Hi all,
I will be starting a new project soon, the M-60 tank. I’m hoping to rebuild one from my days in the Marine Corps.
I looking for info on which manufaturer makes the best kit. Here are the kits I’ve found:
Italeri M-60 Blazer
Italeri M-60 A1 Patton
Royal Models M-60 A1/A3
Tamiya M-60A1 MBT
Trumpeter USMC M-60A1 w/ Reactive Armor
Academy M-60A1 US Army MBT
Any comments on these kits would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Jesse
I cut my tanking teeth on the M60 series, first as an M728 CEV crewman and later as a platoon leader of an M60A3TTS platoon. I’ve got almost every M60 kit on the market, although I’ve never heard of the Royal Models one. Is it a detail set?
The old Esci M60A1, M60A3TTS, M60A1 Blazer was the best overall 60-series tank kit. Currently, Italeri reissued the M60A1 and Blazer and Revell of Germany has reissued the M60A3. Same Esci/Ertl/AMT kit inside though.
When did you serve on USMC M60A1s? The problem in using the ex-Esci kits is that none of them will build into a late 80s to early 90s USMC M60A1 RISE/Passive out of box. Problems arise in the areas of air cleaner type, barrel type and road wheel type. Then of course, if you rode a tank with the applique armor system, the Blazer kit is the Israeli type and not suitable for a USMC vehicle.
Tamiya and Academy both make a decent USMC M60A1 RISE/Passive tank, although the base M60 kit is not as accurate as the ex-Esci kits. The benefit is that you can build a good kit with what’s in the box. The tracks are a little inaccurate and you can replace them with AFV Club T-142 tracks if you so desire. Tamiya also made an M60A3 kit that could be built into an earlier non-ERA USMC M60A1 but it still has the aluminum road wheels.
AVOID THE TRUMPETER M60A1 OR M60A3! I made the mistake of buying one of these. A total waste of money, it is a rip off of the Academy M60A1 but looks like someone left the kit under a heat lamp. Even uses a rip off copy of the Tamiya instructions. Funny thing is that they molded some of the detail parts onto the hull surface but the instructions still point out the part numbers and placement.
I built the M-60 for Revell of Germany and found out it was good detailed kit.I enjoyed building this kit,you might want to check this kit out.It is worth it.Digger
I agree it is a great kit (see 2nd paragraph above), but it won’t build into a USMC vehicle with what’s included in the box.
Thanks for the info all.
Rob,
I didn’t serve as a tanker, I was a combat engineer (1991 - 1999). When I first joined there were alot of M-60’s around; the corps still had not converted over to the M1.
The Royal kit I saw on The Great Model Webstore.
Were you in the Corp as a tanker or the Army?
Do you know of any good references for the M-60. I plan on superdetailing this kit.
Thanks,
Jesse
I was on the ‘slick 60’… the one with the ‘turrtle turret’… I kitbashed one of them from an M60A2 and M48, with some turret mods. I personally think the ESCI kit was very nice.
Ron
I joined the Army National Guard while in college. I wanted to be a tanker, but the unit in town was a combat engineer company (part of the 50th Armor Division). The CEV looked like a tank to me way back then. When I was commissioned into the Regular Army, I was branched Armor and trained on the M1IP. When I arrived in Germany, my division still had the M60A3TTS. I spent about a year and a half on that tank before we got the M1A1.
I served from 1987 to 1997as an armor officer, commanding an M1A1 tank company in the 1st Cavalry Division. I have since transferred to the Ordnance Corps and am commanding a maintenance school now. I still have several tanks on hand, even an old M60A3 out on the recovery range.