Blame it on Black Mike...

[06/24]

Since @Duncan Bseems to be having so much fun with his wee Modelcollect tank, I thought I would jump on the bandwagon. I mean it's not as if I have another dozen or so builds on the go already 

 

I knew I had this old M1 Abrams in the loft, so I dug it out:

 

Esci M1 Abrams by jongwinnett, on Flickr

 

Opening the box was a pleasant surprise - I had expected rubber bands but there's a neat (if somewhat simplified) set of link and length tracks. 

 

Esci M1 Abrams by jongwinnett, on Flickr

 

The multipart hull is not particularly easy to put together, being thin, wobbly and lacking positive location points. It needed superglue and accelerator to fix it as it was impossible to clamp. It seemed best to crack on and fit the deck and rear panel, to give it all some structure:

 

Esci M1 Abrams by jongwinnett, on Flickr

 

Before closing up I noticed the hull was leaning inwards so I fitted a spreader bar from evergreen strip - seen here just aft the drivers compartment (if you look closely!)

 

Esci M1 Abrams by jongwinnett, on Flickr

 

It lacks the fine detail of a modern kit, and fit is challenging, but I'm hopeful this is going to build up into a decent early M1

[06/24]

I dry fitted the barrel, its unfortunately perhaps the least well moulded part of the kit. I wonder if anyone does a metal 105mm barrel as a replacement?

 

M1 Abrams 1/72 scale by jongwinnett, on Flickr

 

Also, does the mantlet appear to sit a little high?

 

Apologies for the lousy photo, holding it with one hand, trying to focus the phone's camera with the other, while holding both steady and then somehow pressing the shutter button was not easy!

[06/24]

Final tasks for the evening were to slop some gloop on the glacis plate join (not worth a photo) and then do something about the daylight showing through the sponsons.

 

A rectangle of 60 thou plastikard (40 thou would have been easier to work with and avoid some of the fit problems, but I had none handy)

 

M1 Abrams 1/72 scale by jongwinnett, on Flickr

 

Because of the shape of the hull, it was necessary to cut back the front corners of the insert, and the thickness meant I had to bevel the upper surface to clear the hull on those front corners as well. It only just fits, hence my suggestion 40 thou would be better.

 

M1 Abrams 1/72 scale by jongwinnett, on Flickr

[badger]

Good progress!

 

I've been building the same kit using a set of roadwheels and tracks from a scrapped Dragon kit to get round the double width wheels esci use.

 

I've been hunting high and low for a metal barrel as the kit one is utter garbage. I did find an M60 barrel that I thought might do but it isn't the same so am still looking.

 

Be interested if you manage to find one

 

All the best 

 

Ben

[06/24]

I certainly haven't found anything yet, either Abrams specific or even just a generic L7 105mm gun. Evergreen tube and recycle the details parts perhaps.

 

Good idea re the wheels, I don't have anything by way of alternatives, so I'm hoping I can score a groove in the wheels to at least give the impression of the double parts.

[Duncan B]

Don't blame me!! 

Glacis, Sponson and Mantlet, lesser know contemporaries of the Marx brothers I assume? Despite the lack of photographic evidence of this comedic trio's assistance I am impressed with your progress.

You have me wondering if this was the last tank kit I built all those years ago (it was certainly a 1/72 Abrams at any rate)? Wonderland, not the Edinburgh one but a general store in Leuchars did stock a good selection of Esci kits that I used to raid regularly so it could be.

 

Duncan B

[06/24]

4 hours ago, Duncan B said:

You have me wondering if this was the last tank kit I built all those years ago (it was certainly a 1/72 Abrams at any rate)?

Could well be - this boxing (the first, there have been several since) dates from 1986 - i think it was possibly the first model of a production M1 in Braille scale, and its aged remarkably well. Not suitable for the Gulf era and later tanks, but for the Team Yankee, Cold war hot era its ideal.

 

If you have a trumpy or similar more modern tank, I reckon you could use the turret of this to backdate to an M1, but the rest of this one is good enough that I'm not sure I'd bother, just build one of these!

[06/24]

First attempt at link and length tracks in 1/72. Far from perfect but one of the joys of armour modelling is that mud can hide a multitude of sins

 

First attempt at link and length tracks in 1/72 by jongwinnett, on Flickr

 

Untitled by jongwinnett, on Flickr

 

And the real thing, Reforger 84

 

DA-ST-85-12358 by U.S. Army Materiel Command, on Flickr

[06/24]

PS the observant will have spotted I failed to find an easy fix for the wheels, so gave up  Hopefully the side skirts will hide most of the evidence.