Since time ago, I wanted to make an early version of M7 in North of Africa. I had kept one from Italeri waiting to get some good M3 bogies since the ones from the Tamiya Lee/Grant did not convince me at all. To correct these bogies, I had to make a homemade conversion which would take a lot of time) or buy an expensive resin aftermarket.
Manufacturers are always announcing news and I read that Academy was going to release a new "early" Priest and then I asked myself if it was worth keeping my Italeri kit for a project like the M7 early and decided to buy this highly detailed new release.
When arriving home with my new purchase, I opened the box and found out the Academy kit inside was not an "early" version and that would demand an extra work. Anyway, it's always better to correct details than using my Italeri kit, Everything is not always perfect!
The bogies were assembled according to instructions. To get a close fit, and so as to avoid freeplay, I filled the attachment points.
To avoid problems when mounting the tracks, I glued the bogies so that they remain fixed with no movement. My intention was not to make a diorarma but place the M7 on a base, so the movement the manufacturer offer is unnecessary for me.
I finished gluing all the bogies and idler wheel to the lower hull tub.