M60A1 RISE with Dozer Blade

Reference. 

 

Sprues and parts washed in soapy water, organized, ready to start. 

Lower hull: In the hull there is still evidence of having had an electric motor and gearbox in the past. 

Lefthand view of the lower hull.
Ensure that the mating surfaces are clean between the bottom hull and parts B1 and B2. Secure with tape until dry as suggested in the instructions.
There are slight seamlines on the shock absorbers. This will however not be visible once all assembled. 

Righthand view of the lower hull.
Do not mix up the swing arms. The swing arms slots in and ensures a level stance. Alternatively, should you cut off the locating end of the swing arms, you may pose the suspension to follow an uneven surface. 

View from the top of the lower hull. 

Lower hull assembled.
Fit tracks in the sprockets before drying to ensure that it fits and that the gap is not too narrow.
There are no locating pins/indicators for attaching the passive armour. 

Front view of the lower hull. Note that the passive armour G-27, and towing hooks E-30 have to be removed to install the dozer blade. 

Rear view of the lower hull.
The towing hook assembly at the back must be horizontal. 

Upper hull: The position of smaller parts is not always clear. Cut the tabs off C-17 (right) and C-18 (left) as suggested. Otherwise, it will not sit flush on the bins. There are no locating pins/indicators for attaching the passive armour. I had to revert to reference photographs as well as the box art. 

Inside the red oval shows the mechanism of the driver’s hatch which was assembled and installed as indicated in the instructions. Shave off the wings on part G-26 passive armour (highlighted within the yellow oval) should you want to fit both the dozer blade and the passive armour. 

If you plan to install the dozer blade, you should substitute the headlights and headlight guard at this stage. Modify the light guards, parts B-18 and B-19 to be co-glued with P-18 and P-19. Replaced the headlights, parts C-30 and C-31 with the taller version, parts N-14 and N-15. Further modifications are necessary to remove the location pedestals. 

Turret: The smoke dispensers E-19 and E-21 are marked “Left” and E-20 and E-22 are marked “Right”.
I drilled out the location marks in order to secure the smoke dispensers more securely. 

There are prominent sinkholes on the top of the parts that need addressing.
The photographs in the instructions showing the placement of the passive armour are invaluable.
First start with the subassemblies of the larger passive armour plates, and allow to dry.
Secondly assemble and glue the smoke dispensers to the turret. 

Assemble the turret basket. Use the templates provided to cut the woven material. 

Attach the passive armour starting with the mantlet. Stubs do not make contact everywhere on the surface of the turret. 

 

 

 

Commander's turret: Construction is straight forward. 

Very shallow contact between the visor’s shield. 

Dozer blade: Do not remove this rib. 

Check the instructions to not mix up the parts. Some of the parts appear to be similar, but ever so slightly differ. 

Compare the correction sheet with the original and glue the correct parts together. 

I used a piece of wire to ensure that the holes on the attachment points line up before the parts fully dry in position. The subassemblies are specific in respect to specific sides. Continuously check your progress on the instructions before applying glue. 

The mayor subassemblies has been painted in Tamiya NATO Black XF-69, thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 50/50 ratio. 

Smaller items also painted in Tamiya NATO Black XF-69, thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 50/50 ratio. 

There are no locating pins on assembling the backpacks.
There are slight seamlines on the spare tracks as well as sink marks on the pads that requires filling and sanding. Assembling the tracks is a fiddly business. 

After allowing to dry, highlights were added using Highlights on all subassemblies: Tamiya White XF-2, thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 50/50 ratio. I drilled out the main weapon on the commander’s turret. 

Reference photographs show two antennas mounted on the turret.  

Two antennas are made from automotive wire. The antenna base is 5mm lengths of the insulation. Everything was painted in Tamiya Metal Primer and left to dry. 

Red Arrow: Shows the moulded-on antenna base. On trying to drill out the base to receive the antenna, the top partially crumbled and I filed it down.
Yellow Arrow: Following reference photographs, this seems to be an antenna base. I drilled it out to receive an antenna. 

The moulded-on antenna base at the red arrow was replicated at the yellow arrow. 

Step 15: Note that part E-23 and E-24 must be glued from the bottom to the top of the upper hull between D=11 and D-12 respectively. The fit is very snug. 

Laid down the basecoat, Tamiya Dark Yellow XF-60, thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 30% paint/70% thinners ratio. 

 

 

Laid down the basecoat, Tamiya Buff XF-57, thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 10% paint/90% thinners ratio. 

Soot on the back of the engine hatches were painted with Tamiya NATO Black XF-69. 

 

 

The modulation seems very subtle on the Hull and Turrets. 

The scratch build antennas after being painted in Tamiya Buff XF-57. 

Decaling. I painted the whole model with Tamiya Clear gloss X-22 and allowed to dry. Followed the instructions. 

Decal number 4 went on without problems. The carrier film disappeared after a clear gloss coat. 

Decals 2 and 7 went on without a problem. All four decal number 1 disintegrated beyond repair. I tried to draw it on by hand using a reference photo. Fortunately, it is a simple design (inverted “V”), and could I make a stencil. 

Decal number 3 and 6 went on without problems. 

I photocopied the remaining decals, number 5 (which) is white and changed the background which gave me the basic shape. 

And there you have it. 

I decided to go the easier route and first sprayed the raised armour panels with Tamiya Semi-Gloss Black X-18. Using the stencil I made, I laid down the tactical markings using tape. 

Next following the previous order, highlights were added on all subassemblies with Tamiya White XF-2, thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 50/50 ratio. Followed by Tamiya Dark Yellow XF-60, thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 30% paint/70% thinners ratio. 

The outcome sealed with a clear coat. The pre-shading/modulation is still visible. 

