Rubicon M8 Scott

[SiamTiger]

Plastic is more and more present in wargaming, and with the popularity of the setting and scale, it is no wonder that companies like Rubicon keep releasing new kits. This time, ill be covering the M8 Scott / M5A1.



This kit gives you the option to build a M5 Stuart Light Tank (the mid version) or the 75mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M8, aka the M8 Scott. They use the same chassis, but the M8 had an larger, open topped turret and the drivers hatches relocated from the hull to the glacis plate. This kit has a sister boxed set, that gives you the M5 Stuart mid and late build, as well as the reece / kangoroo version of it.

Inside the kit youll find the two main sprues, along with the instruction leaflet and a decal sheet.



The sprues are compact and properly filled. The cast is great and with a low amount of mold lines, just the plastic is a bit shiny and it might be usefull to give it a slight wash with luke-warm soap water.



In this review, i decided to build the M8 scott with the howitzer turret and that is where i started with the build. The gun is movable and can be angled.



Next up are the track sections, that are quick assembled. The track and wheels are one piece and get additional parts for the suspension.



The tracks are added to the hull, which consists of 4 parts, the lower hull, a inner part with structure and side parts.



On top of the chassis / hull, goes the upper plate and here you have two options. You could build the M8 scott hull, with the drivers hatches in front, or the M5 hull with the hatches on top. Technically you could magnetize them and have exchangeable builds.



Added to the nearly finished hull are some small details, like the hedge cutter and tools.



Next up the turret, which is open and has space to fit crew members in it and you can see the floor of the tank.



The M8 Scott is a small vehicle as you can see from the comparison with others scout / light vehicles like the Daimler AC or the universal carrier. And the comparison next to a big cat, the Tiger himself.



Assembled and from different angle, the M8 scott.



Conclusion
Yet another nifty kit. One of the big advantages of Rubicon Models are the multiple options in each kits, like this one covers the M8 Scott and M5 Stuart. The build is easy, casting and fit are good. And at a price of 25 Euro it might be a bit expensive for its size, but with 19 GBP (~25 Euro) for a competitive resin kit, plastic might be in favor of many players / kit builders.
The M8 scott or M5 stuart can be used by Allied armies of the United States, as well as Britain, Canada, Poland and France, as well as the Yugoslav partisans. After World War 2 even China used it. and (after WW2) China. The M8 was used by the US Army and Free French in Italy and Northwest Europe, and by the US Army in the Pacific. Eventually replaced by the M4 (105mm) and M7 Priest, it saw service after WW2 with the French Expeditionary Force in Vietnam & Algeria.

Link: Rubicon Models

[carlos marighela]

Built one of each  of the M8 and the M5A1 and they really are superb kits. Easy to build, cleverly engineered and well detailed. Rubicon is the benchmark to judge things by.

[SiamTiger]

Rubicon and Warlord are in many cases on eye-level. Rubicon sometimes isn't as accurate as the Warlord kits, but has more options. And with Warlord we have to differentiate between the Italeri Cooperation kits and those done entirely by Warlord.

In my schedule are currently the M8/M20 Scout Car from both companies waiting for their textes, as well as the M10 Tank Destroyer by Rubicon. I just received the sprues of the M10/Achilles from Warlord last week, so i will do those as well.

[carlos marighela]

I have built both the Italeri and Rubicon M-8 armoured cars. It's an interesting comparison.

Size wise, they are identical so they will match really well on the table. Rubicon has the more accurate turret shape and also gives more options for placing the .50 cal.  More work involved if you plan on removing the side plates and drivers/ radio operators hatches are shut, although you can fix that with careful application of a scalpel. It's a less fiddly kit than the Italeri version and goes together very quickly. Deck plate on the M-8 version is flushas it should be.

The Italeri kit is somewhat more detailed in terms of the suspension but at the cost of construction/ glue drying  time. Largely a wasted effort for a gaming model. The wheels and tyres are also not quite right and unlike the Rubicon version you will have to flatten the bottom of the tyres  yourself to simulate weight. The tyres are a really nice touch on the Rubicon kits.

The open hatch options for crew is a nice feature on the Italeri kit and they do supply you with a  driver figure. It's also  an easier kit to work with if you want to leave the mudguards off, which was quite common with users. No stowage bin option but you do get the option of mine racks or jerry can holders.

The two biggest issues and even these are relatively minor are the turret shape/height and the hull plate beneath the turret.  I understand turret height actually did reduce over the production cycle of the atual machine so that's no biggy. The slightly elongated and flatter profile of the forward part behind the mantlet can be disguised with additional stowage.  The hull plate you just have to live with. You could go to the effort of cutting or filing it back so it sits flush with the rest of the hull but then the turret wouldn't have enough room to fit into the crew compartment, it's a fairly tight fit as it is. I couldn't be bothered anyway.

Both nice kits, each has their advantages and I reckon you could kit bash the parts of each if you really wanted to.
Actually the biggest difference isn't in the kit, it's the pricing. Rubicon M-8 is $45 AUD as is the Warlord boxed Italeri kit. The identical Italeri boxed kit is $27.95 at my local model shop. That's a pretty substantial difference.