Uncarina Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 (edited) As a SECOND entry into the 1/16 armor realm, I have the excellent Heng Long 1/16 Abrams M1A2. This has outstanding detail and a high level of accuracy, with only a few concessions to it's RC functionality: Of course I cannot leave well enough alone. In addition to removing molded shortcuts like handles, wires, etc, I will be adding the anti-skid texture, and the biggy: a backdate to the M1A1HC "All Bout Da Bones" Iraq 2003. Cheers, Tom Edited October 6, 2017 by Uncarina GMK, Dragon and LSP_Paul 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted December 26, 2015 Author Share Posted December 26, 2015 I've upgraded the basic kit with metal pivot arms, springs, wheels, idlers, sprockets, and tracks (with rubber pads), and added a 360 degree rotation to the turret. My modifications so far: Drilled lightening holes in the sprockets: Replace molded wires on the front deck: Added casting numbers to the turret with shaved sprue: And to the rear deck: And made a start on biggest modification, a scratchbuilt cupola (shown with a 1/35 counterpart): Cheers, and Happy Holidays, Tom Menelaos, Vandy 1 VX 4, Joe66 and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Excellent, I'll be watching. I have been wondering if the Heng Long offering was a good starting point for a large scale Abrams as it is the only game I have found. Barry Uncarina 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Wowzers! That's going to be one mean machine when you're finished, Tom! John Uncarina 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 Excellent, I'll be watching. I have been wondering if the Heng Long offering was a good starting point for a large scale Abrams as it is the only game I have found. Barry Barry, this is totally worth it! It rivals the Tamiya kits for accuracy, and can be found for half the price of their static 1/16 tanks. Wowzers! That's going to be one mean machine when you're finished, Tom! John Thanks, John! It sure is big and fun! Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 With the Trumpeter 1/16 Abrams coming out, might be worth seeing if they do the other variants as well. Large scale tanks are always fun, will be looking forward to the conversion here. Matt Uncarina 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 Thanks, Matt! So far so good! I'm also curious about Trumpeter's announced T-72 release. Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 few walkarounds http://svsm.org/gallery/m1family Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 few walkarounds http://svsm.org/gallery/m1family Thanks, Martin! Awesome! I was talking tanks with Paul the other day and the subject of the Abrams came up... I was pining for a 2A6M(Can) and the talk turned to these. With all the love the Leo has been getting with kit makers lately, it's good to see someone doing an Abrams. Ernie, some parts of this build are stretching my limits: I've done a fair amount of scratchbuilding but nothing like a 1/16 commanders station! At the same time I highly recommend this kind of modeling therapy. Glad I listened to that couple sitting on my shoulder! Cheers, Tom LSP_Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 Outstanding! That will be one uber-cool build, and I will be watching out for it! I will be curious to see what you do with the slat armor and the Barracuda camo mats. Bring it to the party! Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted December 29, 2015 Author Share Posted December 29, 2015 Maru, Thank you! I really appreciate your encouragement: so far so good with the build. Cheers, Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 (edited) An update: I've made progress on the cupola, corrected the shape of the front fender springs, and worked a little on the cutouts on the back tail lights. Cheers, Tom First, the 1/35 prototype: Edited December 30, 2015 by Uncarina mywifehatesmodels, Dragon and Out2gtcha 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Tom, Is the commander's hatch in the last photo all scratch built? Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted December 31, 2015 Author Share Posted December 31, 2015 Barry, Indeed! A cap from my daughter's pencil sharpener forms the base, the rest from styrene. I have more to do! Cheers, Tom Dragon and LSP_Paul 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 (edited) Impressive....looks the part! I was thinking about having a go at an M1A2 SEP V2. I really like the Remote Weapons Station. It would require a ton of scratch building though. Barry Edited December 31, 2015 by Barry Uncarina 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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