Very nice work! In spite of its' age, that kit is one of Italeri's best 1/35 AFV kits. But like you did, replacing the TC's .50 is a good idea. AFV Club makes some replacement tracks as well for those who dont like the type that come with the kit. Nice to see that you built this one up. Are you going to add any crew figures or stowage?

That's some fine work! 

Love the light weathering esp in the photo of the front. Did you use dot filtering or is it pigments, or something else?  

Nicely done, one easy fix is the right tail light. It should not be red, it's the black out brake light. The kit is considered one of Italeri's best 1/35 scale armor kits.

Thanks guys

Stikpusher this is the first installment of a comprehensive display of all models of the Patton MBT's displayed side by side in the same case. It will get a couple of figures at some point but the complete project is likely to take some time

Gamera I use Bragdon's weathering powders, probably available at your local railroad shop. They have an adhesive property that does not require one to mess about with fixers that pigments require and can be mixed for color/effect variation.

Thanks Rob I'll have to see to that

Regards,

Mark

Thanks Mark, I'll have to look into them, I love the results you got there. 

Reserve, that will be one sweet collection once completed. Are you planning on covering just the basic versions, or including the derivatives such as the CEV, M88, Sgt York, etc.?

SP right now the plan is for the M46, 47, 48, 48A2, 48A3, 60, 60A1, 60A2, and 60A3. I was ambivalent for awhile about the 60A2 since it was such a notorious failure but it was manufactured in large enough quantities that I felt it should be represented. To keep the project manageable and keep the case under eight feet long I've decided to do main battle tanks only. I did something similar a few years back with the Soviet T series MBT's; it was fun and it's kind of cool to see them lined up for comparison.

Regards, Mark

No M48A5?  

Just kidding! But I definitely want to see all that built. 

I just bought this kit before seeing this thread because I am just beginning to get into armor modeling.  I love the weathering on your model and will have to look into those weathering powders you reference. And, I have modelled ships for over half a century, so modeling skills are not new to me.

I do have one question. I have always thought that Italeri had excellent kits other than their Panther kits.  What is wrong with them?

Bill

stikpusher

No M48A5?  

Just kidding! But I definitely want to see all that built. 

 

I've got an M48A5 project on deck; it includes the Dragon M48A3 Mod B as a base and also the A5 parts off of the Academy M48A5 and some parts from the old Lo Models M48/M60 conversion. Also the Legends mantlet and searchlight to round it out.

Nice build and paint. What do you use for primer?

Rob Gronovius

 

 

stikpusher

No M48A5?  

Just kidding! But I definitely want to see all that built. 

 

 

 

 

I've got an M48A5 project on deck; it includes the Dragon M48A3 Mod B as a base and also the A5 parts off of the Academy M48A5 and some parts from the old Lo Models M48/M60 conversion. Also the Legends mantlet and searchlight to round it out.

 

I wondered about that. There must be a strong urge to turn off the light and move the tank.

SP I thought about an A5 but if I'm not mistaken they were used largely by the IDF were they not?

Bill some Italeri stuff is better than others and with molds that are approaching fiffty years old wear is a possible issue. This is one of their better ones, and if you can build a ship you can surely build one of these. Watch out for the suspension arm into the hull fit, mine was very tight and a stroke or two with a file was necessary to loosen it up just a bit.

SprueOne I use ModelMasters enamel primer; sticks pretty well if you give it a couple three days to cure

Regards,

Mark

Let's just say that the M48A5 was "inspired" by the IDF. Their upgunned M48s had differences in certain areas. It was a US version to upgrade the M48 to similar standards. I'm sure that RG here can give far more info on them than I.  I don't know if any active duty units ever used them, but they were widespread in the Guard and Reserves for awhile. 

Reserve

SP I thought about an A5 but if I'm not mistaken they were used largely by the IDF were they not?

 

The M48A5 was an attempt to make up tank shortages by taking old M48A3 tanks and bringing them up to M60A1 standards. They were used by the Army National Guard and the US 8th Army in Korea (2nd Infantry Division's 1-72nd and 2-72nd Armor battalions).

The M48A5 in Korea was eventually replaced by the M60A3TTS in the early 1980s and those tanks kept the loader's M60D machine gun from the A5s and mounted to the A3s. It's an easy identifier for a 2ID tank if the loader has a machine gun mounted at his position.

The M48A5 was still in use with the Army National Guard until the early 1990s.

Thanks, Mark!

As I understand it, the Israelis primarily used the M48A4, which were older M48s provided to Israel and were upgunned from 90mm to the M68 105 mmgun.  They were also reengined to the Continental AVDS-1790 diesel engine.  In American service, these upgrades were only part of the effort to improve older models of the M48 to near M60 standards.  I could be wrong since tanks are a new field for me.

Bill

The M48A4 was actually the planned upgrade of the M48A3 by adding the original M60 turret. The now turretless M60 hulls were to be rebuilt as M60A2. I've read only six prototypes were built due to the failure of the M60A2 system and the straight M60s were never rebuilt as A2s. Instead, the M48A3s were rebuilt and upgraded to M60A1 standards and became the M48A5.

While Israel did upgrade their M48 tanks, they were not M48A4s.

As far as Italeri's model kit quality, they are all over the board in regards to armor models. Many of their early kits were reboxed Peerless Max kits with the former multimedia pieces replaced with plastic. Many of their original 1970s kits like the Willys Jeep, M4A1, M7 Priest, were very good for the time. Their high water mark is considered their Leopard 1 and M47 Patton tanks. In the late 80s, their Leopard 2, M36 Jackson, M113, M108/109, M107/110, HMMWV quality had dropped.

By the mid 90s, their kits were highly regarded subject-wise, but quality slipped even farther with their HEMTT, M900 series 5 ton, Panther, Tiger kits.

Today, they reissue a lot of other companies' kits like Zvezda, Esci and others. Some good and some not as good. Every now and then they put out some nice kits, normally Italian armor tends to be better quailty than their mainline kits.

Yes, the Israelis originally received M48A2s from West Germany secondhand. But that deal fell apart before they received the full number purchased due to politics. So the remainder were provided by the US (M48A1/A2/A3?).They captured some M48s and M48A1s from Jordan in the June 1967 war and pressed them into service after modification. They also modernized their older M48s upgunning them, re engined to all diesels, etc. before the October 1973 war. 

It seems that the M48 has an interesting history!  Thanks, gentlemen.  Also, thanks for answering my question about Italeri armor kits.  Their ships can also be very hit or miss.

Bill

Thanks for the history lesson gents, always interesting to find out more about what you're trying to represent

Bill you're quite welcome

Regards,

Mark