In moving to the more detailed weathering phase of the build I started to do research on tanks deployed to Guantanamo Bay. All of the old pics are black & white and show what appears to be dust accumulations.

In chatting with the M103A2 Platoon Leader he said the tanks were dusty and dirty but maintained inside.

I stumbled across this video taken in 1991 of USMC M60A1 RISE tanks in Guantanamo Bay. It gives a very good idea of the day to day dust and dirt accumulations on the suspension and hull while keeping the turret relatively clean. Hopefully I can achieve a similar result.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_b4b0XtP4A

With the tracks completely on and some minor detail painting finished I set about weathering the big beast.

I used various shades of MIG Productions pigments to create dust and dirt build up. My intent was to create the look of a dusty well travelled but equally well maintained heavy tank.

I am calling this build complete as far as this Blog and Build Review. For the Feature Article I will be adding turret stowage and a commander figure.

The Dragon Black Label M103A2 kit is the only plastic kit currently available. Dimensionally there are issues. From an accuracy standpoint there are issues. This Heavy Tank does however build into a very eye catching AFV when it treated with TLC during the build, when adding extra detailing, during painting, and of course during weathering.

If I had to give highs and lows there would be many lows encountered along the way to completion. As far as highs, I am very happy how my M103A2 turned out and the facts that I learned a great deal about this amazing Cold War tank and that I was able to connect with a couple of former M103A2 tank commanders.

My verdict...The Dragon M103A2 Heavy Tank looks like an M103A2 OOB. The kit needs significant work in order to make it look like an accurate M103A2. Dragon dropped the ball on this kit but hopefully my build blog/build review shows that with blood, sweat, tears, and money it can become a very nice looking model.

My M103A2 Heavy Tank for your enjoyment and comments...

She came out looking great. All that hard work definitely paid off. Excellent job. I am looking forward to the build article so we can reference it for future builds.

I sure wish I could have built my M103A2 half as good as yours.

Superb build on a horrible kit. Hat's off to you sir.

P.S. Just a question regarding the M103 exhaust line. Was it a single exhaust like the M48 or a twin exhaust like the M60?

Amazing. She turned out wonderful!

Excellent completed build! If you had the right sort of background for final photos, that model would look convincingly realistic!
Terry

WOW !
Wonderful result ... all your effort was really worth it ! Great job

Cheers
Christopher

Stunning work Jason! If mine turns out even half this good I'll be happy.

Nice job. I really like the dust effects.

Thanks very much for the positive comments Gentlemen.

I've enjoyed doing this build blog and I for sure have a new appreciation of a unique breed of Cold War tanks.

Very nice indeed. You made a racehorse out of a mule. A very large racehorse but a racehorse nonetheless. Very nice job.

EXCELLENT!! ... from start to finish, including the great photos ... thanks for sharing.

Cheers
Walter

Holy Hannah that turned out great!! Your weathering is fantastic and I really want to see a TC in that hatch lol!

You already know there wasn't much for stowage but I can't wait to see what you come up with. This makes me want to build this kit all over again for my own collection.

Well done!!

Wow! Been on the fence about doing this kit, but your build has convinced me to go for it. Nice work. One neat looking tank.

Thanks again for your compliments Gents!

Mike...indeed stowage will be limited but applicable for a deployed tank. These tanks for sure did not look like gypsy wagons while in Guantanamo Bay. They were all about the business!