So as I am working on the road wheels, the Panda kit has the clear wheel hubs. As I look at the pictures-hard to tell for sure- it seems the hubs are a complete clear piece. Is there one of the red grease port plugs on the hub as well?
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Its not grease but oil. Its simply a clear piece of plastic.
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The main cap is clear plastic. in the middle was a rubber plug, but the rubber plug was only used on the M1. They had a bad habit of popping loose, and letting the oil leak out. So a new plug with a bolt and washer waas developed, this was standard on all tanks, after being retrofitted to the early ones. Here’s a couple pictures of the hub with the bolt/washer. On the early hub, the center would just be black rubber:
Ken
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Also nice to see the tyre facing side where it has been sprayed and the rubber starting to wear through …
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Speaking of road wheels-double checking before I glue. I believe the longer protrusion is correct, outfacing . Right wheel in photo.
The Panda instructions are not clear, and in photos that I looked at in this thread also unsure.
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You are correct. The right hand wheel is the out facing one.
The left one is interesting. It has the hub flange with the back face of the studs, that the wheels mount onto. That hub is actually part of the roadwheel arm/hub assembly.
Look at the bottom right of this photo, or at the hub just behind the front wheel:
Or here:
Most models just make the inside face the same as the outside, this is more accurate!
Ken
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I’m very late to the party. Great build! I love the snow effect on the glacis - it’s quite realistic.
To revisit an old question:
Mine is decidedly gray, also taken in sunlight. But my straps are greener than TankerKen’s example. YMMV on your screen, but in person this thing is gray.
If you compared the photos it’s almost as if the two came from different manufacturers.
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And probably did.
Ken
Walmart makes the same pad but with no straps
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Ok another question- I will expect the answer is unit specific. The red reflective tape sections? Seems like there were two at the rear- back and sides. Then one on each side on the front side skirt, low down on the angle.
I think the red/yellow tape came later? But red was it for early M1s in USAREUR?
I love this thread BTW, the pictures are fantastic. And what is a USAREUR thread without the war stories to go with it?
This has been addressed before, either in this topic or a different one.
The reflective tape and the whoopie lights were required by German law to operate on the roads. The specific requirements changed over time, and the technology also changed over time.
The simple strips of tape as you described were from the 70s, early 80s time frame, as seen in Reforger 83. Later the red/yellow stickers came into use. The location of the tape/stickers and whoopie lights could vary some by unit, but they had to comply with the German laws.
To confuse matters even more, the tape/stickers often got covered with dirt/dust/mud or got damaged/torn off during maneuvers. They were often mounted on fenders which also got damaged and replaced, sometimes without new stickers.
If you have photos of a specific vehicle you are building, go with that.
Ken
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Does anyone here have a good rundown of M1 units in USAREUR? In some of the photos I can see VII corps unit numbers, 11ACR? 2 AD? Trying to read back thru the thread but if some one has the short list, would appreciate it.
The Panda kit has 3ID 2-64 and AC 1BG?
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Between 1982 and 1989 pretty much every armored unit in Germany/USAREUR received the Abrams, it’s just a question of which version and time frame.
As for the kit decals, they are correct. The first units in Germany to get them were 3rd Infantry division (3ID), 3-64 and 2-64 Armored Battalions. The AC 1BG is Armor Center, 1st Brigade, the training unit at Ft Knox.
Ken
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Tracking. Ok thanks.
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Another question for those that were on the M1s initially, I see the tanker roll and spaghetti straps on the turret rear. But in the pictures I only see 2 rolls, one on either side of the mast. So did the other 2 rolls go on the turret top, under a tarp? In other photos it looks like the straps are there but nothing is strapped in that space.
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Those straps could hold a total of four sleeping bag/tanker’s rolls, and that’s about it. They were not well liked and frankly a pain in the ass to use; so it’s no surprise that you can find photos of it being not fully used. The Army did not like us stowing everything on the top of the turret, but that really was the only place available.
Ken
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Makes sense- seems like an odd solution when I am sure a rack could have been developed (like they did eventually). Not like that would have been high end technology.
I would venture a guess that the turret bustle cargo straps instead of a bustle rack was a cost saving measure. The M1 was developed during the Carter years and defense budgets were quite lean at that time.
Could be- although fashioning a rear turret rack of some sort should not have been expensive. The Army had plenty of shops that could have built something. As Ken said the Army didn’t want crews storing gear on the turret top, I expect because of the blow off panels there. Typical Army solution “don’t do x, but you can do y as a solution either”. The Army fixed it soon enough. I have to work something that will resemble the spaghetti straps- lead foil I think will work but have to decide wether to leave them empty or not.
