Bullbasket Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 In an attempt to actually finish something for a group build, I thought that I'd have a go at this Academy kit and build it straight out of the box. I don't have any etched brass or resin for this kit, so if anything needs changing/detailing, it'll have to be scratchbuilt. I'm not putting up any photos of the sprues as I'd only be repeating previous posts from others who are doing similar Academy kits. So basically, what's in the box is much the same as Glynn has posted in his M60A1 Blazer, with a few additions, such as the turret armour and the side skirts. Just one set of decals on a small sheet are included so the choice is, take it or leave it. BTW. If anyone needs some reference photos, there are some good walk arounds on this site; http://svsm.org/gallery/walkarounds See you next week when I have something to post. John. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Hi John. Great to see you here! Looking forward to following your project. Having seen your other projects I'm sure we will be in for a treat! Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 (edited) Hello John... Looking forward to seeing this, im a fan of anything Israeli. I would ask you to post a photo of the box contents at the very minimum. Not every single sprue but just a general shot of the contents. Just so everyone knows that at least the kit isn't already half built. Dennis Edited March 26, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 1 hour ago, PlaStix said: Hi John. Great to see you here! Looking forward to following your project. Having seen your other projects I'm sure we will be in for a treat! Kind regards, Stix Hi Stix. Thanks, and I hope that I can do it justice. John. 51 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Hello John... Looking forward to seeing this, im a fan of anything Israeli. I would ask you to post a photo of the box contents at the very minimum. Not every single sprue but just a general shot of the contents. Just so everyone knows that at least the kit isn't already half built. Dennis Hi Dennis. Yes, no problem. I'll try and get a couple of photos on here tomorrow. John. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plasto Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Nice choice of subject.... look forward to seeing it progress. What are you going to use for the elusive israeli sand green colour... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Great choice John, must admit I was tempted to build this kit, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 3 hours ago, Plasto said: Nice choice of subject.... look forward to seeing it progress. What are you going to use for the elusive israeli sand green colour... 'Morning Plasto. I'v got a sheet of colour mixes that I downloaded from the IDF Modelling site, many years ago. I'm not sure how accurate that it is though, as they recommend using Tamiya Olive Drab for the very early IDF vehicles, which is not correct. I'll let you know when I've done some more research. John. 3 hours ago, Hewy said: Great choice John, must admit I was tempted to build this kit, Hi Glynn. It's an impressive tank, but I'm not in love with the way some of the parts of the kit are attached. lot of butt joints and some very vague placements. Still, time will tell if it's any good or not. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 (edited) Okay, so here are a few shots of the sprues. Some parts have already been removed and attached to the lower hull. This is a real hybrid kit as the sprues come from several different kits. In the first photo, the upper and lower hull are the oldest, coming from the original M60 kit which was motorised, hence the strange holes in the lower hull. The other sprue is mark M60A1 Blazer. In photo 2, one sprue is from the M60A3 kit and the wheels are from the M48A5. The third photo is all Gal Batash, including the parts for the sloping armour for the turret and the armoured side skirts. Next up are the rather anonymous decals, but they do look quite good. http://village.photos/images/user/f37a6279-d75a-4f21-b22c-a31fe5b275fc/8d6f69d2-a92b-4510-a91e-7b5c729d93d3 Finally the tracks. Now these are from (I believe) a Merkava 2. Reading several online reviews there appears to be some disagreement over this. Some say that the Gal Batash did indeed use Merkava 2 tracks, while others say that it had different tracks, although very similar. Whatever, I'm using the kit's tracks. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the raw bones of the beast, but hopefully, I will be able to turn it into something presentable. By the way Plasto, I found a review on line for this kit and the builder used the following Tamiya acrylics. XF20 Med. Grey, XF49 Khaki and XF24 Dk. Grey in a ratio of 10:5:2. It looked good on the finished article, so I'll probably go with that. John. PS. Sorry, for some reason I couldn't get the link for the decals to open. I'll try again later. Edited March 27, 2019 by Bullbasket Pesky photo won't open. