M1A2 Heng Long US Army based in Romania

[Tread Flintstone]

Paint looks great! Especially the commander!

[c.rainford73]

Paint looks great! Especially the commander!

Thank you Mr Flintstone I have the IBU2U dialed in as of tonight so it's on to some chipping and weathering and then I'll update the video and pictures

[c.rainford73]

So while I continue to search for the elusive M1Abrams stowage I finished the IBU2U programming for all of the switches I wanted in my turnigy radio. So now I have engine start and stop. Music start and stop remote volume pot and headlights on and off from all seperate controls. Very cool indeed No need to point the sticks in all different directions.

I decided the tank was way too pretty with just the basic washes and tamiya dark green so I went crazy.
I figured since this tank is a desert veteran shipped to Europe with a very quick coat of temporary paint why not chip the hell out of it and here's what I did.

To show wear and tear I added a nice layer of brown chipping (applied over the first bare steel coat that I applied via a dry pigment).

I then added some Tamiya desert yellow to show the original base paint coat worn through the green in select areas that are really worn.......

Phew almost done explaining

I then added the mig Jimenez oil wash and streaking grime.

So here it is just void of the American stowage

(value gear and some very nice 3d printed bits from Shapeways)
and the Tarr IBU edition that is on its way. The colored film for the vision blocks is also en route

Thanks for looking

[c.rainford73]

Very cool Carl

Even the commander looks pleased

Mick.

Thanks Mick glad you and the commander approve

[Soeren]

This tank looks very interesting now. You applied all of this by the sponge technique?

[c.rainford73]

This tank looks very interesting now. You applied all of this by the sponge technique?

Hi Soeren yes most if it is done with two different sponges. One with very fine holes and one with larger holes. I also used a small stick with a sponge attached to get into the small spaces. The metal look was achieved with dry brushing gun metal pigments. I think my initial thought was to keep this tank super clean and make it look like it was just deployed after the paint job with some light dusting and washes.

Then.....

My decision while taking this tank apart multiple times to finalize the electronics was to make it a bit less clean and more importantly detailed. I wanted to retain the green overpaint but show the wear and tear of constant duty after arriving in Europe from the Middle East as a result the original undercoat showing through.

I had fun doing it

[BarryC]

[quote="c.rainford73"]So while I continue to search for the elusive M1Abrams stowage I finished the IBU2U programming for all of the switches I wanted in my turnigy radio. So now I have engine start and stop. Music start and stop remote volume pot and headlights on and off from all seperate controls. Very cool indeed No need to point the sticks in all different directions.

I decided the tank was way too pretty with just the basic washes and tamiya dark green so I went crazy.
I figured since this tank is a desert veteran shipped to Europe with a very quick coat of temporary paint why not chip the hell out of it and here's what I did.

To show wear and tear I added a nice layer of brown chipping (applied over the first bare steel coat that I applied via a dry pigment).

I then added some Tamiya desert yellow to show the original base paint coat worn through the green in select areas that are really worn.......

Phew almost done explaining

I then added the mig Jimenez oil wash and streaking grime.

So here it is just void of the American stowage

(value gear and some very nice 3d printed bits from Shapeways)
and the Tarr IBU edition that is on its way. The colored film for the vision blocks is also en route

I like it Carl, well done!

Barry

[c.rainford73]

Thanks much Barry I'm glad you approve considering your the foremost expert when it comes to the M1 Abrams

[BarryC]

Thanks much Barry I'm glad you approve considering your the foremost expert when it comes to the M1 Abrams

I have learned everything I know about the Abrams in the last year and 8 months researching and "listening" to the folks here.

Remember an Expert is just a has been under pressure (Ex-pert)!

Barry

[c.rainford73]

Hi all Painted and mounted the stowage bits from Dave and also took Gary's idea for the gun sight and vision blocks by adding Plexiglas sheets and HUD film to glass areas. Undid it a bit different than him but I like the results. Cant cover the target locking lens since it is functional. Added some ropes from RCtank.de too.

Still looking to source some water containers and make a case of Coca Cola or Pepsi for the turret bin area.