Hi Carmen
What a great build
May I make a suggestion when you are applying the markings etc add a little KIWI as there a lot of NZers in the ADF.
Just an idea and we don't have any tanks in the NZ army


Cheers

Chris

Haha....I know Carmen....he is all about accuracy....if there isn't an actual Kiwi marking on the tank it is not going to be on his project.

Good suggestion though.

Erm... I'm assuming you two are refering to Carmen with regards to Kiwis right? A little confused...

Lawrence - THAT IS AWESOME NEWS!! I've been pondering how to do all the stencil markings for my M1. As you can see from my materials picture I was going to use the Echelon Abrams generic tank name sheet for letters and numbers. They're close but not exactly the same style of font the Aussies use in their stencils.

Also I wanted to touch on the "Lift Here" Markings on the rear. Since the Aussie have a portion of the engine bay door (please mind my lack of true AFV nomenclatura) or exhaust screens painted black compared to the US versions the "Lift Here" on the right hand side is in the same sand color as the tank but the kit decal sheets are either White or Black. Will you be adressing this in your decal sets??

Chris - Great comment, but I have already picked out an actual troop tank to model my abrams after. I'm keeping it a bit of a surprise until I actually post the pictures. Thanks for the feedback!!

I should have more pictures of the Build progression within a month. Stay tuned...

Yes, no need to be confused....but you also are all about accuracy and you do a great job.

Hell, that's the first thing I've addressed on the set - in fact, that part is already printed (in SAND of course) and stored nicely somewhere... It's waiting for the full set to be printed so that both can be packed together.

Thanks Jason, for your level of confidence in me - Btw, have you heard from Andreas lately? I've told him that a certain white T-72's artwork is ready - pending completion of other projects before printing stage.

As for Kiwis, I'm sitting on this idea at the moment - waiting to see if more data can be accumulated before I can start burning the tires away! Right now, I have Joel's feed of black Kiwis on humvees in A-stan (but that's it)... Would anyone want to see just a set of black Kiwis?...right... I guess not? I'm sure more is wanted? I'll work out a formula that will work soon...

Hey Everyone

Well it's been a while since my last update/post and to be honest life has gotten in the way. If there's been anything this hobby has taught me it's patience, and I'm not going to jeopardize this project by rushing.

I'm just finishing up a few smaller projects for our local Rocky Mountain Model Show here in Calgary, AB at the end of May. Once I'm past that I'll be back full force ont his project.

I'm eager and motivated to get back at this project as today I received my Echelon Aussie Abrams Decal set. At first glance they look spectacular! Thanks Lawrence! and thanks to your contacts for their support and research! The sand colored markings and small plates for the smoke grenade dischargers and APU look amazing and will no doubt enhance the level of detail on this build.

Bare with me.. progress pictures will follow soon!! Cheers everyone!!

Carmen

great work there! cant wait to see more of the build!

great build just on thing but it think it needs to be cleared anyway but does the front gards used on this build need to be the all smooth ones or can you use the ones with the x's and horazontal and vertical divets??? as i was sure the ones i sat on at robbo barracks (darwin) where smooth ones??????? cheers

Hey Jason!

Sorry for the long delay in getting back you. Things have been busy with work...

As for your question or recommendation I have reviewed all the reference pictures I have and I can say that I've seen both. But incase I'm wrong I'll bow to the boys who know from down under, but I believe they are using both styles.

Based on pictures from the official ADF website, the 2006 trial Abrams (No registration No.) which was totally converted to Aussie standards (fridge, blue force tracker, red roos, etc) had the "X" style fenders, but every other tank picture I've seen have the smooth style.

Search on "Puckapunyal 2006 Abrams" and you'll see what I'm talking about.

hmmmm will have to look again! or maybe it was a "trials" only tank that when modded to aust standard they changed the fenders??? hmmmmm anywho!!!! cheers

Hey Jason

I'm not disputing anything as I'm not in a position to say for certain but I'm with you, I think the "X" Style fenders were only on a few tanks, or are few and far between. I did however find one picture of a tank with both styles mounted... Call Sign 32, Reg No. 207051.



Picture is off the ADF website and cropped for better visual. Cultana Training Area, Exercise Southern Reach 2007.

hmmm just to make us both look silly!!!! hahahahaha you could cover all basis's and do both!!!!

Here's some more of my progress. Primed and base coated with some post shading (which you can't see very well under the light I have).

I'm going to wait a while before I apply the decals as I'd like some comments on the base color for the Abrams. I took the pictures under Daylight Fluorescent bulbs, it looks a bit lighter then what it in real life. I used Vallejo Sand Yellow as the base, then post shaded with Vallejo Sand. Also I'm going to be dusting this bad boy up so it'll definately get a bit darker before I'm totally finished. Next up decals from Echelon... Can't wait, they look awesome!