Very late in the game I decided to reposition the suspension arms before starting with the weathering stage. This was done based on a reference photograph. I used pliers to break off the center two suspension arms. In for a penny, in for a pound. 

 

The axels were drilled out and 1mm styrene rod was glued into place to line up the swingarms. 

Looking much better. 

Using an old picture frame, I am setting up a simple diorama. 

Marking out the location of the obstacle. 

The track links were painted Tamiya Metallic Grey XF-56 and the pads were dry brushed with Tamiya Rubber Black XF-85. The track horns were painted in Ammo Metal Acrylic Color Steel A MIG-0191. The inner part of the tracks was painted with Tamiya NATO Black XF-69, thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 50/50 ratio. The parts where the roadwheels, idlers and return rollers would come into contact with the tracks were painted Tamiya Semi-Black X-18. 

Tracks and spare track links: Ammo Pigment Fixer A.MIG-3000 was used to apply MIG Productions Beach Sand P030 on the outside and inside surfaces. Further to this MIG Productions Gulf War Sand P037 was applied to the outside surfaces. After the rubber pads on the outside surfaces were painted again with Tamiya Rubber Black XF-85. As a final weathering step, the spaces between the track links were highlighted with Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (Brown). The simulated/moulded track pins were highlighted with Ammo Engine Fuel & Oil - Engine Grime A.MIG-1407. 

Armoured glass: 1) Brush painted Tamiya Clear Green X-25 on the left, Tamiya Clear Blue X-23 in the center and Blue on green on the right; 2) Airbrushed Tamiya Clear Green X-25 and Tamiya Clear Blue X-23 at a 50/50 ratio thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 50% paint/50% thinners ratio on the left and brush painted the same mixture on the right; 3) Airbrushed Tamiya Clear Green X-25 and Tamiya Clear Blue X-23 at a 50/50 ratio thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 50% paint/50% thinners ratio; 4) Airbrushed Tamiya Clear Green X-25 and Tamiya Clear Blue X-23 at a 50/50 ratio not thinned. Number 4 was my choice. 

All the components were given a oil dot filter of Oil Paint Titanium White, Oil Paint Yellow Ochre, Oil Paint Burnt Sienna and spreaded by Enamel Odourless Thinners followed by Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (Brown) and Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (Black). 

 

 

The dozer blade was sprayed with Ammo Metal Acrylic Color Steel A MIG-0191. 

 

 

 

Building up the diorama using cork tiles and foam rubber. The whole contraption will be glued onto plate glass. 

Forming the foam rubber and cork. All will be covered in wood glue before any paint will be applied. 

After copious layers of PVA glue, the base was painted with Mr. Surfacer 1000 grey. 

The picture frame was taped off with masking tape and the cork was glued to the glass surface using 5-minute epoxy. The surface after being covered in fine plaster sand was painted with Tamiya Desert Yellow XF-59. I also glued a bolt and nut into place to secure the tank in place. 

The cork has been lined with veneer, trimmed to follow the contours. Both the frame and veneer was oiled in furniture oil. 

The cork has been lined with veneer, trimmed to follow the contours. Both the frame and veneer was oiled in furniture oil. 

 

 

A few drops of Tamiya Olive Drab XF-62 were mixed with Tamiya White XF-2 to get a green matching. For the brown Tamiya NATO Brown XF-68 was applied. This pattern will be painted on the flak jackets, covers for the tarpaulins and allice packs. 

I started off with Tamiya Buff XF-57 on the flak jackets followed by Tamiya Dark Yellow XF-60 for the overalls and helmets. The helmet liners, earmuffs, boots and dust proof goggles were painted Humbrol Gloss Black 21. 

 

Flesh: The Ammo Oilbrusher set Flesh Tones A.MIG-7500 did not perform well and I used Humbrol Enamel Matt 46 Orange as a base coat. The microphones and cords were scratch build. 

Backpacks, Tents, Stretchers: Tamiya NATO Black XF69 as primer, Tamiya Buff XF-57 and Tamiya NATO Black XF-69, thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 50/50 ratio. (straps), Tamiya Olive Drab XF-62 (backpack frame), AMMO Metal Acrylic Color Steel A MIG-0191 (stretcher frame). As a prelude to the camouflage pattern and oil washes, the paint was sealed in with Tamiya Clear X-22. 

Spare Idlers: Tamiya NATO Black XF-69 as primer, Tamiya Buff XF-57, The rubber part of the road wheels: Tamiya Rubber Black XF-85, thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner at a 50/50 ratio. 

All the components were given an oil dot filter of Oil Paint Titanium White, Oil Paint Yellow Ochre, Oil Paint Burnt Sienna and spreaded by Enamel Odourless Thinners followed by Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (Brown) and Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (Black). 

Filters applied. Flesh: The Ammo Oilbrusher set Flesh Tones A.MIG-7500 did not perform well and I used Humbrol Enamel Matt 46 Orange as a base coat. 

Filters applied. The M-16 rifle and ration pack boxes were taken from Tamiya’s Modern U.S. Accessory Set. The kit supplied bags were secured with scratch build straps to the external armour plates. 

Uniting all the elements. The entire model was lightly chipped and everything was sealed in with Tamiya Flat Clear XF-86. 

 

 

 

 

 

This crewman in the commander’s turret has been modified to have a helmet mike and helmet cord. From the Tamiya Modern U.S. Accessory Set a pair of binoculars were added. 

The only modification to the driver figure was the addition of a helmet mike and helmet cord made from copper wire. 

The vehicle commander was issued with a M-16 from the Tamiya Modern U.S. Accessory Set. Again, a helmet mike and helmet cord were added. Under normal circumstances he would have left his vehicle helmet on the vehicle and be donning an infantry helmet. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To break up the monotonous colour scheme, I scratch made an air identification panel.