For some reason I’ve ended up w a stack of various Abrams. Would the plow in the Tamiya M1A1 kit (1 of 2 M1’s from Tamiya in the stacks) be appropriate on RMF M1A2 SEP Tusk 1/2? What I’m thinking about doing is building the RMF pretty clean, kit bashing extras as appropriate to Tamiya’s M1A2 and then messing around w their M1A1 and Italeri’s kit that has the extra resin parts (kit 6438). Any suggestions on how to get the max out of 3 or 4 of these kits with what’s in the boxes? If one becomes a donor kit that’s alright by me.
The plow would be the same as it hasn’t changed. It wasn’t really common on an Abrams w/TUSK though. The plow is used to clear minefields. By the time TUSK was used in Iraq, the plows were no longer installed since we were no longer clearing minefields, but running patrols around the countryside and villages.
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I have seen a couple with the mounting plate attached but never with the plow on.
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Thanks sir, I knew I’d find the right guidance with you guys. I’ll approach them pretty much straight up then. You wouldn’t happen to have any nice close ups of the plow to add missing details would you? I know you are a top notch resource or if you recall any links previously to step these up a notch? I plan on using this:
To replicate any missing anti-skid areas as I’ve seen others use it will solid results. That ought to be present on all the versions I believe (if the kit is lacking it).
Thx guys
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that might work I prefer the anti-skid from AK I like the control it gives you. And on the pics the never ending/never failing archive of @HeavyArty will not fail you.
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The Rust-oluem spray works great for anti-slip.
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Nice that is a good thing to know. I bet it is a lot more wallet friendly.
do you paint the texture first and then spray your color over or is it already tan?
Tape off the hull where you don’t want the texture. Spray the texture and let dry. Peal off the tape and then paint as you would any other model.
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On the archived Armorama I submitted a walk around of exactly what you need - not in a thread but as a separate feature. I don’t know if it can still be accessed.
Darren, thank you for that, I know I’ve seen it mentioned and not remembering it was a bonehead move. Just dropped it on my homescreen so it’s always handy!
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there is one question that I have when do you pull the tape, I’ve had a couple of bag experiences pulling the tape when the paint had dried?
Use blue tape. If it’s still too tacky put it on your forearm a few times. Bleed through isn’t as much of a concern when using tape for texture. I’ll post photos later of how uneven, or nonexistent the demarcation line can be.
If some of the texture lifts up with the tape that’s actually a bonus.
For now I’ll just post a link to this thread -
And post Abrams specific photos I’ve taken later. Got other things going on at the moment,
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oh, trust me this is a common discussion between me and a lot of other armor builders. I’ve got almost 22 yrs. as a mechanic in the army so i am fully aware of the inconsistent and not pretty paint jobs, to include the anti-slip. We had this talk at our last club meeting. I was trying to explain why i use rattle cans on almost all of my painting and how i embrace the over spray, runs and other imperfections.