Tank 01 Update: M60A2 - I forgot to take pictures after I applied primer. The pictures below are after application of the base coat, Forest Green for the MERDC Snow w/Trees Camouflage scheme. I used the paints from the AK Interactive MERDC Camouflage Colors set.







The next color I will apply is the Insignia White.

Tank 03 Update: CM-11 w/ERA Brave Tiger. Made a lot of progress on this kit. Build phase is almost done.


The MGs look great!


The ERA blocks consisted of a lot of parts.


I went ahead and brush painted black primer on the undersides. The connection points looks pretty sparse, we'll see how secure these will be when attached to the turret.


The most challenging part to assemble is the stowage rack. Here's the instruction that shows how many fragile pieces are needed. I almost gave up in frustration!


But, in the end, I was able to complete it. TIP: do not anneal the PE parts for this stowage rack. The flame was too strong for the PE that they were deformed. It added to the difficulty in the assembly.




I will be gluing the ERA blocks in place and then I'll be applying primer. I will black base this kit.

Tank 02 Update: Sgt York - Base color of NATO Sand FS 30277 has been applied.









Next step is to apply the second color.

I was hoping to see if the horizontal hull seam across the bow of the York would have been erased prior to the paint. Since the seam is so noticeable, are you going to correct it, or let that sleeping dog lie?

Don’t worry. That’s going to be taken cared of. I’m not very linear in my approach.

Update on Tank 04: USMC M60A1 with RISE/Passive Armor - Build phase complete for this one. Here are the latest pictures.









I think this kit does not look bad at all. Considering this is an OOB build.






The material for the netting was a pain to work with. It unravels easily.


Next step is the application of primer.

Here is Tank number 5, Takom's M47 E/M



This was an easy build and I ended up forgetting to take WIP pictures. It took me about a week to work on this. I give Takom an A+ for the track jigs included in the kit. I wish they had track jigs for the T-55s too. Anyway, build phase is done and here are the pictures.

Love the M47,but the right side tracks catch my eye every time. Are they not glued, so you can remove and paint?

I forgot to mention that the parts are dry fitted for the photoshoot. And yes, you are correct. I dis-assemble them for primer and painting. Of the five tanks I am working on, this is the only one that had the tracks on because they are not the DS or vinyl type.

Oh, I agree about the searchlight mount to the turret. Very weak, and not a lot to be done about it beside AVOIDANCE! I'm afraid to dry-brush the darned thing.

I bought AFV club after market tracks for my 60 series(M60) and various A2's.Lots of parts, but no Disintegrating Styrene tracks...

Love the AFV tracks. Used them on M728 conversion and an M88A1 a few years back, made quite an improvement on the lits.

What's your photography/lighting set up? ( nice builds btw)

Carl & Jim, I went ahead and ordered tracks. Thanks!




Thanks, Cam. I originally bought a Shotbox. It worked well with my 1/72 subjects. Here's a sample shot of my 1/72 PTS-M and BS-3 project.


But, when it came to 1/35 scale subjects, there's not enough room. Good thing I stumbled on the AmazonBasics Portable Photo Studio .

The photo studio is great. I'm sold and I highly recommend it. When folded, it occupies minimal space but when unfolded, it's big enough that I can stack up 6 boxes of kits.


I still use the Shotbox for smaller subjects. If I use the AmazonBasics one for the 1/72 scale models, I'd have to use some pretty extensive digital zooming. Here's a close up of the BS-3 on the Shotbox. Very little noise.


For camera, I use my iPhone XS. I am happy with the results of my photo setup. Both photoboxes come with their own lighting. And both are quick and easy to setup.

HTH,

Joseph

Hello,
Started working on this tank again. Insignia White, the second color in the camouflage scheme will be applied. I used the online guide as a reference and outlined the pattern using Derwent white colored pencil. I learned this technique online. The pattern you draw can easily be erased by just using water. Also, when the actual paint is applied, the line will be blended. You won't see any marking as you would when you use a pencil.



I took out my high end airbrush, the Iwata Custom Micron-B for this occasion. I was hoping to be able to spray some fine lines. Unfortunately, this did not happen. I made a mistake of thinning the paint too much that, the coverage was very weak. Spider veins everywhere or orange peels everywhere. Not very happy with the results. Too much over spray too. Murphy's Law was pretty much in attendance. Here are the resulting pictures.



I contemplated whether to throw out the whole thing. I took a break and tried to see if I can salvage this. I went and thinned down the first color, Forrest Green and brush painted it on the over spray. That seemed to work, then I applied the rest of the colors, Sand and Black. Here's how it looked afterwards.







Still not completely happy but at least I won't be throwing this kit out. Maybe, weathering will help later.
I have also removed the mask from the search light. None of the red color I applied showed up. Oh well.


Looking at these oversized pictures, I see that I still have some more over spray to clean up.

Tank 03 Update - Primer has been applied on the Brave Tiger.



Thanks,
Joseph

What do you think of the Brave Tiger kit Joseph? I have it but haven't started it yet.

Hi John,

I just found out that I skipped posting the build phase for the Brave Tiger kit. Overall, it was a usual high quality Takom kit (I built several already and I have not built one I didn't like).
Build phase complete prior to primer application.


The trickiest part was the stowage basket. My advice is to use the Tamiya Thin Quick Dry glue. You'll see in the pictures here. Look at how many thin parts the stowage rack consists of.


Here are the pictures of the completed stowage rack.




Here are other pictures of the build phase for Brave Kit. The ERA blocks.


Of which I have brush painted the underside with black primer. Just so I know everything's covered when they are installed, I was expecting these to be hard to reach.


The turret with most components attached.







Thanks,

Joseph

You mentioned earlier about the ERA attachment points that, "The connection points looks pretty sparse, we'll see how secure these will be when attached to the turret. " How were they?

The connection points are pretty sturdy.

Tank 05 update - black primer has been applied on the M47.

Tank 03 update - base color has been applied to the CM-11













Thanks,
Joseph

Coming along great Joseph!

Thanks very much! About to apply the second camo color on the CM-11.

Tank 04 update - M60A1 has been primed.














Thanks,

Joseph

I worked on Tank 06 - this one is the Dragon M46.



I didn't take a lot of wip shots, only the following. I thought the fender covers are a little on the thick side.


I went ahead and scraped the edges to narrow them down a bit.


The exhaust pipe was also thick.


And was thinned down to this.


The other modification I did was to add handle bars on the hatch covers.


The following pictures show how far I got.












-Joseph