Looking At The Dragon M103 Tanks

Outstanding job Jason! Beautiful finish - what did you use to dust the model? Looks fantastic

Nice job. You’ve really captured the dirty dusty look.

Thanks very much. I used a variety of oil paint washes, airbrushed Tamiya Buff, and desert/earth tone pigments for the weathering.

The M103 was an M48 on steroids.

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Beautiful work…and you are 100% correct both on the history of the real tank and on the lack of accuracy on this horrible kit.

I wouldn’t say it is a horrible kit. It can be built straight OOB and still look like an M103A1, maybe not an exact replica, but a pretty respectable representation.

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Where were those pictures of the real M103 taken?

At the Pima Air & Space Museum in tucson, AZ.

They’re there while the new Military Vehicle Museum is being built.

I posted on the Museums thread about it. Big pile of tanks donated by the USMC for display, including an M1A1 AIM and the aforementioned M103.

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Ft. Knox had M103’s stashed all over the place at one time. All were painted a strait O.D. green
gary

Very nice build, Jason. While you didn’t go whole hog like Pawel did, it’s a good looking build.
For those who missed it several years ago, there are any number of faults with the kit - some minor and some very obvious, like a gun barrel that is 10% too short, a turret that is too far forward, of the mantlet that is actually 1/48 scale.
https://archive.armorama.com/forums/219229/index.htm
Pawel did a super corrected version based upon my measurements.
In the above thread he also provides a link to his own comparisons. It’s worth the time to read the thread. Whether or not you think it’s a bowser is up to you. I did not think it was worth my own efforts to get one.

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One at Credit Island Davenport Iowa-
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Ft Lewis has a M103 in their Museum.

Ft Polk had one in the museum and several out on the target range.

I do find these posts encouraging.

I was pleased in one way to hear about the Takom initiative (I mean, really, Takom to me, do show great initiative in their kit subjects), but dismayed in that I have the Dragon kit – as yet unbuilt. I was even minded to try and correct some of the kit’s deficiencies. However, I’ve now resolved – well, provisionally at least – to obtain a Takom M103A1 in due course, and perhaps build both kits and display them side by side, either in a semi-tactical setting (which would be a stretch given the size of the bases I use), or perhaps slightly more do-able, as on the ranges. I will, of course, try and bring the Dragon version up to a certain improved spec, albeit I may have to skimp on some of the major surgery required.

We’ll see. Given my abysmal build rate, this won’t be any time soon, but that’s the plan – as I say, a provisional one(!)

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Maybe with enough cammo and stowage you can hide some of it, and only correct the most egregious errors. (mantlet and gun for example) I wouldn’t even mess with the road wheel spacing.

I’d always planned to leave the chassis alone and try and remedy the turret, or at least a part of it; I’m quite happy at trying my hand at mantlet covers for instance. Of course, the alternative plan, as I hinted at, would have been fully tac, something like this:

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You can stick the tank in a defilade to “hide” the wheels issue.

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Probably not to be honest: thanks though for the idea. I do feel perhaps, that being in close proximity to one another it would become a talking point re the comparisons. Building 2 of the same model can be a bit of a pain (although I did this a long time ago with 2 x T-64s) but as in this case they’re form different manufacturers it might even be quite interesting.

In the meantime, only a zillion other kits to tackle(!)

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Well, now that hopefully we will get a good M103A1 tank kit, I wondered if the USMC used them on maneuvers. I have some ideas in mind.

That’s the photo I meant to add to my post, but I forgot. :slight_smile:

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