Just cracked open the box on this classic… This kit was the very first armor model I ever built, and the subject of the very first diorama I ever built, way back in about 1974…
This is what Shep Paine did with it back about then…
http://www.itzproductions.com/images/Shep_Paine/Patton_Tank_1.jpg
http://www.itzproductions.com/images/Shep_Paine/Patton_Tank_2.jpg
Hope I can do it justice now that i got 35 more years of experience, lol…
Stay turned…
Whoah… Forgot about the lower hull being in two halves…
Hans,
I look forward to seeing your updates on building the kit.
Side note:
I’ll also be interested in reading about the paint brands and types of paint you use.
Seems there’s something of a meltdown occurring due to the lack of Tamiya paint and I’m curious if you are using craft paint on projects.
Hello!
It’s always nice to see one of 'em being built - I like this tank no matter the scale. A few months ago I finished building one in 1:72: link. So Hans, I wish you good luck on your build!
Paweł
I grabbed one of these kits using the 50% off any one item coupon at Michael’s a month or so ago making it $12.50. I plan to build it using the old Lo Models M48/M60 conversion set from the mid 80s. Although designed for the Tamiya M48A3 and Tamiya M60A1, the parts look to be a drop in fit. The set went for about $7 back in the day, but you could convert three different kits, two M48s and one M60A1, with the set which is quite a bargin.
That set would make the Tamiya M48A3 into either a US M48A5 or German M48A2GA2 and the old Tamiya M60A1 into an M60A3TTS. The set came out before Tamiya upgraded their M60 series kits and before Academy came out with their M48A5/K.
I never used the German M48A2GA2 conversion because it only cosmetically made the diesel engined A3 look like a gasoline engined A2. It added a German style cupola/machine gun, main gun/mantlet/searchlight, smoke dischargers, headlights, side view mirrors and turret stowage box. It did not address the external air cleaners that should not be present on the A2 or the 3 vs 5 return roller difference between the A2 and A3.
Having the old Monogram M48A2 reissued makes this conversion much simpler. The Monogram M48A2 was the first tank model I ever owned. My dad built it for me and I used it to play with my army men. I remember breaking off road wheels and road wheel arms, losing hatches and just about any small detail items. My dad made plenty of repairs for me; I remember globs of gray putty, probably something like JB Weld or liquid metal of some type holding road wheel arms in place.
I recently ran across one I had built as a kid and then repainted when I was in college. I painted over the Vietnam War markings to simulate my first tank, an M48A5. I’d guess I was around 11-13 when I built this kit and 20 years old when I repainted it. I’m such a packrat that I still have the original box, instructions and Shep Paine dio sheet. The bent antenna is from 20+ years of the tank sitting in a box, virtually dust free because of that.
Here’s a photo of that build from around 1974-76 (estimated) and repainted in 1984-85 along with the original box dated 1972. Feel free to laugh, but I was quite proud of the kit back then.
And here’s the Lo Models conversion set that I’ve been dragging around for about 22 years or so:
I don’t know about your kit Hans, but my 1972 box, my 2011 box and my Monogram Models history book all call this kit 1/35 scale. This kit is still the best M48A2 tank model in injection molded plastic. Not bad for a model that hit their catalog in 1958!
That’s exactly what took a big chunk of time when I started it by the beginning of the Summer. Lots of filling and sanding but all that its being done. I just got involved with other aircraft and the M48 is in a lonely corner. Will stick around to see your work Hans.
Hans, looking forward to the build.
Ron, I pick up those Lo Model kits whenever I see them, have one and a half now. The Urdan-style cupola is pretty good…They also did some semi-workable late tracks (T148?) that were pretty good, I think I still have a few pieces left. I used the majority of them in a dio I gave away a while ago.
Who’s Ron? I have a couple of the track sets as well, T-142 not T-148 though. I used a set to make my M60A3TTS along with the parts from that conversion set. That was another issue regarding the conversion set. It included only one set of updated air cleaners, but did not show their use on the M60A3TTS which are required.
