# What scale Grant Model for a Leman Russ Conversion?



## The Sullen One (Nov 9, 2008)

Having seen some pictures of an M3 Grant tank model I've conceived of a rather crazy idea of taking the hull from one and kitbashing it to the top of a Leman Russ. Does anyone know of a Grant model which will be the right scale for me to do this?


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

1/48 is the closest scale to 40k, but finding one in that scale would be difficult, 1/35th should be easier to find, but will look too big

Tamiya keep coming out with newer 1/48 kits, so just keeps your eyes open and keep checking here http://www.emodels.co.uk/plastic-kits/-c-173_228.html?page=1 or anywhere else

if you decide not to wait and just go 1/35 then they have some here http://www.emodels.co.uk/plastic-kits/-c-173_286.html (theres actually 1 on page 1)

but if you wait for tamiya you have the advantage of getting solid plastic tracks you glue on, instead of those god forsaken STUPID PATHETIC PIECES OF CR.........umm I mean you don't get the annoying rubber ones that fall off after 5 seconds


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## yanlou (Aug 17, 2008)

id say ur better of with a 1/35th scale model as 1/48th would be slightly to small, and with a 1/35th youve got more room for size adjustments if they were needed


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

yanlou said:


> id say ur better of with a 1/35th scale model as 1/48th would be slightly to small, and with a 1/35th youve got more room for size adjustments if they were needed


1/48 isn't too small, 40k vehicles should actually be about 1/56-1/53 something round there, so 1/48 is actually far too big, but suits 40k's stupid heroic scaling better.

and after seeing a 1/35 grant model in the flesh I can tell you now that is FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR too big, but its all you can get, except for (scroll down) http://www.chieftainmodels.co.uk/ these 1/56 scale grant models


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## spidie2000 (Nov 21, 2008)

man guys after reading this thread It made me really want to do the same conversion. Ive been looking for a 1:48 grant tank for a long time now. Finally a friend of mine informed me that the M3 Lee is a very simular tank, i was able to find a 1:48 scale model of the M3 Lee, the only problem is its a diecast model. its only $11 so I am gonna try it out, already ordered it. I hope I can do what I need with the diecast, I just need to remove the turret and add the bolter housings on the side, should still be manageable. I'll post pics when I get it complete.

heres the model I'm gonna use for it.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXTKF9&P=FR


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## enieffac (Nov 24, 2008)

Good timing with this thread :victory: 
I happen to have a partially assembled 1:35 M3 Grant tank and a friend's crappily built rhino sitting right in front of me... and my camera is sitting right next to it.... so... 



pause for dramatic effect.....






















Now if only I knew someone who owns a leman russ.... 
if someone could post a pic of a rhino, a leman russ, and a space marine positioned the same way they are in my pics, then it will be easy to see if the 1:35 M3 Grant is FAAAAAAAAAR too big...


Edit... the 1:35 tank is:
6 9/16 inches long to the ends of the tread guards
3 inches wide to the main vertical side pieces
1 7/8 inches high to the back "horizontal" surface
2 3/8 inches high to the top of the front horizontal surface (the level of the base of the main turret)
3 1/4 inches high to the top of the main turret


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

that looks pretty close to a normal russ tanks scale


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## spidie2000 (Nov 21, 2008)

dang so the 1:35 looks just about right. I wonder if I made a mistake with the 1:48 but it sounded like 1:48 was the closest scale to warhammer you could get. Well the good news is there is tons of 1:35 models out there and I only spent $12 on the 1:48 diecast, if it doesnt work i'll have to buy a 1:35. Lol wish i saw that photo before I purchased it.


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

1/48 is the scale more suited for 40k, but allot of WWII tanks like the sherman and grant (who have very similar hulls) were very small tanks in comparison to others like Tigers, KV-1's and King Tigers, they and other large tanks work fine in 1/48, but shermans, Grants, M10's etc will be tiny, correctly scaled, but still tiny


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## Svartmetall (Jun 16, 2008)

Would now be a bad time to mention the 1/35th Sturmtiger (still one of the most intimidating-looking AFVs _ever_) I picked up intending to make a huge, lumbering Nurgle Vindicator (or possibly Medusa)...? Ebay can be an absolute goldmine for cheap plastic AFVs sometimes. Jagdpanthers can make a great Destroyer, by the way, they have such a nice shape to them and are a popular model so available in lots of scales; also the Sturmpanzer IV 'Brummbar' assault gun can be a good basis for conversion to 40K, I have one on a shelf with vague plans to convert it into...er...something...

Other real-world AFVs that might be worth considering for 40K conversions are the Soviet SU-152 and SU-100 assault guns and the Jagdtiger tank destroyer. Spend some time Wiki-ing 'assault gun' and you might be inspired by something you see...


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## yanlou (Aug 17, 2008)

yep the larger ww2 tanks like kingtigers, js-2 and the like would be to large in 1/35th scale for 40k, but as i said in the earlier post and i hate to say this, but i did say that a 1/48th grant would be to small, but its gd we got it cleared up.
as for gd tanks models which could be used in 40k the hetzer 38(t) 1/35th would work nicely as a conversion for a destroyer tank hunter


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## marcch (Apr 1, 2008)

Any 1/35 Sherman variant, including Grant and Lee, are just about the right size for a Russ. The German pzkw III/IV, Hetzer, and Panther variants in 1/35 would work well too. For something really in the spirit of the 40k look check out the 1/35 British Churchill tank.


