_GOTOBOTTOM
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M1A1 Operation Desert Storm, from Dragon AIM
skyhawk
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Posted: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 - 01:28 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Looking good Andy, just fix that mold seam in the top photo in your last post.


Hi James (and later Max)...yep, in fact I didnt even notice it till after I posted the pictures! What the wonders of digital photos do.

thanks!
skyhawk
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Posted: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 - 01:47 AM UTC

Quoted Text

...there also are a visible gap and a hole on the left side of the dog-house which, I think, need to be filled.
...


hey max....yep, i just havent got to that yet.

as for the ammo cradle im not quite sure what your refering to....no about the M2 "reloading guide thingy". Unless your talking about the charging handle..but that was a seperate part on the Tasca M2. When I looked it over it seemed to be the same as the vehicle mounted M2 we had in our AAVPs, and I assumed that it was probally the same configuration. I wasnt an amourer, so ill defer the difference between a ground mount and vehicle mount to the experts

ironicly the front iron sight got knocked off into the carpet shortly after this picture was taken!
Citizinsane
Joined: July 27, 2006
KitMaker: 463 posts
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Posted: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 - 07:28 PM UTC

Quoted Text


ironicly the front iron sight got knocked off into the carpet shortly after this picture was taken!




Hey Andy,
regrading the ammo box cradle, I'm referring to the two lids on top of that 'channel' connecting the ammo box to the gun (where the ammo runs through). Dragon got the shape of these two lids inside-out... the V-shaped cut out in the middle should face towards the gun, not towards the ammo box...

That 'reloading guide-rail thingy' should be located on the right side of the gun, it's a facing that covers(or encases) that 'groove' where the reloading handle is slid through... maybe just compare the dragon machine gun with the tasca one, then you should see the difference...


Cheers, Max
skyhawk
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Posted: Monday, August 16, 2010 - 04:22 AM UTC
ive switched the scheme...going to do a special ops M1A1 instead...

Photobucket

just kidding Coat of rustolium automotive primer to prep for painting. This stuff is GREAT. goes on super smooth, no runs, and gives a great surface for the acrylics to bite onto. Also makes a great rubber color (so for the road wheels i need only to paint the rims now). Sand color commin up next!
Andy
pseudorealityx
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Posted: Monday, August 16, 2010 - 05:22 AM UTC
Question... why use the kit plastic barrel instead of the metal one?
majjanelson
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Posted: Monday, August 16, 2010 - 06:53 AM UTC
Jesse,

The plastic barrel has molded details like the seam with rivets along the bottom of the thermal sleeve that are not machined into the metal barrel (picture from Prime Portal):

skyhawk
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Posted: Monday, August 16, 2010 - 06:59 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Jesse,

The plastic barrel has molded details like the seam with rivets along the bottom of the thermal sleeve that are not machined into the metal barrel


Jeff is right, that is exactly why I used the plastic.
Plus the plastic parts like the fume extractor and other bits fit better on the plastic than on the metal one. there was a slight gap between them when I test fitted on the metal. Its a bit annoying, as I would prefer to use metal, and we paid for it...

But, i must say, the plastic parts are VERY nicely done, and just a quick swipe with a fine sanding stick cleaned up the mold seam. Im not even sure why they even bothered with metal barrel in the kit.....
Andy
skyhawk
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Posted: Monday, October 04, 2010 - 08:58 AM UTC
Its been a little while since an update, but I have put some work into it. Paint is on, wash, drybrush, and some markings for a tank of the 2-70AR. Still a bit of detail painting, and Im going to have to make some custom markings for the bumper codes. Ill start adding stowage soon!
Comments welcome!
Andy

Photobucket
Photobucket
vonHengest
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Posted: Monday, October 04, 2010 - 01:39 PM UTC
Lookin good there Andy! Feel free to share as much info about the build as you like. I have one of these waiting to be built so I've been following this build almost sisnce the beginning
Tankrider
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Posted: Monday, October 04, 2010 - 04:41 PM UTC
Andy,
Very nice work... I was quickly scrolling down and saw the orange 20mm cans and thought "that looks like a 2-70 tank, I wonder who else is doing one." I then realized that it was your build... Are you going put a row of 7.62 cans (10-12of 'em) along the top of the turret box lids??? I know that D Company did that but not sure if B Company also had the coax ammo stored in that manner.

John
skyhawk
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Posted: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 - 02:27 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Andy,
Very nice work... I was quickly scrolling down and saw the orange 20mm cans and thought "that looks like a 2-70 tank, I wonder who else is doing one." I then realized that it was your build... Are you going put a row of 7.62 cans (10-12of 'em) along the top of the turret box lids??? I know that D Company did that but not sure if B Company also had the coax ammo stored in that manner.

John


Hey John,

yeah, those orange 20mm cans were something I picked up from some close examination of a few photos. They can barely be seen, but the orange really stands out, even in the distance!
As far as the ammo, from the few B co pics I got, it doesnt appear that they did that...but ill ask the crews Im in touch with anyway, as my pics may be of pre/post combat and not fully loaded. It would be a nice detail.

there does seem to be some SOP on stowage though...everybody had the stowage tubes on right, cots on left, spare track, one spare roadwheel on top, and usual pile of packs and such in the bussle rack. Orange IFF panel on top somewhere.

