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

[BarryC]

Hi guys,

I have set the Firefly conversion aside for a breather and have picked back up on the Abrams. Actually I reached a good stopping point on the Firefly and I received a package full of AWESOME goodies from AFV Models and I mean AWESOME! I decided to treat myself to a retirement “bonus” and ordered all the upgrade and detail parts AFV has for the Tamiya Leopard A1 and they are Magnificent!!!!

I included 3 of the 50 Cal. M2s they have, they are little works of art. Two will be placed on the Abrams and the other on the Firefly. I also picked up a set of the Grenade Launchers they have for the Abrams and they are also extremely well done IMO.









More to follow

[BarryC]

Back to the subject, I have completed the installation of the 24 Wire Slip Ring and have the wiring in the turret complete ready for the Machine Gun LEDs. All systems are GO!

I have turned my attention to the upper hull and started by removing molded on details. After studying lots and lots of photos I determined that the 4 grated vents over the power pack were not correct for the Abrams I am modeling so I cut them out and will replace them with scratch built louvered panels with etched screen covers not the “diamond pattern” that come on the stock model.






I also wanted to reduce the size of the gaps between the individual rear deck hatches and plates. The stock gaps scale out to approx. 1” which is way too large. In sizing up how to accomplish this the gaps around the two “square” aft most access hatches became a tough nut to crack. After a lot of scheming I determined the best way to approach them would be to cut them out as well and simply replace them with larger hatches. Oops the two mounting posts I am using to support my upper hull magnets would have to be cut out, that’s a bummer, that would be a major setback so new plan needed. New plan would require removal of all molded detail on aft hull deck.

So that is what I am working to accomplish. The hatches still presented a problem so I decided to cut a proper sized hatches out of .015” styrene and simply glue them on top of existing hatches. This meant that all the panels on the rear deck would have to be raise accordingly. After looking at more photos I found that I could accomplish this and actually end up with panels, hatches that were closer in appearance to the actual tank. It did require a combination of differing thicknesses of styrene sheet to achieve the right “look”.





I have removed and will scratch built the NBC area on the left side.



More tomorrow,
Barry

[wibblywobbly]

The work that has gone into this build is indeed monumental, and has been said, this is one neat build both inside and out. I take my hat off to you sir, this is dedication to the pursuit of perfectionism!

[HERMAN BIX]

I certainly agree...............(it'll never catch on ya know !!)
Clinical in execution, precise in all aspects...............a genuine gold-standard in every damn thing thats good that I could never do

Mr Barry, I have a feeling that the outer stowage on this machine will be very high, very tight, very'to hand' , and extremely well orgainised for best access and space utilisation

[greengiant]

You have certainly raised the bar for all builds and I doubt many (myself included) will ever get close to what you have achieved.
Really looking forward to seeing it completed.

[BarryC]

Thanks guys you words are far too kind....I try hard.

Update does not look much different than some of the pics from yesterday's but all the replacement decking is no longer temp glued but is now permanently glued.
I reworked a couple of pieces for better fit and a more accurate look.



Next up will be the pieces that make up the NBC gear external parts on the left side and then on to the vent frames and all those hinges!

TAFN,
Barry

[HERMAN BIX]

And as a former member once remarked............."grab handles, dont forget the grab handles"

[mcevoyi]

Hiya Barry

Please may I ask if you could PM
the link to AFV MODELS

Aami cannot seem to find them

Thanks

Iain

Hi guys,

I have set the Firefly conversion aside for a breather and have picked back up on the Abrams. Actually I reached a good stopping point on the Firefly and I received a package full of AWESOME goodies from AFV Models and I mean AWESOME! I decided to treat myself to a retirement “bonus” and ordered all the upgrade and detail parts AFV has for the Tamiya Leopard A1 and they are Magnificent!!!!

I included 3 of the 50 Cal. M2s they have, they are little works of art. Two will be placed on the Abrams and the other on the Firefly. I also picked up a set of the Grenade Launchers they have for the Abrams and they are also extremely well done IMO.











More to follow

[BarryC]

Does anyone have a picture of a drawing that shows this "vent"? It is beneath the turret overhang and this is the best photo I have found, it is from the Prime Portal site.



I trying to confirm shape, I have shaped it based on the original shape as well as the Dragon M1A1 AIM and Rye Field Model M1A1/A2, 1/35 kits. I thought it may have needed to be straighter (green line) but looking at the 1/1 photo is appears to have a slight "jog" in the aft most line.



Your thoughts?
TIA,
Barry

[greengiant]

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.