Thinking about buying the new AFV Club's M60A1 kit, but as an old M60A1/A3 tanker, the heavy "casting" on the turret and hull is not very realist at all and looks very out of place. Besides this one issue, this is by far, the best kit on the market of the M60 series tank.

Due to several injuries, related to my 26 year career in the Army, fine detailing isn't a real option for me anymore, so sanding and redoing or trying to redo details that might be lost or damaged in the process isn't possible.

With that said, is there another method that is relatively easy and will greatly reduce the overly aggressive casting? I know that several coats of paint will help some, but not enough to make it realistic or even close for many of us old Tankers that are still out there!!

Also, any information and/or rumors of a possible hull and turret aftermarket replacement kits coming to the markets for the AFV Club M60 kits anytime in the near future?

BTW, the Revell-Germany's M48A2/GA2 and M48A2/A2C kits suffer from the same problem... And "I" can't figure out why both Revell and AFV Club thought that the aggressive casting molding marks was a good ideal.

Thanks for looking and for any tips!!

One possibly way, except putty + sanding or thick coats of paint, could be to gently brush the overly textured cast surfaces with solvent (liquid cement/glue). Aceton free nail polish remover containing ethyl acetate could be used (cheaper than the small bottles of liquid cement ....).
Use a large soft brush and brush the surface gently (practice on the bottom of the hull first !!). The solvent will soften the edges of the cast texture and smooth out the contours. Some gentle sanding may be needed to remove brush marks, unless more solvent doesn't remove them. Maybe an airbrush could also be used to apply solvent but I would start with a soft brush, use the biggest brush possible to reduce the pressure on the surface.
/ Robin

Hi Ted,

Instead of using paint, try a dedicated filler product like Mr Surfacer. It comes in several grades (500 or 1000 are most applicable here) and is sort of a thinned-down putty that gets brushed on. If you wipe it off so the tops of the plastic show through, that will leave it settling in the "valleys" of the texture, making it less intrusive. I'd suggest working out where parts need to be attached first so you can leave these areas bare.

Hope this helps!

I second this - and like to ADD, that houshold spirit can be used to wipe out and smothen once the Surfacer has dried.

Thanks for the replies!! I think that the Mr. Surfacer 500 product will do the trick.

Again, thanks!!