Gary, When we would go to Graf, etc, I would notice that 1/1 CAV would have them on their tanks-a good idea if you ask me-nice to have a box with a lid on it. Dan

Hey everyone,
Again I am sorry for the long delays between updates! School, weight lifting and friends have kept me away. But this Monday i was able to get some work done.

This is the air cleaner that I am scratchbuilding!



I am having a problem with this going together, the circled were supposed to go there but it seems to be right in the way of getting the two connected. Even with/out them it is still not going together right! BTW- I am refering to bottom pictures!


Please Help!! with this.

Later,
John

John,
The parts in question are the rear fender extentions Edit: Sandshields... The "legs" are attached to the bottom of the taillight guards. -Edit: The Sandshields are indeed installed correctly, my mistake... They are best removed and reattached after the upper and lower hull parts are glued together. Gino & Rob, Thanks for the backup. The mind is the first thing to go upon retirement

John

They are on correctly. As, John says, they just need to be put on after the hull pieces are together.

The part name in the technical manual was "sand shields". They were often missing on most tanks. When we were turning in M60A3TTs tanks, just about, if not every, tank in the battalion was missing those shields and the little rubber gasket that attached to it.

You would be safe leaving them off.

Good luck with the kit, I have a few of the old Esci kits to buld as well as a few Academy ones. Duane I was a tanker with the 1/11th in Fulda and traded a Sheridan for a M60A1 RISE passive. A11. I saw a few tanks that were able to get the M47 storage boxes but none in my unit.

I later went on to TC M48A5s, M60A3s and M1s. A tank with thermal sights has no need of a searchlight since thermals see heat and not visible or IR light. It might be carried to aid other units with passive sights but using searchlights places a major drain on the tanks batteries or engine. When the searchlight was in use the RPMs had to be doubled to provide the power for the light.

No kit actually has the late model escape hatch which was oval. Also there were no bolts on it it is smooth on the outside. It was a real shocker when it fell out on a road march. The drivers hatch got quite drafty.

Don't forget to put some extra track pads on the bustle rack. We used to lose a lot of track pads and always carried spares. There was a batch with defective bonding we could lose 2 or 3 every road march.


Tom

Thank you everyone for all the help! But I am still having trouble. I tell ya, this kit is giving me trouble!! Here-
As you can see the two will not attach, the plastic is in the way of the two(refer to 2nd picture)


In the 3rd picture, this is as far as they go! I dont know what to do, do I need to cut some plastic off. Or something? WHAT?? If you have built this specific kit or know what is the problem, please tell me!

If you need to ask questions, dont hold back!

PS- I just cant wait to paint this thing!

Later,
John

John the edges on the upper hull have to fit inside the curved sections on the lower hull.
______
(I.........I) Does this picture make sense. You might need to spread the lower hull a bit. The edges on the upper hull should rest on the flat spots inside the lowe hull. Give it a try.

Tom

Tamiya redid the turret and the road wheels around 1990, but used their original 1970-vintage hull, so overall, their kit is poor. That said, their turret is a nice depiction of the final version turret casting--the last batch of turrets eliminated the undercut at the base of the turret at the three o'clock and nine o'clock positions to better protect the turret ring (the Israelis had reported a disproportionate number of penetrations at those points in the 1973 war). The cheek armor on either side of the mantlet was also strengthened. It's easy to miss the change--I never spotted it until the IPMS magazine published an article featuring side by side photos of the two turrets. Not clear exactly when that casting became available--either near the end of the M60A1 run or early in the M60A3 run. The Esci/Ertl/AMT/Italeri/Revell turret is a slightly earlier turret, probably from the early to mid 1970's.

More progress,



On the last photo, I know it looks dirty, but its clean. I wiped it down, with a washcloth.

All comments welcome!
Also, I did get the hulls to go together, Thank You Thomas!!

Later,
John

one more-


Still need to put on screen, once dry!

Later,
John