Dammit Jason, now you've got me rethinking. You must have more reference than I do, because i couldn't draw a conclusion from the two D Co. tanks that appear in the Osprey book. I went ahead and did 2nd Tk Bn D12 that appears on the cover of that book, and left the antennas in the default locations. However, both the Bovington runner and the one I photographed at Ft Lewis have the blanking plate and no ventilator on the roof. So it's definitely possible. Plus, the photo of Estes that appears in the back of the osprey book shows an antenna in that forward position as well. I think i will leave mine alone (Because who knows how much damage i'll cause trying to fix it). No pics because i recently read that it's bad form to post your own in someone else's thread

No need to fret. I am very confident based on the images I've seen in the Osprey and Ampersand books, and some additional reference images that the antenna mount was moved to the modified location.

While the Guantanamo M103A2s have this antenna modification others did as well as indicated in the photo of Ken Estes. That photo was taken of Ken in Camp Pendleton in 1970.

Fire up your previous build blog and post some completed images there. I along with many others would surely love to see your finished M103A2.

Without a doubt assembling the tracks is tedious and not for someone with all thumbs.

As the track building continues I wanted to post a pic of the decals in comparison with the Woodlands Scenic USA Gothic 45 Degree Letters.

With this image you can clearly seen the smooth font used by Dragon. The Gothic font looks far more USMC-like with the crisp edges.

I suspect that Dragon used the colour plate of M103A2 D12 in the Osprey book to create their decals. The Tac markings in the colour plate also have the smooth lines seen in the Dragon decals.

As odd as the Tac markings look the USMC and registration numbers look good.

It's been far too long since my last update and I apologize to my fellow modellers and Armorama staff for lagging behind on this build. The Bronco tracks have been a huge chore to assemble without taking the time to clean up each little part.

Before I had finalized my decision to finish the M103A2 as a Guantanamo Bay tank I had toyed with a Camp Pendleton M103A2 depicted on exercise. While on exercise tanks commonly step into the role of enemy force or opposing force vehicles.

The M103A2s tasked as opposing force vehicles had a couple of unique features. One was the temporary paper exercise markings featuring the green triangle in the circle. These were applied to the turret sides and glacis plate. The other unique feature was the carrying of two old truck tires on the turret. These could be seen either stacked up at the front of the turret or lashed on either side of the turret.

I experimented with the placement of tires in order to get a feel for what they might look like. I used a Verlinden 1/35 resin spare tire set.

Exercise Markings...


Turret side tire placement...

Turret tire stacking. In reference images it appears the stacked tires were placed on some camouflage netting in order to prevent them from falling off.

In plugging away at the track construction I have made some progress.

Each track section consist of...

2 x lower pad pieces
2 x upper pad pieces
2 connector rod pieces
1 x centre guide

So, with 7 small parts per each section it is a taxing job to remove each part from the sprues, clean each part with cutters and sand paper, position the parts, glue the parts, and ensure a proper alignment.

I will continue to endure and embrace the suck! In the end it will pay off as the track detail is terrific.

Great work on the beast. Makes me wanna start the second M103a2 kit I have.

The Bronco tracks, IMHO, are the best choice for M47,M48,M60. M1 and LEO 2 tanks in the market. Might be a PITA to clean and assemble but the final product is of very high quality.

Will you consider rebuilding the gun travel lock? Looks so out of size and shape on the engine deck.

Nikos.

Thanks for you compliment.

I did consider rebuilding the travel lock but much earlier in my blog I stated that I would not rebuild the part. I had to decide during this build what I could live with and live without as far as accuracy. I can accept the travel lock as is.

Fantastic attention to detail so far mate. Looks great. I want to get the dragon kit but only have the skills to build it OOB.

I loved the look of the M103 ever since I saw one at Bovington about 10 years back. I was happy to see one finally get released in plastic! But after all the comments on the kit not so much. I might get the a2 version and give it a go. Will not have the details of your build though!

Can't wait to see some paint on that one!

I wrote this kit off but now after seeing your build I think I need to take a crack at it. Great work. Really neat looking tank.

Thanks guys! Every kit need some TLC and this kit is no different. Break open those boxes and get crackin'!

I have applied a primer coat and blended in all those added on details and modifications.

For primer I use Tamiya Neutral Grey XF-53. I find this a very likeable paint colour to cover metal and plastic parts with an even coat as well as to provide depth for the base coat application.

This beast is starting to come to life.

Now, to pre-shade or not to pre-shade?

I've managed to apply an overall base coat. The M103A2s were painted in USMC Green. The Dragon instructions have you painting the kit in Olive Drab. There is a visible difference between USMC Green and Olive Drab.

I omitted any pre-shading as I find the majority of it gets covered with the base coat and additional weathering. To each his own. I will fool around with the colour during weathering.

Instead of mixing a cocktail of paints for USMC Green I selected Model Master Acryl Marine Corps Green 4724. I thinned it with distilled water and set off with the airbrush. The paint covered very well and really starts to pull the details such as the cast texture and weld marks that I added.

