Mech wrote:I tried to do my Leo 2a6 on a desert camo
I don`t think germany sent them to Afghanistan, so there weren`t many photos to use
I found this scheme and tried to replicate
That's a cool pic there Mech...also nice job on your attempt at it as well.
Canada leased then purchased the Leopard 2A6M when they were in Afghanistan, and there aren't many pics of them either. Few pics of the Canadians with the Leopard C2 (upgraded 1A5) deployed in Afghanistan.
Doug
A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.
Bruce Lee
Hoth,
The only NATO 3 color cammoed M60s I've seen in the US military have been either static displays at gates or the USMC M60A1s with reactive armor. Not sure when they received the camouflage but I imagine it was in early 90s (guess on my part). I have seen actual pictures of them in a motor pool.
As for the colors I use, I use Vallejo for mine.
Not Leopards or M60s but the colors I used are:
1)white primer
2) base coat Vallejo Camouflage Olive Green (96) + Vallejo White (1) (just enough to lighten the color for scale)
3) brown camo Vallejo Saddle Brown (138)
4) black camo Vallejo Bronze Green (98 )
I also did a black wash on the entire vehicle. I don't do that anymore as it darkens the vehicle too much for my taste.
I don't really remember what colors i used
Here in Brazil things get to expensive, so I don't have many models and thus i tend to go to lower end paints, the regular acrylics you find on any paper shop
Though I have some GHQ's range
I primed the Leo with a cheap grey primer, used UK Sand Yellow for the base
The camo was a mix o cheap Salmon (the one i use for the soldier's flesh) and brown, I don't really remember if i mixed them or if i used another color on the mix
Following that I did a wash with a very diluted brown - i used to get it on a medicine dropper, soak it and let it dry, the results are not so good, they get a heavy wash on the lower parts (the tracks are nice), but don't really stick on the details so much
Thanks for the tips and really enjoyed your LAV-25s. I have them in the bull pin waiting for me to figure out how I can airbrush in a 670 sqft apartment with only one bedroom. Quick question, and you can PM if you want, but did you sand down the flash on the infantry egress door on the rear of the vehicle? If so, can you send me a picture of the back end? I bought a bunch and they are heavy on the flash for the infantry egress door.
Thanks.
Also, thanks everyone for posting pictures. They are great to look at and help inspire me to do my stuff.
Hoth,
So it's been a minute since I built these, but I took a look at them and saw that there is still a slight reminisce of two tab like pieces of flash on the back, one on each door. I used a sharp (new) exacto blade to cut them off. Most of the time flash on GHQ minis is fairly easy to remove with a good blade, but I seem to remember these being a little more challenging due to the other bits of detail on the back. I'll try to post a pic in the next day or two.
Thanks, helps alot. I started trimming it off and was concerned about the outcome. Was not certain if I was also taking off some detail. I am pretty sure I may have to re-scribe some of the hatch lines. Still debating on leaving the flash.. Pictures of the back would be awesome.
M60A3 - barrel shroud to prevent warping, laser cover over starboard blister (ex-coincidence range finger horn), air cleaner box slanted in front, T-142 track, wind sensor on stubby pole on top of turret, medium green or MERDC camo. The commander's sight on top of the cupola and the gunner's on top of the turret have rounded tops. There is no searchlight because the thermal sights don't need it. The slanted air cleaner box could be added to earlier models, so you will see A1s (like the Marine A1s in the Gulf) may have it, not to mention M60A2s and perhaps A1(RISE/Passive). Grenade launchers. I HEARD that the thermal sight on the A3 was better than that on the early M1, but that is hearsay only.
The M60A1 went through a series of improvements, not all of which are visible externally, such as RISE (Reliability Improved, Serviceability Enhanced), Add-on stabilization, passive sights. Early models had the side-loading air cleaners. I don't know when we went to the flat-top, top loading air-cleaners, but we did apply them to our M60A2s when we drew them at Vilseck in 1975. As I said, I have seen A1s with all three models. A1s also had flat tops on commander's and gunner's sight boxes. They may have, depending on the year, either the T-97, chevronned track, or the T-142 with removeable lozenge pads. I think we put T-142 track on our A1s in '77. We also got the VVS 3 searchlights, which are the small, rectangular ones. [we had A1(RISE/AOS) then]. The small "door" on the starboard turret blister, which was mandatory on the A3 for a laser cover) will not be on the A1 because it still used the co-incidence rangefinder. OD, 7th Army, or MERDC camo. One of our mods was the grenade launchers, which we got in 1977, along with new track, new camo, etc. The grenade launcher mounts were welded onto the turret, but we didn't have the cluster of launchers, so the tanks went around without them for quite a while.
