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Greetings. I am Herbert Erpaderp and today I am going to build this plastic 28mm scale
M8 slash M20 light armoured car made by Rubicon Models. You can see the artwork on the front
of the box is pretty nice and depicts the M8 otherwise known as a Greyhound, with ring
mounted machine gun. This is the version I intend to build, though the M20 does offer
an interesting opportunity to paint more of the interior of the vehicle.
The back of the box as you might expect has an illustration of an M8 greyhound, with suggested
vallejo basic paint colours, An image of th e included waterslide decal sheet and a bunch
of historical information on both variants this kit can be used to build, which is always
nice and interesting to read.
Let’s have a quick look at the two sprues that come inside the box.
Sprue A contains the majority of the hull components, such as the rear engine grille,
hull sides and top, as I have come to expect from rubicon everything is quite neatly moulded,
error free and has very few mould lines.
Of course there are also details like lights and stowage boxes, wheels and the vehicle’s
frame. As the box says this is simplified, yet still quite detailed. Wargamers don’t
really need excessive detail on the undersides of their vehicles, even though it can be fun
to have.
The second sprue contains some detailing parts for the fighting compartment and turret pieces
including the seats and turret basket, due to the turret being open topped.
There are also gun rings and hatches for both variants the kit contains and of course parts
for the M8’s 37mm main gun, a hull top for both variants as well as machine guns.
I quite like that a bazooka is included, It is intended for the M20 in place of the 37mm
gun. As I am building the m8 this is going into my bits box, I am sure I’ll find a
good use for it.
Also included is this really nice sheet of waterslide decals. I’ve used the rubicon
decals before and find them to be quite good. This sheet has plenty of markings including
american, french and british markings and what looks to be some german crosses.
I like the name options. I think I will call mine willie because I’m a mature adult.
Heh. Willie…
I also really like that there is a little killroy decal. How cool is that!? Even if
I don’t use it on this model that’ll be a nice one to have on hand.
And of course there is the always excellent rubicon instruction leaflet included and as
usual it is clear and very easy to understand and follow.
Let’s get this thing built!
I start as the instructions suggest by assembling the lower hull, starting with the wheels.
Just like on Rubicon’s M5 half track kit I looked at a while ago the wheels are slightly
flattened at the point where they should contact the ground. This is a little touch that I
really like. It’s good, thoughtful design.
The wheels themselves don’t have much in the way of mould lines, but they are there
and they should be scraped off. I wasn’t entirely sure if the numbers and
assembly order for the wheels mattered, probably not, but I laid them out in the way the instructions
suggested attaching them anyway.
The wheels are then very easily attached to the axles on the frame. They are keyed so
that they will only fit together the correct way, this ensures the slight flat spot on
the wheels will always contact the ground. I like that. All six wheels go on quickly
and easily.
Like the box says the underside of this model is simple yet still quite detailed. It is
definitely aimed at gamers because all you have to do is stick the wheels on, rather
than assemble some complicated suspension gear that probably won’t ever be seen.
Now the sides of the hull can be glued to the lower hull part. This goes on quite easily,
but definitely test fit the part first so you’re sure of how it should fit though
the parts do more or less guide themselves into place. Looking at it from the rear the
way the hull sides sat seemed a little bit odd to me, though it is correct.
Now to add some internal details. These being the radio and some stowage boxes. For the
M8 glue the stowage boxes into the right side of the hull like so, and glue the radio into
the left side. If you’re building the M20 these two parts are reversed, for some reason
or other.
These will be next to invisible in the M8, though you might be able to see them through
the turret opening. Still a nice touch to have. They’ll definitely add interest if
you are building the M20.
Next I glue the lower hull onto the frame and wheels assembly. Pretty simple really,
I added glue to the tops of the suspension thingies or whatever those are because they
have matching recesses moulded into the hull.
You can see it all goes together very simply and neatly. You might have to hold the glued
parts together for a while to be sure there are no gaps.
Once those parts were dry I glued on the lower front plate. It has a raised guide on the
back side to ensure correct positioning, so it just slots into place.
The rear of the hull is a similar deal, though I found it to be a slightly tighter fit, so
I had to hold the part in place while the glue started to set so it didn’t pop off
the model. Not really a major issue though.
Next the hull top can be glued into place. This is about as simple as simple could be,
it just sits right on top of the lower hull. You might need to apply a little pressure
and hold the parts together to avoid any unwanted gaps, otehr than that there’s nothing to
it.
We are now faced with a choice. What do we fill this area with? There is a choice of
stowage boxes or land mine racks. I doubt this is really going to have an effect on
how the model will be played in bolt action, so I went with mine racks because I thought
it would presnet some more interesting painting options and who doesn’t like a good rack.
Hurr hurr.
Simply glue it into place like so.
Now to add the rest of the external details, starting with these tow or lifting points
or whatever they are with the shackles. They can simply be glued into the appropriate recesses
on the front and rear of the hull. The only complaint I havet I have about these is that
they are solid, They’d look better if you could see through the shackle part, but it’s
nothing a bit of painting trickery can’t fix.
They were all numbered differently on the sprue, but they all look the same to me, so
I don’t think the numbers matter. The shackles on the rear attach the same as those on the
front.
Next comes this, I believe it is the horn or siren, otherwise it’s a lamp. Either
way it is easy to glue into this little recess on the upper front hull. Tweezers would be
a good tool to use here, though I managed just fine with my fat fingers.