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## dirty-dog- (May 14, 2008)

looking at this thread has given me great insperation for a looted wagon with a boomgun, and a twin big shoota turret.


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## spidie2000 (Nov 21, 2008)

Well I guess I dont even need to wait for my 1/48 to come in the mail to realize its gonna be too small. I'll just start shopping for a 1/35 now. Luckily I know they are easy to find and I can get plastic.


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## Stella Cadente (Dec 25, 2006)

at least the 1/48 one won't go to waste, looks like quite a nice model to put on display


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## spidie2000 (Nov 21, 2008)

oh im sure I can find something to do with it..... if anything I can bust it up and make some terrain out of it.


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## enieffac (Nov 24, 2008)

Finally got my hands on an old bashed up Leman Russ (part of one anyway). So... if there is any doubt of the relative sizes of the Leman Russ, the Rhino, and the M3 Grant, this answers all the questions. I'm currently planning on putting the turret from the M3Grant onto the Leman Russ, and making the Grant into either a Chimera or a Rhino. I want to make it a Chimera due to the larger transport capacity (my passenger compartment on the Grant is almost as big as the entire Rhino), but I don't have a good pic showing a chimera next to a rhino, so I'm not sure how big they are. Any help with some pics of different vehicles lined up next to each other would be wonderful :good:

Top view









Front view









Interior of the Grant through the back door









Top of the Grant passenger area vs Rhino transport


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## Otep (Mar 18, 2008)

the grant gutted and ork-a-fied would make a bad ass lookjing looted tank


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## spidie2000 (Nov 21, 2008)

Well i got the 1/48 scale model from tower hobbies in the mail. they miss advertised it.. its actually 1/72. I need to send it back, im still waiting on my 1/35. From your pics the 1/35 does look a little large, but I think i can work with it. I'll just use it in home games anyhow.


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## EmbraCraig (Jan 19, 2009)

Otep said:


> the grant gutted and ork-a-fied would make a bad ass lookjing looted tank


After looking at this thread, I'm thinking that if I ever start an ork army then cheap plastic tank & vehicle kits thrown together in random combinations + lots of plasticard = plenty of kustom trucks and assorted orky vehicles...


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## enieffac (Nov 24, 2008)

Not to burst any bubbles... but that tank in my pics cost me somewhere in the $40-50 range (been sitting around for a while so I forget the actual cost). You can probably get these things cheaper on ebay or various other sources. I didn't do any research before purchasing.
I originally got it because I thought it might be better quality and have more detail than the average GW tank (in my opinion this turned out to be the case). I also wanted something that would require a fairly significant level of kitbashing to make it "warhammer 40k" compatible.


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## EmbraCraig (Jan 19, 2009)

Oh, don't get me wrong - I know that the model kits are pretty much on a par with GW prices (around £20 for a 1:35 tank seems to be the norm from UK online shops). When I said cheap model kits I was thinking more of ebay scrounging - it's much easier to pick up the cheap lots when you've got no specific plan about what you're looking for, and just want to throw some random bits together


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## spidie2000 (Nov 21, 2008)

I got a a 1:35 Grant for $18 on ebay + shipping US. a little cheaper than GW, but that was the cheapest I could find, most were about $25 - $35 US so yeah pretty much on par with GW


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## Creon (Mar 5, 2009)

spidie2000 said:


> I got a a 1:35 Grant for $18 on ebay + shipping US. a little cheaper than GW, but that was the cheapest I could find, most were about $25 - $35 US so yeah pretty much on par with GW



21st Century Toys. They don't do a Grant I can find, but they are Dirt Cheap 1/35 models

http://www.21stcenturytoys.com/product_gallery/KurskDefeatEast_lg1.html

That's what I modded into my Ork Skulhamma.


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## spidie2000 (Nov 21, 2008)

ya problem there is they only have 1:32 scale, and the 1:35 scale is already a little too big.


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## Creon (Mar 5, 2009)

I use it for Baneblade sorts of things, where it is fine. And the smaller tanks like Stuarts fit ok. Just giving out sources of inexpensive chop-bait.


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## enieffac (Nov 24, 2008)

So... I bought a 1:32 M3 LEE today for $22 (very similar to the M3 Grant) so that I could have a pair of closely related vehicles. But... when I opened the box, I discovered that my LEE has a total of 2 sprues (8 for the Grant) and 1/4 the detail. I think the difference is the company. The low quality tank is produced by Revell and is similar to the GW tanks. The better tank is made by Academy. I suspect that Tamika (however you spell it...) makes the best models, but that's based on nothing other than the price...

Quality (from worst to best)
Revell
Citadell
Academy
Tamika?


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## Svartmetall (Jun 16, 2008)

*posting from work*

Tamiya and Dragon are both very good for AFV models; my Sturmtiger and Brummbär models are both Tamiya and the detailing is excellent. There's another company called 'AFV Club' whose stuff is meant to be similarly good, but I've not seen any of their stuff in the flesh.

Military Modelling is always a good place to look for info on models, and also some of the painting there is amazing.


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## EmbraCraig (Jan 19, 2009)

Anyone have any experience of trumpeter models? I'd guess they'd be fairly low on detail, as they're even cheaper than the Revell kits (on this site anyway), but might be worthwhile for a cheap and cheerful chassis for projects?


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