I know exactly what you mean. The Rust-Oleum does a good job, but it sprays on much thicker and takes much longer to cure fully. It's better than anything else available right now, but I really want the Krylon to return lol.

I've had poor results with Vallejo's primers not sticking any better than their regular paints do. I'm not sure why Vallejo hasn't found a better formula yet.

I'd prefer Tamiya, but it's not easy to find in my area.

Thanks Mike. I think Krylon got the axe, all I can find is Rustoleum, which doesn't go on quite as fine. Rats. I've actually started using the Vallejo spray cans, but they really need a primer under them if the model is mixed media or even mixed color plastic. They cover okay but go on so thin and fine (also dead flat) that I end up with a different shade unless I prime first. 

I was wondering what you were up to, Russ.

I haven't been able to find the Krylon camo paints for months now and I've been curious about why they disappeared. They're probably the best primer/top coat I've ever used.

I can see why you placed so well. That's a damn nice looking tank, like usual.

Thanks!

It actually picked up a 3rd in class at an IPMS show recently. I was quite surprised.

She's a beauty, Dr. Tankenstein!  

As I said above:  It came out looking great.  Nice job.

Going back a bit, I wanted to address the below statements.

Mikeym_us

There is no need to kit bash the AFV club hull as AFV Club beat you to it with the M728 CEV kit just do up the lower hull slap on a turret and rig the hydraulic's any your pretty much set.

It is actually much harder to make the AFV Club M728 CEV into a gun tank w/dozer blade.  The M728 CEV has all the hydraulic lines, pump on left rear fender, front central distro box, etc. internal to the hull.  None of these parts are included in the kit.  You would have to scratch them all.  This is the same way Academy did with their old M60 Dozer kit.    They started to design an M728 and quit after just the blade and tried to pawn it off as a gun tank w/blade.  It is much easier to either get the much better Takom M60 blade tanks, or buy just the blade sprues (sprues U & W) on Ebay and have all the needed parts to add to any M60 hull.

Thanks!

Very nice.

Thanks G!

As usual your top-notch work!!!

Thanks!

This looks great!

That looks great. I like it.

Thanks Gino.

It looks nice. Great job on it.

More tieing up loose threads (ha ha, pun not intended) by finishing all the stuff I started early this year. Again, I kept weathering to an absolute minimum, in this case because the pic I was working from shows a tank on a road march in Germany, clean as a whistle.

IMG_3636 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

IMG_3638 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

IMG_3637 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

IMG_3639 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

IMG_3640 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

My bench is actually clean right now. Hmmm.....

I painted the tires on the road wheels today, woo hoo!

Yeah, she's coming along very nicely! 

Thanks all. 

I was just thinking, it's been years since I built an M1.... matter of fact, I have a started hull and turret, leftover parts from something I didn't like, maybe I ought to dust it off.

Looking good. The color looks spot on.  Keep up the great work.

Your M-60 looks fantastic!  I have long felt that the Patton series *I know, the M-60 tanks were not officiallt named Patton), had more pinache than the M-1 Abrams.

Bill Morrison

Another one in green, finally.

IMG_3285 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

I need to use a green wash/filter, too gray now. If I could find some Krylon green instead of this Rustoleum....

RBaer

Still using up stash junk, I started a "slick" hull using a mash of Tamiya and Acedemy parts a few months ago, wanting to see if it was feasible to correct the upper front glacis. It came out okay, so I moved the front return rollers on each side and went ahead, still grabbing parts out of the goodies box when possible. That got me here:

IMG_2133 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

And here:

IMG_2281 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

I then did the suspension, pirating lots of parts from the Academy M60A2 kit which happens to have a nice set of newly tooled road wheels but still uses the yucky old swing arms. A little bit of plastic stock and I had sometjing passable. 

So for the 'dozer: Academy released a kit of it a few years ago, but it's pretty simple and has nothing but the basic blade and mechanism, no hydraulic resevoir, pump or lines. Bummer. The Verlinden kit is of the IDF version which has all the lines inside the hull, with a different resevoir. Along comes Takom, and pow, a very nice M9 Dozer in a very nice M60A1 kit. So I've wanted to build the tank pictured in David Doyle's M60 book, pg 34, for a long time, and now I had the basics. Then I scored an old Commander's Models turret, so it was time. First off, get the Takom hydraulics on, and to my relief, it wasn't bad, Even the spacing or the suspension stations was correct, meaning the long one-piece under the hull hydraulic lines part went on without mods. I did have to make up two shorter lines, no problem really, and do some minor fiddling with the line covers at the front, but that's all on, shown here without the blade mounts or hydraulics:

IMG_2691 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

And the resevoir and pump, tight fit of the lines around the sprocket:

IMG_2690 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

With the deozer stuff on, blade is the last bit anong with the driver's release on the glacis. 

IMG_2694 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

Some more hull detailing done, more parts box stuff and a little plastic stock.

IMG_2696 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

I think this could be almost the last of the old Tamiya/Academy/Esci bashes I do, not because they're not fun, but because I'm almost out of parts. Finally. The next one will be on an AFV Club hull. I think.

Oh, wait, there's theat Academy Magach with the mine roller I just picked up.......

Squirrel!

 

 

 

There is no need to kit bash the AFV club hull as AFV Club beat you to it with the M728 CEV kit just do up the lower hull slap on a turret and rig the hydraulic's any your pretty much set. Too bad they didn't do a Rise version for AFV club. I think that would put the TAKOM kit to shame.

Looks cool! Again I love the different colours of all the parts you used from varied kits! 

Looks good. A real Frankentank, but it is coming along well.

Been away for a while, but did get the turret finished up, using various kit parts and a lot of imagineering on the spotlight. I wanted to use an AFV Club lamp assy but not surprisingly the CMD mantlet had the tabs set up for the really old Tamiya brackets which are "off". So, using the AFV Club assy as a guide, I scratched and adapted, and that's done. It's probably ready for paint now but it's still cold and windy here, so I'll wait. As it sits now:

IMG_2844 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

IMG_2845 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

Thanks G. Turret stuff started today, amd btw, it's a "Chesapeake Model Designs" conversion, not "Commander's" as I had earlier. Anyway, it's pretty nice stuff, old but still going together well. It even came with a jig to align the brackets for the bustle rack, very nice.

IMG_2731 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

Seems a lot of people have had issues with the site lately. Thankfully my problems with the address bar have been fixed! 

Love how she's going! The hydraulics for lifting the blade look really cool! 

Musta been a glitch, I've been "denied access" the last couple of days. Anyhootch, hull is about done, turret time is next.

Underside access ports done, enough of that. Next one is gonna be on an AFV Club hull, dug through the stash box last night and I have one that's almost all there. 

IMG_2729 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

Glacis bits all on:

IMG_2728 by Russel Baer, on Flickr

Blade is done, leaving it off until after I paint.

And the infantry phone box and gun travel lock w/ scratched mount:

IMG_2727 by Russel Baer, on Flickr