Tamiya M48A3 Patton

[phildagreek]

This old beastie, I think we all know her & she needs little introduction on here, dare I say a Tamiya classic.

 

M48 1 by phil da greek, on Flickr

 

M48 2 by phil da greek, on Flickr

 

This is the beginning of what will almost certainly be my most ambitious modelling project in my 40 odd years of sticking plastic together. Having been in uniform all my life I retired last year at the grand old age of 52 and am now working through the stash and the list of ideas (in between all that other stuff that life throws at us).

 

The build is inspired by Kyoichi Sawada's iconic black and white photograph showing Lt. R. Horner USMC and his platoon sheltering behind a Patton on Tran Cao Van Street in Hue on the 1st February 1968. If I can find a display box the right size then there will be two M48s and a number of figures, probably Bravo 6 as they fit the bill. This won't be a recreation of that photo but something close, as also seen in the movie "Full Metal Jacket".

 

On with it then, being Tamiya it goes together pretty well, there are a few odd gaps that need filling with white plastic card here and there which I believe has to do with the plan for Tamiya to motorize everything. A couple of pics.............

 

M48 3 by phil da greek, on Flickr

 

Straight out of the box, nice and clean with a few seams to clean up and refine.

 

M48 5 by phil da greek, on Flickr

 

Some undercarriage detail and some white card filling in gaps that would allow the daylight to shine through. Once painted and weathered you'll never know.

 

M48 4 by phil da greek, on Flickr

 

Bottom detail is complete, the wheels are being prepared seperately as that's how I like it. 

 

She's going to be brush painted, prepped in matt black and then overall is going to be Humbrol 155 with an appropriate dirt on top. It's not going to be fast but you are welcome to jump in with any thoughts........................................

[M3talpig]

I guess we all have favourites and of all the kits i have built over the years this is my favourite by far if i had thirty of these i would build them all......i know it is flawed by today's standards but as kit's go its the most enjoyable kit ever, and the finished article looks so intimidating and the scope for weathering on a Vietnam era M48 is almost boundless.

Great start so far and if you have no objection i'm gonna follow along on this.

 

Steve

[Longbow]

I remember building one of these as a kid. 
It’s a great kit for its age, and yes, the weathering scope is endless. 
I picked up a set of chalk pastels the other day, earth tones, and the orange brown one made me think, Vietnam Dust !!

 

Great subject !! Will follow along for the ride, with The Ramones blasting it out !!

 

Lee. 

[Richard E]

Following this one with interest, Tamiya's M-48 has been something of an itch to scratch for me as I tried to build two examples of the kit when it was first released and thanks mainly to my lack of skill at the time I managed to make a complete dog's breakfast of both of them.

[M3talpig]

10 minutes ago, Longbow said:

with The Ramones blasting it out

I always hear White Rabbit whenever i build a Vietnam era kit ....lol 

[Jasper dog]

Looks fun, love the idea behind it!

Good luck 

Darryl 

[FrancisGL]

Hi Phil,
sounds really good. I love this model, about a couple of years ago or so I did it, and to be one of the first to attack in my hobby, I managed to like how it turned out and I still have it in the showcase.

I would love to do something similar to what you mention, a base and above all add some figures, but my ability for figures is very little, so I keep procrastinating ... lol.
If it helps your documentation, my M48 is still posted in the WIP and RTI sections.
Cheers and TC
Francis.

[phildagreek]

Thanks for commenting folks, I appreciate your interest! I know where your Patton is Francis, it’s a classic!

[phildagreek]

An update, broadly speaking the majority of the sticking of bits is complete. As expected it goes together very well with very little effort and the minimal mount of clean up, it gets fiddly in a couple of spots for those of us blessed with sausage fingers so a little manipulation with some tweezers is required to get a couple of pieces to slide home.

Primed overall in flat black with some highlights picked out in white, I'm not convinced about the 155 green as the colour as it looks a little light, I'm going to be having a reconsider of that.

 

M48 8 by phil da greek, on Flickr

 

M48 7 by phil da greek, on Flickr

 

M48 6 by phil da greek, on Flickr

 

As always, thanks for looking in.

[M3talpig]

39 minutes ago, phildagreek said:

I'm not convinced about the 155 green as the colour as it looks a little light, I'm going to be having a reconsider of that.

