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Products mentioned in this Article
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Assembling The Plastic Armored Rifle Platoon with Blake Coster Dismounting from their M3 half-track, the armoured infantry lay down a withering fire with their machine-guns, mortar, semi-automatic Garand rifles, and bazookas. This firepower is now available to the Flames Of War player as a new all-plastic box set. Learn more about the Armored Rifle Platoon here... |
In this article, I'll demonstrate how to assemble the contents of the new plastic Armored Rifle Platoon, so let's break out the hobby tools and plastic cement and get started! But before we begin any assembly, let's ensure the contents of the Armored Rifle Platoon box set are all present and correct. If you have any problems or issues with the contents of your box set, please feel free to contact our Customer Service team at: [email protected]. |
The Contents for the Armored Rifle Platoon Box Set |
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Description of Components |
a. 5x Plastic M3 half-track hull sprues. |
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Parts highlighted in green are used for building an M5 Half-track instead.
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Description of Components |
a. 5x Plastic M3 half-track Accessory sprues. |
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Description of Components |
a. 2x Platic Armored Rifle Infantry sprues. |
Half-track Crew Sprue Description of Components a. 5x Plastic M3 half-track crew sprues. |
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Half-track Decal Sheet Description of Components a. 1x Half-track decal sheet.
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Bases Description of Components a. 1x Small three-hole base. b. 5x Small two-hole bases. c. 8x Medium four-hole bases. |
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Components Required For The Basic M3 Half-track |
The components required to assemble the basic M3 half-track can be seen below highlighted in green on the half-track sprues. |
Assembling The Basic M3 Half-track |
The Armored Rifle Platoon box set also includes options to model the M5 half-track but more on this later. But for the purpose of this article I'll focus on the M3 half-track. Step 1. Begin assembly by attaching the tracks to the hull. Note: Each track has been keyed to correspond with a particular side of the hull; this aids in ensuring the correct orientation of the tracks when assembling the miniature. |
Tip: Although regular Hobby Glue can be used to assemble plastic vehicles, we recommend that you use good quality plastic cement instead. It gives the strongest bond when gluing plastic to plastic. |
Below: The orientation keys on the tracks. |
Below: The correct alignment for the right-hand side track. |
Below: The correct alignment for the left-hand side track. |
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Tip: When referring to left or right-hand side in regards to a Flames Of War miniature, the orientation is determined as if looking at the vehicle from the rear. |
Below: Another view of the left and right-hand side tracks correctly orientated with the hull of the half-track. |
Below: The left-hand side track attached to the hull. |
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Below: The right-hand side track attached to the hull. |
Step 2. Next, attach the front wheels to the front of the hull. Note: The front wheels are ambidextrous and can be fitted to either side of the hull. |
Below: The left-hand side front wheel attached to the hull. |
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Below: The right-hand side front wheel attached to the hull. |
Step 3. Once the front wheels have been attached, its time to add the fighting compartment to the inside of the hull. |
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Below: The fighting compartment mounted successfully inside the hull of the M3 half-track. |
Step 4. Next, add the driver figure to left-hand side seat of the half-track. Note: The driver figure can be found on the half-track crew sprue included in the box set. |
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Below: The driver figure correctly positioned in the half-track |
Step 5. Next, attach the armoured windshield to the front of the half-track. |
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Step 6. Attach the support post for the AA MG ring to the inside of the fighting compartment. Note: Ensure that the support post is orientated as show in the example below. |
Step 7. Attach AA MG ring to the front right-hand corner of the fighting compartment. |
Step 8. Next, attach the rear door section to the back of the hull. |
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Step 9. Finally, attach the mudguards to the front of the half-track using the orientation channels seen in the example below. |
Below: The mudguards in place, the basic M3 half-track is fully assembled. |
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I know what you're saying: "But Blake, you've missed some bits." I have indeed but I'll get to them soon. But first I'd like to cover modelling the M5 half-track. |
Modelling The M5 Half-track |
As I said earlier, the Armored Rifle Platoon also includes an option to create the M5 half-track. Modelling the M5 half-track is as simple as substituting a few components. In this case, the mudguards and the rear door section. On the half-track accessory sprue there are two sets of mudguards and rear door sections; located near one set are a pair of tabs marked M5. The mudguards and rear door section next to these tabs a used to model the M5 variant, while the other sets are used to represent the M3 half-track. |
Below: The half-track accessory sprue showing the M5 tabs. |
Below: A close-up of the M5 tabs. |
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Below: The rear door section and mudguards of the M5 in place. |
Below: The mudguards in place, the basic M5 half-track is fully assembled. |
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Armored Rifle Platoon Half-track Configuration |
A unique aspect of the Armored Rifle Platoon is that there are several different variations on the same theme when it comes to the M3 half-track used by each squad. Therefore, I've outlined the configuration of each type for each squad type below and highlighted the components required to assemble each configuration in green on the half-track sprues. |
