I’m intent on finishing this tank before Dec. 31st! My biggest hurdle right now is how to arrange all the stowage stuff.
Here is the hull front. I love Echelon decals.They’re so thin, and easy to use, but not too thin that they break apart.
Here’s pics of the turret. Pardon the shine on some of the parts, I haven’t sealed the turret yet with dull coat.
I love the fact that the commander’s cupola can rotate 360 degrees. I should do this to my Tamiya Abrams.
Some of the rails on the turret broke, I glued them back, but they looked bent. But oh wells, they’re gonna be covered with gear.
Here’s the Tamiya crew. They look quite good. Great combat poses, and the faces are very expressive. Wish they came wearing nomex suits though. I also drilled the antenna base mounts and inserted a stiff wire in them, for added strength. Stretched sprues kept breaking.
I added a little strip of PE for the handhold for the commander’s hatch.
Here’s the turret APU. I’m gonna put decals on them later tonight.
CIPs. It’s awesome that Dragon would supply stiff stickers as the CIPs.
So politically incorrect, but that just adds to its awesomeness.
Last couple of pics.
Later on tonight, I’m gonna have to add some decals, paint the M240, weather some parts, and paint all the gear.
I just discovered my 7.62 machine gun barrel is broken in half. I have both pieces but I doubt they will ever be straight. What do i do now? All I have is another 50 cal but I don’t know if that will work.
This might be the end of my model if I can’t make it work.
Phil H – thanks for the points. On the oil level clear caps, there seemed no way to make them look clear, I considered gloss coating them to look like plastic but with all the dust on the tracks it seemed most straightforward to just let them ‘be dusty.’ Re the MRS, Tamiya molded it solid with the barrel so there’s no opportunity to adjust the fit. And the smoke grenade launchers – yes, they could do with a wash. I usually paint them black but on checking my refs the throats of the cast aluminum units are the same color as the exterior, but the illusion of depth would certainly be enhanced by a dab of diluted oils.
GD – awesome! I think you have the best of the build, and I sooo must put a Dragon together one of these days!
KC – the barrel of my 7.62 snapped on the sprue, I used a spot of gel superglue and added it right back on, (after all painting was done), and luckily I managed to get it completely straight. Give it a go, it might work!
I hear you about the hubs, I reckon they’d only appear shiny and black straight after washing. Drive cross country for a few minutes and they’d be coated in dust.
It’s interesting that the MRS is moulded to the muzzle tip. Granted, it is an older kit though. Every other Abrams kit that I’m familiar with has it as a separate part (including Tamiya’s own M1A2 kit). [:)]
I’m almost finished except for the 7.62 machine gun. I can’t seem to get the barrel straight. For that one thing I’d be taking pictures tomorrow and posting them, that’s all I have left. I’ve added all the storwage stuff and weathered it for Iraq
KC – I reckon you could say the vehicle is seen at a field depot for maintenance, the 7.62 was damaged on her last patrol and has been unmounted for change-out… Pending either getting the barrel straight or sourcing a replacement?
GB badges coming today – um, better late than never, right?!
Ok, I’ve been working on the gear and stowage stuff. It’s taking me quite a bit because it takes a long time for me to decide whether I want to glue a particular piece in place on a particular spot.
Finished the M240.
I should have taken a picture of the gas can stowage rack, before I glued that CIP in place.
Besides the broken 7.62 machine gun earlier in the year I left the model in the room where my dog was and several PE parts got broken and lost. I replaced what I could and I used some of the storage stuff to cover what I could not fix or replace. Besides that I might have gone overboard with the storage and fuel stains.
it looks like that M1 is ready for the long haul. It might be a little too much stowage, I’m not sure they’d want to stack so much on the blow-away hatches, or else they might not be blown off if the tank takes a hit. But I’m no expert, someone who knows a bit more about Abrams might be able to weigh in on that.
KC – page 1 updated, fabulous build! Re the stowage, I remember photos of ODS Abrams so loaded with gear you’d think they were the supply truck, not the MBT… Re GR114’s thoughts on stowage, my impression is that the explosion of the ammunition store would generate a blast pressure against which the weight of stowage would be insignificant, the only question is whether the added resistance would overstress the internal hatches, resulting in crew compartment compromisation… Nevertheless, it looks terrific!
GD, I think you’re the last one still building, so we’re watching for you to bring that beast home!
There were some amazing and very promising projects early on that seemed to go by the wayside, and that’s a shame. As always, anyone who would like to finish and take a badge is more than welcome.
Cheers – will post a wrap-up message reflecting on the thread before long.
Awesome looking Abrams there! I have to post pictures of mine, I finished months ago but never got a chance to set up some pictures. Wish I had participated here, it looks like there’s a wealth of knowledge!
Guys, when I started building this I had planed to put just a few bags, ammo and MRE’s. This past November at deer camp one of my best friends was there and he was a Marine. It never did draw on me that he was also a M1A1HA gunner, for some reason I just thought he was Inf, a boot on the ground. I told him about this build and he said to pile it on. As they moved north and used up ammo, food, cokes, water, etc they would throw them off and kept going, they only stoped for tank rounds and fuel. He also told me not to go more than one backpack and one drifflebag per crew member.
that’s good to know. I’ve got a ton of stowage left over because I didn’t think they’d load 'em down that much. Maybe if I get a chance I’ll throw some more stuff on mine.
Ask away, though you might consider asking in the general armor forum, as there are many people here who are familiar with the Abrams who may be able to answer your questions but did not participate in or follow this GB.
James – this GB closed at the end of last year, sorry to say. However, if there was interest in another I would be more than happy to host it. This will reach everyone involved in the 2011 event, and I recall there were a number of promising builds that didn’t reach the finish line.
I chucked my Dragon Abrams in the bin on Saturday, not one of my better moments. I’d have to see what else is out there after completing a Revell one and not liking the Dragon one at all.