Then the headlights can be glued into place. I might have used a bit much glue here, but
it could be worse. The parts slot perfectly into their recesses. Easily done even when
using fat fingers. They probably won’t please rivet counters, but who cares about them?
I think it looks pretty good so far.
Next I added these, which I imagine to be antennas. They were a bit fiddly to remove
the mould lines from, but nothing a little patience can’t take care of.
The towing hook is the next little detail that needs to be added. It is keyed so that
you can be sure you’re putting it on the correct way, but It looks as though you could
just as easily place it upside down. I did find it a little bit fiddly, but I got there
eventually!
Now this greyhound is ready to tow ALL the trailers!
At this point we could glue the upper hull part into place and call the hull complete,
however I am going to leave it off for now until the turret is completed. Then I can
decide if I want to bother painting the interior. Leaving the top of the hull off will allow
for much easier access for painting if indeed anything is visible through the top of the
turret.
So let’s get to building that turret then! The two halves of the turret go together pretty
easily. There are pins and holes to guide correct positioning which is always appreciated
when putting together pieces like these that really need to be correctly aligned.
Next I glued in the gun mantlet. It nicely covers that slightly blemished spot where
the sprue gate was on the front of the turret. There is of course, an internal component
of the gun. Because the turret is open topped the gun breach will be visible. Adding this
is just a simple matter of slotting the breach part into the back of the mantlet part. This
probably would have been a little easier if I had done it before I glued the two halves
of the turret together, but this way wasn’t too hard either.
It looks like the gun assembly can be left unglued to elevate and depress, but I have
chosen to glue mine firmly into place. I don’t really have a need for elevating or depressing
the gun, but it’s a nice option for those that want it.
Speaking of the gun it can be glued into place next.
The part only needed a little bit of mould line removal. I didn’t drill the end out
because the barrel is so small. I don’t think I have a drill bit that would fit.
Installing the gun is simple, just slot it into place. There is no muzzle brake to worry
about aligning properly. All you really need to do is make sure the barrel lines up straight
with the breach part.
Next this small portion of roof can be installed in the front of the turret top. It has a kind
of pin on the underside to help with positioning. If you are building the early version turret
this part requires a hole to be drilled, I am building the late version, so no such hole
is needed.
Then the turret basket can be glued into place. It just slots right into the bottom of the
turret nice and easily. Be sure to position it facing the correct way. The two seats should
be towards the rear of the turret.
Next I added the machine gun ring, but in my infinite wisdom forgot to film that. So
here’s what it looks like anyway. It just slots onto the top of the turret. Very easy.
The early version, of course, doesn’t have a turret ring. I guess you’ll have to consult
the instructions if you want to build that version.
The late version has this patch, I guess you might call it, on the rear of the turret.
This is where the machine gun would be mounted on the early version.
Next comes the machine gun. Which is attached to the sprue in such a way that it is hard
to break when clipping the part off. Just like in the M5 halftrack kit. Very good design.
First glue the ammo box onto the side of the gun. This kit comes with two machine guns,
so be sure to select the correct one.
Now make sure your camera is out of focus and attach the machine gun to its ring. Again
like the M5 kit this machine gun can be placed anywhere on the gun ring, which I think is
really cool. Bonus points to whoever came up with that design.
I think the turret looks pretty good!
The final part of this greyhound assembly is to test fit the hull top with turret attached
to see what we can see inside the model to determine how much detail I want to put into
painting the interior, if at all.
It seems with some extra light and a little bit of effort you can see the radio and stowage
drawers. They will get at least a little bit of paint.
Nothing too detailed, but more than the basic interior colour. This means I will need to
research the correct interior colour for british greyhounds.
Despite the fact that it would be cool to be able to look inside the greyhound through
the driver’s hatch I’ve decided to model this hatch closed. I feel like the hatch would
be quite easy to break off, also it means I can get away with not painting the seats.
But it is mostly because I don’t want the hatch to break off. That’s my story and
I’m sticking to it.
I drop the hull top into its position unglued, to make interior painting easy and that’s
it. One Rubicon M8 Greyhound in 28mm scale completed!
I am really quite pleased with how this model has turned out. It looks very nice, and is
pretty well detailed, though I did have a very minor gripe about the towing shackle
things being solid, at this scale I don’t think it’s a huge deal and the positives
far outweigh that issue.
This Greyhound should look excellent once it’s painted up. I especially like the open
topped turret allowing for some internal paint work to be visible. That should look interesting
and it will provide a little bit of a challenge too.
I am of course going to have to do my research on the appropriate colours to apply inside
the vehicle. I would imagine some kind of creamy white colour. It’s always good to
learn these things.
The kit itself was really easy and quite fun to put together. The instructions are clear
and easy to follow and the build took me about 45 minutes. Not including all the time I spent
positioning the camera and being distracted and such.
Rubicon seem to like packing lots of options into their kits and this one is no exception.
Being able to build not only the M20 or the M8, but two versions of the M8. It’s good
to have options. I really look forward to building many more rubicon kits in the future.
I will get around to painting this fairly soon. Not in the immediate future, but within
the next few months. I plan to field it with my british army, so I will obviously be painting
it to reflect a british vehicle. Just need to do a bit of research on colours before
I get onto that, as well as get a few other things finished first. But I will certainly
be recording the painting process and you will see a video about it in the not too distant
future.
As I said in my previous video about my absence I do intend to make modelling videos at least
once a week as I was doing before, though there may be some weeks without a video. I
do hope you will stick with me.
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Anway. I think that might be enough rambling from me. Thanks for watching! Farewell.