- Joined
- Apr 28, 2018
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- 10,939
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- First Name
- Jakko
The hull is now almost completely built per the instructions:
The only things missing are the wheels and track, the air cleaners (which go in the empty spaces on the mudguards) and a few other bits that I think the Israelis would have removed or fitted elsewhere. The air cleaners in the kit are the later top-loading type, that was also used on the M48A5 and M60A3, but going by photos, the Israelis seem to have kept using the older, side-loading type from the M48A3, M60 and M60A1 (and which they also fitted to their Centurions). So now I need to either modify the kit parts, or find acceptable side-loading ones somewhere.
When building this kit, and presumably Takom’s M48A3 and -A5, beware that the supports for the mudguards are all a very tight fit. Most will want to go in eventually with careful pressure and liquid cement, but both H13s (the ones behind the air cleaners) still won’t. The slots for them are simply too narrow, which is a bit odd because H12 (in front of the air cleaners) looks to be exactly the same as H13 but will fit in its own location — but also not in that of H13. I widened the slots on one mudguard by scraping with a knife, while on the other side, I filed down the tabs on H13 slightly. Both methods work, but filing was much quicker and easier, so I would recommend that.
The only things missing are the wheels and track, the air cleaners (which go in the empty spaces on the mudguards) and a few other bits that I think the Israelis would have removed or fitted elsewhere. The air cleaners in the kit are the later top-loading type, that was also used on the M48A5 and M60A3, but going by photos, the Israelis seem to have kept using the older, side-loading type from the M48A3, M60 and M60A1 (and which they also fitted to their Centurions). So now I need to either modify the kit parts, or find acceptable side-loading ones somewhere.
When building this kit, and presumably Takom’s M48A3 and -A5, beware that the supports for the mudguards are all a very tight fit. Most will want to go in eventually with careful pressure and liquid cement, but both H13s (the ones behind the air cleaners) still won’t. The slots for them are simply too narrow, which is a bit odd because H12 (in front of the air cleaners) looks to be exactly the same as H13 but will fit in its own location — but also not in that of H13. I widened the slots on one mudguard by scraping with a knife, while on the other side, I filed down the tabs on H13 slightly. Both methods work, but filing was much quicker and easier, so I would recommend that.