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1/16 M60 Patton Scratchbuild

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1/16 M60 Patton Scratchbuild

Old 10-17-2014, 09:28 AM
  #51  
Rex Ross
 
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Regarding the accuracy of your M60 ...... What you have done so far is not a legitimate, accurate or an authentic effort to build an M60 tank model . The real M60 was not that beautiful or perfect. Please add some rough details and defective aspects ....... like things are in real life. The vents on the rear deck are spectacular builds, like everything else so far. The only thing I can think of to say is --- WOW!
rex
Old 10-17-2014, 09:49 AM
  #52  
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LOL! Thanks Rex! Building this really gave me an appreciation for Cold War era tanks. I can't wait to see your MBT-70 completed!
Old 10-17-2014, 01:31 PM
  #53  
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Originally Posted by Captain Nemo12
LOL! Thanks Rex! Building this really gave me an appreciation for Cold War era tanks. I can't wait to see your MBT-70 completed!
~~~~

I can't wait to see it as well. But I have to step away from the MBT70 for a short break and deal with some real life things that steal my time from what's really important .... my hobby projects. The real life things are nothing serious, just earthly things I like to ignore until someone threatens me with an intervention and confinement to an institution. Then I threaten that I will take them out of my Last Will and they always shut the hell up. November should be productive.
rex
Old 10-28-2014, 04:10 PM
  #54  
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Rex, can't wait to see what you do next on your MBT-70! It's one of my favourite Cold War tanks along with the M60 and Leopard 1.

I've made more progress on the turret. Since the last update, the upper and lower armor plates have been built and installed. I made sure that the lower side plates curve up at the right angle:







Next, I inserted the inner bracing that supports the outer skin, these will also help to determine the curvature of the side armor:









Here's a peak at the space inside the turret for the gun mechanisms. As mentioned previously, the entire gun assembly will simply slide in and out of the mantlet hole:



I have already started plating the outer skin, should have more pictures up later this week!

Nate
Old 10-28-2014, 05:49 PM
  #55  
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Very interesting!
Old 10-28-2014, 06:11 PM
  #56  
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Rex, can't wait to see what you do next on your MBT-70! It's one of my favourite Cold War tanks along with the M60 and Leopard 1.

I've made more progress on the turret. Since the last update, the upper and lower armor plates have been built and installed. I made sure that the lower side plates curve up at the right angle:

~~~~

Nate ... I got sidetracked on the MBT 70, but should get back to it soon. The framing on the inside of your turret looks better than the exterior plating on mine ..... yours is neat, clean, straight ..... the inside of my turret looks like a train wreck in comparison. I always think, "If I won't be able be able to see it when the paint is dry, why bother trying to make it perfect"? (It's a good thing I never became a doctor). Your build is beautiful..
Old 11-10-2014, 08:59 PM
  #57  
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Thank you so much for the kind words Rex! I have made more progress on the turret and here are the results:

First I plated over the inner frame using styrene sheets. For most of the turret, this was relatively straightforward, for some of the more trickier areas, I had to over the area with masking tape first. The area contour was then traced on the tape and finally, the correct shape was cut from styrene using this outline:







In particular, the front portion of the right side of the turret had a more concave surface on the armor. Which is hard to recreate using flat plates... Therefore, the easiest way to achieve this is to simply use Milliput. To provide a base surface for the putty, I plated over the area using styrene first:



After applying the putty and much sanding, I was very satisfied with the result!







The edges of the turret were also rounded using a file. The side areas around the mantlet hole were also sculpted using Milliput (I love the stuff!):





For those who are curious, here's what the underside of the turret looks like. The indentation for the driver's hatch was also modeled, this allows the driver to open his hatch and exit when the turret is pointed towards the rear of the tank:



Finally, here's the turret on the tank! Overall, I think it turned out quite nicely!









Next up, the main gun and mantlet!

Nate
Old 11-11-2014, 06:27 AM
  #58  
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I can really appreciate the terrific job you did on the turret, along with the rest of it. It is just perfect. I also am a believer in Milliput and Green Putty, I couldn't live without it.
Old 11-11-2014, 01:28 PM
  #59  
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Hi Nate
Nice work. I prefer bog (body putty), goes off quicker, so you can get to the sanding quicker. Also found that bog dust (pink-ish) is really good for toning down/weathering the vehicle.

