M1A2 SEP v3 - Australia’s new Abrams (1/16)

[GMK]

Further progress on the UAAPU deck.

 

The Tamiya upper hull has had its left corner cut out. I briefly debated sanding this smooth & adding detail to the upper surface, but decided on the ‘cut & replace’ method. 
 

 

I designed two pieces for printing, a blank to confirm basic dimensions & a somewhat detailed piece for look & feel. 
 

 

I’ve updated the detailed design & refined some dimensions. Here’s where it is as of today:

 

Hopefully I can complete the hinges for the two panels with the raised edges & get a print done, today. 
 

Thanks for looking in. 

Edited January 31 by GMK

[GMK]

Integration with kit parts is always tricky. Here’s how the UAAPU deck fits compared to the butchered kit part. 
 

Kit part (note location of the screw hole relative to the back plate): 

 

My part:

 

Will see how the whole aligns - or not. 
 

Next is version two of the APU exhaust on the rear plate prior to detailing, as well as the beefed up rear lift point that’s integrated with the hinge for the engine grills. 
 

 

The other side, with slave starting box (top) & infantry/tank telephone prior to detailing (large box w/cut corner).

 

Thanks for looking in. 

[Smokeyforgothispassword]

A decade ago I heard the odd old fart stating that 3D printing would be the end of model making..Mate, you've not only proven them wrong you've also inspired old farts like me

 

Beautiful work, both on the CAD side and printing side

[GMK]

22 hours ago, Smokeyforgothispassword said:

A decade ago I heard the odd old fart stating that 3D printing would be the end of model making..Mate, you've not only proven them wrong you've also inspired old farts like me

 

Beautiful work, both on the CAD side and printing side

Too kind, mate. The more people realise that CAD & 3D printing are just additional tools available, the healthier the hobby gets, imo. 
 

Minor progress today, finished detailing the exhaust for the under armour auxiliary power unit & drew up the new slotted mud guard. 
 

 

Just need to finish the figure 8 tow points, the slave starter/infantry telephone box, & the tow pintle reinforcing & the rear of the hull can progress to assembly. 
 

Thanks for looking in. 

[GMK]

Some test prints of the rear deck details - this time comparing the rear lift points & how they differ between the all earlier Abrams & the SEP v3. My parts are in grey. 
 

 

 

Here’s an overview of the hull rear as it stands.  Very close to having the fittings & fixtures done. 

 

Almost time to return my attention to the exhaust grills, slats, & deep water fording kit mount. 
 

Thanks for looking in. 

[GMK]

Still eyeballs-deep in a concerted push to finish the updates to the rear of the hull. 
 

I’ve adopted a hybrid approach to the rear hull plate proper by modifying my engine grills to fit within the kit piece. 
 

 

Overall shot:

 

This one will be tricky to print: trying for one piece for the LHS grille & another single piece for the RHS pair. 
 

Thanks for looking in.  

[GMK]

Looks like the rear lower plate is done & ready for assembly!

 

The SEP v3 weight gain - Abrams is in its mid 40’s, so there’s no shame in a bit of weight gain - manifests itself by the beefing up of existing tow & lift points and the addition of some new ones. 
 

On the model part, these can be seen in grey:

 

Another view showing the distinctive figure 8 points. 
 

 

Thanks for looking in!

 

 

[GMK]

The integration of my engine grills to the kit backplate continues to be a bit of a journey. 
 

I’ve had a couple of issues with printing the grills, though mainly self-imposed. With resin printing, every layer adds to print duration. To save time, I’d been printing with the grills parallel to the build plate. All that was being achieved was a faster route to failure. 
 

For this iteration, I tried both parallel & perpendicular, accepting that a 2,500-layer print would take 12-13 hours. 
 

 

 

The bowing on the parallel/horizontal print is visible in the first image. Looks like the vertical is the way to go. 
 

Here it is all cleaned up. Decent proof of concept. 

 

Integration test 1 - in this case with the upper/lower hull screw mount. 

 

Locates properly on the right, tweaks required on the left. 
 

Integration test 2 - overall. Some more material requires removal on the back plate. 

 

Here’s the aggregate of the rear hull of the SEP v3 dry fit. 

 

Thanks for looking in. 

Edited February 10 by GMK

[GMK]

What I’m hoping is the last engine grill update prior to assembly & painting….

 

Looks like it’s all done & dusted. 
 

 

That was far fiddlier than expected!

 

Thanks for looking in. 

[GMK]

Moving on to the front of the hull, the lower glacis appears to have been thickened, along with the SEP v3 standard reinforcement of tow- & lift-points. 
 

Here’s the piece straight off the printer. 

 

Initial fit check. 
 

 

 

Will check the CAD vs the part to see whether shrinkage accounts for the alignment issues I’m seeing. 
 

Thanks for looking in. 

[GMK]

Brief segue back to the bustle rack & bustle rack extension. The previous iteration had been tweaked to be point that it was challenging my laptop’s ability to process it. 
 

Soooo, started it from scratch. Far easier & faster the second time around. Ideally it’ll be done before the start of the week. Here it is after two sessions. 
 

 

Unlike previous versions, the bustle rack of the SEP v3 has additional bracing at the corners. 
 

Thanks for looking in. 

[Uncarina]

Brilliant work!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[GMK]

On 2/20/2024 at 12:37 AM, Uncarina said:

Brilliant work!

 

Cheers,  Tom

Thanks Tom, am enjoying the work. 
 

It took five sessions to re-draw the bustle rack & bustle rack extension, a lot shorter than the first go around. 

 

A lesson learnt from last time is incrementally adjusting the interfaces of the bustle rack with the rear of the turret before completing the detailing of the piece. 
 

The first interface step was horizontal spacing & the inlet step. 
 

The second was adding the top hangers, which was a problem on the first version of the part. 
 

 

Now I’ve added the mesh to the bustle rack & bustle rack extension assembly. 
 

 

A little bit of refinement to go & this is done. 
 

Thanks for looking in. 

[Barry]

Excellent work sir!!

 

I took the hard way using brass rod, strips and sheet.

 

 

 

 

Extension in stowed position.

 

Don't mean to high jack you post.

 

Your are doing an awesome job!

 

Barry

[GMK]

Nice work, Barry! I used the traditional methods for my Australian M1A1, but not to your high standards. Where did you get your mesh from? Really nice work. 
 

More fit & size checks. 
 

 

 

I’ve had a bit of trouble with the processor of my laptop handling the mesh models I’ve drawn, so may need to draw up the BRE for a third time. Ah well. 
 

New component time. No idea what this bit is called, but it’s unique to the SEP v3 & is located at the rear on the top of the turret. 
 

 

 

Thanks for looking in.