¹⁄35

A Complete M60A1

introduction

Ever wanted more in a tank model? Like maybe the insides? This has been solved for several armor kits by after market products and new kit makers, but not on the M60A1. My relationship with this tank started in 1981 when I was assigned to the U. S. Marines 1st Tank Battalion in Camp Pendleton California. While I was there the M60A1 RISE Passive tanks we had went through a couple of different upgrades. The aluminum side loading air cleaners were replaced by armored top loading ones. The steel road wheels were replaced by aluminum and later back to steel. The smoke grenade launchers were new to the tank. Searchlights were taken off all but two tanks in a five tank platoon, only the platoon commander and platoon sergeants tanks retained them by 1983. So you can tell that modeling any tank with a long service life accurately gets tricky. My model represents Bravo one-two (B company, 1st platoon, 2nd tank) circa 1982. When attempting to represent an accurate model references are an absolute necessity. My references for this tank were the TM 9-2350-257-10-1 Operator’s manual for the TANK, COMBAT, FULL-TRACKED, 105-MM GUN, M60A1 (RISE PASSIVE) dated July 1980 and pictures of the tank. Once references were on hand it was time to acquire the model and the necessary parts to build the interior.

I had an A.E.F. Designs M60 engine and compartment along with a 1/35 ESCI M60A3 TTS in my stash. Back dating the M60A3 to the M60A1 is a simple fix on the outside of the tank, the major differences were on the inside. I purchased the M60A1 aluminum barrel with mud guard from the Barrel Depot and the kit came with the unplugged left range finder eye necessary for the transformation. Next came the acquisition of styrene in several different shapes and sizes from Evergreen Scale Models. Where to start and planning the build was the next step.

hull details

I decided to start with the hull and work my way up. I cut out the area on the upper hull to allow for the turret basket and correct placement of everything in the lower hull. I corrected the escape hatch that is under the drivers seat. The kit’s hatch is round with bolts and looks more like an access plate than an escape hatch. The correct shape is a rectangle with rounded corners. I then scribed the inside of the hatch and added the locking mechanism and handles.

The driver’s compartment with the ammo racks on both sides was built and placed in the hull while constantly checking for fit with the top of the hull. Then I installed the engine compartment after trimming the wall between the engine and turret, to allow for detail on the other side.

Once the batteries, floor detail, and wall separating the engine compartment were done, the upper hull was glued to the lower hull. The armor plate and grill doors were then cut off and the engine put in place. The engine required trimming on the front and bottom in order to fit properly into the hull. The blowers, exhaust, and intakes from the kit were discarded and scratch built ones used in their place. Aluminum foil was used as the exhaust shielding and linkages for steering, shifting, and braking the tank were added to the transmission.

turret interior

I started work on the turret basket with the idea of placing LED lights inside to allow more detail to be seen after the model was completed. The LED’s are 3mm square, emit a blue-ish white light. and are placed on the turret roof in the exact place that the real lights are. These are powered by a watch battery and switch hidden in the stowage boxes that are on the turret floor. In addition to this the 7.62mm, .50 cal deck boxes, battery access door, 3 round rack, and stand up ready rack make up the rest of the turret floor. The lower portion of the turret had to be cut out and a black zip tie was used to represent the gear teeth for the turret. The turret’s shell rack, stowage rack, and radios were placed on this. The radios are the RT-524 and R-442 from Verlinden.

At this point in the construction the size of everything in the turret had to be correct or something would not fit. The turret floor was mated to the lower turret and the rest of the turret details began to fall into place. After studying photos and the TM for each item in the turret, I built each item one at a time and placed it into the turret. The stand-up ready rack with the loader's gas particulate hose attached, loader's seat over the turret lock, and fire extinguisher in it’s holder on the turret floor. The gunner’s compartment was also detailed with traversing controls, hydraulic reservoir, ballistic computer, gas particulate hose to the left of the gunner’s seat, azimuth indicator, periscope with both day and passive night sights, switches for turret power, and main gun stabilization system. The tank commander’s position has the traversing gearbox with TC’s override on top, radios behind him, gas particulate hose next to his seat, and the folding TC’s seat with adjustment handle and fold up foot rest.

The upper turret contains the main gun breech with the gunner’s 105D sight on the right, a M60E2 coaxial machine gun with brass catch bag under it and range finder running along the turret roof. The loader's side has his communications box, loader’s periscope stowage and 7.62mm ready ammo stowage with M-16 holder brackets, asbestos mitten holder, and flashlight holder on it.

The lower cupola was modified using a plastic channel piece to allow the cupola to turn without hitting the range finder. The right side of the turret contains both the gunner's and TC’s communications boxes with the TC’s having the radio channel selector unit under it. Cables were made with solder and one of the LEDs is located between the TC’s hatch and the loader’s. Searchlight controls, grenade launcher controls, cupola traversing handle, binocular stowage bin, and flashlight holder fill out the rest of the turret wall.

The Commander’s cupola is actually a mini turret with sights, traversing mechanisms, an M-85 .50 cal machine gun, .50 cal ammo rack, and vision blocks. I decided to drill out the vision blocks and use Krystal Klear on them later. The TC’s periscope with day and passive night sight with M-85 elevating handle on its left are in the center with the .50 cal. feed tray made from a zip tie to its left. The periscope’s outside cover lifting handle is on the right of the night sight (green sight). This was mounted to the lower cupola half that shows the traversing handle and range finder.