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 (edited) Looks like a decent kit. Why did they ever motorize these things ? So darn gimicky it boggles the mind. Dennis Edited March 27, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yetifan Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Really like these modernised M60’s they look great. Be interesting to see how the colour scheme comes out, have’nt tried doing an Israeli vehicles before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Looks like we've got more than a couple of the same sprue, my tracks look very similar to yours, not the block rubber type, which originally had me wondering, especially as my box art depicts rubber block pattern, ( I'm not changing mine either) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 3, 2019 Author Share Posted April 3, 2019 Off and running. I'll follow the instructions for the most part, but I'll probably (definitely) deviate at some point. All of the suspension arms and dampers are glued in place. Now this might just be my hamfistedness, but the dampers just seem to hang there and don't attach to anything. Obviously they should attach to the arms, but they seem to be out of place. Probably me! The holes in the bottom of the lower hull don't need filling with this model (even though I did initially). These are the ones left over from when Academy pinched this from Tamiya's M60 which were for motorizing. The Gal Batash was fitted with extra armour plating along the bottom of the hull as mine protection, and these parts cover the holes up completely. A couple of holes have to be drilled in the upper hull and some mouldings have to be removed for this model. The instructions would have you wait until much later in the build before joining upper and lower halves of the hull, but after checking for any potential problems, I glued them together. Unfortunately, there are no pegs to position the two halves exactly, and there is a small amount of movement backwards and forwards. The upshot of this was that they were slightly out of line which meant that when I came to attach the rear plate, it would touch at the top but not at the bottom. If I'd have stuck to the instructions, it most likely wouldn't have happened (Lesson 1). I got around this by gluing the bottom and letting dry for 24 hours, and then gluing the top and clamping it. It worked. Large holes to be filled around the rear drive sprocket and under the turret ring. This where I'm at now. All of the lower hull attachments are in place, and I'm now going to start loading up the upper hull. All of the wheels (except the return rollers) can be removed for painting and weathering as they are held by poly caps. Now back to the grindstone. John. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted April 3, 2019 Share Posted April 3, 2019 (edited) The dampeners should attach to the middle of the suspension arms. Looking at other Academy kits it seams to be wrong on most (if not all) of there M60 kits. This is the suspension for the M48 BTW but it's pretty much the same. Edited April 3, 2019 by Mig Eater 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted April 3, 2019 Share Posted April 3, 2019 Quick work John, an observation, have you used the wrong rear sprocket mount, with those cutouts I thought they were for the motorised kit, I maybe wrong, I'm with you on those dampers, in fact I'm pondering on lowering the suspension to make them attach to the arms a bit more convincingly , maybe 5mm or a bit less, is it me or does it look like it's riding high in its set position, Ah I've just read @Mig Eater s post it's a bit clearer now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mig Eater Posted April 3, 2019 Share Posted April 3, 2019 (edited) Note that Academy's M60 kits are based on Tamiya's original M60 from the 1970's. Tamiya has since re-tooled most of there M60, but looks like Academy has just added new parts to make different variants with the same old hull. Edited April 3, 2019 by Mig Eater 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scargsy Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 16 hours ago, Bullbasket said: Off and running. I'll follow the instructions for the most part, but I'll probably (definitely) deviate at some point. All of the suspension arms and dampers are glued in place. Now this might just be my hamfistedness, but the dampers just seem to hang there and don't attach to anything. Obviously they should attach to the arms, but they seem to be out of place. Probably me! I think it's the kit, my Magach 7C has similarly wayward suspension 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asmodai Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 On 3/27/2019 at 1:52 AM, Plasto said: Nice choice of subject.... look forward to seeing it progress. What are you going to use for the elusive israeli sand green colour... LifeColor does make this shade. It shows up in a couple of their Israeli army sets. How good or accurate it is, can’t say.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 4, 2019 Author Share Posted April 4, 2019 15 hours ago, Mig Eater said: The dampeners should attach to the middle of the suspension arms. Looking at other Academy kits it seams to be wrong on most (if not all) of there M60 kits. Thanks for confirming my suspicions. I'll have to see if I can alter it, but if not, hopefully it will be hidden behind the side plates. There are many things wrong with this kit, and also some of the places to attach parts are very poorly defined. If I do any more of the Magach range, I'll use the AFV kit along with the resin conversions. