Hi Gino!
I would have PM’ed ya, but I never know if you’re off in the field somewhere…and some other people might know the answer here…
A while back, you gave me a tweaks list for the M48 Patton by Tamiya. In it, it said to add casting numbers to the hull, turret, and engine access doors. OK, so I think I found the locations for the first two, but I’m not sure. On the hull, it’s basically right over the front bow, right? A single row of 5-6 numbers?
And on the turret, two smaller rows between the two hatches, basically, right?
But where are the casting numbers on the engine doors? I found them on an M482C, but the rear of the A3 is so different.
If anyone has some good shots of the casting numbers, please help me out here…a new WIP is coming soon…
Karl, good to hear from you. The marks are numbers on the lower edges of the rear access doors. You can see them below. Alos, there are some casting numbers on the tow pintle and a Shield w/a G casting mark on the lower left side, below the tail light. This same Shield w/a G is on the left side of turret as well.
Side of turret, above last 3.
Hope that helps and I’m looking forward to what you have planned.
Gino,
Thanks a bunch for the clear pictures–perfect; just what I needed! Boy, that’s going to be a challenge to replicate, but I have my razor blades and old sprues at hand…[:)] And that shield…hmmmm. That’s got the old wheels turning…
Hey, while I’ve got your attention–that 1.5 mm turret height increase–does that mean I put the shim between the two kit turret halves and then sand that out? Or do I shim it under the turret, like where it “sits” on the hull in the relevant hole–like you have to shim some Panther turrets to get them to sit high enough over the deck? I saw your excellent M48 without the engine here, and you said you did that mod on that fine model, so I figure you’d know.
I’m guessing the first location, but want to make sure?
Yup, the first position you mentioned. It goes between the two halves of the turret. For the Shield w/G cast mark, there are a few on the Archer Cast Marks Surface Detail sheets. They are perfect.
Cool, Arty–thanks, man.
Never even knew Archer had those babies. I’ll have to check them out!
Thanks again; I’ll be posting some work soon! Back to the bench! [:D]
The Archer Surface Details are really nice. I have used them on a few projects. Here they are as serial numbers and casting marks on my IDF Magach 3(M48A3) circa '73. You can also see the turret shim below.
Gino,–yeah, COOL! They look great!
They look like they were worth the measly $20 bucks—mine are on their way!
Man, I’ll tell ya–I was NOT looking forward to shaving numbers off sprues; especially those tiny ones!
Again, thanks for that link. That’s going to make this project a LOT easier!
That turret shim looks exactly like what I’ve got here as well. WHEW! Glad to know I didn’t eff it up! lol!
I’ll be posting a WIP thread this weekend…stay tuned! [:)]