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1/35 ESCI M-60A1 "Blazer"

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  • Member since
    July 2004
  • From: Sonora Desert
Posted by stikpusher on Tuesday, January 7, 2020 2:14 PM

Rob Gronovius

Interestingly to note, while AMT/Ertl gives instructions to make a US tank and provides the camouflage scheme for a 7th Army MASSTER tank, they do not give US decals. Only the IDF markings are provided and you are instructed to put those on the 7th Army camouflage tank. 

That is feasibly possible. The IDF received replacement M60 tanks from US war reserves during the 1973 Yom Kippur war. Some very well could have been delivered in that scheme to Israel and pressed immediately into service due to their high battle losses. The same was true for F-4E Phantoms taken from USAF stocks in SEA camo instead of the the usual IDF camo.  After that war ended and time permitted, IDF paint schemes were applied.

 

F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!

U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!

N is for NO SURVIVORS...

       - Plankton

LSM

 

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Dripping Springs, TX, USA
Posted by RBaer on Wednesday, January 8, 2020 7:54 AM
Mike: Looks good with the skirts, I'm interested to see how you do the hangers, bearing in mind the fenders are pretty flimsy. Stik: According to Michael Mass' latest Magach book, none of the M60s received at the time of the YKW went straight into use, not arriving in time. I would have loved to do one in green, in the sand.....

Apprentice rivet counter.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Thursday, January 9, 2020 6:21 PM

Russ, I plan on reinforcing the fender brackets, but theortically there will be some supports underneath as well. I don't think I'm going to build them though because they won't be seen.

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Saturday, January 11, 2020 10:10 PM

Hinges, welds, and bolt heads.

Took a lot of measuring and time just to puzzle out how these skirts would actually function in the real world.

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Sunday, January 12, 2020 10:36 AM

Your are one heck of a scratch builder my friend. Wowzers!!

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Sunday, January 12, 2020 5:37 PM

Thank you very much, Brandon! I can be when I want to. And for this vision I needed skirts. I have some in resin from a conversion kit (which I copied the shape of these skirts for) but the are from a Joffy kit and have a lot of excess resin that has to be sanded off. 

Russ's builds have inspired me to build my own tank and I have an idea of what I'm looking for. Thus, the need to scratch build my own details. I've even begun to sculpt simple items and that's enjoyable as well.

Thanks for the compliment!

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Sunday, January 12, 2020 7:44 PM

Those skirts look beautiful- she's coming along great!

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Sunday, January 12, 2020 10:05 PM

Thank you, Gamera! I think they're shaping up well, also.

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Dripping Springs, TX, USA
Posted by RBaer on Monday, January 13, 2020 1:33 PM

Looks good! I like the hinges, nice and busy.

Apprentice rivet counter.

  • Member since
    October 2015
  • From: Tacoma, WA.
Posted by M60_ tanker on Monday, January 13, 2020 1:33 PM

Looks like to me, your building a theoretcial M60A4. Should match up with my M60A2E2 if I could stop breaking off pieces everytime I pick it up.

Nothing is impossible as long as somebody else has to do it.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 2:40 PM

I imagine an M-60A4 might look a lot like a Magach 6 or 7. 

I'm also thinking about scratch building a dozer blade of some sort. I know that would take a lot effort, but I'm seeing it in my mind's eye and it would look good on this build.

Opinions?

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 2:47 PM

RBaer

Looks good! I like the hinges, nice and busy.

 

Yeah! I'm going with the idea that you can't see all of the hardware that makes these skirts possible, but I had to show something to make it look plausible lol.

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Dripping Springs, TX, USA
Posted by RBaer on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 5:27 PM

That'll work.

Apprentice rivet counter.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 6:04 PM

I just remembered I have a spare mine plow from a Dragon M-1.

I think I know what I wanna do with it. ;)

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Dripping Springs, TX, USA
Posted by RBaer on Thursday, January 16, 2020 10:17 AM

M. Brindos

I just remembered I have a spare mine plow from a Dragon M-1.

I think I know what I wanna do with it. ;)

 

Ya know, I've got one too, and I have to say the idea occurred to me as well. I think you should do it.

Apprentice rivet counter.

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Thursday, January 16, 2020 12:45 PM

Lol, a giant mine plow or dozer blade would look awesome! Yes

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Thursday, January 16, 2020 10:11 PM

Alrighty. Mine plow. WWZ modified. I'm going to enjoy this.

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: Fort Knox
Posted by Rob Gronovius on Friday, January 17, 2020 12:31 AM

The Abrams mine plow is designed to be mounted to the M60 series tank as well.

