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ESCI 1/72 M48A Patton


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This is the old but good (for its time, at least) ESCI/ERTL kit from 1983.

 

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The solid molded plastic tracks on ESCI’s little Patton look nice, but the road wheels and return rollers are depicted as wide single units rather than as the thinner, paired wheels as they actually were... 

Making those one-piece Mag wheels into the correct paired sets is actually a simple (if tedious) procedure:

 

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I started by taking two of the kit bogies and sanding the backs down half way. Then, adding a .030 inch thick plastic disc as a spacer between them, I glued them together. The width comes out exactly the same as the original single wheel but with a space between the two for the track guide horns. This approach requires twice as many bogey wheels as come with the kit, but fortunately I also had a M48A5 kit to plunder for parts... to make fourteen pairs – and  a further ten return rollers needing the same treatment too!

 

As for the tracks, the molded parts in the kit aren’t bad, but the inner sides have unrealistic gaps between links and are completely lacking in detail. My first thought was to simply replace them with better detailed tracks from a spare Hasegawa 1/72 M1 Abrams kit, which has very similar sections and guide horns...

 

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...but unfortunately, the pads on the outer surfaces are of a different design.
 
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I experimented with various fixes, such as sanding away the Abrams pads and then shaving off the individual M48-style chevron pads and attaching them one by one – but that approach have been unreasonably burdensome for a whole vehicle. I finally opted to sand the outer surfaces of the Hasegawa Abrams tracks down until the remaining inner faces were almost paper thin, and then attaching them to the flat ESCI parts. A bit of work, but the upgraded parts do look a whole lot more like proper Patton T97E2 tracks!

 

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So here’s my rendition of ESCI’s M48A3 Patton in 1/72 scale.

 

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This classic kit from the early 1980s has a lot going for it, but I did make a few changes:

 

• 14 road wheels and 10 return rollers corrected to doubled configuration
• track horn guide channels added to the centers of the drive sprockets
• mounted tracks and spares on turret improved with Hasegawa M1 Abrams track inside surfaces
• headlight guards made from lead foil, headlights hollowed out and acetate lenses added
• tool boxes on fenders improved with new plastic lids, hinges, & wire handles
• air cleaners on fenders improved with wire and sheet plastic details
• Xenon light  improved with wire, facial tissue cover, and hand painted MAIN DEALERS logo
• wire securing ring and lead foil clips added to blast bag at base of barrel
• .50 cal machine gun replaced with a Hasegawa part improved with wire and plastic stock
• various handles, lifting rings, antennae, MG barrel deflector, and hatch mechanism made from wire
• raised casting codes on turret top are numbers shaved from plastic model sprue labels
• turret basket scratchbuilt from plastic, wire, and nylon mesh; stowage from various sources
• markings hand painted and assembled from model railroad stencil decals

 

The completed tank:

 

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The model depicts DISASTER, a M48A3 (late model) Patton of the MAIN DEALERS, 2nd Platoon, ‘C’ Company, 1st Marine Tank Battalion during operations Southeast of Da Nang in February of 1970.

Edited by Tim Reynaga
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You have produced a stunning model, especially in 1/72. Your additional detailing has really taken the base kit to another level. Very well done. :thumbsup:

Kind regards,

Stix

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Nice job on the Patton. I like the red Vietnam mud. I did this kit many years ago and took a different approach with the road wheels. Mount them up in the chuck of a mini drill and then while it's spinning, gently press a razor saw blade to the area where the gap should be. If done carefully, it works fine and saves on having to use the wheels from another kit.

 

John.

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Really, very well got the dusty look and the montage with the background photos gives a very cool touch.

It's funny, my M48 Patton, although it would be a big brother because it is 1/35 of Tamiya, it coincides surprisingly with yours in its aspect.

It is the first time I see two kits with an interpretation of the model that are so similar in technique and finish. :goodjob:

I add a link to my topic, in case you are interested in seeing how it is.

Cheers mate :thumbsup2:

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Nice build, you've done a smashing job of upgrading the old ESCI kit!  :coolio:

 

I've got one on the desk right now (from the same USMC tank company too), but I made life a bit easier with the OKB chassis correction set:

 

https://shop.okbgrigorov.com/product/3/1-72-chassis-correction-set-for-m-48-torsion-arms-road-wheels-return-rollers-and-t97e2-tracks.html

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7 hours ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

Nice build, you've done a smashing job of upgrading the old ESCI kit!  :coolio:

 

I've got one on the desk right now (from the same USMC tank company too), but I made life a bit easier with the OKB chassis correction set:

 

https://shop.okbgrigorov.com/product/3/1-72-chassis-correction-set-for-m-48-torsion-arms-road-wheels-return-rollers-and-t97e2-tracks.html

Thanks, but oh, MAN - had I only known! That upgrade set would have saved me a TON of time and effort! 😆

 

Oh, well... best of luck with your own build, though!  😁

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Superb job all round, it looks great! I wa s about to ask if you were aware that OKB Grigorov makes an injected styrene replacement set for the kit, but I see it's been mentioned above. However, there are two sets:

 

a torsion arm, road whee, return rollers and track set:

http://shop.okbgrigorov.com/product/3/1-72-chassis-correction-set-for-m-48-torsion-arms-road-wheels-return-rollers-and-t97e2-tracks.html

 

or just a road wheel and track set:

http://shop.okbgrigorov.com/product/146/1-72-t97e2-tracks-for-m-48-m-60-m-60a1-m-60a2-and-m-88.html

 

He also offers just resin wheels:

http://shop.okbgrigorov.com/product/377/1-72-wheels-for-m60-early.html

 

and just resin tracks:

http://shop.okbgrigorov.com/product/480/1-72-tracks-for-m60-t142.html

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  • 2 weeks later...

Only superlatives apply to your build!!!

Congrats are definitely in order.

 

JR

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