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GMK

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Everything posted by GMK

  1. Love this build! Sterling work.
  2. Thanks to a USian friend, I was able to access TamiyaUSA to obtain a parts sprue to make a spare wheel. Improvising a mill from my drill press, I removed the hub, six of the studs and bolts, drill the resultant holes, and the removed the studs from the remaining bolts: Started the turret roof mounting point for the spare wheel. It is bolted to the roof in front of the CITV blanking plate, using the four bolts for the (removable) turret lifting eye.
  3. I’ve been questing after a 1/16 Abrams since 1995 when I picked up the Jim Shirley Productions resin 120mm scale (remember when that was a thing?) kit...and botched it with expanding foam filler! Now I’m converting Tamiya’s 1/16 M1A2 into a M1A1 in Australian service. Thanks to one of the cavalry regiments being granted freedom of entry to Brisbane last year, I finally have a good collection of pics of a single tank: ARN 055, c/s 31B “Cersei” of C Sqn, 2/14 Light Horse Regiment (Queensland Mounted Rifles). Having been working on this for a while, here’s a selection of “in progress” pics. Replacement of the kit rails & bustle with Plastruct 1.25mm plastic-coated wire: Enhancement of the kit anti-slip with Tamiya textured sand paint: Replacement stowage bin handles: Scratch-built bustle rack extension progress: And some overall progress: Thanks for looking.

  4. Question for the Abrams experts

    GMK replied to armored76's topic in Modern

    There wasn’t a “procurement trial” of the Abrams - they were bought off the shelf. Originally they weren’t even going to be painted camouflage, rather left in the CARC sand and fitted with Baracuda camouflage panels [these failed testing]. The Tamiya 1/48 & 1/16 M1A2 kits are “straight A2s” - they aren’t SEP like the examples in NATOflage fitted with M153 etc. These tanks also have an different-shaped piece of equipment in the bustle rack [VCSU vs. EAPU] Apparently some “straight A2s” stationed at Fort Knox were painted in NATOflage, as per Dragon’s original M1A2 kit from the 1990s.
  5. Nice work Steve! Really appreciate the hard work required to achieve a convincing finish in small scales - you’ve nailed it.
  6. Tamiya’s M1A2 is a vanilla (i.e. non-SEP, non-TUSK) A2 from the US Army 4ID from late 2003. As such, it missing some of the features present on Australian hulls, namely the slave starter receptacle (think jumper leads for your tank - more on that in later posts), and the infantry/tank telephone box. As Australian Abrams’ go through deep-level maintenance, the ‘old’ phone box is replaced with the new type. A mate of mine did the CAD, I just printed & painted it: I’ve also started on the Australian-unique fridge that’s mounted adjacent the EAPU in the turret bustle. The fridge power adapter (small box near the cross-wind sensor [also hollowed our]) is also a 3D-printed part: More to come...
  7. Started painting the rear hull. The Tamiya 1/16 kit is a bit simplified, especially the rear hull. I cut out the entire exhaust plate and scratchbuilt the replacement grilles. Thanks to a mate, I’ve got the protective grills CAD’d up and 3D printed.
  8. Started the paintwork on the top of the upper hull. Pretty rough so far, but the focus is the immediate vicinity of the turret race and ring. This is a prerequisite for screwing the lower turret to the hull, so is a little out of order.
  9. A little more progress... Tracks on, with one of every nine end-connectors painted blue as per the 1/1 tank. Started the Commander’s Weapon Station (borrowed from the Trumpeter kit) adding the laser-reflective glass.
  10. Really liking that camouflage job. Subtle, yet very convincing.
  11. Thank you, gentlemen. @Sairou I’m using SMS Australian Army paint colours (https://www.scalemodeller.com.au/). Apart from the names (we say “cam” not “camo”), they’re flawless. @Badder I’m very fortunate to have a couple of mates who help out by doing the CAD. I just upload to Shapeways and go from there. Here are some pics of the 1/1 Cersei
  12. More details of my build here:

  13. F-16 Block 70/72 for Slovakia?

    GMK replied to Slater's topic in Real Aviation

    Can see it in Australia, nil issues.

  14. 1/16 British

    GMK replied to grubber's topic in large Scale AFVs (1:16 and above)

    There’s a 3D printed RC scorpion/scimitar kit around. I bought the turret for a M113 MRV conversion. Will try to find the link.

  15. UK Buys Back Into Boxer MRAV to meet MIV requirement

    GMK replied to Das Abteilung's topic in Real Armour

    It’s not little. Here’s a pic I took from the commander’s hole of the Boxer CRV/Direct Fire High Survivability Lift (DFHSL), looking over the top of an ALSAV to the (loosing) AMV35: It’s a big truck.

  16. UK Buys Back Into Boxer MRAV to meet MIV requirement

    GMK replied to Das Abteilung's topic in Real Armour

    Slight correction, the NZLAV is a Piranha 3 hull, very similar to later Canadian vehicles. I remember hosting the Kiwi officer at a mess function who was sent to Darwin to look at ASLAV in detail. He loved the turret but hated the vehicle height - not surprising coming from a Scorpion!

  17. UK Buys Back Into Boxer MRAV to meet MIV requirement

    GMK replied to Das Abteilung's topic in Real Armour

    Got there in the end, I guess 😂 Some stats from the recent Australian Boxer announcement: 211 “drive modules” (hulls). 223 mission modules (133 with Lance turret). First delivery: 2020.
  18. Beautiful work! Very clean, very precise.

  19. AFV Club 1/35 M113A1

    GMK replied to snapper_city's topic in Work in Progress - Armour

    The foam is standard fit out of the factory, glued to the ceiling, and also to the inside of the rooftop cargo hatch: this is based on my expertise with late-model M113, so may not be correct for a 1960s track.

  20. AFV Club 1/35 M113A1

    GMK replied to snapper_city's topic in Work in Progress - Armour

    Fantastic work! If I may make an observation? The ceiling of the M113 is covered with a foam insulation layer, and isn’t metallic.
  21. Thought I’d post my progress with the Tamiya 1/16 Abrams, converted to an Australian M1A1 AIM SA.
  22. http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/56041/index.htm There you go!
  23. With more F-35s built than Buccaneers (235 to date vs. 211), more operators (RAF, RN, RAAF, RNAF, RNoAF, USAF, USMC, USN, Japan, Israel, Italy vs. RN, RAF, SAAF), and more potential operations and markings, I can’t agree. Some of the USN, USMC, and RAAF schemes so far are looking pretty interesting (IMHO).
  24. That looks absolutely amazing! Fantastic work.

  25. 1:147 HMS Surprise

    GMK replied to lars_opland's topic in Work in Progress - Maritime

    I’ve always been a bit down on/sceptical of injection molded plastic tall ships. Having seen your work, it seems a hasty revision of that opinion is in order!
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