Hi folks,
I might just divert from my usual (German) halftracks and venture into a completely new field for me; doing modern tanks.
There is one particular type of tank I really like for some reason; the M60-tank.
So.... could anyone please enlighten me and point out some of the issues I might be facing, building these? What are the main pitfalls or mistakes in the various 1/35 kits? Might save me tons of cash and spare me the frustrations I do not need to re-enter the hobby.
Thanks for any info!!

AFV Club is putting out an M60A1 in the coming months. I would would for that kit personally. The M60 kits on the market currently all require some work(aftermarket parts and scratch building) to make them nice looking builds. I'm sure someone else can better explain the various issues with each kit.



Erik

IIRC there`s a site called "Patton Mania" on the web,i`ve used it several times as it deals with all aspects of the M-60 and includes several kit reviews and A/M stuff.
If like me you build for pleasure do`nt worry about the little details,just enjoy the build.
Hope this helps

I concur w the sugestion to go to the Patton Mania website.

I'm an M 60 fanatic and it's probably the place w the most kit info all in one place. I'm finishing up an old M60 ( original version, some call the A0 for lack of better identification).

The cool thing about the M60 is it spans many decades 1960's thru 1990's so there's many options. I guess the way to start would be to know what era you want one from and then for the the version and color scheme most fitting.

I don't think any of the kits have any huge fundamental problems. Since I am personally nuts about them I can be a rivet counter - get all worked up over light guards, the type of air filters, bilge pumps and such - just like some of the German tank builders I'd imagine - but most of the kits are going to give you 95% of what you'd need right out of the box - you have to decide if you're going to be a nut about it and spend more than you did on the kit for the other 5% in aftermarket doodads.

Keep a eye on ebay for a Esci M60a3 tts kit. I just finished one it went together really easy and turned out great. I put a mine plow on it. Just primed it last night. The m60 guys swear by the old esci kits.

An oldie but a goodie :
M60A1 kits
Getting a bit dated - I did this back in the days of print cameras!

Jim

Thanks for the advice, guys!
Looks like I should leave the Tamiya-kits be and look into the Academy-offers.
But first some background reading.

The Academy kits are based on Tamiya and contain the same flaws. Horrible drivers periscope and they sit too high. They do however offer more variety especially the Israeli mods. Wait for the AFV kit for the best kit of an M60. I have 4 Academy kits in the stash.
I was an M60 crewman went from driver to commander It was a great tank.

Tom