I am almost finished with my M48A3 and I would like to thank Doog for writing that detailed build article here. It would never have come out like it has, not as good but for my first build it is better then it would have been without his information.
First I would like to clear up the whole Turret issue. The Tamiya turret is correct, I made as many measurements and looked at as many pictures as I could on my PC. The fact is most all of those pictures are taken from the bottom looking up at the turret. Pictures change the dimensions, it’s 2D not 3D, so the turret looks different then it really is. The Tamiya one is fine.
I bought the TWS cupola for it and that looks better. But I am having trouble getting paint to adhere to it. I think it’s a polyester resin and if it is, then it will be a problem. Has anybody painted items from TWS/tank workshop?
Anyway it’s for my Hue battle diorama, which I am almost done with. It will have the M48A3 baring any disasters, a mule M274, a pair of M151A1 Mutts one with trailer, a M40 RR but with a scratch built M92 tripod, that’s a whole story in itself. And something like 50 Marines.
All the things you will see I got from actual film and pictures of the battle of Hue 1968 Tet offensive. I read books and researched it thoroughly. All the equipment is correct. I embellished a little bit here and there but not much. I hope to post some pictures of it when I am done soon.
As for the correct color for a Marine M48A3 in Vietnam…LOL…who knows, in the field they were so dirty between the red Vietnam mud and dust, grease, dirt and whatever it really doesn’t matter. But it does look a little lighter and greener then the Army ones, that is if the Army one has not been in the field too long. The Army vehicles that have been in the field a bit turn into a light olive green from the darker olive drab paint used at the depot. It seems all it takes is a week or two in the field during the hotter sunny periods of time there.
But really the question here is about painting TWS products. Thanks…
I make sure the any resin parts that need painting are thoroughly washed to get all of the mold release off. For particularly stubborn resin that doesn’t want to take paint, Floquil’s boxcar red makes a great primer. Floquils down side is that it is toluene based making it exceedingly aromatic and it takes at least a day or two to dry to the point that it can be recoated. I have never found a surface that floquil won’t adhere to. It will thin with lacquer thinner.
Thanks Pat I cleaned it, then I washed it in turpentine. Some parts still have a waxy feel to them. If I sand it then I will lose all the details so that’s out. The only place the paint stuck to was the place I had CA glue on.
I have to keep trying and reading about polyester. There maybe an epoxy based primer. I also have some Mr. Surfacer and Floquil paint to try. It has to be the waxy feel, as soon as I can get rid of that I’ll be OK. But how do I get rid of it.
So far in the last few months I have gotten about 10 years of experience modeling, mostly by making mistakes…LOL.
When I used a Neoguard T-34/76 resin turret, I wiped it down with an alcohol wipe. After it was dry, I airbrushed flat black enamal for a primer. Had no problems with the paint.
I used some TWS parts previously on a USMC Sherman. I soaked and scrubbed them with Simple Green and water. They painted up fine after priming with Valspar gray primer.
I just started on Tamiya’s M48A3, filling the old motor holes as we speak. Marine Green was a slightly greener shade than Army OD of the period. Tamiya XF 74 is a REAL close match in my old eyes. But as stated, dirt, dust and climate really changed things. Close is always good enough.[;)]
I think a good detergent and alcohol will work with a tooth brush to scrub a bit. There’s a lot of wax on there and the turpentine does not break up the wax for some reason. I emailed the company and am waiting for a reply but I did a little with the alcohol and the primer seems to have taken.
There are a lot of little issues with the Tamiya kit. The Turret is not one of them IMO.
The tracks, you have to get the aftermarket ones. I just put them together. It was easy after the first few inches and I just sprayed them with flat. At first I looked at those pieces and just wen OMG but it was easy. Now I have to try and make them look real…I said try.
The front, it’s supposed to be pointy, use putty. The whole chassis is mostly cast so you need to add that texture look like Doog did to the chassis and turret.
The ride height, definitely too high, easy fix. Cut down the struts on the shocks and glue with CA.
The hard fix is the rear sprocket, it’s the drive sprocket. It need a complete rebuild. I did it but it came out sloppy. I will fix that with some red Nam mud. But they are wrong big time.
The driver periscopes need lens’s or something in there.
The basket on the turret and the fender holder or whatever they are called, struts, can be sanded a bit. Thin down the basket wire a bit or replace. I think sanding them both helps. Next build I will try to build the basket with wire.
I didn’t on this but will on the next one, make real handles on the tool boxes. There are some other little things here and there and it really depends on what year and if it’s a Marine or Army M48A3.
I could have done a lot of things to make it look better and more realistic but it’s for a diorama with a lot of other things going on.
I’m almost done and I will post pictures in a week or 2. I don’t think my work does the real battle justice but I did my best. My skills are not yet were I want them to be.