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 4, 2019 Author Share Posted April 4, 2019 15 hours ago, Hewy said: Quick work John, an observation, have you used the wrong rear sprocket mount, with those cutouts I thought they were for the motorised kit, I maybe wrong, I'm with you on those dampers, in fact I'm pondering on lowering the suspension to make them attach to the arms a bit more convincingly , maybe 5mm or a bit less, is it me or does it look like it's riding high in its set position, Ah I've just read @Mig Eater s post it's a bit clearer now 'Morning Glynn. The sprocket mount may well be wrong, but it's the only one included in the kit. Unlike some kit manufacturers, Academy don't bother to tell you which parts are not needed, so you really have to study the instructions, but even they are not brilliant. The diagram showing where the hinges go on the engine doors is very vague. John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 Great to see you underway John and looking good despite the issues being thrown up by the way Academy have done this (and similar) kits. Good luck!! Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 4, 2019 Author Share Posted April 4, 2019 1 hour ago, PlaStix said: Great to see you underway John and looking good despite the issues being thrown up by the way Academy have done this (and similar) kits. Good luck!! Kind regards, Stix Thanks Stix. Yes, this one is certainly trying my patience! John. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbasket Posted April 4, 2019 Author Share Posted April 4, 2019 Well, this has come within a gnat's privates of getting propelled towards a solid object a terminal velocity. Academy should be put up against the wall for some of the mistakes that they have made with this kit. It's just downright sloppiness. I looked at some of the photos on the SVSM Gallery Walkarounds and these are three of the photos which show just how wrong Academy got it. The first one is a Magach 6 at Latrun, Israel. The second is from the Littlefield collection and is an M60A1 Both clearly show that the damper which comes from the front idler is connected to the first swing arm, but that's not the way that Academy depict it. They want you to fix it to a peg mounted on the hull, about 3-4mm above the swing arm. The third photo shows the other side with the damper for the first road wheel and the one from the idler. There is no connection to the hull wall. So therefore, although this is going to slow down my build considerably, I'm going to try and remove all of the dampers and reattach them in the correct positions. I've already done one of the idler dampers, and this entailed removing the whole thing, cutting off the ram, shortening it, drilling the end of the ram and the part that it will reattach to, inserting a short length of brass rod for strength, and then reattach it in the correct position. Watch this space. John. PS. Notice in the second photo the seam running around one of the tyres on the road wheels. Just shows that you don't always need to sand them off. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 Nicley found John, I'm actually doing very similar work to mine, I couldn't find any pictures like this, so I watched a video on the. you tube of a takom m60 a being built thinking that takom had done they're homework on the running gear, I've now removed those pegs on the dampers and filled the locating holes on the Hull, and am in the process of altering the damper length, I fear a tin of worms has been opened, ( I knew I should have bought the dragon kit 🤪, good luck with yours 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 (edited) 11 hours ago, Scargsy said: I think it's the kit, my Magach 7C has similarly wayward suspension On 4/3/2019 at 1:31 PM, Mig Eater said: The dampeners should attach to the middle of the suspension arms. Looking at other Academy kits it seams to be wrong on most (if not all) of there M60 kits. This is the suspension for the M48 BTW but it's pretty much the same. They based it on the Tamiya m48/M60 hull which was a tank in the motor-pool completely empty of all extra weight such as fuel,oil,and munitions. this made the real tank sit higher by a couple of inches. thats where the issue lies. there is a fix to cut the arms and either drill them out and replace, or shorten them and replace to get it to correct height. to much trouble for me but others may want to consider it. the main problem if you do this though then lies in the kits tracks. They're rubber bands and cant be shortened to compensate for the shorter length then needed. Dennis Edited April 4, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted April 4, 2019 Share Posted April 4, 2019 21 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: They based it on the Tamiya m48/M60 hull which was used on a tank in the motor-pool completely empty of all extra weight such as fuel,oil,and munitions. this made the real tank sit higher by a couple of inches. thats where the issue lies. there is a fix to cut the arms and either drill them out and replace, or shorten them and replace to get it to correct height. to much trouble for me but others may want to consider it. the main problem if you do this though then lies in the kits tracks.there rubber bands and cant be shortened to compensate for the shorter length then needed. Dennis Ah, that explains a lot Dennis, I've actually started the lowering process on mine by snipping of the locking lugs on the arms this allows full movement, I've then used a spacer between the bump stop and arm, the spacer measures 1.5mm, not a lot but quite noticeable, and used a metal ruler to be sure on the bottom of the glued arms , I hope to post progress tomorrow, I've also set about the altering the dampers and filling the locating holes from the lugs , thanks for that info Dennis, I didn't know for sure it was riding high, it was only an uneducated guess🤓, cheers den Glynn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now