  • Member since
    June 2004
  • From: East Stroudsburg, PA
Posted by TigerII on Friday, January 17, 2020 6:36 PM

Hey Mike, this is becoming a very fine build. You did a great job on the side skirt hinges and other parts. Question: Is that the original kit main gun or was it an aftermarket? Looking forward to the finished model.

Achtung Panzer! Colonel General Heinz Guderian
  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Friday, January 17, 2020 7:17 PM

Thanks for the votes lol. I'm adding the mine plow! Hope to find some time this weekend.

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Friday, January 17, 2020 7:21 PM

TigerII

Hey Mike, this is becoming a very fine build. You did a great job on the side skirt hinges and other parts. Question: Is that the original kit main gun or was it an aftermarket? Looking forward to the finished model.

 

Thanks, Tiger! I don't know where that gun tube came from. It was in the Joffy resin upgrade kit box, but I know that's not where it originated.

I know it's longer and has crisper details than the stock gun tube. No idea where it's from.

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Monday, January 20, 2020 9:15 AM

Hehehe- I LIKE it!!! 

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Monday, January 20, 2020 6:07 PM

I'm liking it too. I think I'll just keep it as a mine plough. Looking at the framework and how it's put together, it wouldn't hold a dozer blade anyways. And then there's the idea of how will the driver see?

I think I'll keep it as a plough lol.

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    June 2004
  • From: East Stroudsburg, PA
Posted by TigerII on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 12:08 AM

Hey Mike, great work on that mine plough. I like it.

Achtung Panzer! Colonel General Heinz Guderian
  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Tuesday, January 21, 2020 6:16 PM

Well thank you, sir! There are still a couple of parts that need to go on there and then I'll start adding welds and details to make it come to life.

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Dripping Springs, TX, USA
Posted by RBaer on Wednesday, January 22, 2020 10:59 AM

The mine rake/plow/plough works, good idea, good fit as well.

Apprentice rivet counter.

  • Member since
    June 2014
Posted by BrandonK on Wednesday, January 22, 2020 12:51 PM

That's a very cool idea. It adds a another level of nastiness to it. 

BK

On the bench:

A lot !! And I mean A LOT!!

2024 Kits on deck / in process / completed   

                         14 / 5 / 2  

                              Tongue Tied

  • Member since
    June 2003
  • From: Longmont, CO
Posted by ajmadison on Friday, April 17, 2020 12:54 AM

Rob Gronovius

The Esci M60A1/M60A3/Blazer represents the high water mark for their 1/35 scale armor kits. Unfortunately for them, Tamiya released a 3 in 1 M60A3/M60A1/M60A1 RISE/passive kit at the same time. Tamiya's armor was top notch in the 1980s and Esci didn't have the same reputation, even though their M60A1/A3 series was better.

Italeri and then Dragon basically put Esci out of business in the late 1980s. Esci did a series of HMMWVs that were not as good as Italeri's. They did a series of LAVs that weren't as good as Italeri's. They did a Leo 2 that wasn't as good as Italeri's.

They did a series of BMPs that were better than Dragon's, but Dragon's T-72 series was better than Esci's T-72/74 and Dragon did a more complete line of modern Soviet armor. The Esci T-55 series remained well regarded for nearly twenty years though.

By the mid 90s rolled around, Esci was all but done in 1/35 scale armor. Italeri got their molds of the kits they didn't have in their line. Their LAVs, HMMWVs, T-72s, Leo 2, BMPs vanished.

 
All this history, no offense, missed the biggest reason the ESCI M-60A1/3 was the better model. When Tamiya measured the full sized tank to create their model, the real M60A1 was dry (unfueled). Correspondingly the supension arms on the model places the tank too high for a tank that might actually be in the field but perfect if you're modeling a museum piece. To fix this accuracy issue is a heroic, in all senses of the word, especially courage, effort. As that this would require filing the half-circle attachment pins on all of the arms, and dry fitting them until all of the arms are at the same height. Also explains why the shock absorbers at the front of the hull of the Tamiya kit for the first road wheel just hang in the air. Esci, on the other hand, measured or used plans of a fueled M60A1, and its kit suspension has the appropriate smaller ground clearance. To my eye, I can immediately spot a Tamiya build because it sits too high versus my reference pictures of the real thing.
 
FYI, I'm not ordinarly this much of a tank kit buff, but for some reason I've been obsessed with the M60A1-3 series tanks and their kits.
  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Friday, April 17, 2020 1:58 AM

Good info there!

I did adjust the suspension height and dipped the nose to show the weight of the plough as well.

After my research on the Tamiya M-48A3 I knew this would be necessary.

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

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