I have this photo hosting thing figured out now. Here is my other concurrent project, also an OIF1 Abrams, but this time a USMC one.

I have been wanting to do this tank for a few years now, since it has an interesting story. As many may know, the Battle of Nasiriyah was a tough one. Friendly fire, topped it off. On the side of town the tank company, 8th Tanks, got mired in a cesspool, as did some Amtracs. One tank was mired, Young Guns. Below is the only photo of the tank stuck in the mud. I am using it as my inspiration for this vignette.

The planets lined up and the Meng kit appeared with not only an M1A1 USMC tank from the period, but this exact tank! It was a no-brainer for me to get the kit. And it is pretty good. I still prefer the Dragon kit for this period since it has lots of great detail, but this kit stands up pretty well with only a few minor concerns.

Right now I have pretty much completed building the lower hull. For this tank, the unit did not have the MCD mounted, which is correctly depicted in the kit. However, it did not have the typical USMC phone on the back right next to the taillight, so I just left it off. Oddly, the front fender retainer is half molded on the top of each fender, but there is nothing finishing the rod as it does down onto the hull. I will add this later with the end connectors that should go on the rod too.

I'm showing the right rear skirt open like in the photo, so this required some minor surgery to the kit skirt, since Meng decided to add hidden supports behind the skirts for rigidity. I guess they really don't expect you to depict any skirts open, like the Dragon kit allows you to do. For the skirts, I also added the missing parts that run along the top of the skirts. Both Rye Field and Dragon provide them but Meng does not. I stole mine from the Rye Field kit that I am using as a kitbash on my other project. And the Meng kit provides solid molded on lifting point at the front of each skirt, which is wrong. It should be hollow. I used an Eduard PE part for that - I have lots of Eduard PE for both the M113 and Abrams. I also added some Grandt Line bolts on the top of the skirts too. And I am using other Rye Field PE for this too like the retaining chains for the fuel covers. But actually many of these chains went missing so it is not necessary.

In OIF1 8th Tanks commonly used the IR lights in place of the normal white lights, so I will be painting the headlights black when it is time for that.

Lots of great weathering opportunities here.

The tracks. I am not a fan of building these multi-part tracks, but I can't argue with the results. Both the Meng and Rye Field are shown here. Meng is in black and Rye Field grey. Dragon was not able to create the hollow look of the end connectors in their prior efforts, but at least their kits now have hollow guide horns.

I decided to go with the Rye Field tracks (no fit problems at all with the Meng kit) since the hollow look of the end connectors are just a bit deeper, and more importantly, Rye Field jig is a little better IMO as it is deeper set, so the fiddly parts don't float around while you are trying to get them all together. I had the luxury of choice since I have lots of Abrams kits, but for those with just their Meng or Rye Field kits, they are both pretty good - as far as the tracks go. Oh, and Rye Field give you the option of solid guide horns, so I suppose that is another advantage.

I won't be building complete sets on each side either since the mud and skirts hide much of the track runs.

BUT THIS IS A SLOG!!! No matter how you look at it.

This should come out really nice Bob. Great work so far.

Since I was working on the tracks I figured I would handle the spare track links that will be handing on my tank. It turns out there were four sets of spare tracks hanging on the turret, and some were a bit different than others in detail. That got me thinking about how some folks wonder how the spare links are hung on the turret (not magic glue of course) and so I have added some photos of the real thing in different guises here.

First, the manual showing the parts of the tracks. Note the key part in properly hanging the links is the part I circled. In kits, this centerguide is in one part of course, but in real life as you can see it is split, and that is how it is used to hang the tracks. So, to properly do it on your model you need to study the kit part and decide how you want to slice this up, and possibly just make your own circled part with bolts and plastic, but use the top half of the centerguide from the kit (you will have to slice the top half from the bottom part. In doing this, you will likely destroy the lower half so that is why I suggest making the lower half from your own bolts and plastic.

Anyway, note how the track pin many times is bare, but other times there are end connectors still attached. And note how the weight of the end connectors usually cause the top ones to flip over and how they sit next to the middle ones. This detail is usually not depicted in kits that do provide spare links, and it is not depicted by most modelers.

Also note how the top centerguide points at a slight angle when it is used to hang the spare links.



















When I actually get to mounting my spare links I will add the centerguides to the top with the other half around the turret handrail.

The kit instructions are not quite correct on where to place the tactical markings on the skirts - mine are in the correct place in relation to the position on the skirts. The kit does not give you registration numbers for this vehicle, but they were there in real life, so I used ones from another option in the kit. They are more forward than is suggested in the directions.

Clear lights are provided. I painted the back of the taillights red. The front lights were IR so I painted the back sides black.

One fender was bent from running into a cart.

Looking really nice Bob. Great job so far.

Bob,

I agree with Gino...really nice work so far, not to mention the really nice photos of real tracks, some of which I haven't seen before; thanks for those!

Regarding tracks, I really like the Bronco workable tracks; those are the ones I put on 'Answer To This'. If you would like someone else to do some workable tracks for you, I'd be willing to make at least one full set of Broncos for you. I know they are not the most fun things to do, and they do take awhile, especially if you want them to really BE workable, but not so awful, either. I don't know if the Bronco tracks work for any kit other than the Dragon, but on the Dragon, they fit perfectly.

Thanks Curt. Mine are built and painted now. Soon I will be weathering them, and we will see if they hold. They should be fine. And because they are hidden in the mud I did not have to do a complete bottom run as well as not having to do a complete top run either because of the skirts.

