M-48A3 VIETNAM

[MrT]

Thanks Myke!!

T

 

[schweinhund227]

That Stitching around the Dust Cover is NUTS... man !!! I would have gone "Coo Coo" ok! more that I am right now.. but none the less.... WICKED talent there my man !

The piping on the search light is awesome... makes it POP !!!

Keep up the good work... we don't see enough of those big bad boys... now a days !!!


later !

Looking forward to your next installment !

 

[MrT]

Thanks!

Now I have to work on all those damn wheels.

T

 

[MrT]

I'm still waiting for my tracks to arrive so I'm still working on the turret. Started the painting process.

1st coat dark green.



2nd over spray of olive drab and olive green



3rd I started the shading progressively lighter shads of olive green mixed with khaki





Last I gave it an overall wash of a mixture of raw umber and olive green oil paint.









Next will be decals, dry brushing, and weathering. So stay tuned. Thanks for looking and comments are welcome.

Terry B)

 

[spud]

looking good mr T, did you do any more work on teh lower hull since we last saw it?

 

[MrT]

looking good mr T, did you do any more work on teh lower hull since we last saw it?

No not yet. I have AFV tracks on the way. When they arrive I will go back to work on that stuff.

Thanks!

Terry

 

[spud]

ah cool i taught we mave missed somthing

 

[MrT]

ah cool i taught we mave missed somthing

Aw no man lots more to come.

T

 

[schweinhund227]

Awesome progress! Those washes makes the Spot light POP! Nice!

 

[panzerace007]

T ,

Awesome job on th Canvas on th Mantlet !! All th lil' X-tras on th Turret !!! Great Craftsmanship !!

Lookin forward to seein more !!

\m/

 

[MrT]

Thanks Guys!!!

T

 

[MrT]

Got my AFV workable tracks today and I just had to put some together. The fit of the end connectors is so close that no glue is needed. I also reworked and attached the shocks and built the sprockets. Each shock had to be cut and drilled out to allow for them to be adjustable because of the lowered hull. Here is a few pictures of the fun so far. Thanks for looking and comments are welcome.

Terry

 

[Tony lee]

Those tracks are going to look good Terry. Drilling out the shocks is a slick idea too.

Stay dry up there
Tony lee ;D

 

[spud]

Totaly Agree with tony on the Shocks Very slick idea indeed

 

[schweinhund227]

Not sure if I understand the reason for Hollowing the shocks ??? I get this allows you to position the suspension arm up or down but... what do you mean by LOWERED HULL ?

too bad those tracks have those big ejector pin marks on them.... Nothing a little buffing won't remove but... none the less a lot of work... !

I'm looking for some for 2 of my M88's

Will keep looking !

Take care and NICE work on the Suspension ! why the green putty ? let me know !


Later !

 

[MrT]

Those tracks are going to look good Terry. Drilling out the shocks is a slick idea too.

Stay dry up there
Tony lee ;D

Thanks Tony!! Too late already wet and it looks like we're going to get more water.

T

 

[MrT]

Totaly Agree with tony on the Shocks Very slick idea indeed

Thanks Spud! Now I have to do it to the other side.

T

 

[MrT]

Not sure if I understand the reason for Hollowing the shocks ??? I get this allows you to position the suspension arm up or down but... what do you mean by LOWERED HULL ?

too bad those tracks have those big ejector pin marks on them.... Nothing a little buffing won't remove but... none the less a lot of work... !

I'm looking for some for 2 of my M88's

Will keep looking !

Take care and NICE work on the Suspension ! why the green putty ? let me know !


Later !

Ok here's the low down. The Tamiya kit sets to high about 6 to 8 scale inches. Don't sound like much, but you can tell the difference. Seems a easy fix just adjust the torsion arms and lower the hull. The problem is that Tamiya made the torsion arms and the hull torsion bumpers all one part so they have to cut apart so the arms can be repositioned to lower the hull. The torsion bumpers then need be trimmed so that they will work with the new torsion arm locations. Lowering the hull also make the three shock absorbers too long. To make them work the lower shock has to be cut off. A hole is drilled in the end of the upper shock. This allows you to insert the lower shock into the hole which allows you to adjust the length of the shock to fit the new torsion arm locations. WHEW! The green putty was used to make the hull casting fillet under the torsion bumper that's missing. I used green putty because that's what I had. The other side will be white. I just got a new tube.

And we haven't even talked about the track tensioner yet.

Terry

 

[schweinhund227]

Thank you for the clarification!

Makes all sense now! That's quite a project!

Looking forward to your next update!

 

[MrT]

You are welcome anytime I can help.

T