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Comparing the figure with a picture of the USMC Captain Ed Dunlap shown in the Sabot/Verlinden book, it confirms that the helmet type is the right one, although the figure seem to be wearing it a bit low on the forehead. Presence of goggles is important for Desert Storm. There is actually some resemblance between the two figures...



I now have a Desert Storm USMC M-60A1 tank commander.


Regards, Louis

Looking forward to paint!

When I get home I’ll post a photo of one from an old book on the Gulf War I have with a M60A1 in the desert.

Niiiice job, and ole mate doesnt look like Nigel Mansell !!

Hello,

This post is for bluing of the metal tracks.


I have to say that the all metal TONGDE T-142 type metal tracks are quite accurate compared to images of the real tracks found on the web below. However, the tracks come in a silver color metal and do not have real rubber pads.


The tracks should be very dark, almost black when the metal is not rusted.


Desert storm M-60A1 tracks can be shown with or without weathering dust. The TONGDE tracks cannot really be left silver for a realistic scale model.


I have used Tamiya flat black enamel paint spray cans on metal tracks in the past, and ruined the paint job after a few rides... all chipped and the weathering is mostly gone. Paint is heavy and also gets into the connectors and pins, making them stiffer. Perfect for static models but for an RC tank, painting the tracks can be problematic unless you really know what you are doing, which is not my case. I am a builder, not a painting expert.

As used by other modellists and looking for a solution for the TOBGDE tracks, I decided to use the Perma Blue solution by Birchwood Casey, available on Amazon for $20 per bottle with Prime free shipping. It's my first time at trying a bluing solution. Designed for guns, it seems to be working of most metals. But i was not sure it would work on the metal TONDGE used for the tracks. Not sure either if the acid will eat the track pins.


This stuff is poison and propably very acidic, certainly more than vinegar. i installed myself outside, with gloves and eye protection. I used a used toothbrush for application. Notice the plain silver color of the tracks before use.


I first did a trial using one of the spare track links. The instructions says to apply the acid on the metal, let it rest for one minute, then rince with water and then dry. This is the result on the TONGDE track link after two applications, done freely with the toothbrush. It works and the bluing seems to have some resistance. However, any scratch or wear will show.


I applied the solution three times on the tracks. It takes about 2 minutes per tracks to do an overall soaking with the toothbrust, trying to get everywhere, then waiting a little bit and then rincing in water. For some reason, specific areas of the tracks would not react to the solution no matter what i did. There was no oil or anything apparent. There must be a technical reason. I had to sand the problematic area using a nail file to rework the surface of the tracks and then the solution usually worked right away on the following application. I suspect cleaning the area with a detergent also resolves the issue.

I polished the tracks a little bit with a cotton cloth and I hanged them on a branch to let them cure overnight. I have some solution left for touch ups, so it took a whole 90ml bottle for a set of large and long tracks, three applications each. Some other more efficient method than a free flow application would certainly take less.


So far so good.

Regards, Louis

I have used the mig/ammo solution with good results on a set of Impact T66 tracks.

These look much better and should weather nicely with a thinned buff wash and track wash over it.

They certainly have turned out very good. For no other input other than the bluing, its a great result.
I have no doubt that the final result of the entire model is going to be another benchmark of achievement.

I’m headed to Amazon for some of that bluing solution. Thank you for the advice and information.

It never ceases to amaze me how you raise the bar again and again with each new build! Simply excellent

Have the 3D printed parts gotten better? They look much better than they have been

Incorrectly captioned as an M1A1 Abrams, you can quite clearly see it is an M60A1.

I used to have this model in 1/35th scale which I built as a teenager.

Great work Louis - looking forward to paint.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks everyone,

I cannot take any credit for that bluing process, i took it from an much older post on RCTW, obviously metal tracks coloring are not a recent problem, but it works with the TONGDE tracks.

PershingLover wrote: ↑Sun Sep 03, 2023 9:13 am Have the 3D printed parts gotten better? They look much better than they have been

I thick the DKLM prints are much improved compared to some horror stories i went through in the past. However, some specific areas of very few parts need to be carefully filed as you will see in a following post for the painting.

Thanks Ad Lav, very interesting picture.

Continuing with the build

This post is for the spare roadwheel.


As seen in references, most spare road wheels on USMC M-60A1 were carried on the left rear fender.


However, some others, including the one i want to represent, carried the roadwheel attached to the turret rear bin using a track connector pin through one of the screw hole. There is likely a little bracket on the other side to hold it against the first bar, we can see a metal strip going down. Let's do that.


The spare road wheel coming with the model really sucks. It has a plastic tire, the exterior rim is badly represented, the screw holes are too large and the interior is full of ejection pin holes difficult to remove or fill. I did my best to scratch most of them, and also drilled two of the missing screw holes. I could have used one of the plastic road wheel that were replaced by the metal ones as a base, but the plastic ones are of the aluminum type and it would look weird. But i can use its rubber tire.


First task is to remove the plastic rubber tire with the Dremel, and make the rim similar to the thickness and style of the other roadwheels.


It's missing thickness to fit the rubber tire. I will borrow the exterior rim of one of the discarded plastic roadwheel.


It takes a few seconds with the Dremel, and then to polish.


Back rim installed on the spare roadwheel.


Looking good with the rubber tire.


For the mount and as seen in the above reference picture, i took a track link pin from the discarded plastic tracks.


Continuing on following post