Dragon Black Label MBT-70 (Kpz. 70) WIP

While test fitting parts I found the sides of the lower hull were slightly warped in. Installing the back plate and a couple braces ensured a good fit with the upper hull.

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141103_17_58_44_Pro_zps34163da1.jpg

I really enjoyed building this one so far. The headlights and grenade pods are a little fidgety, but everything else fit pretty well.

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141118_10_56_50_Pro_zpsb7be1355.jpg

I painted the insides of the headlights with Tamiya Flat Aluminum before attaching the lenses masked with bare metal foil.

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141118_10_56_15_Pro_zps22260939.jpg

There's no interior so I just painted the areas behind the clear pieces Tamiya Flat Black before installing the masked "glass".

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141118_10_55_21_Pro_zpsc73f9795.jpg

Although I mostly build straight from the box, I'll add a few details. On this one I cut off the molded antennas and drilled out the antenna mounts to receive stretched sprue antennas later. I also cut off the turret beacon.

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141118_10_55_33_Pro_zps88951c8d.jpg

I found a scrap piece on the clear sprue that was about the same size as the turret beacon. I thought I could make it look a little more realistic than the solid plastic part.

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141118_10_44_30_Pro_zpsee494f03.jpg

I knew the suspension arms could be adjusted to make the tank "kneel" but I installed them flat. I kind of regret it after finding this pic. It could have made for a good diorama.

i1368.photobucket.com/.../kPZ70_zps58da5d71.jpg

I recently acquired one as well; I plan on building it as if it was a US version placed into service in the 1970s. I will add US style smoke grenade launchers, MERDC 4-color camouflage, a .50 cal for the commander and possibly re-gunning the cannon with either a 105 mm or 120 mm. Haven't decided yet.

Cool,. I was surprised and a little disappointed to learn that this model was ONLY the German version of it. Of course, I would bet my house on the assurance that they'll be coming out with the AMerican version of it soon.

I saw one of these in one of the 'sheds" at Aberdeen back in th mid-80s when I wrote ahead and got a private tour with Bill whats-his-name, the curator/manager of the museum. It wasn't on display, but impressed the helll out of me. It was like, legendary, at the time.

Good luck with your build. It's a fascinating vehicle. I'm kind of disappointed with Dragon's 'Black Label', though. The M103 had some issues with turret shape, and some of the parts of this one appear quite crude compared to what Dragon is capable of (20mm cannon - I'm looking at you.)

I guess we should be glad there is any mainstream kit of this vehicle. I just wish it were more state of the art.

the doog

Cool,. I was surprised and a little disappointed to learn that this model was ONLY the German version of it. Of course, I would bet my house on the assurance that they'll be coming out with the AMerican version of it soon.

I saw one of these in one of the 'sheds" at Aberdeen back in th mid-80s when I wrote ahead and got a private tour with Bill whats-his-name, the curator/manager of the museum. It wasn't on display, but impressed the helll out of me. It was like, legendary, at the time.

I got to climb on that one at APG (#5) before its restoration and the one inside the LST building (#6) at Knox. The #7 tank used to sit outside of my office building at Knox. The problem with trying to replicate one of the US ones is that they went through various changes during their short lives. No two are quite identical and what one looked like in the beginning is not what it looked like at the cancellation. They also basically fell into disrepair.

The German rides, on the other hand, are virtually unchanged since their manufacture and were preserved from their end service. Much easier to make a kit from museum pieces than repainted junks. I think the two German tanks were more similar to one another than the surviving US tanks were to one another.

Then this begs the question, which US tank do they make? S/N 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 (which became an XM803)? The one that used to be at the entrance to Disney Barracks (#4) received M60 tracks, road wheels and sprockets.

This page has a good photo comparison of the various surviving tanks. The author messed up the S/N on the photos, the #5 tank was the APG one, not #3 as he captions. Just a quick glance at the survivors and you can see no two US ones are exactly are alike.

http://www.massimocorner.com/afv/Surviving_MBT-70.pdf 

Awesome info, Rob; thanks a bunch for that!!!

Dragon may be looking at other versions of this vehicle, but there is not a single piece left on the sprue so the German version is it for now. It was a pretty enjoyable build although I agree for the money you would expect some photoetched metal and more options.

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141121_20_09_50_Pro_zps29db6212.jpg

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141121_20_10_13_Pro_zps0390d279.jpg

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141125_19_45_55_Pro_zps4c07cc24.jpg

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141125_19_46_31_Pro_zps314c9bd1.jpg

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141125_19_47_10_Pro_zps0f0eeb6b.jpg

I was planning on being more aggressive on the weathering, but found it's hard to really push it. Overall, I was pretty happy with this though.

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141127_03_52_54_Pro_zpsada508f4.jpg

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141127_02_57_36_Pro_zps076e4afb.jpg

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141127_03_51_12_Pro_zpsbf4609e7.jpg

If you have any feedback whether it's something positive or a way to improve, let me know.

Thanks

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141127_03_52_54_Pro_zpsada508f4.jpg

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141127_02_57_36_Pro_zps076e4afb.jpg

i1368.photobucket.com/.../WP_20141127_03_51_12_Pro_zpsbf4609e7.jpg

On a side note, I was able to get photobucket images to automatically load instead of having to click links before. Is there a setting I'm missing?

Thanks for the tip HeavyArty...and the feedback.