ARMOR - M1 Abrams Group Build

QUOTE: Originally posted by beav Hey, Martian, if you have Tamiya's mine plow set, the plows are a fun thing to build-although you have to mess around with a lot of wires to do it... I am gonna start those maybe tomorrow.

I have the Trumpeter kit. It's got wires and real metal chains. Looks challenging. I just hope it doesn't drive me mad!

What exactely do M1A1 antennas look like? and how should I go about replicating them?

Count me in... Either a Tamyia or Dragon M1 in Iraqi Freedom Colors

zok: I used the following:

Tamiya NATO Black
Tamiya NATO Dark Green
Tamiya Dark Brown: (There is a Tamiya NATO Dark Brown but I find it a bit glossy)

Gary/Alex:Thanks mga pare. Glad you like the rushed job.

MGM: I got mine for about 5 US DOllars here in Manila. Not much of a help I know. Sorry. Anyway thanks for the good words on my model.

Martian, I got the accessory set for 10 bucks Canadian. But that was at a show, so they may just have discounted it there. Shouldn't be too much anyways.

Hey, Martian, if you have Tamiya's mine plow set, the plows are a fun thing to build-although you have to mess around with a lot of wires to do it... I am gonna start those maybe tomorrow.

I only need to assemble my mine plows. I saved them for last. nice build Dwight! I gotta get me one of those accessory sets for mine. how much do they sell for in hobby shops becasue I haven't seen them yet.

The dates that M1AbramsRules set are:
"starting date of March 15 and an end date of June 15" so yeah you can say today, but quite a few people started this weekend. I started a little last week.

Nice build there Dwight. Good three tone camo job & weathering. Does the M1 build starts today? I'm sorry but I'm too lazy to go through this whole thread but may I ask, again, when this GB ends? Thanks.

very nice pareng dwight!
you're finished already? that was fast!
i'm still working on my abram's road wheels.

Dwight, thanks a lot for the posted pics. It looks absolutely great. I picked out the modern US accessory set from Tamiya this weekend, so I'll be adding that to mine. Anywhoo, the pics will definitely be a help. Which brand/colours did you use?
I didn't get any work done on the kit this weekend, but I'll continue with the assembly this week, and get as much as possible done.

Thanks for the tip Brian. Good thing is that is not glued so I can easily relocate that.

Again, thanks...I got the idea from some model pics I downloaded from the net. Now I know better.

About the dirt...

Tamiya Desert Yellow Acrylic Paint thinned a little bit with tap water and applied using a small pointed brush. I also brushed on some pastel chalk to blend the dirt better.

Hey, looks great,

I love the grimy dirt all over the top of the turret and hull, looks damn convincing. How did you do that, a wash I assume? Very nice build but if I may make a small suggestion, I wouldn’t put a road wheel around the cross wind sensor in the back like that, and that thing is only held in place by two latches and a wimpy hinge, just food for thought and that road wheel is fairly heavy, bout the only thing I put around it is my Kevlar and webgear. Very nice three tone cammo too.

Later…
Brian.

OK her she is...







This is my 1/35 Dragon M1A2 which I built over the weekend. It is supposed to be my entry to the M1 Abrams Group Build but I got impatient.. I hope you'll still accept it. After all today is MArch 15, 2004 here in Manila.

The other stuff on the deck are from the Tamiya Modern Soldier Accessories kit. I did not make any effort to modify or make the tank more accurate. The overall build and finish is a bit rough but considering that I put this up over the weekend, I am happy with it. I am planning a dio for this but that could come later. Anyway, here how she looks against a real background.




Here are other views:





This the 3rd M1 kit that I worked on and I can't say that this will be the last.

QUOTE: Originally posted by M1abramsRules hmmmmm......... haven't christened it yet. I'll have to think about it.

How about "Splintered Barney"?

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNNN
I feel not so good-fried to many brain cells with that glue this weekend-but i got all major assembly on my M1 done heeee haaa hooooo hheeee ehheehheehehheeh!
how uh, how do you make antennas? should I just do what tamiya says i should ?

oops...

