Looks great! Glad to know about the kit, I've had my eye on Takom's Brave Tiger for a while, and I've got at least one or two other Takom kits in the stash. After coming off a couple kits with...shall we say, "rough" quality, it'll be nice to get back into some better engineering.

I feel you on the flock! I used to base Warhammer 40k figures with grass flock and no matter how much or what glue I used, some of the grass always fluttered away. I would up putting the model over a sheet of newspaper after I'd glued on the first round of flock, then giving it a good rap so the loose bits landed on the paper rather than blowing away with the varnish. 

Thanks!!! 

The last few Takom kits I've built have been really well engineered. Or at least I haven't hit a bad one yet. 

I've been using flocking for years. This is the first time I've tried the long stuff- about a cm long. I do the same with the stuff, the short isn't too bad but the long seems to get everywhere despite getting most of it on paper and recycling it. 

It looks like a good build. I've always wondered about the pairing of the older M48 turret to the M60 hull as in why there were all the excess turrets? Or was it because there were excess -60 hulls?

I'm just guessing here; maybe extra turrets that used to be on hulls that became Sgt Yorks with excess hulls that used to be M60A2s?

Thanks Rob!

I have no idea why they went with M48 turrets and M60 hulls. The ROC still use M48s so they apparently wanted an updated version. But I'd think they'd still go with M48 hulls simply from a commonality of repair parts. Your theory of left-over Sgt. Yorks make about as much sense as anything I've read. I really do need to read a little deeper- so far I've only went though the shortest articles on the subject. 

I forgot to mention- only real issue I had was the tracks. Takom supplies nicely detailed rubber band ones that fit really well- neither too short or long. But instead of the overlay you'd expect on most they give you a simple butt joint. I cemented them several times with epoxy and they didn't want to stay joined. So I just epoxied them to the rear drive sprocket and they seem to hold fine. There is a small seam running around them that would be really hard to get rid of but it's hard to notice unless you're looking for it. It'd kill me in any competition but hell I've probably got enough small issues here and there that they'd knock me out of a contest anyway. 

And Rob, do you have any idea what the yellow flag represents? The figures are from ModelFan, I built them right out of the box. They're made for AFV Club's CM-11 but they fit fine here. Only other kit of ROC tankers is the Freedom Model kit. Which is nice but the figures are sorta puffy and bloated looking without fine detail- they remind me of '70s era Tamiya figures.

Each tank comes with a three flag set, red, green and yellow. In the US, we only really use them for gunnery, the yellow is never flown alone. Red means the weapons are armed and ready to go, green means the weapons are safe and unloaded. The yellow is to signify a misfire or malfunction, but always flown with a red (weapons still armed) or green (weapons now safe).

But the flags can be used to signal formations. We normally used the radio, but it's not unheard of to use colored signal flags to represent what formation to move into, sort of like a football audible. The various movement formations are column, line, vee, wedge and echelon.

Flags can also signal enemy contact with green for friendly, red for enemy and yellow of unknown. So perhaps he's signaling that he sees unknown elements ahead?

Looking good.  I used the CM-11 hull on my M60 AVLB a few years ago.  It goes together great.  I had no issues with it.

I've always wondered about the pairing of the older M48 turret to the M60 hull as in why there were all the excess turrets? Or was it because there were excess -60 hulls?

The combining of the M48 turret w/an M60 hull, and Abrams fire control system was to get around restrictions put on Tiawan by a US/China agreement on advanced weapons development.

"The development of the tank has two main purposes, first was to avoid the limitations set by the US-PRC Joint Communique (17 August Communique), and second was to allow the ROCA to acquire Second Generation MBTs."  Jane's Tank Encyplopedia

Big thanks guys!!!

Rob: Thanks for the explanation! The box the figures came in showed the flag yellow so I painted it that way. And it matches the flowers (God help me I'm starting to sound like a friggin' interior decorator...)

Gino: Thanks! I'd just assumed it were a cost issue, politics never crossed my mind.

Great job. Looks really good.

Rob & Tojo: Thanks guys!!! 

That's a great kit and a fantastic job on those figures!

Thanks Mike!

ModelFan makes great figures. Seems like they're really short-run though, they're hard to find.

Well done G. I like those Takom kits myself, both becasue they're well engineered and detailed, and I can pick one up for around $40 to get a good hull for something IDF.

RBaer

Well done G. I like those Takom kits myself, both becasue they're well engineered and detailed, and I can pick one up for around $40 to get a good hull for something IDF.

 

Thanks! I've built a few of the Takom kits and haven't found a bad one yet (cross your fingers)

Nice job and congrats on getting your first build of the year done. Good to hear the takom kits are well engineered. I have been looking at buying one of their tank transporter kits.

You know, it occurs to me that Firing Range dioramas are under-used for display of armor kits.

It's a formalized setting,  An opportunity to display figures (and Range flags), no need to show the vehicle hull down in a prepared position under piles of camo nets or tarps or the like.

Also, there's less need to show all the personal gear piled so deep on the track, too.

Options, we have so many options.

CapnMac82

Also, there's less need to show all the personal gear piled so deep on the track, too.

Thanks John! 

I have some rolled up camo nets for the bustle rack, I just forgot to put them in before taking the photo. Guess I should have added some storage but I wasn't sure what would work on a Taiwanise tank. And most of what I do have is all Second World War stuff.