Mal
Old 11-11-2014, 01:48 PM
  #60  
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It is really coming together. Turret looks great.
Old 11-11-2014, 02:23 PM
  #61  
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Thanks guys!

Mal, I've thought about using bog and Bondo in my past builds but in the end I chose Milliput because of the low odor. Plus it feels like working with modelling clay and it's very easy to shape.
Old 11-11-2014, 06:03 PM
  #62  
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Hi Nate
Yes you're right, bog is a trifle noisome, but I've got a Respro mask, so no problema.

Mal
Old 02-04-2015, 09:45 PM
  #63  
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Hey guys, it's been a while since my last update but I can assure you that plenty of work has been done on the tank! Anyways, I'll get right to it.

105mm M68 Gun:

This is essentially the famous 105mm L7 produced under license. Part of the reason I chose to do the M60A3 variant was because of the heat sleeve on the front portion of the barrel, this cylindrical profile was easy to recreate using brass tubing. The M60A1 on the other hand, has a more conical front barrel. For my main gun, I started by cutting the various tubing sections to the correct lengths:



Some of these sections have varying diameters, to create the proper wall thickness. The bore evacuator in the middle was constructed using styrene. Here is the finished product:



The bellow section came off of the hose on my washing machine.


Mantlet:

The mantlet section on the M60A3 consisted of a traditional inner mantlet covered by an outer cloth skin. The trickiest part of this is finding the right material for the cloth. I decided the best way was to use a rubber balloon. First, I built the inner mantlet using styrene. The black tubing holds the bellow section while an inner brass tube acts as a collar to support the gun barrel:



Next, I used sculpted the mantlet shape using Milliput. No need to sand this smooth since the whole piece will be covered with a balloon. I also used styrene tubes to create the ports for the coaxial machine gun and viewport. Other small details on the mantlet were also added at this stage, such as the search light supports.



The balloon is finally stretched over the mantlet and the bellow. I used superglue to hold the rubber in place at the edges. By dabbing some glue over the inner mantlet, I was also able to create realistic folds that mimic the actual fabric very closely.




Turret Electronic Rack:

While I still had access to the laser cutter, I drew up some schematics and cut out a component rack. The inner turret mechanisms such as the gun pivot, recoil and elevation servo will be mounted onto this piece. This rack will also slide in and out of the mantlet hole, allowing for easy access:



I also installed twin flanged ball-bearings on each side:



Here is everything mounted and secured:



The recoil mechanism is not yet installed, since I still want to be able to pull out the gun barrel for easier painting. The recoil will be servo activated, and is of the same design as the one on my T-34. The gun pivot shaft is made from components scavenged from an old printer, along with bushings from a Tamiya RC car:



Due to the limited space, the elevation servo had to be mounted at the rear with a linkage rod connecting it to the gun. Both my elevation and recoil servos are metal-geared:



Mantlet Collar:

On the real M60A3, there is an accordion collar connecting the mantlet to the rest of the turret. I figured the best way to replicate this was to use the balloon technique again. Just like the mantlet, I made a styrene backing first:



Next, I connected the space in-between by stretching the balloon over it, creating the folds along the way. This wasn't easy to do since I ended up getting superglue almost everywhere... Nevertheless, I'm quite happy with the result. It's not exactly like on the real thing but it's pretty close!





Everything slides in nicely!




Here's what the tank looks like so far:












Next up, the commander's cupola!

Nate

Last edited by Captain Nemo12; 02-04-2015 at 09:47 PM.
Old 02-05-2015, 01:11 AM
  #64  
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Wow, your M60 is looking great!
Old 02-05-2015, 05:37 AM
  #65  
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Amazing work!
Old 02-05-2015, 05:43 AM
  #66  
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I really admire your skill at perfect scratch building! The balloon idea for the gun mantle dust cover is very clever --------- Why didn't I think of that?
rex
Old 02-05-2015, 07:32 AM
  #67  
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Looks great so far!!!
Old 02-05-2015, 08:27 AM
  #68  
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Looking good Nate Wow
Old 02-05-2015, 09:31 AM
  #69  
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Yes Sir!

Looking Good Indeed!

The Sight that was mounted on the Right side of the M68, at least from "84-87", was the M105D Telescope...

We used it in a couple ways:
This was the Fall Back Sight if we lost Power, the Computer or Laser Rangefinder.
You index Lead and Elevation/Range manually using Hash Marks built into the sight.

