Hello
I can get my hands on the Italeri M60 Blazer ( kit #6391) in 1/35 scale for about 30$. Some sources say it’s the old ESCI kit reboxed, other are saying it’s another kit altogether.
Anyway, what are your thoughts about this particular M60 kit ? Is it a good, accurate kit ? Easy to build ?
How is this kit if you compare it to others, like the old Tamiya one or the Academy ?
Oh and I don’t’ want to spend a lot of money on AM parts, it’s going to be just another OOB build … [:P]
It is indeed a rebox of the ESCI kit. And it is a dang good kit too. I built one many years back and really enjoyed the project. It is better than the Tamiya M60 kits, which I have built a few of. But I have yet to build one of the Academy M60s so I cant compare that one. It builds up easily enough and appears to be fairly accurate. I cant go too much into accuracy as I was not a tanker and am not overly intimate with the M60 series aside from serving alongside them for several years. it looks like the beast once built. The trickiest parts of the build that I remember are the link and length tracks (always a bit of a challenge for me- at least back then) and the stowage boxes that mount of the fenders near the air cleaners, they will interfere with turret traverse, leave them off until last or sand them down a bit.
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As the others have said, it is the old Esci kit. Esci’s M60 series is the best M60 currently on the market (until AFV Club’s M60s come out). At $30, it is a bargain, get it.
Agreed, at $30, it’s a deal.
As far as it’s accuracy goes, if you want to build it as a Magach, it should have a non-shrouded gun tube, but other than that, it’s not bad. And some AFV Club tracks, at under $20/set, are a very good investment.
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If you can find the old AMT/ERTL boxing you get those parts. I still have the commanders cupola, IR searchlight and a few other odds and end parts in my spares bin from that boxing. I lost one side of the un shrouded 105 gun tube somewhere in all the moves that I made since building the kit.
I’d have to say I’m swimming in M60 spares, but I still grab any one the the re-boxings of this kit, with or without the IDF stuff, any time I find one for under $40. Nice thing, with the AFV Club -A1 on the way, Tamiya, Academy and the Esci/AMT/Revell/Italeri kits are getting common at shows, so I’m stocking up…
Between the three, it’s not impossible to build a nice M60Awhatever, and a few Magachs too.
Thanks all for your answers ! (I know I’m a bit late for that, as I was very busy at work).
At first I was a bit put off by the Italeri label on the box, not having any real “success” building kits from this company lately …
Well, like some posters have said, at that price it could be a deal.
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Sorry to bring back up a (slightly) old thread but just picked up an Academy M60A1 RISE with a dozer blade from a guy in our club who’s thinning out his stash for five bucks. Gee, you guys weren’t kidding about some Academy kits being virtual copies of Tamiya ones- I swear you could swap out many of the parts without any modifications.
Not the greatest kit in the world but hey- five bucks- you can’t beat that with a stick.
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Thanks Rob for the low-down. It does come with ERA as well as the blade- even if it’s too accurate at this price I’m just going to build the thing and be happy with it. Heck, I figured just the dozer blade was worth the five bucks.
I figured the blade should have some sort of hydraulic hoses or something with it like a bulldozer. It’s just stuck on there with nothing to raise or lower it. I’ll look up Davis’s thread- thanks for the tip.
This one luckily does have plastic rims for the road wheels too.
M60 Dozer tanks had a reservoir and filter assembly on the left rear fender in place of the smaller storage box. 2 hoses came from it to the rear plate. One entered the hull, while the other traveled down the underside to the box between the mounts on the front. From the front box another hose ran back and inside the hull to the hydraulic pump. Some pics.
Oh wow, thanks Gino!!! Those are fantastic photos and diagrams- going to print them off and put them in the kit box so I’ll be sure to have them whenever I get around to building her.
I’m printing them too, thanks, Gino.
Re the Italeri kit, I snagged another one (the IDF version) for a song last weekend, never can have too many…
You own an M-60 TM??
Is that an armor guy thing?
I think that’s cool!
Now if only my Sherman would show up some day. I keep looking at the AMX kit and itch to get started on my “Egypterman”.
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Glad you like the images. I didn’t know they were from Rob, but thanks. I just did a couple quick Google searches and they came up. I had remembered seeing them somewhere. I guess it was from Rob on Armorama.
I guess the TMs are just a military thing. I have TMs for HMMWVs, UH-60, M109A6 Paladin, M981 FIST-V, etc… It is actually interesting, I have found most TM drawings to be at or very close to 1/35.