I read about the new kits from AFV CLub and Dragon of the M-48A3 in 35th scale. Does anyone have an idea of when they will magically appear?

Dragon release is due in June:
http://www.dragonmodelsusa.com/dmlusa/prodd.asp?pid=DRA3544

The AFV Club kit... not a clue. No date announced and they are noturios for draaaaaagin out on the process between announcement and actual release.

Cheers,
/E

the one good thing is AFV Club showed an actual styrene turret so they are actually working on it. Dragon will probably beat them to the punch, though

Thanks for the input Guys, just can't wait to get my mits on those. Got some resin stuff planned for them and the Academy/Tamiya kits just don't "cut the Mustard"!

I hope Dragon doesn't make a lot of stupid errors rushing their M48 to the shelves. But then that's just more opportunity for Bob.

Well, they already did.
Dragon did not include the gun mantlet dust cover, wich is very stupid.
I can´t find any Vietnam war M48 pictures without the dust cover.
It will probably be featured on the next M48 they bring out.
Together with the searchlight and deepwater wading stack.

Those reasons and more are why I'm eager to get ahold of a few of these kits.

There are a handful of photos in this book showing M48A3s in Vietnam with no mantlet cover.

http://www.amazon.com/PATTON-TANKS-Images-Michael-Green/dp/1848847610/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370185098&sr=8-1&keywords=patton+tank

Great book, by the way.

keep in mind that the Dragon kit is an M48 "B" model. I still have not found any photos of the "B" series in Vietnam. If somebody has them, please post them. There are many small differences in the early and late tanks. I look for Dragon to later come out with the "A" model, and hopefully an M48a2 as well.
gary

Gary,
Most of the tanks that 11th ACR had were B Model M48A3s as the 11th drew new/rebuilt tanks when they deployed to RVN.

I also have seen several B Mods in C Co 1-69 Armor marking in the 1969-1970 timeframe, before 1-69 was pulled form RVN in 1970. If you visit: https://plus.google.com/photos/100891020754889610478/albums/5731643322678780865#photos/100891020754889610478/albums/5731643322678780865 , there are pics of Mod Bs with 2-34 Armor as well as 3-5 Cav. All have the ballistic mantlet cover and most have searchlights unlike the upcoming Dragon Kit

John

Heya, Bob,

Any chance you'll produce the standard searchlight as well as the 18" Crouse-Hinds searchlight as well...?

And while it might not be in your wheelhouse, but I've always wanted a set of PE fenders for the M48!!

Good luck picking up the line --- looking forward to many VN War-related releases!

With Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B.

Heck, I have a load of personal pics of Ron's and one of his buddies and they both rode B-Models. They look like old polaroids, maybe I can scan them sometime.

Got quite a few items for the new M-48's to include an -A2 conversion, M-8A1 Dozer, and others. have to get more details on the searchlights though, just to get them right.

well thank you right off the top! I'd kinda wanted to do a 1st/69th Armor tank in the future, but never realized they were "B" models (never looked all that close). I have been slowly (as in very slowly) putting parts together for a 3/4 CAV build, and now have good photos of a couple 1/4 CAV tracks. I suppose one could rob the searchlight off the Tamiya kit or even the Monogram kit. (have not compaired the two even though I have a couple kits of each one. Lets hope that Dragon (or AFV) comes out with a roam & plow track!
gary

didn't Voyager make them? Or maybe Aber?
gary

Heya, Gary,

I know that Eduard (if I remember right) did a PE set, but to my knowledge, no one has have made a full PE fender set for the M48... Given how beat up these fenders got in combat, you'd think that this would be a given...

Be great ta see 'em, though!

With Regards and Aloha,

Johnny B.

The kit is now available from HobbySearch http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10228248) and HLJ http://www.hlj.com/product/CYVCH3544/Mil) from this post on ML : http://www.network54.com/Forum/47209/thread/1370337243/Dragon+M48A3+in+stock

Cheers
Al

up my way the CAV units started replacing M48's in late 1968 with Sheridans, if memory is correct. But for most of my military internment, I was around the M48. I've seen the fenders literally torched off at the front end. Seen them with two 50 caliber machine guns and even saw one with two riser blocks once! (Marine tank I think). I'd have to say the M48 next to the M113 was the most custonized track in country!
gary

Wow! Now I really have my work cut out for me now. Looks like the next months will be good times for Nam Modelers!

I made the decision last night that I have to build a model of one Alpha Troop 1st/1st CAV M48. (will take a couple phone calls to find out which model it was, but at least I know the motor sargent very well.

Here's why:

I was the guy in my company that had the unlimited ration card. This ment I could buy all the beer and hard liquor I wanted with just my signature (who paid for it?). First sargent would send me back to Chu Lai about once a month to buy four or five pallots of beer and soda, and fill up two duffle bags with hard liquor and a third one full of Hienze 57 sauce and whatever else I could lay my hands on.

After getting five pallots of beer and a couple of soda pop (560 cases altogether) I would fill the two duffle bags to the hilt and get whatever else I could find. I loaded all this stuff on landing nets and had a couple CH46's haul it out to our base camp with a bribe of one bottle of Canadian Club for each chopper. Now I also throwed in the third duffle bag as things were starting to get heavy. The glass bottles I carried on my back. I just missed the last flight out by about three minutes, so I decided to hitch hike up to Hill Five Four and catch a ride out. (this was beyond stupid)

Along the way I see this M48 tank comming up behind me and using all of highway one! They stop and offer me a lift, and I climbed aboard. I noticed that I was the only white guy on this track, but who cares in the combat zone! After we're rolling along I soon discovered that I also was the only sober guy on the track! They got this huge ghetto blaster hanging on the backside playing so lound that you could hear it over the engine. They were playing a CC Revival tape and it seemed to be stuck on "Suzy Que." That was also the name written on the barrel of the tank. The TC asked me what was in the bags and I knew I'd best hand him a fresh bottle of hooch. Then he stopped and asked me where I was headed. I told him Five Four or Hawk Hill. They were headed to Hawk Hill anyway and said they'd get me there. About half way up there we are on bottle number two and are seriously drunk with a 52 ton tank!

As we got just outside Hawk Hill they offered to drive out Thien Phouc Road to A102 (base camp). I knew better than that. So we pulled into Hawk Hill and almost ran over a four holer that was in use! They took me right up to the chopper pad and I once again paid the bribe with a bottle of rum. They drove the tank into their beer hall (literally ran into it!) I get back in about thirty minutes and the first sargent is standing beside the pad, and not in a good humor. But the next day he was laughing about it. The guys on the tank got Article 15's and that was about it. First Shirt got his Budwiser, and Randy and I got drunk again and again. From then on he went back to Chu Lai with me on the beer run! I always hoped that those guys on the tank made it home in one piece, as they were actually pretty good at what they did.

Anyway that's gonna be it
gary