I built this kit yet again earlier this year and loved every minute of it.I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with it.
Based on the movie ‘Patton’.
I bought one of the re-issues too. I can also confirm that this kit is and has always been 1/35, not 1/32. You can use Tamiya’s M48 parts on it to add details too.
Ok, ok… I made a mistake on the scale… Monogram had a hard time deciding what scale to make their 1/30-something armor kits in back in the day, and I missed… Let’s move on…
I’ve got the Tamiya M48 as well… I don’t plan on kit-bashing either of them, although I DO want to build both an AVLB and a CEV from the Monogram M48 kits, so I’ll be picking up a couple more of 'em… The price is too good to NOT do those kind of conversions…
However, I digress…
I’ve got the hull halves and grill assembled, but need to stop there because I don’t have any good interior shots of the driver’s compartment yet, and I need to build that before I can add the top of the hull…
What I DO have handy is some interior shot of the M103 Heavy Tank.
QUESTION 1:
Is the driver’s compartment of the M103 (below) similar enough to the M48’s to use the M103 pictures as guide in constructing the driver’s compartment of the M48?
!(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v233/HansvonHammer/Armor CUCvs/m103-02.jpg?t=1321296975)
QUESTION 2:
Since there’s no easy way to construct a complete turret basket for this kit, what does it “look like” ionside the hull and immediately behind the driver’s seat?
As far as an AVLB, there were both M60 and M48 chassis AVLBs, but the CEV was based on the M60A1 and not the M48. You can’t get to to a CEV from the Monogram kit.
Here is a shot of the driver’s hole on an M48A5:
Nice to see you bumping around these parts again HvH! [B]
He’s back!!! Nice to see you in greese and tracks again. I’ll keep my binos on this one
Rounds Complete!!
I was at the big brick and mortar shop Sunday, and they got their first load of Tamiya paints in with the new labels
I picked up one with a 50% coupon at Micheals too. Been working on it for a couple of months now, haven’t had much free time. Probably won’t look like much when it’s finished because I’ve been experimenting with washes and pastels trying to improve my weathering skills. May have gone too far. It’s strictly out of box with hatches closed. Once I get the tracks to where they’re presentable I’ll install them and take a couple of pics. Don’t expect any extreme close-ups. lol
Tony
Sorry, Rob, lots of errors yesterday morning…
The Lo Model box pic reminded me of the fact that there’s a gun tube in there I need, sweet, thanks.
Thanks, Rob… I was afraid of the M60-only CEV issue since I couldn’t find a pic anywhere of an M48 chasis’d CEV. Thanks for the pic of the driver’s hole too… By the by, what would you see of the turret basket behind the driver’s seat if the turret is pointed either to about the 11 or 2 O’Clock? Is it mesh, a door, or is the basket solid in that area?
Thanks for noticing, Bill & Redleg… Been stuck in the aircraft hooch far too long and needed to get myself back to living with my azz in the grass among the “Great Unwashed”… Them airdales get offended by having me upwind or somethin’…
Had to do a quick-build armor subject last week just to get right again, an Italeri PzKpfw 38(t), but it ain’t ready for photos yet since it looks like it just rolled out the facotry doors of the Skoda plant… I’ll get it right when I take a breather from this Patton… It’s nothing special, just an S.O.B. project to get used to roadwheels again…
Also… What variant is this M48 anyway?
Three barrels, plain 105mm for the M48A5, thermal shrouded 105mm for the M60A3TTS and the German style 105mm for the M48A2GA2. One issue I noted long ago, but forgot was that both the M48A5 barrel and M60A3TTS barrel use the same exact inner piece to mount the tube to the mantlet, but the set only includes one of those mount pieces (part A69). It isn’t hard to scratch one from a piece of thick styrene rod or tube or even a thick chunk of sprue, but it was odd that they included only one.