Good, bad or ugly kit?
Thanks,
-60
Looks good to me, have it in my stash, hope to build soon
It is a descent kit. Looks good when built up. I built it from just the M60A1 RISE kit (before the M9 blade option was available), came out pretty nicely. I recommend it.
Thanks fellas. I don’t know for sure how I’ll complete the kit yet. Sans reactive armor and unsure about the blade…
Will see…
This new? I’ve been looking for an M60 to add to my collection. I’ve built Academy’s M1A1 and I was pleased with the kit, it went together well and was an overall easy build for my neophyte skills.
Is it A reboxed Tamiya M60A1 With RISE.
Tamiya kit did not have the Dozer Blade.
It is basically a copy of the Tamiya kit with some improvements made by Academy. The dozer blade is an all new Academy mold.
Here is the blade sprue, they did leave out the large control box that attaches to the hull beneath/behind the blade though.
And a review on the M9 blade.
http://www.missing-lynx.com/reviews/modern/academy-1-35-1374.html
If all you want is a plain Jane M60A1, then the ex-Esci M60A1 currently released by Italeri is the better M60A1 available in plastic. The Academy kit is the best version if you want an Operation Desert Storm M60A1.
Rob, You said the Academy is the best Desert Storm M60A1 currently. I am going to combine the Esci M60A1 and the Tamiya Marine M60A1. Do you think the Academy would be better, that is more accurate? Or, is there not enough of a difference to matter. Thanks, Greg.
The Esci version is an early M60A1 with the side loading air cleaners, but since you are probably taking the updated parts from the Tamiya USMC M60A1, you will be just fine. Additionally, the Esci kit used the old aluminum finned road wheels, but the Tamiya kit includes new smooth steel road wheels.
Does this kit have anything in common with their other M60 kits/ I built one a while ago, I believe it came with separate vinyl rubber portions of the roadwheels. Accuracy issues aside, the kit went together well, and was fun to build. I built the RISE version alone, the kit did not have a dozer blade.-
Yes, it is the same kit as their M60A1 RISE, with dozer blade added. Still has the roadwheel/tire feature. It is a pretty good kit.
I was wondering…was there any M60A1s with the M9 dozer blade in service during Desert Storm? I just bought the Academy kit and would rather make it a DS version but with the blade. Please help, thanks!!
Joe
I don’t think any regular M60A1 RISE ERA were still fitted with the M9 Dozer Blade by the time of ODS. The blade was used to clear obstacles and for engineering tasks. Most of that work was taken over by the Combat Engineers using the specially modified M728 CEV (Combat Engineer Vehicle), which is based on an M60A1 or A3 chassis.
ODS era M728 CEVs
The Academy kit was originally listed as an M728 CEV, we got the M60A1 w/ M9 Dozer Blade instead.
There is no model of the CEV either. There are/were a couple resin conversion sets for them, but they weren’t that great. It isn’t too hard to scratch/convert it if you are interested. There is a build article in the March '95 FSM that has scale plans/drawings and instructions on how to do it.
Here is how mine turned out.
Good luck.
Used this kit several years back to build combat engineer vehicle based on the M60. It is a fairly nice kit. Went together very well as I remember
Doh! I really wanted to a the Desert Storm version simply because I wanted to paint it desert tan. I think I will go ahead and go for an earlier version, camo paint scheme instead since I have already modified the parts that needed to be so that the blade would fit.
I like the idea of building the M728 CEV but I really dig the rise/passive armor. Nice dio, HeavyArty!
Thanks for the help!
Joe
There were still M60A1 RISE/Passive tanks with the dozer blade in USMC service in Desert Storm.
Even the Regular Army still had some divisions that were equipped with M60A3TTS with dozer blades into 1990-91 (4th ID and 5th ID come to mind). I believe that Fort Benning’s 197th Infantry Brigade (now reflagged as the 3rd Bde, 3rd ID) deployed with the M60A3TTS. There were four blade tanks in the battalion. The blade tanks were assigned as the company executive officers’ tank.
Bumper numbers for the M60A3TTS blade tanks would be A-65, B-65, C-65 and D-65. This was the standard bumper markings for an XO’s tank.
I don’t know if the 197th used the same numbering system as 1st Cav, but if they did, then the bumper numbers would have been A-50, B-50, C-50 and D-50. The battlions I’ve served in have used either method.
Somewhere I’ve got photos of the missing piping as they snake up through the rear fender and into the engine access panel.
Awesome! This helps, thanks!
Joe
No problem Joe. I did a quick search and the one tank battalion in the 197th Inf Bde was 2nd Bn, 69th Armor. So the blade tank’s bumper markings would look like 197 2-69^ (on the left as you are looking at it) and the A-65 or A-50 on the right.
Additionally, D Troop, 2nd Squadron, 4th Cav of the 197th Inf Bde also deployed with M60A3TTS tanks. Here is a brief history of 2-4 Cav during Desert Storm: http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/csi/barto/barto.asp
HTH