M1A1HA, 9/18/23 update. Delay of Game, two week penalty!

[BarryC]

The only pic I found of it is hard to see but I think it is a straight line. found the pic at a site called Building the M1A2 Abrams where they have 36 pics of Abrams being rebuilt to A2 specs. In one pic with the turret off the area you want to know about is not a direct down shot but the most of the cutout can be seen on the left side of the pic and I thought it looked straight. the pic couldn't be downloaded so to see it you will have to find the site. Search, pics of the us abrams tank, and under the images that show up the first site under those was it when I was looking for the same thing.

Thanks GG,

Better pic than mine. Though not conclusive I think I see a very slight break (jog) in the line in question.

Thanks!
Barry

[BarryC]

Here are a couple of pics of the NBC external fitting glued in place.







Working on the Louvered Vents...

Thanks for looking,
Barry

[greengiant]

At first I to thought it was not a straight cut.
But after seeing how close the edge was to end of the v shape I decided it must be straight and the bend was caused by the camera angle of the picture . Purely speculation though.
Either way it cannot be seen when the turret is mounted so I guess its shape is still something to guess on. When I was looking I was hoping to see a pic of the hull of the Abrams that had had its turret blown off. There are several pics of a turrets blown off but none of the hull it came from that I could find.

[BarryC]

At first I to thought it was not a straight cut.
But after seeing how close the edge was to end of the v shape I decided it must be straight and the bend was caused by the camera angle of the picture . Purely speculation though.
Either way it cannot be seen when the turret is mounted so I guess its shape is still something to guess on. When I was looking I was hoping to see a pic of the hull of the Abrams that had had its turret blown off. There are several pics of a turrets blown off but none of the hull it came from that I could find.

I agree it is still unconfirmed either way. I have straightened out the line but it still has a slight "kink" but looks nearly straight. I am going to go with it and like you said it will be all but unseen beneath the turret.
I really appreciate your effort to help and I have book marked the site for further use.

Thanks,
Barry

[greengiant]

No trouble at all.
finally found pic your looking for on a site called building the hull of the M1A1 Abrams. Good overhead shot that clearly shows a slight dip in that grate opening.

[BarryC]

No trouble at all.
finally found pic your looking for on a site called building the hull of the M1A1 Abrams. Good overhead shot that clearly shows a slight dip in that grate opening.

You are the man!

Thank You,
Barry

[BarryC]

Fitted the upper hatch center closure strips to the NBC compartment.



Though not complete I have made and fitted the 4 Louvered Vents. Quite fun as all 4 are different and They will not be movable once finished but I found it easier to fit them in much the same way as those on the 1:1 “version”.






After adding the louvers, I will fabricate the frames and screen guards out of brass. I have not yet committed on how to fabricate the frames but leaning towards shaping them out of .010 brass sheet. It will be very time consuming, again because each will be different. But by going this route, I will be able to solder the screen mesh to the frames making both more resilient.

I am still trying to decide how best to make the hinges. I may opt for brass tubing and bar stock again soldered for structural integrity. I may also decide to use styrene tube or rod but have not found a suitable glue for bonding styrene to the Heng Long plastic and I have tried just about everything. The HL plastic is tough and for the tank that’s a good thing but all the glues I have tried only bond to the surface and are fairly easy to pried apart. None of them truly cause the two plastics to “weld” and flow together.

TAFN,
Barry

[BarryC]

Hi guys,

I have manager to get all the louvers cut and installed in the Cooling System Heat Exchanger Exhaust Vents. Here are a few pictures of them and how they look in their openings in the hull.
I have the screen frames up next but may need a little break from the tedious work and pick something less “maddening”!






TAFN,
Barry

[greengiant]

They really look good but I think you missed the chance to allow some ventilation in the hull and also some places for sound to exit from what is a very sealed up hull. If you had left openings at the bottom if the vanes and use a scale fine mesh for the screens you would notice that that wouldn't a problem with seeing into the hull and advantages I mentioned would be worth it.

[BarryC]

They really look good but I think you missed the chance to allow some ventilation in the hull and also some places for sound to exit from what is a very sealed up hull. If you had left openings at the bottom if the vanes and use a scale fine mesh for the screens you would notice that that wouldn't a problem with seeing into the hull and advantages I mentioned would be worth it.

A consideration I have entertained and not ruled out. Heat release would be their benefit as they are at the opposite end of the tank from the speaker. The only sound would be gearbox noise and I am trying to muffle that.

Barry