Tamiya’s 1/16 Abrams goes antipodean

[GMK]

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. 

[Sairou]

This is looking fantastic, I love the paint scheme.

[Badder]

I've been waiting to see 3D printing being used in our hobby! Great to see it 'in action' and used to great effect. I love the details you are adding to this vehicle.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

[GMK]

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

Edited April 7, 2018 by GMK

[GMK]

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. 

 

[Sleepwalker]

If I would build Abrams ever, it will be Australian one for sure. I'm looking closely at your work.

[GMK]

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.

 

[GMK]

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. 

 

 

[GMK]

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...

 

[GMK]

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. 

Edited April 22, 2018 by GMK
Grammar.

[GMK]

Spent a few hours detailing the tops of the ballistic skirts. Well worth the effort, IMO. A mix of 1.5 x 0.5mm strip, Tamiya poly paper, punched discs, and Meng bolts. 

 

 

Almost ready for paint 😊

[GMK]

Painted the skirts and the rear of the hull...

 

 

 

Really coming together now. 

[GMK]

Built a mock-up of the turret sides to assist with the construction of the Australian-unique track hangers. These are handed (of course), and designed to act as brush guards for the track when moving through thick scrub. 

 

[GMK]

Did a daylight test for the paint tones: they seem pretty accurate to my eye. 

 

 

 

Some touch ups required, but looking solid. 

[Soeren]

Wow, that looks impressive. 😀

[GMK]

Thanks. It’s been fun. 

[GMK]

Work travel has somewhat interfered with progress....

 

That said, I was able to call in a favour to get artwork for decals done for “Cersei”, with printing being done by another mate. 

 

Decals tested on the Combat Identification Panels (please excuse the dust):

 

[GMK]

Two things had been slowing things down: stowage & markings. 

 

The .stp files for some stowage were used to 3D print the Australian-unique water jerry cans.  While I was at it, I printed off a FGM-148 Javelin missile tube for another build. 

 

 

[viper-30]

Brilliant...great job.

[GMK]

Stencilled the roo on as a test:

 

 

[GMK]

More stencils: Army Registration Number, kangaroo, and vehicle name.