Mirage Hobby 1/72 M3A1 medium tank (72803)

The M3A1 Lee was a variant of the M3 medium tank series that introduced a welded hull in place of the earlier riveted construction — a significant improvement in battlefield survivability, since riveted hulls could shower the crew with loose rivets when struck by shell fragments even without penetration. The M3 series was itself an interim design, pressed into production because the M4 Sherman was not yet ready, but it filled a critical gap in Allied armoured strength at a time when the alternative was fighting without medium tanks at all. In British service the Lee and Grant variants fought in North Africa, and in American service the Lee saw combat in the Pacific and the CBI theatre, remaining in front-line use longer than its European service record might suggest. Mirage Hobby's 1/72 kit captures the M3A1's distinctive welded hull configuration in fine detail.

The stopgap that kept Allied armour in the fight — the welded-hull M3A1 Lee in 1/72.