Not sure whether to post here or in modern as the lates variants Abrams and Leopard 2 fall into the modern category with all the Abrams and Leopards 2 siv been bulding i think it might be appriate to add both the US and German versions of the MBT70 ands i was wondering has anyone ever converted Drangon’s version of the MBT70 to the US version I know Commanders models makes a full resin kit of the US version so my question is has anyone converted the dragon kit to the US version and is there any interchangeabliity of parts between the Commanders Model and the Dragon kit
There was some discussion about this some time ago but I regret I can’t quite remember where it was (also too idle and bereft of lateral thinking these days to use the Search facility); anyway, for what it’s worth, I - being a fan of the MBT 70 - posted up some pics of the Dragon and Commander kits for comparison purposes. I stress this was at the component level as I haven’t yet built my Kpz 70.
Now, someone who is obviously adept at scratching (in the previous discussion) reckoned he could convert them easily enough; I personally feel it’s worth the effort and no small cost to get the Commander version if you want an MBT 70 in your collection, but then, I’m no great shakes as a scratch-builder.
Here we go (Dragon Kpz 70 in the grey, Commander in the sort of off-white/cream):
The turrets are pretty much identical; obviously the Dragon kit has more hatches open, though infuriatingly, the Gunner’s one is closed. The Commander turret has rails on the rear for I believe, test equipment. The smoke dischargers are different, the standard Bundeswehr fix obviously for the Kpz version, and the Sheridan type on the US one.
Neither kit - in the pics, includes the amoured cowling for the Driver’s TV on the glacis (since I scratched this on my model, Commander now include a version of this, based on mine, but mine is far from perfect as I couldn’t find that much reference material. It was nice of Commander to acknowledge my efforts to that degree, but it might be a little suspect; I can get away with it for mine, being technically a “What-If”, but purists might need to dig a little deeper.
Regarding the hull, I think the pics speak for themselves; the hull contours are quite different, let alone the rear engine decks and exhaust. Someone who is skilled at scratching could of course, carve up the Dragon one, but to me, that’s an awful lot of work.
And so to mine (apologies to those Kitmaker meebers who have seen this far too often!); I found the kit easy enough to build. It was, I think, my second full resin kit, so whilst it was a learning experience, I managed to summon up sufficient courage. A set of tracks from AFV Club are required and Commander used to provide these; I haven’t visited their site for some time so don’t know what the state of play is at the moment. I wished to depict mine as in service so this meant it was a recipient of the MASSTER colour/camouflage scheme. I also added stowage where I thought appropriate, for example, as all 3 crew are in the turret (and stowage space at a premium), I thought a 40mm grenade ammo box for each would be a reasonable addition on the turret rear. I added tools from, I think, an Academy set. I also added a stowage box on the hull rear, and a tow rope. I think everything else speaks for itself, but I’m more than happy to answer any questions this raises.
'Hope this somewhat lengthy reply helps!
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thanks for the info too bad i just couldn’t buy components from commanders and and kit bash with the dragon kit
Since any US/German MBT-70 would be “what if” I think that if you wanted to make an “operational” US MBT-70 some of the design work for the M1 Abrams could be used. I think the changes in the engine deck for the Abrams most likely would have been used in production MBT-70’s. With the change to the 120mm gun, I would think the sights and vision devices might be more like the M1 Abrams - no need for the 152mm missile sights/tracker.
I don’t think building up the hull sides for the US version would be too hard - it’s mostly flat planes. I’m thinking of buying a basic M1 tank kit for the gun, hull, and gun as well as bits and pieces. I’ve always wondered if the 20mm gun would have remained or if some other type of remote weapon system would have replaced it.
Your model is outstanding
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the pics of the model are not mine