Bob,

Looking forward to seeing the M1 in the muck! I don't think I've ever seen a build of any kind with a tank in the condition you're going to put yours in! Good luck!

Howdy Robert, looking good so far. You need to figure out a way to include the 'poo' smell. That particular tank is A-31, TCed by Capt. Cubas, 3rd Platoon Commander. A Co, 8th Tank Bn was a Reserve tank company from Ft Knox, Kentucky. Their 14 tanks were acquired from M1A1s that 2nd Tank Bn left behind at Camp Lejeune North Carolina when they deployed to OIF. A Co then sailed to theater with these tanks as part of 2nd Marine Regiment, TF Tarawa. That is why these tanks were missing the TI Phone and MCD that were present on the fresh tanks that were drawn off the MPS Squadrons. They also had fresh green or black paint on the front skirts and bore evacuators to cover the Tac Marks of the previous owners. Here is a shot of the port side of A-31 aka 'Young Guns".

You see the empty SFC2 bladders on the turret roof and the 'Dog Bone" aka Road Wheel Lifting device attached to the turret with a clevis. The side CIP is in an unique location too.
Happy Jarhead modeling!
Out here, Mike sends . . .

Bob,

She's looking good. I'm going to be interested in seeing how the ground work is handled, fortunately I only got to see the the thing from a distance and not up close and personal.

Mike is all over it, of course. I had the honor to talk to now LTC Cubas. I will definitely be scratching the dog bone shown in Mike's photo above. Cpt Cubas recalled cutting off the fuel bladders when they were having problems outside of town. But maybe I need to revisit with him the folded bladder. The CIPs for my build will be gone, since he used them to try and get traction in the mud. I will try to at least show them in part in the mud under the tracks.

The mud should not be too difficult. Lots of options with plaster, sand, pigment, ...

Some details for today. Meng does not provide the wipers for the driver's vision block/periscope, so I used the Eduard part for that. I have a bunch of Eduard detail sets for the A1. They are still good to have for just about all of the different kits out there now.

The tracks are pretty much weathered now and ready to go. I might add some dark, wet look to the center guides when I put them on. In the photo I left one side of a track unweathered to show the difference before pigments are added.

One skirt was open per my photo above, and so I placed pigments on the inside of that opened skirt, and used some raw umber to depict some of the mud accumulation still being wet. I will be doing some of that to the suspension too.

Howdy Robert, talking with other A Co platoon crew members upon return to CONUS, the company crossed LD with the SFC2 Bladders full and mounted as did 2nd Tk Bn. At some point in the An-Nasiriyah fighting they were told to empty the bladders and take them off the turret sides. They were not good at taking RPG hits. At some later undetermined point on the drive north they began using the SFC2 again due to logistical difficulties.
For anyone that is interested here is a link to a USMC publication that can be downloaded on the fighting that took place. You may have to cut and paste into your browser:

http://www.marines.mil/Portals/59/Publications/U.S.%20Marines%20in%20Battle_An-Nasiriyah%20%20PCN%2010600000700_1.pdf

Outta here, Mike sends . . .

Progress on the turret. Almost complete. Then I can start the weathering. First, some fading like the hull. I think I will wire up the smoke dischargers. And I will detail the two MGs a bit as well. I started weathering the APU for practice.

Really nice work!

Great job Robert, really nice work!

That looks outstanding! But a quick question, have you found or know of an aluminmum turn barrel that goes with Mengs kit. I was kinda disapponited by the two piece barrel. Thanks

Yes, a very disappointing aspect of the Meng kit - the split barrel. But, with putty and progressive sanding sticks I was able to make the line disappear.

I added some dirt, scratches, and metal sheen to the edges of the APU. I also faded the paint on the turret like I did for the hull. Soon, I can get to the weathering, but first I think I will tackle the MGs.

A few more details added, so I can get to the weathering. Final decals are on. A few locks next to the TC - pretty much the stowage spot for locks on the tank. Wing nut added to the front of the loader's hatch near the MG skate ring.

I finally got to use the PE CIPs from the old Eduard set. The crew threw them under the tracks to try and get some traction, but to no avail. I will put then under there, but crushed. So, the PE is perfect for this.

I learned something new on this build. It is common for USMC crews to use dog tags with the MG serial number stamped on them and these are secured to the barrels. At least this was done with this reserve unit. So, no rack numbers painted on like seen in many photos, and like what I have done in previous builds. I used some old PE that fit the bill.

Coming along great Bob. I love all the little details that really make it come to life.

I really did not like my first attempt with the wire around the dog tag. Too thick and it would look better with the dog tag over the wire. I found smaller wire and wrestled with it to get it around the barrels and cinch it, then re-glued the dog tags over the wire.

MGs pretty much done. Later when I integrate them to the model I may add some minor light colored chipping. Some details added to the Meng kit - charging handles for both MGs. The roller that presses down on the .50 cal butterfly to remotely fire the MG. A couple of locks on the TC hatch. .50 cal wiring. Retaining chains for both MGs - from PE.

Excellent subject choice and great job! I'm really looking forward to watching this build.

The first go around for weathering. I put some dark stains on the hull. There will be similar stains on select areas of the turret too. The CIPs on the front turret are not weathered yet. Lots to do still - mud, scrapes, some chipping, metal wear, etc.

These tanks were HEAVILY weathered - dust and mud - in real life.