bdt13 Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 (edited) Basically a repost from the original thread. No F-16's just yet, but a 3rd Armored Division M1A1. 3rd AD stood in harm's way (Fulda Gap) in West Germany for decades. This is Tamiya's 1/35 kit: Not as much detail as a Trumpy or Dragon, but builds much faster. I won it at a show raffle a few years ago. Hull isn't together yet, just a dry fit: Marking option I'll be doing for an HQ tank with the APU on the back: The red maneuver plaque on the bustle will give it a little color. Edited December 9, 2011 by bdt13 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Love the early Abrams. Must have been quite a sight when these first appeared in Germany next to those old M60's. Any idea to which unit this one belonged to? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Pete- The decals say 3^2^67 and HQ 66. Might this be the 2nd Battalion, 67th Regiment, 3rd Armored Division? Army nomenclature is all greek to me! The 'HQ' is obviously headquarters, and the 66 unknown to me - the 66th HQ vehicle? Certainly there weren't 66 Abrams in the HQ unit! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 This site could be useful, perhaps? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jezones Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 Lookin forward to watching your build. I worked on the Abrams in the late 90's. Busted many a knuckle inside those turrets. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted December 11, 2011 Author Share Posted December 11, 2011 Pete- Thanks! I had found that site, but hadn't found anything there (yet) to explicitly confirm or deny my interpretation. Now that you had me look again there is a pic of an Abrams captioned as from "4-67 AR, 3AD" taken during Certain Challenge 1990. The tank clearly has markings "3^4^67" (replace triangles for carets) and "B 23." This would seem to confirm "division^battalion^regiment" as the structure. FWIW, there is also a buff forward-facing chevron on the side of the armor skirts and a blue card with "331" on the turret. jezones - Since you were in the Army, can you confirm my interpretation of the unit marks? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jezones Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 (edited) the 3 either means 3rd armor division or 3rd Brigade both of which would fit. I was in the 3rd Infantry Division and we just put the division not the brigade. The 2-67 is 2nd Battalion 67th Armor. The HQ66 would mean this tank served in the headquarters Company and was the 66th tank in the Battalion. Its been a few years but i think thats about right. When I was in the Army I had a 5 ton expando van on the front bumper it had stenciled on it. 3ID 26FSB B215 that equals 3rd Infantry Division 26 Forward Support Battalion Bravo company 2nd platoon. the 15 was the 15 vehicle in the platoon. One day i'll build that truck. Hope that helps sorry I didnt mean to ramble Edited December 12, 2011 by jezones Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 Jezones- Thanks! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. And don't worry about "rambling." Some of the most interesting things I've learned in life were from when people went just a little bit off topic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 Progress- Detail parts like headlights and APU getting the Mr. Surfacer treatment. My Mr. Surfacer 500 had gone to about 80 with evaporation, so I added laquer thinner. Now it's more like 1200, so yes, you can add too much! Turret bottom. The pictures I've seen of these say the armor on the sides should be flush with the bottom surface of the turret. So much for the vaunted perfect fit of a Tamiya kit. I'll live with the imperfection, I build armor more for fun than to win contests, and this shouldn't be noticeable under normal viewing conditions. Don't tell the AMPS guys. Bye for now. ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 Yikes! Forgot a pic. The turret asks Mr. DeMille to shoot his good side. Haven't cut the screen for the basket yet. Won't have too much stowage, as the idea is that the tank is only out for a day trip. Suggestions? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Netz Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Does anyone remember the name of the episodes on the History Chanel showing the Armor invasion of Iraq (OIF)? I think it had "Company C" in the title. C Company USMC. I need some inspiration and reference. Curt sorry to hijack the thread..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 OK, there has been some progress in the past month. The crew is primed. I did add a lead foil band around the helmet to act as the goggles strap. I'm trying to paint all the wheels and tracks first so they can go under the skirts. Too hard to force paint under there later. I thought I was smart spraying the tracks in rust color first, then painting the rubber blocks black. Boy, was I wrong. I'll never do that again! I did paint the wheels black first, then sprayed the green through templates. Seems to look OK. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Deacon Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 This is a great start mate. I bought a circle template to do exactly what you have done. Never used it, but it's great to see it in action. Deacon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Thanks, Deacon. I've been using a smaller template for years for aircraft and smaller scale armor wheels. I had to buy a new one for this 1/35 tank. I've accumulated quite a bit of model building 'kit,' as well as kits! ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Deacon Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 That's the problem with this hobby. Half the house taken up with kits, the other half with tools etc to make them. :D Deacon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 OK, I decided that I didn't like the look of the tracks. Hand painting Tamiya NATO Black on the rubber parts was taking a lifetime, and wasn't fully covering the rust color, leaving them looking distinctly off. I have put them in a ziplock bag with EZ-Off (the toxic taco, as it is often known), and hope to be re-painting them black later today. Any suggestions for the more orange rust color tank tracks often get? The Testors Acryl rust I bought looks like dark hull red to me. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Deacon Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Sorry you are having to go back over the tracks mate. I used MIG Pigments Standard Rust, mixed with Vallejo Matt Varnish and brush painted this onto the tracks. But then I still had to mess around as they looked too rusty. Deacon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Well, I sprayed the tracks NATO black after stripping them. I'm now painting the metal parts a custom rust made with a similar blend of Testors acrylics as I used for the original spray. While this is nearly as tedious as the prior method, I like the results better. :D I am working on the figures. The yellow and brown of the woodland camo is on. Green and black are still to come. All paints are Tamiya acrylics. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Those tracks are looking good! Are you blind now? Must have been fun painting all of those. Figures are starting to look good too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Neo Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Wow how in gods name did you paint those figures so well!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 Pete - I don't do the tracks all at one sitting. It will only take about an hour and a half maximum to do them, but to do all at once I go batty. Neo - Thanks for the props, but they aren't done yet! We'll see if they still look good at the end. And I'm NOT happy with the camo pattern - I think I'm WAY over scale when I compare with period photos. I appreciate the attention. I'll be AFK (and AFB) for the next few days, so no more work or updates! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spectre711 Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 (edited) I was thinking about the tracks. I haven't been around any operational tracked military vehicles but been around more construction equipment than I care to talk about. If they don't move their tracks are rusty but once in used for a little time all the rust is worn and polished off of the tracks by the dirt. Edited February 18, 2012 by Spectre711 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 OK, some slow progress. Hull is together, wheels and tracks on, skirts on as well. The wheels and tracks are masked so I can paint the camo. The driver's windows are also masked. I primed everything NATO Black, which is what the area around the drivers ports is painted. Very convenient. Figures. All camo is on, a dark gray wash has been applied. Still some work to do on highlights, details, and bare skin areas. The shot I have of their front is way out of focus. QUESTION: Can anyone tell me how long the antennae are on this thing? I'll use wire or stretched sprue, but I don't know how long to cut it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Main paint is now on and most of the masking is off. All colors are Tamiya acrylic. Funny how the NATO black looks a little blue here. Figures - mostly done. They're not as shiny in real life. Flat Future is in their near future nonetheless. Comments/critiques welcome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bdt13 Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 Should have mentioned - all the camo is freehand. Paasche H with the #1 tip, 20-28 psi. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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