I agree that the Squadron books were a great reference. USUALLY!!! However a word of warning to anyone using the Squadron M88 book. The three color drawing showing an M88 in the 3 color NATO scheme is INCORRECT! It’s a simple mistake, easy to make, and had I been paying attention I SHOULD have caught it myself (you know, reference twice, paint once).
The three colors are “misplaced”. The pattern is correct, however the areas which they show as “Brown” should actually be Green, the areas which they show as “Green” should actually be Black, and the areas which they show as “Black” should actually be Brown.
I made the mistake of using a scaled up drawing to make masks and used the color in the drawing to paint, rather than check my Tech Bulletin references for which color actually goes in which area.
I painted with the masks and then added a TON of external fragile detail after spray painting, which means that without removing a ton of very fragile hinges, etc. I cannot re-mask and re-spray.
Drastic weathering probably isn’t the solution. I went to the trouble to remove the entire molded rear engine deck from the kit and not only replace it with all removable hatches just like the real vehicle but build a COMPLETE interior engine compartment. I’d consider adding an engine/transmission/final drive, but nobody there isn’t one available for an M88, because nobody in their right mind would do what I did with the rear deck, and scratching the engine/transmission/final drive was more than I was willing to try.
For what it’s worth, I have an M88 almost complete too. The reason I haven’t finished it is the AEF designs interior that was just so flawed.
And I do see the error with the paint scheme, but that engine bay is killer! Just needs grime… it’s too clean👍
The M88A1 used the same basic engine as the M60A1 RISE/A3, a Continental AVDS-1790-2DR Diesel engine. There are a couple M60A1/A3 Continental AVDS-1790 engines available in 1/35 from both Verlinden and Legend Productions. Either of them would be fine for an M88A1 engine.
I wonder how the AEF compares with the MR Modelbau which is what I used. That had some issues and I wound up doing quite a bit of scratch building with that one as well, but overall I don’t recall that it was TOO bad.
Thanks Gino. I had looked into it previously and it really isn’t the engine that’s the problem. My notes show that the M60 uses the AVDS-1790-2C whereas the M88 uses the AVDS-2DR as you said. There are some differences, but I could probably manage that. I actually bought the Legend LF1030 which is for the M60A3 and represents the -2C
But the Transmission is the big problem. The M60 uses the Allison CD-850-6A while the M88 uses the Allison XT-1410 cross drive. That’s a lot different.
I started out tying to modify the engine and actually had to do quite a bit of work trying to get it to look and fit right. I got it mostly done, but the transmission and final drives were a much bigger issue and so it’s still sitting in a box, unfinished.
I was actually corresponding with the folks a Legend about assisting them with doing an engine/transmission for the M88, but I think that because removing the rear deck on the AFV kit is a WAY bigger task than most people would want to take on they figured (probably correctly) that there wasn’t a market.
I may try to take on scratching the trans/final drive again, but I’m just not sure.
Yeah, that’s true. I just went over my photos and there may be a possibility of doing it. The biggest problem is that what I need to scratch are the manifolds and turbo which requires a lot of bending and finessing.
And “package” is an issue as well, because at least for now I want to be able to house everything inside the finished compartment and be able to close it up, as well as open and remove it.
But then again, I may just decide to show the vehicle opened up with the powerpack on the ground.
Aaahhh, I see the confusion. I should have left out the ‘or’; I am a teacher and I guess I was thinking in terms of Venn diagrams. I don’t know the keyboard shortcut for the intersection symbol.
However…if I ever got in the mood to build kits representing the vehicles I have used in the various incarnations of the Battlefield game series and the mods that used to be available for it I would likely end up building some more modern fare. Battlefield 2 had a mod called Operation Peacekeeper that was based on a fictional escalation of the Kosovo conflict. Operation Peacekeeper 2 mod for Battlefield 2 - Mod DB
which had a few German vehicles. The Euro Force expansion for Battlefield 2 had the Leopard 2. So who knows?
Yeah, you can see in the photo of the German M88, which is in the standard 3 Color NATO scheme, that the predominant color is Green, and not Brown. It’s such an obvious error looking back on it now, and I was really upset after I realized what I’d done.
Unlike vehicles painted in MASSTER which were almost always painted at the unit by hand, most of the NATO 3-color schemes were done at the depot and sprayed on which has a very different look.
I guess eventually I’ll have to figure out a way to re-do it, but re-masking, especially with any kind of tape is very problematic with all the small details applied which was done AFTER the original painting. And removing all those hatches with the hinges would be a nightmare.
Probably the solution is as has been mentioned, a combination of hand painting and hiding things under weathering which wasn’t the original plan.
UGH!
And Robin, thanks for separating out this thread, assuming it was you. I shouldn’t have hijacked the original thread.
Heretic suggestion: Why not re-paint in plain OD or Forest Green?
That engine room (and whatever else you may add engine-wise) is such an eye-catcher that no viewer will care about a missing camouflage paint scheme!
That’s another good suggestion. Except, I had planned to make this kit, along with a couple of M110A2s and an M548, as vehicles from the unit that I was Battalion XO, 4/20 FA from 1992-1993 and I have already gotten custom bumper marking decals. And all our vehicles were in NATO 3-Color.
So still UGH! I’ll eventually figure something out. But thanks for all the suggestions!!
