sight, a tripod mount for a .50-cal machine gun mounted behind the
loader’s hatch, lifting handles, stowage points and different antenna options
(again, check your references). A search light is also included but mine ended
up lost in the carpet.
It
should be noted that the first release of the M24 by Bronco contained an error
with the upper turret part. Bronco retooled this part for future editions and I
can confirm that this kit has the revised tooling.
The
loader’s top hatch can be fixed in the open or closed position and features
locking handles. The turret also includes the loader’s side hatch which can be
fixed in the open or closed position.
The
commander's cupola is supplied as a multi-part assembly, with clear plastic
parts for the viewing prisms. I left these parts out until painting was
completed. The cupola hatch with periscope can also be opened or closed, and
can be rotated. The whole cupola assembly is fitted without glue to the upper
turret so it too can be rotated.
The
upper and lower halves were then glued to complete the turret assembly.
The .50-cal M2 heavy machine-gun is another slide-mould part. The receiver is nicely detailed and the slide-moulding allows for a perforated barrel cooling jacket and opening for the barrel. Two barrels are included, with and without a flash suppressor. Trigger grips, receiver cover and cocking lever complete the assembly. The M2 is then fitted to a gun cradle.
The second part of this build will show how Brett finished this kit off and painted the kit - all to be revealed in PTII tomorrow...
Brett Reynolds
Thanks to Bronco Models
for sending us this kit to build.