 

I used 155 and matt 30 mix then a yellow ochre oil wash ...make it really thin though, little more than slightly coloured thinner then panel lining with burnt umber chipping and wear areas and so on.... gives a very nice Vietnam era green once you do the red brown dust of the Nam landscape it looks very natural....... 155 is i agree to light on it's own.....more an early WW2 colour 

[phildagreek]

5 hours ago, M3talpig said:

I used 155 and matt 30 mix then a yellow ochre oil wash ...make it really thin though, little more than slightly coloured thinner then panel lining with burnt umber chipping and wear areas and so on.... gives a very nice Vietnam era green once you do the red brown dust of the Nam landscape it looks very natural....... 155 is i agree to light on it's own.....more an early WW2 colour 

I’ll give that a go on a bit of plastic tomorrow, thanks!

[phildagreek]

Update.....

sorted out the colour, went for a 50/50 mix of Humbrol 155 & 030 with a few touches of Matt black to darken it a bit.

 

M48 11 by phil da greek, on Flickr
 

M48 10 by phil da greek, on Flickr

M48 9 by phil da greek, on Flickr

 

The top photo shows the initial 155 colour on the turret ring as a comparison to this final colour. I’m going to let it sit over the weekend & begin weathering next week.
 

There isn’t really a lot more to say at the moment, it’s classic Tamiya so it’s going together with minimal fuss & clean up. I’ve ordered a Legend detailing set so I can have some kit hanging off it & I’ve started painting up the tracks. More to follow.
 

Thanks for looking......

 

[M3talpig]

1 hour ago, phildagreek said:

Update.....

sorted out the colour, went for a 50/50 mix of Humbrol 155 & 030 with a few touches of Matt black to darken it a bit

Yep thats looking the part now bud

[Ron NL-S]

Oh, another oldie!

I love stuff like this, so I'll be following it too!

Never had the chance to build one, but hope to do so soon.

[phildagreek]

Quick Bank Holiday update..........

 

Attached the gun to (what I believe) is the mantlet cover which in turn is attached to the turret. The fit is poor, very gappy if you know what I mean. 
 

The solution is kitchen foil, a little rough looking right now, “about as elegant as a dead dog” as the Chief Yeoman on the Active would comment on completion of a flag hoist or flashing light message. Except every other word started with an F and the very last word started with a C. He was a happy old bloke in his mid 30s!

 

A photo then,

 

M42 12 by phil da greek, on Flickr

 

I’ll let the superglue dry & harden & then undercoat/prime it & then repaint that cover, ‘cos I’m never going to mix that shade again. I’ll fill that bit between barrel & cover with some clear fix before paint too.

 

Crack on Chaps, crack on!

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

When I did mine for the Patton single type group build I did it with a black base and yellow highlights under the green. Sounds very odd but works out quite nicely. 

[Bullbasket]

It'll be interesting to see what the mantlet cover looks like with a coat of paint on it. If it works out, I could be using that method.

 

John.

[robw_uk]

nice work so far, and great save with the silver foil

[phildagreek]

Cheers folks!

[robw_uk]

looking at this I think you have better quality kitchen foil than me... mine quite often tears when I try to shape it

[Tom W.]

An interesting idea for a mantlet cover. I am doing a similar model from the Dragon so I will look here more often

[phildagreek]

An update.....

 

The mantlet cover has turned out pretty good, I’m certainly happy with it, the single layer of foil was too thin it had no strength at all, the solution was to double it over. Even then it was easy to rip but a blob of superglue held it together.

 

M42 - 14 by phil da greek, on Flickr
 

M42 - 15 by phil da greek, on Flickr
 

The Clear Fix worked as well & you can’t see it now there’s paint on.
 

And this arrived over the weekend, it may not specifically say for the M48 but it is Vietnam & is half the cost of the M48 set.

 

M42 - 13 by phil da greek, on Flickr
 

Thanks for looking in.

[robw_uk]

very very nice... and that stowage will look superb on this (I have an M8 Greyhound and may consider getting a pre-made stowage set (want sandbag armour) - or may do it myself)

[phildagreek]

10 minutes ago, robw_uk said:

very very nice... and that stowage will look superb on this (I have an M8 Greyhound and may consider getting a pre-made stowage set (want sandbag armour) - or may do it myself)

I think the pre made stowage sets are great, they really add something to a standard kit. Legend & Black Dog are very good but they can really get expensive, having a trawl through eBay can be worth the effort though.

[beefy66]

I have used a couple of Sherman sets in the past and you get quite a bit in the box enough for 2 or 3 builds depending on how busy you want it to look I am sure this one will be a busy looking workhorse  

 

beefy