Turret:
Hatches, oh boy.... U.S. Armor, gloss white interior, so inboard face of TC and Loaders hatch are white too? No, No....... woops! U.S. modern MBT's have the add on welded padlock hasp to secure the loaders hatch from invaders, virtually all have them-M1's come from the factory with 'em.
Hatch seals, paint "em in (flat black ) if you got 'em, on some older big boys the seals just disintegrate, get pulled out, etc.
Vision blocks, loaders periscope... deep subjects. On every tank I was ever on, NEVER mounted the loaders periscope, it stayed in the stowage box on the inside of the turret wall. They are expensive if you loose one, and thier value is negligable, plus you bump your head /shoulder/face on the darn things all the time. Depictions with this thing installed are....OK? Never have figured out the best way to depict the armored glass, somehow, it never looks quite right, no matter what I try. Abrams guys, don't forget the "mickey mouse" windshield wipers (and washer tube!) on the driver center vision block. No such luxury on the M48 and 60 variants.
Smoke Launchers- Don't forget these have electrical cables running to them protected by angled runners bolted to the turret, (most kits do not depict these accurately), usually just before the launcher assembly about one to two feet of cable is exposed, I've seen them cammo'd over or left black (conduit), either way.....good to go. We protected our launchers with canvas covers, smoke was loaded only if an when we were gonna use it. We had a few mysterious "launches" occur from time to time, never stepped in front of those things when they were "hot".
Some residue could accumulate around the "cans" if used a lot, especially when "salvoed".
Main Gun and Crew served "bullet launchers"---
Thermal shields , susceptible to a lot of dents, dings, etc., made form relatively light material, (I believe aluminum alloy?), bore evacuator (heavy!) slides off the end of the tube, first remove forward thermal shield with a strap wrench. Abrams builders - Don't forget your MRS (Muzzle reference sensor) at the end of the tube. This device has a tritium diode power supply (half life...?). MRS diopter has a purplish hue and is always illuminated. OK.. what's this thing for? Without going into a metallurgy lecture, when we shoot a lot of high velocity sabot or heat ammo, like, real fast, molecules in the tube start to heat up, expand, and the net result is your tube starts to move around a bit. While not visible to the naked eye, it really starts to screw up your boresight and zero, and at 2000m plus, you start to miss. This works on your ego. So, the MRS has a reticle, you flip a switch ,the gunners primary sight points to the MRS reticle, you toggle your primary sight reticle in line with the MRS... and bingo, you've compenstaed and adjusted your zero ! whew.... This gadget always has the weird NBC warning label riveted across the top (yellow over black).
The 50. cal is, well, it is what it is. When we depict the belt feeding into the weapon, we need to detail those rounds, tracer, armor piercing, all have different colored tips, trying to paint these things is a nightmare, but makes all the difference. Don't forget, if your build is depicting a tank in action, you should have lots of links strewn around the turret and on the hull, they work into the darndest places. The Abrams loader "240" 7.62 mount has a link catcher, the half moon looking bucket thing integral to the mount under the weapon, it is removable to dump links. Tanks in service- add plenty of solvent, oil and LSA stains on the turret roof!, particularly around the loaders hatch, this is where most of the weapons are field stripped and lubricated. Abrams builders - the loaders weapon mount swings on a steel semi circular ring around the periphery of the hatch opening, this is NEVER painted and should retain a gunmetal finish. Cast Turrets don't forget sand holes and pitting, weld repairs.
Antenna tie downs, standard issue GI cord. Two reasons to tie 'em down, first to keep your profile low, (you know, the tell tale antenna showing above the next sand dune) and in Germany, to keep from electrocuting yourself when crossin RR tracks. Those electric suspended power lines......
Abrams builders, if your build depicts a shooting tank, make sure you build with the wind sensor in the UP position. Located at the rear bustle, a tubular looking gismo that stows 90 degrees when not in use. When firing , the wind sensor supplies valuable data to your ballistic solution, especially for those 3000m plus shots. Scribe your upper turret blow off panels, you don't want that "molded in" effect. Turret roof has a liberal application of anti-skid coating, (on hull forward sponson as well). This is just like the "spackling" on your textured ceiling, only a lot tougher obviously. GPS doghouse - If your M1 is shooting, the doors for the gunners primary sight should be open. When looking straight in (faced toward the rear of the tank) the left half is the GPS window (daylight reticle), it is semi clear glass. The right side is the Thermal Sight window. It has a purplish hued glass. when your not using the Thermal Sight, this door can be closed independently of the other. The GAS (gunners auxiliary sight) sights through the mantlet, (hole below the coax flash hider tube) - I see a lot of M1's showing a fluid stain running out of this hole.......
The main turret issue with M1 kits is the weld detail (or lack thereof) The weld joints around the armor package should not be smooth. By this I mean that unlike the welds on let's say, a T34, which were pretty bad, the weld bead integrity should look relatively uniform, but the welds themselves should be raised and defined from the armor plate. DU applique on the glacis should also be defined on the IPM1 and M1A1 and A2. Turret armor is flame cut and beveled, and welded by hand when blocked into a turret jig (big weld fixture). There is a lot of mismatch when the various plates are blocked into the fixture, so you see a lot variation on finished turrets.
Getting late guys... more later
Steve