Got a little bench-time in this wekend, worked on a couple of M48s. One was pictured here a (long?) while ago as a diversion, the other is a fresh start, will receive the M8 dozer which I think I have enough pics of the get a start on.
First, the one furthest along. This weekend I added stowage from Aves putty, some water cans, ammo boxes etc. It’s about ready for detail painting.
And secondly, the hull, with the front susp arms lowered about 1.5mm more than the rears, to a total of about 4.5mm, since it will be getting the M8 'dozer.
The first is from the Academy M48A5/K kit, with Tamiya tracks and sprockets since the Acad kit has the K1 tracks and narrow sprockets. The hull (only) is Tamiya.
haven’t seen one of these around here in a while, and I love the way you modded tha suspension! I kwo HeavyArty talks about how you have to lower these models, and it looks like you’ve got it nailed!
No weathering? I’d be surprised if you decided to model a tank this obviously-lived-in so cleanly?
The stowage looks great, but I would have to say that it needs some dirtying-up? It just won’t look right without a little grime, in my opinion…
Doog, it’s just now ready to make the rest of it green, paint the stowage, etc, then it will be FILTHY! Ever see the pic in the front of Squadron’s M48 book? That’s my inspiration for this model.
D-master, thanks. I really like the looks of the '48 after it’s been around the block a couple of times.
Don’t see too many of these built up nowadays. Lots of great detail in that stowage, and really nice to see that you took the time to tie and strap it all down properly. Is it fully attached to the model, or is it removable? Looks like it may be interesting to paint if it cannot be removed from the model.
Zok: Yes, it’s permanently attached. It is a chore to paint, but I haven’t found a good way to remove the soft stuff after it’s been stuffed into a bustle rack. Thanks for the compliment, doing the tie-downs is tedious but it’s gotta be done it just doesn’t look right…
Doog, I’m all fired up on these two, hopefully it won’t be too long.
I have a question about these tanks. i thought that there wasa radio-phone attachemnt in the rear, so that a soldier could pick up the “phone” and talk to the guys in the tank? I could have sworn that I saw this in use in the movie “Full Metal Jacket.” Was this a writers prop or an actual ite, and if so, where was it located?
Matthew9, thank you. The chain link is wedding tulle and plastic rod for poles. I also like the look of it.
IAMBRB, there’s a smallish box on the rt. rr. fender, just visible in one pic. It’s not very well detailed, and if I can find a clearer pic before I go much further, I’ll detail it up a bit.
When fitted, the T/I phone on the M48 was in a box mounted at the rear of the horizontal section of the right side fender. (ie on the top of the fender above the right sprocket)
RBaer - Lookin’ good!! There’s just something missing - oh , I know - it should be in a muddy, jungley, south east asia base! maybe a peace sign or two? Love it , love it!
mstazz62, ever see that pic of an M48 in Vietnam, parked behind a section of chainlink fence? It’s in about three books that I have. That’s what I’m going for here, and it will be FILTHY! It’s on pg. 3 of the Squadron book, in at least one Osprey book, and Squadron’s “Vietnam Armor” book also. In fact, I still need to clutter it up a bit. But it will be nasty.
Doog, I saw a review of Acad’s M48 as compared to the Tamiya kit a while ago, I think Tamiya got it closer. There’s one at a National Guard post a few minutes away from me, I may need to go get some pics. Thanks on the “dip”. It’s close to one pic I’ve got, more than on another. I’m gonna go with it. Built up Acad’s M9 blade assy the other night, seriously need a pic or two of it’s mounting setup, as the M9 goes on the flat M60 hull, and the M48 hull is, well, not flat. All the hydraulics are in a different place as well.
Thanks! Tie-downs are from wine foils (the aluminum or lead foil on corked wine bottles), copper wire, and some masking tape. I have a bunch wine foils…[:-^]
Hey, one thing you might want to think about is getting some MIG Powders in a reddish color and giving it a good dusting to simulate that Vietnam dirt/dust! That would really be an ideal color to use for placing it in a historical context!
Absolutely! Except that they’ll be the ceramics pigments and ground artists’ pastels I’ve been using. I actually plan to use some generic Italian buld spice, wallboarding mud, craft acrylic paint and real dirt as a mud mix. Mig pigments would be a luxury at this point…
I did a project like this a few years ago that I came up with a nice red tint to the dirt, but I built the M48 pretty much OOB. I may have a pic…it’s something I did about 10 years ago.
As you can see, it sits really high on the suspension, as Tamiya produced it. This one is a LOT cleaner than the current project will be…
