Tankcommander

I'm not such a bad speller my key board keeps dropping letters. Need a new one. TC

The Sheridans were in bad shape when I got there. Our tracks were wearing out but they would only replace broken links. The Army knew they were on the way out and wasn't putting any money into them. When they ran they were fast and quick. Gunnery as not easy the lasers never worked right. Every gunner used the conventional telescope out to 800 meters. It was no better then a Sherman but it did have a choke sight for rough guesstimaton of the range. The missile system was always down. One day we were aggressing against another Squadron and needed 4 tracks for the field problem. Only one started

It was summer of 78 when we traded Sheridans for M60A1 Rise passive, I PCSed in Oct. 79 early 80 they got M901 TOW tracks and M60A3s with passive sights. I think they got slick M1s in 82 and had them for REFORGER. I had ETSed from active in 81 before the M1s came on line anywhere. I joined the NG soon after and ended up on M48A5s ablast from the past retired off of slick M1s. There was a place on the border where there was a pocket of West Germany surrounded almost completely by East Germany on one patrol we were about 6 feet from the East German Border Troops. So I lived your Diorama idea, a

Very nicely done M60. I drove one with the 11th ACR in Germany and did my fair share of manuver damage, A tree, a hedge row high enough to hide a tank, little too much gas while pulling forward. I also pushed a 12 foot section of curb out of the ground onto the side walk. The road wasn't wide eough for an M60. You could tell where the USArmy had been and where they didn't go by the curbs if they were pristene no tanks had been through there. Also countless 50 meter markers got flattened. When a truck was coming the other way your only option was to put one track off the road. When you drove ou

I'm building the AFV Cub Stryker MGS M1128. NATO green is the standard color of US vehicles not painted for the desert. When the US Army switched over to the 3 color cammo they agreed to use the same colors a the rest of NATO so the green brown and black that most companies NATO coors will work or be close enough for scale work. The green on modern vehicles is definately different then the forest green used as the factory base for the MERDC scheme. The Concord Stryker book has a lot of pictures of Strykers in the field and the dust goes right up the side of the hull. I made my own mud formul

They do make fabric paint its another hobby. A lot of air brushes are sold just for that. My wife was doing that for the children she taught, used my air brush. it does not come out in the wash. I like the idea of the black coveralls with white over spray. I used commercial spray paint to cammo a gun stock but I'm not happy with the pattern. I will probably redo it. I have several sets, about 8, of left over BDUs since I retired so I'm set for cammo. As an aside Cheaper then Dirt has surplus German snow cammo fairly cheap, white with a green over spray. Have fun and good hunting wih ever way y

I saw the Thunderbirds at Maguire AFB and it didn't cost me a thing and all the displays were free. A privately sponsered airshow on private property can charge what the market will bare but I still believe that the Military should not participate. Granted its a nice recruiting tool. The price doesn't matter any military display team should be open to the public at no charge and should pick venues that are free. Exception if event is charity and admission is a donation for a good cause ie.. disabled vets or survivors. TC

I can see a private strip charging admisson for a private show, but I don't think the US Millitary should participate in a for fee activity static dislays or flying. They are tax payer funded and should be free to the general public at all shows. B) TC

Very nice build up. Is that the resin zimmerit? What cammo are you planning? The next Tiger I plan on building I'll go the old fashioned route with putty and a comb. Any way nicely done and can't wait to see the final result. TC

You da man TC

A lot of armor modelers prehade but in a different way, they don't out line panel lines but darken edges and post shade with a lighter color sides and tops in the middle of the panels. Modern paint doesn't fade that quickly it takes years. It will get worn down and glossy on the edges and chipped and scratched but sand won't fade as much as a darker color will. It will be covered in dust though which looks like faded paint. When my tank was the 4th in line on a tank trail in the States I looked like I was wearig khaki instead of cammo from the dust. Check "MissingLynx" and Armorama for some ti

I wanted a representative of each era, the original open bridge as well as the surrender era Missouri and of course the 80s upgrade. The New jersey had a mod to the fire control tower in 68 i believe. Thats why shes the most different. I have the Naval Institute book an US battleships with lots of great shots and line drawings extreme detail as far as mods go. I like anything with turrets. TC

As primarily an armor modeler, and a retired M1 TC I think you did a great job. Was the picture of the USMC tank used as reference for weathering only? Thats the impression I got anyway. I will mention only one thing track blocks weight roughly 80 pounds each. I would love to meet the tanker who could lift 4 of them connected together and hold them up long enough to be bolted on to the side of the turret unless it was Chuck Norris .

Hey Paul, the Tamiya 1/350 Missouri is the WW2 version with all the associated AA guns. There are several books on the Iowas. I've been on the Jersey and Wisconson in their respective berths. Each ship has subtle differences in the bridge layout mast fit and other areas. With a little scratch building and research you should be able to build any ship. Tamiya has made 3 versions in 1/700 a early war round bridge Iowa, a Missouri 45 and a modern NJ. Trumpeter also does a modern Wisconsin.

Some one else on the site recommended these guys. I saved the link, never ordered. might be worth checking out. I like pilots in my planes as well. The old Hasi. figure accessory sets came with seated and standing US pilots. Sorry thought you wanted seated pilots. (note to self read post before responding.) http://www.pjproduction.net/category/figures-148/ TC

Thanks for the link it was an amazing video, especially with the old angels.

Just found this great 5 part video on the Mosquito on You-Tube. Well done and some good history and pictures. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIbcU8CNY90&feature=fvw TC

I have picked up a few simply to have a replica of a certain aircraft. I wanted a P-38 in my collection but i didn't want to build one. I started with the matchbox/Dinky Toys ones and have a few Dragon ones. Some only cost $5 dollars more then the kits. I repaint pilots add ordinance and have tried limited weathering. Can't resist doing something. As primarily an armor modeler it gives me a way to add interesting planes into the collection without the time building them. TC

My Czech Model F-80C came today from Roll Models. Actually it was UPS I don't know if that counts. Tom

Harold I saw your cockpit on LSP and was impressed I didn't realize you were here as well. What I would really like is a pilot figure. I'm a bit of a figure painter and I just feel it brings a plane to life. Oh, well. Do you have anything for the Hobbyboss F4J Fury in 1/48? I didn't connect the names when I followed your link. TC

Harold I think your right I did some comparision between their pit and yours and that raised right side does not look right nor the throttle track. Will you post here when your pit is ready for sale. I will not be diving into this kit for a while so I can wait. New Squadron circular has the Avionix pit listed. TC

Avionix is doing a very nice pit. I saw it on Hyperscale, is it ok to post the link? http://www.hyperscale.com/2009/reviews/acc...previewbg_1.htm several pictures it looks worth it. TC

Thanks for the replies it has given me a lot to consider. I will have to start shopping around now. do you recommend on line or store purchase? No hobby Lobby but I have Michaels and Pearl. TC

Now on a fusalge do you glue it together then scribe or do both sides seperate? I have a Monogram F9F which could use rescribing. Which I will attempt some day. TC

My badgers are over 30 years old, my Testors one works on the large areas just fine. But as I get further advanced it just won't do the thin lines. I'm getting into more complex camoflage schemes. So Whats the best Air brush I can get for around $150 US. I guess I want double action internal mix,and I use CO2 with a regulator. Does Azetec make any tips smaller then fine? I was painting the modern 3 color Nato scheme and the over spray was bad. It has a soft edge so masking really wasn't an option especially over the complex surfaces. Plus I want to get into more Luftwaffe camo. TC