Ammo can from Armand Bayardi, M113 .50 cal mount from Tamiya.



Engine screens in place. Holes drilled out for the engine hatch grab handles.
A "common" modification was the addition of a powder canister exhaust extension. I unfortunately nicked the lip while drilling it out. Battle damage?





We've got a fairly free weekend so I'm hoping to add some tie down straps and more stowage. The loaders hatch is closed right now but it is actually functional and will be left open when I'm done.

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Looking good,glad to see some images again at last.

How did you find the engine grill covers from Tamiya worked out? From the image they look rather fine compared to the awful effort Eduard have made, In fact the Eduard set on a whole is a bit of a disappointment IMHO

Keep the pics and info coming... Keith

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The only thing I don’t like about Tamiya’s pe parts is that they’re made of a tougher material, stainless steel? It makes it a little harder to remove from the fret and to clean up the bits. Couple this with how fine and detailed they are and you can have a disaster on your hands. They do fit really well but you have to make sure you get all the burs off.

Was the anti mine kit sometimes fitted uncomplete?
I've come across pics showing the whole kit fitted or just the floor plate.

Regards,

Marc

What is the difference between the full kit and the belly-only kit?
And how can you tell? I looked hard at your (and other) pictures but I just can't spot it.

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I also have the kit, my negative comment on all Tamiya kits is why in the world don’t they provide the damn PE sets with the kit?

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A) It's not their marketing model. They make simple, well-engineered kits. I think all of their tank-sized kits can be built in a weekend.

B) There are enough slavish adherents to the company that they know the omission won't measurably affect the sales of the kit or their PE set. There are still those who will pass up a more detailed kit of a subject in the hope that Tamiya will make one.

No matter what amount of PE they add there will always be many people complaining that it's too little, too much, too simple, too complex, or just wrong. They've chosen to go toward the low end and appear to be happy with their choice.

KL

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Russ, I think the star may be white and between dirt and a yellowed picture it appears yellow. All of the pictures I have from Germany 1977 to early 76 have yellowed dramatically. It was either the paper or the chemical they used at AFEES. A theory anyway.

Tom

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White doesn't make much sense either-- since by the time the laser and the gum ball light were required, the colors would almost certainly have been changed to black. I'm wondering if this is a "colorized" photo put up on Pintrest-- there are so many inconsistencies. The size of the star is also strange. By the way, this indeed must be an original M551, brought up to A1 standards during the rebuild program. The presence of the old bore evacuator is the give away, since the new A1s were coming off the assembly line with the new CBSS system, which was retrofitted to the old guns. I understand less than 100 Sheridans were sent to Vietnam, but they didnt all have this gun tube, many had the new CBSS tube. This tube is very close to the prototype tube with the original scavenging system. The second generation tubes had the ring around the barrel, like in the Tamiya kit. Third generation tubes had no ring at all. Sheridans came and went periodically to the rebuild facility (in CONUS and in Europe). I was the Range 43 OIC at Graf when we had two brand new rebuild M551A1s come in February 1979, one of which promptly caught fire on the upload pad, burning completely to the ground overnight (short in the sub turret floor while loading ammo). So they were upgrading and rebuilding these things right up to the end-- evidently not very well from my Graf Fire experience!

Another thought just occurred to me-- maybe this is a test vehicle at Fort Knox or Aberdeen, of the early M551 undergoing the A1 acceptance testing? I suppose that would explain the laser, white star, and old gun tube? It would be nice to know the history of this photo.
VR, Russ

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Russ, I think the star may be white and between dirt and a yellowed picture it appears yellow. All of the pictures I have from Germany 1977 to early 76 have yellowed dramatically. It was either the paper or the chemical they used at AFEES. A theory anyway.

Tom

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White doesn't make much sense either-- since by the time the laser and the gum ball light were required, the colors would almost certainly have been changed to black. I'm wondering if this is a "colorized" photo put up on Pintrest-- there are so many inconsistencies. The size of the star is also strange. By the way, this indeed must be an original M551, brought up to A1 standards during the rebuild program. The presence of the old bore evacuator is the give away, since the new A1s were coming off the assembly line with the new CBSS system, which was retrofitted to the old guns. I understand less than 100 Sheridans were sent to Vietnam, but they didn't all have this gun tube, many had the new CBSS tube. This tube is very close to the prototype tube with the original scavenging system. The second generation tubes had the ring around the barrel, like in the Tamiya kit. Third generation tubes had no ring at all. Sheridans came and went periodically to the rebuild facility (in CONUS and in Europe). I was the Range 43 OIC at Graf when we had two brand new rebuild M551A1s come in February 1979, one of which promptly caught fire on the upload pad, burning completely to the ground overnight (short in the sub turret floor while loading ammo). So they were upgrading and rebuilding these things right up to the end-- evidently not very well from my Graf Fire experience!

Another thought just occurred to me-- maybe this is a test vehicle at Fort Knox or Aberdeen, of the early M551 undergoing the A1 acceptance testing? I suppose that would explain the laser, white star, and old gun tube? It would be nice to know the history of this photo.
VR, Russ

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Would it be possible to send me or post a copy of the picture in question? I was on the Hughes LRF test project at the Armor Board (my first project there) in Q2, 1972 and our vehicle was OD, white stars and markings and obviously LRF equipped. I don't recall the gun tube configuration. Our bumper markings were distinctive and always featured the "TEST OPERATION" stencil on front and both sides. Thx!

Thanks for stopping by to check out the thread Doug.
I feel like a celebrity has come to visit.

Hers the link to Hannants for the Aber Mesh S08 I;m sure once you get the aber no it will be available elsewhere :-)

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ABR35S08

If it's the one with a very funky looking star and deep in mud, that's not our test mule. Another vehicle on that site is wildly mis-captioned. The main reason I despise these harvested photo collections

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If it's the one with a very funky looking star and deep in mud, that's not our test mule. Another vehicle on that site is wildly mis-captioned. The main reason I despise these harvested photo collections

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Another reason I dislike them, as stuff gets jumbled and mislabeled or miscredited. I note they "harvest" stuff off the web all the time. But this particular photo has to be a post Veitnam Sheridan, as it has a European "gumball" light and a LRF. Where it is, what unit it belongs to, and the story behind it is a mystery, and may remain a mystery unless someone steps up to claim it.
VR, Russ

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If it's the one with a very funky looking star and deep in mud, that's not our test mule. Another vehicle on that site is wildly mis-captioned. The main reason I despise these harvested photo collections

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You got it right--that's the one. I mentioned I dislike Pinterest in my initial posting too-- they group photos based on a subject and want you to sign in to use their service, then they use your email for advertising purposes. The track is also mislabeled as "Fort Lewis Wa"-- which I believe to be highly suspect, since I was there in the early 70s and don't remember any Sheridans there. Another reason I dislike them, as stuff gets jumbled and mislabeled or miscredited. I note they "harvest" stuff off the web all the time. But this particular photo has to be a post Veitnam Sheridan, as it has a European "gumball" light and a LRF. Where it is, what unit it belongs to, and the story behind it is a mystery, and may remain a mystery unless someone steps up to claim it.
VR, Russ

Thanks for stopping by to check out the thread Doug.
I feel like a celebrity has come to visit.

Funny you should mention it, I pulled this thread up a couple weeks ago...I couldn’t believe it was from a year and a half ago!

I’ve been working on completing some projects these last few months and this one is next on the list. Hopefully this weekend I’ll post some updates.

You’re not alone though, I have several “long term” “hang fire” projects on my workbench myself, some going back 2-3 years, and one that even goes back to 1977!
VR, Russ