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ITALERI M47E2 conversion kit by Javier Villaroya

The base kit for this conversion is the ITALERI M47 kit. One of the best kits ITALERI has produced so far. Sadly enough this kit is no longer in production but, as it will be produced as a limited edition from time to time it is still well available.

The conversion consists of the complete upper hull, new 105mm main gun and a few but well chosen photoetch parts for the .50 cal and a few other bits and pieces.
The instructions tell you to complete the running gear with the omission of the small track tensioning idler wheel as per ITALERI’s manual.
Basically this is correct but this will lead to a major mistake:
The actual vehicle photos show you that the sprocket will have to be relocated, too! I did not pay attention to this fact and could not correct this mistake when I saw it only after the assembly of the kit was completed...
To avoid this you’ll have to move the sprocket and housing (parts 8 -12) a little up. The return of the track should be horizontal from the sprocket over the return rollers.
Check this carefully before cementing the sprocket in place.
The M47E2 hull parts are nicely moulded. The fender supports are photoetch parts and this adds greatly to their realism. The front and back parts of the fenders may need a little rework and sanding.
I have sanded off 2mm off the complete length of the fenders and replaced the moulded parts with L-shaped profiles made from plastic strip as I figured this area does not look as crisp as I would like it to.
The aircleaners are ok, too but I replaced the rounded areas with parts I had left over from an M60 kit.
I had to use hot water on the rear exhaust plate to bend it back into a flat shape as it was slightly out of shape..
The fenders’ front ends are a little fussy as you’ll have to bend the metal sheets (parts 10 -12) to get them into correct shape all at once. You must take care to bend parts nos. 13 into the correct, right and left shape.

Turret and main gun are no problem either, the 105mm gun is nicely moulded and mine needed only a little putty on the lower half of the bore evacuator. The turret’s appearance is greatly changed by the addition of the smoke grenade launchers. The photoetch guards for the commanders’ and loaders’ periscope add nicely to its appearance, too. Another interesting feature is the addition of empty stowage racks for the fuel/ water canisters on the turret sides.

The headlight guards will have to be replaced with the photoetch parts. This takes its time as the parts need to be bend a couple of times and it is not easy to get it done on first try ...

Finally you’d need to add some kind of marking. Until now I have not been able to find a supplier for Spanish decals. I have been told that there is something available but I have not been able to find anything until now.

SOURCES:

The INTERNET
PRIVATE PHOTO COLLECTIONS (kindly donated by Luis Fuster Aisa: Thank you my friend!)

 

Copyright © 2000 by Andreas Hüger. All rights reserved. Reproduction without written consent is not permitted.