Oh my… I did it again… While waiting for parts, paint and varnish for my Stuart-projects I decided it was a good idea to do some cut’n’glue-work on some long standing/planned builds I had waiting in “stash-alley”… and I derailed/hyperfocused again.
The initial idea; build m60-tanks, but in as different versions as possible. I had 1 semi-build, 1 abhorent wreck, 1 new and recently I got another semi-build. The idea was to make;
1 - an M60A3 in Dualtex camouflage, as used by 7th Army or 2nd Armored Cav.Regt.
2 - an IDF M60 with ERA and mineroller roughly during Yom Kippur War
3 - a Desert Storm USMC M60A1 with M9 dozer
4 - An M60A1 in MASSTER camouflage, because it just looks awesome.
Tank porn!
FYI, the Academy Magach kit has features of a Magach 6B and a 6B-Gal. Check your references, and I’m sure someone else will have specifics, but I don’t think the mine roller was fitted to the 6B, which is the closest thing to what Academy has kitted. It’s pretty easy to make a -Gal though, mainly the new gunner’s sight and the larger turret bustle rack. Other differences are mostly hidden by the ERA blocks.
Go for it. If you’d like, I’ll take a look, I may have some Academy or Tamiya T-142 tracks laying around. The correct sprocket should be in the kit. With a gun tube with no thermal sleeve, you’re got a 6B.
Happy to see that I’m not the only one that is obsessed with the M60 Patton. I’ve already built two and have two more in the build stash. Have a Takom M60A1 ERA with M9 Dozer Blade and a Meng Magach 6B Gal Batash reado to get built.
Tamiya M60A1 ERA with mine plow.
Tamiya M60A3 - This one was built mainly using leftovers from the previous build. A simple build; though I wanted to paint this one in MERDC Winter Verdant.
Just a note on timeframe. The ERA was developed as a result of the Yom Kippur War experience and first saw combat in Lebanon, not quite 10 years later.
That I’ll adjust the timeframe accordingly. I have not really looked into the backgrounds yet. The Dualtex and Masster have a higher priority.
But that would put it next to the Tamiya Merkava 1, right? That should make an interesting display.
The build is progressing nicely. The Tamiya-kit is an easy build, but it is oversimplified in areas. Its basis after all is from 1970.
I had to swap the commander’s cupola for the Italeri one, since that hatch had already been glued shut and I changed my mind on having a commander in the Masster-version after all. At some point I apparently had used the tube-end elsewhere, so had to scrounge one from the green wreck.
I added some covers to the smokedischargers. I am a bit puzzled about the device on the right rear mudguard, assuming it is an intercom, but it looks different, more modern. Removing it would not be easy and potentially seriously damage the mudguard.
I drilled out the headlights and will add clear lenses, once I sprayed the tank and give the lights their right colours. The same will happen to the various periscopes.
The Italeri/Masster kit is also progressing nicely, albeit that this one requires more work. The quality of details and castings is not as good as Tamiya’s. The plastic is much more brittle (rails breaking) and gets real soft, when using glue (headlights sagging, while curing).
Again at some point I had already started adding the mineroller front, so now it needed repairs. The headlights are stuck in said front, so I had to use the, still worse, headlights of the AMT-kit.
This tank will get a Xenon-headlight, since the attchments for the infrared one are not in this kit. The xenon has been used with these tanks too, so…
