Armorpaxstug1

Last year we were really happy to finally begin production of the M3 Halftrack by RKD. Allied vehicles don't seem to get as much attention as their German counterparts and what better vehicle to begin with than the M3? Although we have sold quite a number of these kits since their introduction, we have not been able to feature a typical build of the halftrack until now. Hopefully, we can inspire any of our customers who have been on the fence about building one to jump right in.

Our build will be fairly straightforward and strictly "out of the box". We would like to convert the M3 to radio control but this will be up to the customer to decide. That being said, let's go.

After unpacking all of the components for our build, we began our build by sorting through the resin parts, and sheet metal. The resin parts look good and the 18 gauge steel parts are quite robust and arrived in six sheets. We conducted a quick inventory of the three bags of parts, hardware and rubber tires and treads. So far so good.

We wasted no time in cleaning the steel parts and applying several coats of primer to prevent oxidation. Some of the parts had to be cleaned as some rust was evident. Not a problem. We use a high quality, self etching primer from Eastwood on all of our builds due to its superior adhesion and coating ability. This is not used to fill holes or imperfections in a given surface. An auto body primer or sealer works best.

We located our copy of the instruction manual and proceeded with the assembly of the frame. A rivet gun as well as a set of welding pliers work really well on bending the mounting tabs on the 18 gauge steel. This stuff is much stiffer than the Battle Ready Armor steel sheets so be prepared. We decided to use rivets for the assembly of the frame and other components that would not be readily visible.

The instructions do a good job in getting you started. The two side frame rails start out fairly flimsy but are strengthened and reinforced through a series of cross members, internal plates and brackets. We attached the mounting brackets as well.

The front end came together pretty well although you need to be careful when mounting the front cross member, side reinforcing plates and the front shield. Lots of bending, trial fitting and adjusting needed.

The nice thing about using rivets is that if you make a mistake, its easy to drill out the rivet using a 1/8 inch drill bit and start over again. The frame is really starting to stiffen up at this point.

We did find an error in the instructions with regard to the front suspension mount. More on this later.

Here is the rear frame after all of the cross members have been secured. Do not secure this cross member since the mounting holes are shared by the rear suspension block. We temporarily attached ours to check alighment but the rivets will be removed to attach the suspension block .

This closeup of the front end shows the frame just before a base coat of olive drab is applied. You can see that the two brackets that support the front steering/suspension have been installed. The instructions show several pictures whereby their position is reversed. We remembered the designer of this kit telling us that several changes had been made since the prototype was assembled but were not featured in the instructions. We mounted the brackets as you see here, checked the alignment, redrilled the mounting holes and tightened down the assembly. Looks pretty good.

All reinforcing tabs have been secured and the frame really feels solid.

The inner and outer rear suspension blocks was one of the more unusual pieces that needed to be folded into shape. The pictures in the instructions were hard to read in places and you really must take your time before folding and riveting. It took me a while to finally figure out how the inner block actually slides into the outer block and then is secured on both sides by a single fastener.

When I compared this assembly as well as the overall frame design to several outstanding reference sources** on the M3, I was amazed at how closely the RKD design follows the original.

This component was painted and then mounted to the frame.

We decided to tackle the boogey assemblies first which included the cradles (pictured left), the boogey wheels, and suspension rockers. We have already primed and applied a base coat to all of these components which would make painting everything a lot easier at this stage.

The resin components needed very little cleanup as the castings were quite good. Always wash in soap and water to remove release agent before applying paint. Failure to do so could cause the paint to wrinkle or lift off the painted surface at some point down the road. Not good.

Assembly of the boogeys requires careful scrutiny of the pictures as well as some trial and error. The instructions do not help at this stage.

What you don't see in these pictures are the 1/2 inch silicone spacers that fit between each boogey wheel. In addition, the cradles must be bent in order for the wheels to pivot freely as seen in the picture above.

Insert the 1/4 inch steel axle through the boogey wheel, then the 1/2 inch spacer, the second boogey and then secure to the cradle using the 1/4 inch push nuts.

Some adjustment and rebending might be needed in order for the boogey assembly to swing freely in the cradle. This component will be mounted later to the suspension rocker and then secured to the rear suspension block.

We were a bit confused at first as to how the return roller and the lower rocker support arms were mounted to the suspension post. There are rubber bump stops to sandwich in between and the instructions did not specify how, and what type of fastener to use. The mounting holes on our parts did not match the instructions which did not help.

However, we used the 2 1/2 inch screws threaded through the bump stops and the return roller bracket to bring everything together. Nylon locking nuts were added to the bottom of the assembly and tighten until the runner bump stops were compressed. We riveted the lower bracket assembly in the middle hole, redrilled the two mounting holes for the boogie wheel assemblies and threaded the 2 1/2 inch screws through the holes. Mystery was solved and everything came together nicely.

The two front rubber tires were cast in two pieces and must be glued together. We mounted the interior hub first and then glued the two tire halves together checking for proper alighment. While the hub rests on the interior lip of the tire, we wanted to insure that contact was made between the hub as well as the interior wheel.

Remember to stagger the tread on the two halves before glueing.

The main interior assemblys are the cockpit and rear transport or cargo compartment. Pictured left is the cockpit after all of the reinforcing plates have been installed. Reading the CAD drawings in the instructions posed a bit of a challenge but everything matched up and the entire assembly came together well.

Do not install the dashboard at this point. The front hood support and windshield assembly will share the same mounting holes as the dash. We mounted ours just to see how good it would look.

Assembly of the rear compartment seemed simple enough according to the instructions but we had one heck of a time removing the two rectangular pieces of steel before bending.

In this shot we have secured the cockpit and the first side panels to the frame. This might be the first hint that there is a halftrack slowly evolving.

We took the opportunity to apply a red oxide primer and then a flat olive drab base coat to the frame and cockpit before continuing the installation of the exterior sheet metal. Getting paint into the many gaps and crevices is much easier at this point.

We have added the driver's side body panel, door and the front hood assembly. Everything has lined up well and you will note that are using hex head screws at many of the attachment points. We have also started to "dress" the exterior sheet metal with slotted screws and are filling the seams with JB Weld for a more finished look. The fasteners that we would recommend are as follows:

4/40 hex head screws in 3/8 and 1/2 inch

4/40 nuts

2/56 slotted screws in 1/8 and 1/4 inch

2.56 nuts

There are places where you cant avoid using rivets but most of these are not visible anyway.