Jeremy....not much really to the build. It actully turned out easier than expected. Just a few tweeks (which you see here) to make it a M1A1. Remember this build is for a upcomming book, so I dont want to give away ALL my photos. I have to keep a few for the book!
HeavyArty
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Posted: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 - 09:34 AM UTC
Looks really nice Andy. I like how the orange ammo cans add a splash of color. Good job on it.
Tankrider
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Posted: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 - 10:52 AM UTC
Andy,
I have a good picture of D-66 around the Medina Ridge area, that was taken by the D Co 1st Platoon leader, a great photographer, that shows the ammo cans that were seecured to the lids with a ratchet strap. I give a try at scanning it and send it to you as it might give you some additional ideas. The orange painted 20mm cans were an anti-fratricide measure that , according to several of my guys, had mixed results in combat.

You might want to check out Zaloga's book on the M1A1 vs the T-72, which features Mark Gerges, the B Co Commander's experiences in DS. Mark furnished a bunch of pics for the book that might help to round out your references out.

John
skyhawk
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Posted: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 - 11:10 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Andy,
I have a good picture of D-66 around the Medina Ridge area, that was taken by the D Co 1st Platoon leader, a great photographer, that shows the ammo cans that were seecured to the lids with a ratchet strap. I give a try at scanning it and send it to you as it might give you some additional ideas. The orange painted 20mm cans were an anti-fratricide measure that , according to several of my guys, had mixed results in combat.

You might want to check out Zaloga's book on the M1A1 vs the T-72, which features Mark Gerges, the B Co Commander's experiences in DS. Mark furnished a bunch of pics for the book that might help to round out your references out.

John


Hey John, that photo would be GREAT. email me direct [email protected]
Higher the res, the better. And dont fret too much over quaility...most of the photos I have from guys personal collection are pretty dusty, hazy and such. Adds to the flavor, and from what I can tell...it was pretty crappy weather for some of the time.
majjanelson
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Posted: Tuesday, October 05, 2010 - 01:14 PM UTC
Andy,

Your DS Abrams is looking great! The details seem spot-on, and it should look very good once you weather it and add stowage.

I have a copy of Zaloga's book "M1 Abrams vs. T-72 Ural, Operation Desert Storm 1991" that John mentioned, and it has a few pictures showing VS-17 Panels on top of the turret over the blast panels. I have a couple that I could measure and take pics of for your reference if you want. Just let me know...
Tankrider
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Posted: Wednesday, October 06, 2010 - 03:57 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hey John, that photo would be GREAT. email me direct [email protected]
Higher the res, the better. And dont fret too much over quaility...most of the photos I have from guys personal collection are pretty dusty, hazy and such. Adds to the flavor, and from what I can tell...it was pretty crappy weather for some of the time.


Andy,
Will will scan the picture, hopefully tonight...

BTW, the weather was crappy, lots of rain, fog and oil smoke from Saddam's decision to blow up the Kuwaiti oil wells... Greg, the guy who took the picture, also gathered up all of the "home shot" video, diced and spliced it into a unit video called "Tigers in the Sand" that used video from the whole deployment. The "war footage" had the Stones "Paint it Black" as the background sound. The combat footage also had a segment of the Medina RIdge engagement, shot from the TOC (about 1-2km back from the action) where an individual was narrating the action of tanksengaging targets and targets exploding on the horizon like it was a sporting event. The atmosphere was pretty gloomy from the low clouds, smoke, dust, etc... Unfortunately, I copied over the copy that I had sometime in the past 20 years. What a loss.

John
skyhawk
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Posted: Thursday, October 07, 2010 - 08:39 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Andy,

Your DS Abrams is looking great! The details seem spot-on, and it should look very good once you weather it and add stowage.

I have a copy of Zaloga's book "M1 Abrams vs. T-72 Ural, Operation Desert Storm 1991" that John mentioned, and it has a few pictures showing VS-17 Panels on top of the turret over the blast panels. I have a couple that I could measure and take pics of for your reference if you want. Just let me know...


Hey Jeff,
that would be great...its funny how something as common as that -17 panel, that i stowed and tied up a ga-zillion times, i never thought to measure it! (and i never could remember the number for it..."day-glo" panel was all I knew it by)
Andy
majjanelson
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Posted: Thursday, October 14, 2010 - 06:01 PM UTC
Andy,

I have two panels, one is marked "Panel Signal VS-17/GVX" and the other has a label on the plastic bag for "Panel Marker, Aerial Liaison". Each has six-double tie-down cords, one side is orange, the other is pink/magenta, and 3 snaps on each end.



The Panel Signal VS-17/GVX is approx. 18" x 71" with 7" long double para cord at the corners and the middle of each long side.



The Panel Marker, Aerial Liaison is approx. 24" x 70" with 7" long double para cord at the corners and the middle of each long side.



Obviously, there are at least variences in sizes since the panels have been made by different manufacturers over the past 3-4 decades.

I hope this helps...
 _GOTOTOP