So after finishing the Carro I decided to pull an aircraft kit out of my stash and build it. But about half way through I simply lost heart and and interest in it. It has become a recurring theme in which I get excited to start building a wing thing and ejoy building the cockpit, but when it comes to closing up the fuselage my interest drops to zero. So I shelved yet another airplane and decided to go back to what has become my obsession, armor. I had bought this kit a week ago after browsing through the Local Hobby Shop’s small but acceptable collection of armor kits. After some hemming and hawing I decided the Pershing is what was tickling my fancy the most. So I took it home and spent the week sifting through it more and more, and building the airplane less and less. [:D] My plans for this build are to push things a bit farther. It seems that what I was considering light weathering was really the bare minimum for most. I don’t like trashed looking vehicles, but admit there is a new level I could be taking my builds within my desired tastes. So I dug out all the publications I have, scoured the internet and will take suggestions through the course of the build to take the weathering to the next level. I also found a couple decent online visual refrences to work with and help things further. So onto the build:
The kit:
It is the 2 in 1 kit, allowing you to build either a T26E3 or M26A1. I will be building it into the M26A1 with decals either for an Army vehicle at Chosin Res. or a Marine vehicle (also Korean war.) It also comes with 4 figures, an American anti-tank team. I won’t be using them for this build, but they should provide some nice painting practice later on.
Since I have a couple other small projects going on I got a late start on this build today, so not much to show so far. I skipped half of step one (wheels and drive sprockets) and just built the sprockets. I also did all of step 2, the rear hull plate:
As you can see the plate came in thre major parts, the middle and two sides. I looked at reference pics and found that a seam, which did not really look welded but more as if the 3 parts had been melted together (best I can describe it). But the seam did not extend all the way to the bottom. So I added some strtched sprue to replicate the weld (?) seam and used Mr. Dissolved putty to eliminate the bottom seams.
Brian - The most important thing is to enjoy. If you are into armor right now, leave the wings in the hanger. The M26 should be a great kit to keep your interest!!
Yeah that armor bug can suck the life right outta ya.[whstl]
Nice subject. Looking forward to watching this one. I keep saying I want to do one of these Since I pass one outside a VFW hall all the time not too far from me.
I don’t know how old this kit is, and this is the first of the Cyberhobby 2 in 1 Dragon kits I have ever built, so I don’t know if a lack of PE is the norm, but there is none with this kit. But that is fine, sometimes it’s nice to not deal with Photo Etch. And the detail is pretty decent anyways, so I am not complaining.
Well, I got some decent build time this week and today. The problem is that it does not look like much do to an number of issues as we shall shortly see. First off I returned to the lower hull and started building up the suspension arms. The problem I had here is that the arms have a 3/4 moon like locator pin, but the holes in the lower hull were GROSSLY oversize. This meant I had to get inventive to get them in the proper plain. Thankfully the front (idler wheel) arm was a super tight fit giving me a base height. A few other arms I was able to use the shock absorbers to give me proper level (but because of oversize holes I had to make sure they looked right not just up/down but left/right as well. I made sure these parts had fully dried before moving on to the tougher of the arms. I glued the arms in and while still wet used the hull sitting on the flat of my desk to get them properly leveled. Bottom line it took a while to take care, but the effort paid off and everything appears to have come out properly (though we will see for sure when it comes time to add the tracks!):
Next I glued the barrel halves together and smoothed that out. I added it to the mantlet to get the business end going:
From here it was on to the next headache of the build, and it is the turret. First, the two halves were not a good fit. There were lips and gaps that required a lot of care and time as well as a lot of Mr. Surfacer and a stiff brush to blend in the casting texture. There also is A LOT of blending that has to get done on the front too. The reference pictures show it all blended in which means huge gaps and lips are going to require even more work. I also started adding turret hatched, odds and ends. There is more work left to do with the Mr. Surfacer arounds spots like the eyelets. There is also fit issues with the side turret basket which I have to glue one third at a time (as you may notice in the picture as I only have one side glued so far.)
So as you can see I still have plenty of more time tm invest in the turret, and I have yet to start on the upper hull so who knows what surprise are in store there.
Also, T26E4 thank you for the links. I did have the fourth link bookmarked already (as well as two other gallery sites), but the rest were new to me and should prove very useful. I also ordered the Squadron Walkaround book because it was on sale for $2 (I also ordered the M24 Chaffee Walkaround and Tanks of the Korean War, both for $2, and a book on the Centurian for $10) so I should not be lacking for good references!
Brian…remember we are modelers…we take the caca that comes in the box, and despite poor fit, directions that are wrong and other stupid errors we make them beautiful!!!
Believe it or not, despite the problems I noted I am actually not minding it. I think I am getting pretty good in my assembly methods (it is the weathering I still need to get my act together on) and this is just one more challenge I am looking forward to overcoming. How it all turns out will be as big a surprise to me as it is to all of you. [:D]
Looking cool, Brain, I like the subject. You could do some panel shading/fading, and some dust/rainmarks, all to make the “plain” OD pop a bit without actually beating it up too bad.
Thanks Bill! Yes, my intention with this one is to use as a guide an article I have from an old FSM issue. In it the author used a 3 color shading system. I figure on lightening up the greens a bit and with a dark Umber wash should give it a nice dirty look. I am also thinking I will try using the airbrush for dusting instead of going with the Mig Pigments. I also have a few ideas I got from looking at real pictures of the Pershing to add some paint distressing without going full on paint chipping/rusting.