Earlier models of the A1 will not appear as thick in the turret armor around the gun. The chin armor was thickened as a result of Israeli experience in the '73 war. It you are familiar with the early A1 by Tamiya in 1/35th scale, you can see the difference in it and the later M60A3 model.
The Army did not use the add-on armor operationally.
I think one Army battalion (in 197th Brigade) took A3s to Gulf 1.
Last edited by panzergator on Thu Aug 11, 2016 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
All blessings flow from a good mission statement.
Pogo was right. So was Ike.
"A Gentleman is a man who is only rude intentionally." (Churchill)
Give credit. Take responsibility.
The GHQ M60A1 has the side-loading air cleaner boxes. It should not have the wind sensor post on the top of the turret. You can clip it off or put a blob on it and paint it yellow to represent the Rotating Amber Warning System, which was mandated in '77 after a number of accidents on the autobahn and secondary roads - the new MERDC camo was so flat that it was hard to see the tanks at night, even in headlights, and while that was a good thing for tanks, it was a bad thing for civilian drivers. The platoon leader's and platoon sergeant's tanks would have two antennas, one longer than the other, while the other three tanks would have only one longer one. The paint colors depicted in the pic resemble the USAREUR camo that preceded MERDC, however the shades are incorrect - I think the Squadron M60-series book was used as an example and the printer of that cover got those wrong.
The GHQ M60A3 has the top-loading air cleaner boxes with the slant front. Both tanks have flat-topped sight boxes for commander and gunner, but at this scale, it hardly matters.
The GHQ M60A3 with add-on armor should be an M60A1 to depict the First Gulf Marine tanks, but who knows, maybe they COULD have added the heat shroud on the barrel.
A1s were incrementally upgraded, and our tanks in 1977 were good examples. Various improvements were added as they became available. If we had added the grenade launcher clusters to the mounts and a barrel shroud, one would have had to look very closely to tell they weren't A3s.
My M60A1s are all the previous casting, and I intend to build a battalion of the new casting M60A1, which will mean, for me, grinding the hinge off those air cleaner boxes to make them the top-loading, flat-topped box. I can be a little OCD about those details.
Anyway, those and the preceding post are the visual differences between models. The M60 and M60A2 are obvious. In any case, GHQ no longer produces either model. In my opinion, GHQ does all that could be asked to produce an excellent model for these tanks.
All blessings flow from a good mission statement.
Pogo was right. So was Ike.
"A Gentleman is a man who is only rude intentionally." (Churchill)
Give credit. Take responsibility.
Thanks for all the great info. I too love the M60 even more than some of the modern tanks. I love the profile of the tanks and from what I have read, its still a good tank today. Even more so if they up gun and make improvements. I hope they do, would be nice to see them live on for at least a little longer.
I totally agree that GHQ does great with the vehicles they put out. I love the M60 models. However, being human, I wish they would put out an updated M60A1 similar to the Gulf war vehicles even if the current M60A3 model is similar... However, I do understand that if they differences are not great, there is really no point. It is a simple book keeping measure to have a model type pull double duty in a game.. LOL.
You can correct the problem with brass rod. Take a turret to the hobby shop to compare with the brass rods there, get one size for the barrel and a slightly bigger and hollow size to slide over the barrel for the bore evacuator. That's all you need to do. The other differences are so small you have to know to look. The Marine upgrades included the slant-front air cleaner boxes and the grenade launchers. I don't know if they had passive or thermal sights, but Paul can probably enlighten us.
I do have a book with a pic of an Egyptian M60A? It has barrel heat shroud AND a searchlight. It's commander's and gunner's boxes are flat. Egypt did get a shipment of A3s which they used in Gulf 1. Just general info. I only model NATO an Russian units, and most are US.
All blessings flow from a good mission statement.
Pogo was right. So was Ike.
"A Gentleman is a man who is only rude intentionally." (Churchill)
Give credit. Take responsibility.
