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M1 AIM Abrams (Dragon 1:35)


Mike

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Thanks chaps... just painting in the track pads now. Think I'll take the lazy way out & just paint the ones that'll be visible & ignore the rest. I decided to paint the track pads before weathering, as I'm going to hit the tracks with some serious sand mix, so want them to get that dusty look while I'm doing the rest. While I'm going mad with the sand mix, I'll muss up the wheels & hull sides too... Gulf War sand is quite a red-brown pigment, so I may add some Beach Sand to it to lighten it a little... depending on how it looks when I put it on. :)

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Update time :)

The tracks got their undercoat of Alclad Steel, blutak masked & rust sprayed over the top, and then all the track pads painted with Panzer Grey (that's my general substitute for black), and was then treated to a wash of Mig pigments dark wash. Once that was dry, I broke out the Mig Gulf War Sand and started to apply it liberally to the tracks, scrubbing it so that the gaps between links filled up with the pigment particles.

I also gave the roadwheels a coat of pigment wash, and tried a new technique (to me) of applying spattered dust to the sides of the hull. I wetted the slab sides with Mig Pigment Fixer and dusted on pigment with a large flat brush. The damp fixer made small clumps of pigment stick to the hull, which gave a good approximation of the kind of small stuff that'd stick to an Abrams on many missions in the dry climate that the Gulf enjoys.

With all that dry & fixed with a thin coat of matt varnish, I installed the tracks by removing the sprocket & idler wheels, inserting them into the pre-formed track runs, and dropping the assembly over the remianing wheels, and once in place, affixing them to the axles with a dab of liquid cement. The skirts went on next, and all the spacer rods I knocked off were re-attached & the whole thing clamped up until the glue was set.

hull11.jpg

A bit of a close-up of the tracks & their weathering, and the exhaust deflector I've been whittering about. I applied a bit of Dan's standard & light rust while I was there yesterday, and have toned it down a little, but will probably have to tone it down a little more before I'm finished. That said, these things get REALLY rusty with 2,000c exhaust blasting them all the time.

hull12.jpg

The offending exhaust (it's the middle one, with the extra soot), with a little rust starting on the panels above.

hull13.jpg

The commonly seen NATO Green replacement panels, and roadwheels, showing a fair amount of weathering. For some reason, the green seems a little more pronounced and "green" on camera... it's quite drab in the flesh. It'll subdue further after a dust coat of tan from my airbrush :)

hull14.jpg

The dust coat is next, perhaps after another coat of matt varnish to protect the pigment from being blown away. The pigments will need a little tidying up before that, to remove any finger prints & inconsistencies in the finish. Смотреть это пространство.

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Finished off the first bits of stowage this avo. Some spare roadwheel halves, 4 jerry cans, 2 each of water & fuel, and a couple of spare tracklinks either side of the turret. The spare track is rather rusty because of its exposure to the humid air, with none of the shiny centre line that's worn by the roadwheels on a used piece. If I remember, I'll use some pieces of solder to simulate the J-bolts holding on the spare roadwheels.

stowage1.jpg

stowage2.jpg

I'm going to pick out a few bergens & bundles to add to the baskets now, and start painting them. Might also have a few hazard cones in one of the corner baskets if they arrive in time :)

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Very nice Mike, not long to the finish line now,

Saw this in the flesh a couple of days ago and it's better than the photo's.

Mike, just don't forget the decals matey, before you get too carried away with the

weathering

Dan

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Very nice Mike, not long to the finish line now,

Saw this in the flesh a couple of days ago and it's better than the photo's.

Mike, just don't forget the decals matey, before you get too carried away with the

weathering

Dan

Mike

Looking the business!!

Not wanting to step on toes :hypnotised: just be careful of the markings.

Dependant on when you want to depict the vehicle in operation depicts the markings ie - beginning of the Iraq operations all sorts were added to the vehicles 'Bitch Slap Saddam' etc etc, as the invasion became an occupation these markings were deemed unsuitable given the situation with WMD or lack of them and the press coverage and were toned down a lot.

Sorry sounding like a spod now :fraidnot:

Paul

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Guest snipersmudge

smashing detail painting there mike, like the tracks a veryrealistic look and the fuel and water cans look great :speak_cool:

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Thanks for the kind words gentlemen :)

I shall be looking into the markings shortly, once I've done a few admin things that I need to sort out. I'll hopefully get the stowage cut off its mould plugs & sprayed today, which will be a major step towards the finish line.

Watch this space, as they sometimes say in Russia ;)

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You are good at this modelling lark i must say! :worthy:

from the Scimitar to this - versatile chap aren't you? :lol:

You're too nice to me Al... :blush: You can blame Dan for giving me all the tips & tricks for the conversion to armour, or it might have been a hamfisted load of rubbish! :lol:

There's been a bit of a delay in this one because of the Seafang needing an almost completely scratch built cockpit :crying: That and I made a breakthrough on the next master project... solved a problem that was kicking my bottom :)

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Maybe already too late, but we never know.

Mike, you will maybe be interested by that:

con_whlf4G.jpg

TUSK conversion from Legend.

TUSK => Tank Urban Survival Kit.

I wondered here to see what me other BM mates may be up to and lo and behold the boss is into the dark side... :analintruder: Looking very good boss you are a man of many talents....., BUT!!! This pic I've got to show to me neighbor 'e's and ex tanker in the US Army and will probably flip when I show 'im this, 'e already 'as the bug to do an M60A1 which is what 'e was in.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A quick update to this build, and decals are now on. I've added the tow cables, which are made from plastic ends, with a kit supplied metal braided cable, and some PE hooks. I painted the ends of the completed cable & applied a wash of some rusty brown to the cable, which I removed with a soft cloth afterwards, to let the metal shine through.

The instructions tell you to build the hooks with a little lip, but pictures show a simple U-shaped hook welded to the lower edge of the turret sides, so I re-jigged mine, bending them around a piece of brass Strutz that was lying about. I also filled the clunky mounting points for the alternative all-plastic cables with Vallejo white filler, which I trimmed flush with the surface once it'd cured. A quick touch-up of US Gulf War camo from the airbrush, and the job was done.

I then turned my attention to the decals, of which there didn't seem to be many. I'd fabricated a couple of placards for the unit ID numbers on the side of the turret from styrene card, which I oversprayed with hull color. The decals are nicely rendered, being printed by Cartograf, and settle down nicely with a bit of Gunze's Mr Setter (or whatever the green one's called!). A circled 68 decal was applied to the glacis plate, which had already been covered in anti-slip coating courtesy of cast-a-coat. Using copious decal setting solution & the tip of a sharp blade, I stabbed it multiple times (in a frenzy) to ensure that any air trapped behind the decal could escape, so it didn't silver. Mission accomplished! :smartass:

I've also base coated the stowage ready for detail painting, and have moved around some of the existing stowage & spare track parts, so that the CIP panels & so forth could be placed in the correct sections on the turret.

hull15.jpg

hull16.jpg

hull17.jpg

More news later. :)

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