Also used for Snap Shot or Bore Sight Engagements.
When firing from Defilade positions.
The Gunner would look through the 105D as the Driver pulled Up into Firing position.
At the sane time the Loader would look through the Open Breach down the Gun Tube to make sure the Shot will clear the Burm.
Once clear, the Loader loads the requested Round Type and the Gunner would Stop the Driver.
The Gunner would then use the 105D to engage the target.

On the M60 in general.
Here is an interesting link:
http://www.tank-net.com/forums/?showtopic=35414

-gus
Old 02-05-2015, 10:04 AM
  #70  
Captain Nemo12
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Guys, thank you so much for the kind words!

Rex: I think the balloon idea came to me when I was about to doze off to sleep one night... I'm not sure if the rubber will deteriorate as time goes on, but I made sure that it wasn't too stretched to prevent it from tearing. Time will tell, but in any case, the whole cover is replaceable.

Gus: Thank you for your insight! I'll take a look at the documentary, it looks very informative. I've also decided to paint my tank with the MERDC scheme used during the REFORGER exercises back in the 80s, the winter verdant to be exact.
Old 02-12-2015, 05:20 PM
  #71  
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Hi Capt Nemo
I liked your balloon mantlet cover trick so much I copied it on my M26A1 - http://hobbyhavoc.com/forum/index.ph...5.msg36251#new - see reply 57. However, just had a warning from Mario, that the balloon rubber & plastic might react together & destroy the plastic. I used WAJ (What A Job - http://www.chirienterprise.com/Job-I...ob-Indust.html - read the spec sheet) on my turret as a casting effect surfacer, which will hopefully negate the problem - it's chemically inert. I'll have to check that I've got no rubber/plastic contact points hidden away between mantlet & turret.
Thought I'd pass on the warning. You're doing an excellent job on the M60, looking fwd to the next installment.

Mal
Old 02-12-2015, 07:49 PM
  #72  
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Hi Mal,

Nice to see that you have adapted the balloon idea! Since some of the M60A3s from the Reforger exercises had black mantlet covers, I might just leave mine unpainted:



My biggest worry is the rubber deteriorating over time. However, it does give me enough time for look for a more suitable cloth in the meantime. In that case I can simply rip the rubber from the styrene and glue on the new material.

Nate
Old 02-13-2015, 06:21 AM
  #73  
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I have found that old umbrella material works pretty good.

Herman
Old 02-13-2015, 06:22 AM
  #74  
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double post

Last edited by Green Amphibian; 02-13-2015 at 06:24 AM. Reason: double post
Old 02-23-2015, 09:17 PM
  #75  
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Time for an update!

Commander's Cupola Turret

The challenging part of this mini-turret is in its complex shape. Since the outline of the turret is octogonal, I started by cutting the base out and built up the vertical profiles:



Notice that the front of the turret is more flat, whereas the rear slopes downward. The spaces between the vertical profiles were covered with styrene, this created a stepped construction onto which I could apply the putty for the curved surfaces:





Here it is with Milliput applied and sanded, the cupola vision ports and other small details will be added during the detailing step:



Just like with the main turret, I used my balloon method to create the cloth covering for the MG mantlet. The MG barrel is a brass rod and the muzzle came off of an action figure rifle. I added additional scribed lines in the muzzle in an attempt to match the look of the real gun. The outer barrel portion came from a pen's ink tube:



In this case, multiple balloon layers were glued on to recreate the folds in the fabric:



The hatch cover is simply sculpted on top of a styrene outline. I wanted to have a commander figure in the cupola so I created a working hinge as well:



Close-up of the hinge:



It works!!



Just like the main turret, I wanted the cupola turret to be able to rotate. To do this, I opened up a whole in the main turret ceiling and installed a micro-servo:



The servo arm was then glued to the the cupola floor, the mini-turret is simply secured by attaching the servo arm to the servo shaft:



Here is the result!









Since the micro-servo has not been modified for 360 degrees/continuous rotation, the travel arc of the mini-turret is more or less 180 degrees. Nevertheless, I'm still happy to have a functional cupola turret! This will be controlled by the 5th or 6th channel on my radio.

With all the major structures on the tank completed, I can now proceed to the detailing step! I will start with the lower hull first and work my way up.

Cheers,

Nate

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