Have been working on the Abrams here and there all week, and managed to get the roadwheels painted with their base color, as well as a wash or two. I also painted the tracks a basic dark brown as an undercoat, will finish them later.
I used some dark brown on a piece of sponge to add some scratches and wear on the sprocket teeth. From most of the photos I have studied, the sprockets are in remarkably good condition with only a small amount of wear on the edges. A testament to our troops, keeping them in such excellent condition!
I also attached the side panels after adding a few home-made additions. The "step" hanging down near the front is replicated in the kit by an oddly shaped piece of plastic. I cut these off, and replaced them with a section of multi-strand wire, twisted to look like the cables used on the 1/1 scale. I left a small section of insulation on each end as the cable attaches to a round section welded to the bottom of the panels.
You can see the original kit part on the bottom side, and the new one on top. Much better! Ialso cut off the squarinsh blob on the top front of the side panels, as this part is really a rectangular tube to facilitate lifting the panel for removal/service. I replaced it with a piece of brass sheet folded up into a rectangle.
Well, she's really starting to look like an Abrams now!
Thanks for looking! [8-]