The HQ Section |
The M3 half-track contained in the HQ Section is the only half-track in the Armored Rifle Platoon that is fitted with a winch assembly on the front of the vehicle. |
Step 1. Attach the winch assembly to the front of the half-tracks as shown in the examples below. |
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Below: The winch assembly correctly attached to the front of the half-track. |
Step 2. The M3 half-track in the HQ Section is armed with a .50 cal AA MG. Attach the .50 cal AA MG to the turret ring as shown in the example below. |
Below: The M3 half-track from the HQ Section now fully assembled. |
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The Rifle Squads & 60mm Mortar Squad |
The M3 half-track contained in the both of Rifle Squads and the 60mm Mortar Squads are all configured in the same fashion. Rather than a winch, they are fitted with a roller assembly. This roller helped prevented the nose of the vehicle from getting stuck when crossing obstacles such as ditches. |
Step 1. Attach the roller assembly to the front of the half-tracks as shown in the examples below. |
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Below: The roller assembly correctly attached to the front of the half-track. |
Step 2. Unlike the M3 half-track of the HQ Section, these half-tracks are armed with a .30 cal AA MG. Attach the .30 cal AA MG to the turret ring as shown in the example below. |
Below: The M3 half-track from the Rifle Squads and 60mm Mortar Squad now fully assembled. |
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The Light Machine-gun Squad |
The final half-track contained in the Light Machine-gun Squad is a hybird of the first two variants. It is fitted with a roller assembly and armed with a .50 cal AA MG. |
Step 1. Attach the roller assembly to the front of the half-tracks as shown in the examples below. |
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Below: The roller assembly correctly attached to the front of the half-track. |
Step 2. Like the M3 half-track of the HQ Section, the half-track in the Light Machine-gun Squad is armed with a .50 cal AA MG. Attach the .50 cal AA MG to the turret ring as shown in the example below. |
Below: The M3 half-track from the Light Machine-gun Squad now fully assembled. |
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Step 3. Since the Light Machine-gun Squad is armed with two M1919 LMG, you can model their extra machine-guns mounted on the vehicle.To do this, simply attach a .30 cal AA MG to each side of the fighting compartment as shown in the examples below. |
Below: The M3 half-track from the Light Machine-gun Squad now fully assembled, complete with the extra .30 cal MGs. |
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Add Crew / Passengers The M3 Half-track There are four different crew figures included on the half-track crew sprue: An officer (highlighted in green); a machine-gunner (highlighted in red); two seated passengers (highlighted in yellow) and the driver (highlighted in blue) who we have already used earlier in this article. Feel free to experiment with crew placement till you're happy with a combination. I've provided some examples below that may help you on your way. |
Examples of Crew / Passengers Manning The M3 Half-track |
Below: Examples of the Seated Passengers in the fighting comparment. |
Below: The Officer figure in the fighting compartment. |
Below: The Officer figure inside the AA MG ring. |
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Below: The Machine-gunner manning the .50 cal AA MG. |
Below: The Machine-gunner manning the .30 cal AA MG. |
Below: The HQ Section's M3 half-track completed withSeated Passengers, Machine-gunner and Officer. |
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Assembling The Armored Rifle Platoon: What Is An Armored Rifle Platoon? The Armored Rifle Platoon box set also contains the infantry that ride into battle in the M3 half-tracks we've just assembled. An Armored Rifle Platoon is made up of five separate parts: an HQ Section, which contains the Command Rifle team, a Rifle team and a Bazooka team. Two Rifle Squads each with a pair of Rifle teams and a Bazooka team. The 60mm Mortar Squad containing a M2 60mm mortar team and a Bazooka team and finally the Light Machine-gun Squad which contains two M1919 LMG teams and a Bazooka team. The standard organisation for a Armored Rifle Platoon can be seen in the diagram on the right, taken from Overlord. The HQ section can be seen at the top followed by the two Rifle Squads and finally the 60mm Mortar and Light Machine-gun Squads. Right: The standard organisation for a American Armored Rifle Platoon as seen in Overlord. |
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Assembling The Armored Rifle Platoon |
Highlighted below are the figure options required for the Armored Rifle Platoon; I've kept with the same colour coding as seen on the back of the box: the officer highlighted in red; the NCOs highlighted in white; the Riflemen highlighted in blue; the Bazookas highlighted in green; the 60mm mortar highlighted in yellow and the Light machine-guns highlighted in black. |
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In the Platoon Organisation diagram below I've take the image above a step further for you and arranged the figures types correctly for squad type. By following this diagram you should be able to assemble your Armored Rifle Platoon in no time. To view a higher resoluation version of this diagram, simply click on it. I've also created a PDF version for your downloading pleasure; simply by right-click and select 'Save As' on the link below: Download a PDF version of the colour-coded Armored Rifle Platoon Organisation diagram here... |
The Colour-Coded Armored Rifle Platoon Organisation Diagram |
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What Bases For What Teams? Let's not forget about the bases. Once you've got the figures organised correctly you'll need to base them on the right bases. The Command Rifle team in the HQ Section is modelled on the Small three-hole base; all Bazooka teams are modelled on the Small two-hole bases and the Rifle, M2 60mm Mortar and M1919 LGM teams are all modelled on the Medium four-hole bases. I hope you found this article helpful when it comes assembling your Armored Rifle Platoon. Happy modelling! ~ Blake. |
Last Updated On Wednesday, May 29, 2024 by Kevin
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