Sorry about that. Not exactly the best view. Let me check the filenames of these pictures.

QUOTE: Originally posted by zokissima Does anyone, mostly you Dwight, have any good pics of the 3 tone NATO camo scheme?

Not much really but here is one link that you might find useful:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m1-intro.htm


M1: That's a cool looking Abrams. I love the camo. Nice job.

Anyway, did get far with my M1A2 this weekend. Here is a picture:

Uh oh-problem
I am almost halfway done with building-this is a bad day to have a weekend on
up since five-you know the routine if you have nothing else to do...

I might clean and prep mine for whenever i get to it. I still want to finish my panther first. We'll see, I may have to glue some parts together.

Finally got started, with my M1, got the mine plow base assembly, and all the road wheels on. This is gonna be a fun kit.

Wow, I really like that
I think I'll maybe go for some scheme just out of my mind. Still have a couple of days to decide. Tomorrow I'm off to a show, so if I see something I like there, I'll probably try to replicate it.

I don't feel like naming a paint scheme........ somebody else do it. Captain Caveman came up with an awesome name for the scheme on jhulks e100. he called it Berlin Ambush.

hmmmmm......... haven't christened it yet. I'll have to think about it.

That is cool M1AbramsRules! what do you call it or what do you call the paint scheme? It looks menacing!

here's the paint scheme so far on my 1/72 revell. it still needs a lot of work.

Mixing the two cements was something i disovered totally by accident. Tennax and Ambroid are sometimes located totally separate from the other adhesives. At least they are in the local Hobby Town USA. Hobby Lobby has them in the same section. Hobby Lobby carries Ambroid and Hobby Town has both if you have either of these shops in your area. Ambroid and tennax work exactly the same IMO except that Ambroid is a little cheaper [approx $2.99 for a 1oz bottle]. It's farely large bottle for 1oz. Twice the size of a testors paint bottle.

Hmm, I"ve never heard of mixing the CA and testors cement, but I'll give it a try.
I haven't seen tennax at the hobby shops I go to, so I'll have to ask the store owner if he can order some in or if he knows where to get some. To be honest, I do need something that sets fairly quickly for these kits, so I'll definitely give that a try.
Thanks!

QUOTE: Originally posted by zokissima Thanks for the heads-up Martian. Most of the Trumpeter kits I've built, I've had problems with skirts, but thankfully, I just use all my old Lego blocks to construct jigs to hold in place :) And I completely understand your worries about the rear bustle rack, as I thought this might give me some problems. How did you attatch to turret? CA glue or plastic cement? Probably Sunday night I'll get around to building up the upper hull, then sometime during the week finishing up the turret. then it's on to basecoat, and filling and sanding... :)

I notice most guys on the forum use CA glue or plastic cement on their kits. I never use either unless I need a "tacky bond". I started using Ambroid and Tennax plastic weld on my sci-fi and Gundam kits over the last three or four years. It's great on Gundams because it automaticly creates its own seam filler of plastic so it's easier to sand and blend and there is no residue becaue it evaporates in seconds! Though with most of the good stuff there are drawbacks. It's somewhat toxic based on the bottle warnings so use it sparingly. Also you don't want to spill it esp on your plastic parts or they're toast! Ambroid also now has a non-toxic weld that smells like the non-toxic Testor's plastic cement [like oranges]. Problem is it works okay but takes longer to set. Regular weld setsin approx 10 seconds! The non-toxic says 20 seconds on the bottle but it seems to depend on the plastic. I'd recommend trying the non-toxic first only because this way you won't get "spoiled" by the much faster time of the toxic. I've been using the toxic so long it's kinda hard for me to use the non-toxic but i'm trying to switch over!lol
Oh, i've also learned by accident that if you want your CA glue to cure faster put a small amount of Testor's plactic glue on one surface to be joined and just a little CA on the other. Put them to gether and it creates a strong bond in seconds! It's great when you are in a hurry! this would also make a great option on those skirts.

Does anyone, mostly you Dwight, have any good pics of the 3 tone NATO camo scheme?