Why not finish an IP M1 while you’re at it?

[Jakko]

This is the donor kit for some of the parts I used for my M70A2 conversion: Tamiya’s M1A1 Abrams in Gulf War guise from 1992. I bought and built this ages ago (my best guess is about twenty years), converting it into an IP M1 rather than an M1A1. The differences are mainly in that the IP M1 holds the middle between the original M1 and the M1A1: it has a 105 mm gun rather than 120, short stowage bins along the turret sides, three instead of two blow-off panels on the turret and no NBC system on the left side of the hull, but does have the stowage rack and M1A1-style wind sensor on the back of the turret.

Here’s what was in the box when I opened it a few months ago to see if it contained anything I could use for my M70:



And the model itself:



I put a gun from another kit on it, scratchbuilt the turret roof panels and stowage bin on the left hull side, shortened the bins and extended the bars to the front, and replaced the cupola by one from a Dragon M1, since their M1A2 kit had a spare anyway for the earlier type. I also added MILES gear (laser fire simulator receivers) and the associated revolving light and smoke projector to the turret, plus a machine gun with blank firing adapter on the cupola.

It’s been painted in, as I recall, Tamiya desert yellow, which turned out to be a poor choice for the sand colour in the scheme used in the desert training areas in the USA where these tanks were used. For some reason I never got round to repainting it, though. That’s where I’m picking up now — since I was painting the M70 as well, I thought I’d finish this one along with it:



This is forest green from Mig painted on the hull bottom and sides, the backs of the wheels, plus other places where it would probably remain after painting the tank in desert camouflage. The model will be finished in a MERDC-like pattern of pale sand, field drab, yellow sand and black.

 

[Jakko]

I gave the model a coat of Tamiya XF-57 Buff and then sprayed a camouflage pattern with Vallejo Model Air 71.139 US Field Drab:



Though these tanks were in service in the era of MERDC camouflage the patterns visible in photos are not actually MERDC ones, but more “MERDC-inspired”, I suppose.

I’m not overly happy with the finish, though. The Vallejo paint didn’t cover all that well and was a bit thin to spray, and just as importantly, it’s far too light and brown for the colour in photos. I have a feeling that may have been olive drab rather than field drab, so maybe I’ll respray the model with that. Not sure yet.

Also, a comparison between the Mission Models modern US sand on my M70 and Tamiya buff on this M1:



This because when I’d sprayed both models in their base coats, I thought the colours looked very similar. The modern sand is slightly more yellow than the buff, but you could probably get away with using buff for a Gulf War vehicle, is my conclusion.