Enjoy!

Looks very nice Carmen. Great effort you have put into your Abrams.

Hello
Does the Mouse House kit include decals for an Australian tank or are the Echelons a must?
Thanks
Evan

Hey Evan

The Mouse House Conversion does not come with decals. I originally purchased the Mouse House Kangaroo decal set, but the red roos are a bit overscaled for the Abrams as I believe they were originally designed for ASLAVs in 1/35.

The Echelon decals are a must and are highly recommended! The only thing they're missing is the vertical bar for the side skirts for the Regimental HQ tanks (instead of the chevrons), but honestly I think there are only two tanks that have the vertical bar, and it wouldn't be that hard to paint. I hope I've gotten that right. Also I can't hold it against Echelon as they provide generic number and letters so you can do pretty much any Australian Abrams you wanted to.

I'm still working on a review for them.

I started the Decals. I'm only have way through them so there will be more to come. Enjoy!!


Echelons Sand colored decals definately were worth the wait.


The Mighty Red Roos

Hello All!

I've tried a few of my sources and have come up short.... Is there any one out there or down under that has access to, or knows the answers to the following questions:

I'm planning on building Call Sign "23A", Tank Name "Bulldoggin" and have found a small issue.

1. On the LHS of the tank we have the external engine fire extinguisher handle. The name Bulldoggin is too long to fit between the handle and the side armour bracket. Does anyone know if they painted the name above the handle ?? or did they leave it off the LHS entirely??




2. I've seen on US Abrams the external fire extinguisher handle painted red, the whole area where the handle is located painted red, and the whole thing left in the standard sand color. Can someone confirm what color they are painted for me on the Aussie Abrams??

Thanks in advance!! I hope you like the build!

G'day Carmen,
It's looking good mate.

A couple of answers for you.
1. The handle is red only (subject to change appon more reference)
2. Place the decal as near as you can get it. Even if that means it needs to go higher up the side and if it overlaps the weld. The crews would only have access to one size of stencil.

Cheers Jason


PS As for the "X" guards, most tanks from the factory will have this on it, but it is eaiser for workshops to fabricate a flat one instead after a bush trip.

Hey Everyone

Just returned from a few days camping in BC. I finished the decals last week but didn't have an opportunity to post until now. Enjoy!


You can see the Echelon decals on he back side of the APU. Some Aussie Abrams have them and some don't. I don't have pictures of the specific tank I want to build but they look so good I couldn't pass putting them on. Don't mind the shine, there is still a gloss coat on this bad boy!


Also, the Ecehlon decals set does not come with the "No Step" decals for the drivers hatch... have no fear... the Dragon M1A2 Abrams SEP kit has them. After reviewing tons of pictures I observed some with one "No Step", some with two, and some with none, but it could have just been the angle or dust covered. I opted for two... Also after looking at things a bit more the bridge classification could have been further away from the light towards the center... still looks good to me.




The small decals for the APU were very troublesome, but after a little patience they were definately worth the effort. They really bring out the detail.




The ARN for BULLDOGGIN is 207032, unfortunately I couldn't find two "2"'s that were identical so I made due. Also the Echelon set comes with generic numbers and letters, but out of all the extra numbers there is only one extra "3" per sheet... I had to make sure I didn't ruin the "3" during application...

Next up... pin washes and running gear! Enjoy!!

Carmen, Like the placard on the smoke discharger. Good attention to detail.
Dan-a 19K going way back.

Nice build so far , nice to see an Aussie one of these beasts. I may start one some day after i finish my Kiwi AFV projects.

Hi Carmen,

Your build is coming along great! Too bad I missed out the "NO STEP"s... I didn't detect any on my references. But with regards to "3"s, and "2"s, aren't there two smaller generic number sheets that came with your set (there should be 5 decal sheets altogether in one set). So you should have 4 unique "2"s and "3"s - should meet your needs? :-) If not let me know. Also, please don't forget that you can still find the extra digits you need on the pre-assembled numbers on the top left (just crop away), as the stand alone generics were all derived from there. But with the two extra number sheets, you should be able to cover almost every registration nicely, unless of course we have one VRN that reads "222222" with the same exact styles, then I'm submitting to my failure to cover all... ;-)

Cheers,

Lawrence

Just to be on the same frequency, there are two "2"s from the smaller floating number sheets (one each). And don't forget two more on the two big sheets (again one each) - lower left corner. There are already generic numbers on the large sets, the smaller two extras are provided to buff up as support.

:-)