Non-skid? Sand mixed with the paint that was applied to the engine deck storage boxes, turret top and front fenders. Not every tank had it. Usually ones that were serviced. The paint was also issued to some units. But areas with cast surfaces like the engine deck wouldn't necessarily get it. Smooth surfaces like fenders invariably did.

A fresh M60A3 from Anniston would have it and a M60A3 production tank wouldn't. I learned that if a tank was in NATO three color it would have the non-slip and if still forest green ; would not.

Three points of contact and the freaking boot slips right out from under you. non-slip in the rain. This was not the coarse sandpaper stuff found later on new vehicles.

It's so subtle you could just use the old liquid glue stippling for it. In real life from a distance it made the smooth surfaces look like the cast surfaces.

The cables came off without any real problems, I did manage to destroy two of the four holders but I'll deal with those later. On to some paint. Small areas received primer and then did some pre-shading. I mixed a darker shade of sand for the backsides of the ERA panels and underneath and then a lighter shade to over the top and overall the tank. Someone here posted a formula of XF60 & XF59 plus XF2 which is what I went with.

I seem to remember non-slip coating on the front slope of my M60A1s in mid/late-70s, but that is all. I just remember it wearing out the seat of my "pickle-suit" pants when I would slide down front slope to get onto the ground. But, being 40+ years ago I could be confusing the memory with the M60A3s I had in early 80s

never saw it during my time on '60's.
Dan

Lots more to do but nice to get some color on this. Pre-shading and then a base with some lighter shades on the centers. One piece of advise is to leave the small guard rails off until after you attach the ERA panels - which by the way fit perfectly.

Check out the Prime Portal photos for evidence of anti-skid. Very evident!:
http://www.primeportal.net/tanks/greg_smith/m60a1_rise_era/

Jim

very nice so far

Trying to do some of the non-slip. Finished all I'm going to do on the hull. I'll add a bit to the exposed areas on the top of the turret.

Ready for some washes, pigments and scuff it up a bit. I put down a coat of clear flat to protect the finish. Have a few fragile bits to add and maybe even a suitable base. Hoping very much that Takom will tackle some other M60 versions.

your build looks great ,well done .

Excellent progress on the build so far. And the Takom kit looks like a great balance of detail and build-ability.

Something to note, if you review the prime portal M60A1 pictures, you'll note that mine blades and rollers were installed after arrival. If you are interested in adding a mine roller, the new Dragon Magach 5 kit has the correct roller and actually has the mounts that could be installed onto an M60A1 kit. There will be a small amount of scratch building involved, mainly with installing the ERA over the top of the quick release tie rods.

I plan to snag the Magach kit on sale so I can steal the roller for an M60A1 build and the M48 chassis for a Tamiya M247 re-build/kitbash project.

Working some pigments and textures on the lower hull and road wheels. A few more layers and I'll be done, then I can work on finding the best color for the main gun and cupola dust covers.

Very fast pace build, looks really nice. I'm hoping they are planning Magach versions.

Note that the bottom of the hull often rubs against the ground and rocks. The paint gets rubbed off in places and long scrapes occure over time.

I just picked up this kit at the Danbury show ! good price $40 ! going to keep watching your posts ! great job !

You won't be disappointed. Really great kit. Ordered two more just for giggles.

Coming along but lots to do including tie down straps and the era desert camo pattern on the stowage. Will add a little bit of chipping but period pics don't show a lot of that.

very nice job !!!

Calling this one done and moving on to something else.

Nice. The hazy blue background reminded me of the sky during the gulf war.

Thanks. Took a little artistic license here and there but it was a fun build. Will do this kit again soon in three color camo.