There are many details to paint now that the base coat is on:

- The searchlight will be painted OD for contrast.
- Searchlight cable
- Jerry cans
- Tank phone indicator light
- .50 Cal HMG
- Tow cable
- Cupola interior
- Commander's hatch pad
- Periscopes
- Antenna mounts
- Road wheels
- Return rollers
- Taillights
- Mantlet cover
- Spare track links

Prior to anymore painting the markings will be added.

This is looking awesome. I'm starting one of these now, inspired by your thread. I'm doing a bit of 'What-if' with mine, it's what I like to do.

Thank you for the inspiration.

Thanks very much! Good luck with your project! Go for it!

Thanx! I just want to get that Legends set with the rear door, I should be good to start though, RB Barrel, Voyager PE, and Bronco T97E2 tracks.

Sometimes the mantra of scale military modelling is two steps forward, two steps back.

In looking at my base coat I wasn't quite happy with the colour. Once it had completely dried it looked a tad too much OD. After a short debate I decided to strip all of the paint and start again.

Egads you say! Strip the paint? Are you crazy?

I find stripping Acrylic paint a fairly straight forward low tech process. Fill up an appropriately sized container with straight Windex and submerge all the parts. Within minutes the Windex starts to dissolve all of the paint. I usually leave the parts in the Windex for 24 hours. During that time period I will use a soft paint brush to remove paint build up and get into the nooks and crannies.

The result is the model stripped to the bones void of paint and primer. One caveat, be careful to not break off any tiny parts while it floats around in the windex or when using the brush. Just to be safe I usually strain the Windex when complete to look for any tiny PE parts. It's kind of like panning for gold!

I then defaulted to mixing paints to get the colour I wanted. I used the Model Master Acryl Marine Corps Green and added Model Master Acryl Medium Green. There was no specific ratio and a bit of trial and error completed the task.

I went straight to the base coat and skipped another primer coat.

The change in colour is subtle but I like it better than my first base coat.

If anyone has a concrete idea of what USMC Green looked liked on the tanks that would be great. Given that there were no digital cameras back in the 1960s/1970s the old 35 mm camera film seems to create a spectrum of different shades of colour for the elusive USMC Green.

For your viewing pleasure...

I'm no color expert, but it looks great, and definitely *not* OD.

You should be proud of your efforts on this one Jason, yes I am impressed.

I feel your pain. That green is difficult to replicate.

I ended up using a dark green-Black wash over MM Marine Corps Green enamel, then rubbing in Hunter Green artist's oil, and then sponging on the MM MC Green over the top of all of it again to bring back the tone.



Brilliant work on your build, sir. I wish I had waited for the Legend Mantlet cover before I finished this one.

I'm eagerly waiting to see this one finished.

Beautiful work sir!

Based on my faulty memory of days gone by, I believe Tamiya XF-74 JGSDF OD is the best "out of the bottle" match for Marine Green.

It's a dark olive green with an ever so slight twinge of gray. Add white to it and you'll see what I mean. Lighten this color then with Buff or Deck Tan to achieve a scale finish.

Very nice job on the beast. You display an amount of patience I longer have. As for the color, I've only seen museum examples, but I sure do like it.

Thanks very much Gents. I will endeavour to get this build done!

Anna and Darren...thanks for your words of encouragement!

Mike...great looking M103A2. One thing I am trying to figure out with the marking is if the crew commendation stars were applied to both the left and right sides of the turret or only on the right side. I can't find any images showing them confirmed to be on the left side.

Ian...thanks for the paint recommendation. I've used JGSDF OD before and I agree about the twinge of gray.

Robert...yes patience is key...and trying to pick away at the project with the little spare time I have!

I've been nervous yet excited to dry the dry transfers for the call signs. I really like dry transfers when they work well. When they don't work well or placement is not ideal they are a nightmare.

I have used the Woodland Scenics 45 degree USA Gothic Yellow numbers and letter sets.

Using the largest numbers and letters in the sets I cut them out and positioned them on my cutting mat. Once positioned I used thin strips of tape on the top and bottom to tack them together.

I positioned the call signs on the turret sides and using a dull pencil crayon burnished them in order to apply them to the turret. A light touch is key to not jostle them and have them apply in a consistent manner. I did not use any gloss coat on the turret and I find with dry transfers a flat surface is much better for adhesion.

Once burnished I slowly peeled back the carrier film and Voila the call signs were attached. They attached to the turret very well and up close you can still see the rough casting texture of the turret. Once the carrier sheet was removed I used the thin backing sheet over top and then lightly burnished the call signs to have them set in place.

The M103A2s seem to have several variations of the size and positioning of the turret call signs. The placement of the call signs on the left and right sides of the turret are not in line with each other. Compared to the font of the Dragon decals the Woodland Scenics letter and numbers look far more accurate.











Next up will be the vehicle registration numbers and the crew commendation stars. The kit decals will be used as they do look accurate in this respect. A gloss under coat will be required on the turret and hull for the decal application. I am interested in hearing what others use for gloss coats.

Now let's not get carried away here .....

It's actually quite nice ...
Jason you got this far ... now don't mess it up !

Cheers
Christopher