) sounding Kian out about it ever since. So I was delighted when Armortek announced it as their latest project, and felt duty-bound to actually commit to it (once my lovely tolerant wife had approved the expenditure, of course ..... 
)There’s a surprising amount of history in the M3 when you start to dig a bit, which is perhaps surprising for a tank that was only in production for just over a year and was always a stop-gap until the Sherman came in. Many base variants (up to M3A5), the different turrets (of course), different guns (75mm M2 and M3) and, of course, all the conversions such as Priest, Sexton and APC’s. And a range of theatres from the Western Desert (probably the obvious one), Operation Torch, Lend-Lease to Russia, the Far East and even island-hopping in the Pacific with the US Marines. The Canadians used them for training (although not in combat), the Australians used them in New Guinea, and I’ve seen at least one picture of the Free French using one in Normandy. Certainly enough choice to satisfy the engineers and the historians among us (I freely admit I tend to the latter).
As a British Citizen I’ve naturally gone for ........ the Lee. That may be a surprise. But the Grant was a one-off to meet specific British requirements (although the British used the Lee in the Desert too), whereas the Lee was in production for the whole run. So the Lee, to me, has much greater development potential. I’ve no doubt, though, that the Grant will appeal to Western Desert fans, where it can go up against the Panzer III’s and the early Tigers (and has some great colour schemes, and can even be disguised as a truck !).
It won’t surprise those who’ve followed my ramblings about Liesel that I like to go a bit off piste, and this project is no exception. There’s lots of research to do yet, but my M3 is going to represent the 25th Dragoons at the Battle of the Admin Box, Burma, in February 1944. Give yourself a pat on the back if you’ve even heard of that oddly-named battle ! But it’s well worth looking up, as it was the first time that British and Allied (Indian, Gurkha) forces held, threw back and decimated a Japanese attack and, incidentally, saved India from invasion. It therefore stands alongside better-known battles like El Alamein and Stalingrad, as marking the beginning of the end for the Axis forces in WW2.
That’s probably enough to be going on with. More details on my project will emerge when I’ve got into some serious research, and had a chance to see Armortek’s prototypes. But I’m very excited by this – who doesn’t love a new project ? And this is the first time I’ve got in on the ground floor (so to speak).
Now to finish off Flaming Fire II – I don’t want a backlog, and I haven’t got room just to store all those boxes !
All the best,
Chris
. Imphal and Kohima followed on from the Admin Box a few months later, and delivered the hammer blow against Japanese forces. But the Admin Box was the first step. You're right about the air supply, though. I'll look forward to seeing your Grant with the camouflage truck body on it - that's a story in itself ! You need to research the Magic Circle .... 
And I'll add your books to my (growing) list.
