So, I was thinking…. Yeah, I know, it’s a dangerous thing for me. A long time ago, if you wanted an M26 Pershing, the only option available was to convert. And thats what I did. Back then, AEF Design offered a kit which converted Italeri’s M47 Patton to an M26 Pershing. The kit replaced the entire upper hull and turret with very well detailed cast resin parts. Having built it, I was pleased with how the hull came out, but the turret kinda bothered me. To my eye, the turret appeared a bit oversized, but I lived with it for about 20 yrs. Fast foward to 2025 and now there are several Pershing kits on the market, and last summer, I purchased one, by Dragon.
Of course, the first thing I did was to open the box and pull out the turret, to see if the turret is comparable to the old AEF turret. And guess what? It was. Thats not to say that the Dragon kit is accurate but it makes me feel a bit better about my old Pershing and I intend to keep it in my armor collection.
So what to do with the Pershing kit? At first, I thought about modifying it to become a Super Pershing. But then some time ago, I picked up a really cheap Lindburg M46 Patton kit. Yeah, I know Lindburg kits aren’t the best kits, but I was thinking that perhaps I could kit bash both kits to make a better representation of the M46 Patton, but I really didn’t know how bad the Lindburg kit really was. For one, the the tank is definitely not in 1/35th scale, despite the claim on the box. The model is more like 1/32nd. Next, all of the details are wrong. Bottom line, it’s a great model for a grand son looking to build his first model tank -and thats what I’m gonna do with this kit. Im going to wrap it and put it under the Christmas tree for one of my grand sons.
But that leaves me with a small dilemma, what to do with the Pershing? So I got another idea. I could pick up another Italeri M47 and bash the two together to make an M46. Yes, I know there is already an M46 Patton kit out there, but I think I can find the M47 kit a bit cheaper.
I can’t speak from a technical perspective but it sounds like you enjoy (the idea of) kit bashing, so I encourage you to follow that feeling and fulfil your creative desires!
Tangential kit bash. Maybe some inspiration. M34 Heavy Tank. A Company, 746th Tank Battalion(Heavy), 3d Army. Germany. 1948. U.S. Army began developing a heavy tank in 1944 to counter the German Tiger tanks. The T-29 had a 105mm gun and 770 HP engine. The T30 had a 155mm gun and 810 HP engine. The T-34 had the same engine , but a better performing 120mm gun. A total of 14 of the T series test vehicles were built. The production M34 would have had the 120mm main gun, the 810 HP engine , and the stereo range finder from the T-29E3. Also, an 18 inch Crouse-Hinds searchlight.
To up grade to the 30/34 you need different engine deck (different engine from the T-29 series) and different gun (T-30 had a 155mm. T-34, 120mm.) 29 E3 was the only one with the stereo range finder.
There are differences in the glacis between M26, M46 and M47, as I recall.
You could also backdate the M26 to a T26E1, or update it to an M26A1 — or fit a big gun and make it an M26E1. Or keep it as an M26 but paint it differently from the other one you have. Not sure if Korean War “tiger” markings were also used on M26s or only on M46s, but if so, that would be an option. Otherwise, the French Army also used M26s for some time.
Yes, there are some differences here and there. The M26 and M46 share the same glacis. Both have a hump between the driver’s and co-driver’s hatches, which housed a ventilator. The M47 had a glacis with a steeper angle and lacked the hump. (The ventilator was now in the turret)
When it comes to the rear of the hull, the M46 and M47 were identical. Both had their final drives mounted higher. The armor deck has a raised tunnel, for the exhaust, which runs across the width of the vehicle to external mufflers, which are mounted to the fenders. The rear end contains three round access covers, for the cross drive transmission. The M26 had lower final drives, didn’t use the cross drive transmission and therefore had no access covers and the cast exhaust outlet was located in the center of the very rear.
Converting an M26 to an M46 shouldn’t be difficult. All it requires is the front half of the M26 hull, and the rear half of the M47 hull. The M26 turret will work, but the main gun will need to be modified to M46 configuration.
I got bored one day, and already having several M-26’s, I started modifying one into an M-45. (The very one in the top pic)
I stripped the old decals, replaced the main gun, modified the mantlet and exhaust.
Added the gun mount to the gunners site, travel lock under the mantlet, and a few other minor additions.
The tracks are wrong, and the new decals are probably not very accurate, but I’m pretty happy with it and it cost me nothing to build.
