As most of you know by now, TongDe currently markets 3 M60 variants. The M60a1 Rise for the USMC Desert Storm, the essential M60a3 and the IDF M60 which is kinda close to what the real thing looks like but not quite. The IDF m60 that TD chose to make is called a Magatch 7 in the IDF. The M6a1/a3 series are called Magatch 6 and the M48a5 was called a Magatch 5 after its upgrades but was called a Magatch 3/4 before the 105 gun and bigger engine was installed in it.
Any way the IDF did so many upgrades to their Patton tanks its hard to keep track of them and get all the details right but I commend TD for their effort on their Magatch 7 M60. That also offers us kitbashing options to build more tanks with.
I mixed and matched parts to make up an early 1960 issue M60 as best as I could with what I could get piecemeal from TD.
I started with an all metal A3 chassis but purchased the metal gusseted wheels as they represent the aluminum early wheels that were on the M60/ a1/a2 for most of its production. Later on they came up with the steel wheels without gussets. I ordered the parts tree sets for both the A3 and the early round turret and the hulls so that I would have everything I needed except the Commanders armored machine gun coupola. That I will trade from another club member that is building a starship A2 and will not need it.
First impression was it was going to look really cool, after I filled in all those damn holes. And there are alot of holes, plus you have to figure out which ones not to fill in as well.
Several coats of bondo and spot putty and primer and sand and primer again made them go away.
I already posted how to remove the barrel and get into the turret to start making a recoiling barrel, which I have not done yet. I will work on it further when I can get a servo recoil unit and an M68 barrel when I go pick up my order of parts from JVM3D. For now Im just driving it with the stock radio system it came with but it does not have servo recoil so I will have to upgrade the board eventually as well.
I cut the ugly tow hooks off the rear lugs and cleaned them up and mounted them and I measured the tow lugs on the front of my DKLM M60a3 and cut down the front TD lugs to match the size that is on my DKLM model. They look so much better now.
So here are some photos along the way and my paint job.
I have searched hard for what I considder the right color Olive drab for the 50s/60s era which is FS24087. There is a lot of controversy among modelers about OD and the color name, becuase the Army reclassified its colors a few times sometimes applying the same Federal Stanadard number to a different shade of OD Entirely. But I do know that this color FS24087 during this era typically had two shades, yes two distinctly different colors, which makes it even that more complicated. One shade was more of a green OD while the other was more of a brown OD and they were both the same stock number. AK makes a 34087 color , the leading digit 1 2 or 3 identifies its sheen, 1 high gloss, 2 semi gloss, 3 lusterless, but the AK color is much lighter in shade and is closer to the WWII OD319 from 1944 onward. This is because of the DOD changing colors and names around again in the 80s.
So without a stock color that I really felt looked right, I decided to walk out to my army jeep and just match its FS24087 color. After all I know what that color looks like and its the greener shade of 24087 OD.
I have mixed alot of OD in my modeling career and have tried many ways but starting with the basics of black and Ochre is the best. I used tamiya black and orange. After a few mixes I settled on a 2-1 mix of Orange to black. Thats about a %66 / %33 ratio. It did come out on the dark greener side of the OD spectrum as was my jeep when I freshly repainted it in 2020. I could have gone with a 70/30 mixture which would have toned the green down a little and the brown up a little. The brown starts to become prevalent around the 75/25 ratio. The more black, the greener the color the more orange the browner the color or before it gets to brown, the lighter green the OD shade is.
So, to my eyes the color looks spot on for color chips of the paint that I have and how my jeep looked when it was fresh as well as my old powerwagon when it was still in fresh paint. OD fades quick in the sun and thats one reason the Army liked the Semigloss finish, it was easier to maintain the vehicles and lasted longer before it would fade out and rust through. OD is not a very good moisture barrier paint.
Because of the colors of the tamiya paints being gloss finish the tank is a high gloss, which also makes the color appear much darker than if it were flattened out. I plan to spray a satin clear coat over the tank when its done, after I get that commanders cupola and get it painted up.
Note, the OD color appears darker in these pictures than it actually is.
Any way the IDF did so many upgrades to their Patton tanks its hard to keep track of them and get all the details right but I commend TD for their effort on their Magatch 7 M60. That also offers us kitbashing options to build more tanks with.
I mixed and matched parts to make up an early 1960 issue M60 as best as I could with what I could get piecemeal from TD.
I started with an all metal A3 chassis but purchased the metal gusseted wheels as they represent the aluminum early wheels that were on the M60/ a1/a2 for most of its production. Later on they came up with the steel wheels without gussets. I ordered the parts tree sets for both the A3 and the early round turret and the hulls so that I would have everything I needed except the Commanders armored machine gun coupola. That I will trade from another club member that is building a starship A2 and will not need it.
First impression was it was going to look really cool, after I filled in all those damn holes. And there are alot of holes, plus you have to figure out which ones not to fill in as well.
Several coats of bondo and spot putty and primer and sand and primer again made them go away.
I already posted how to remove the barrel and get into the turret to start making a recoiling barrel, which I have not done yet. I will work on it further when I can get a servo recoil unit and an M68 barrel when I go pick up my order of parts from JVM3D. For now Im just driving it with the stock radio system it came with but it does not have servo recoil so I will have to upgrade the board eventually as well.
I cut the ugly tow hooks off the rear lugs and cleaned them up and mounted them and I measured the tow lugs on the front of my DKLM M60a3 and cut down the front TD lugs to match the size that is on my DKLM model. They look so much better now.
So here are some photos along the way and my paint job.
I have searched hard for what I considder the right color Olive drab for the 50s/60s era which is FS24087. There is a lot of controversy among modelers about OD and the color name, becuase the Army reclassified its colors a few times sometimes applying the same Federal Stanadard number to a different shade of OD Entirely. But I do know that this color FS24087 during this era typically had two shades, yes two distinctly different colors, which makes it even that more complicated. One shade was more of a green OD while the other was more of a brown OD and they were both the same stock number. AK makes a 34087 color , the leading digit 1 2 or 3 identifies its sheen, 1 high gloss, 2 semi gloss, 3 lusterless, but the AK color is much lighter in shade and is closer to the WWII OD319 from 1944 onward. This is because of the DOD changing colors and names around again in the 80s.
So without a stock color that I really felt looked right, I decided to walk out to my army jeep and just match its FS24087 color. After all I know what that color looks like and its the greener shade of 24087 OD.
I have mixed alot of OD in my modeling career and have tried many ways but starting with the basics of black and Ochre is the best. I used tamiya black and orange. After a few mixes I settled on a 2-1 mix of Orange to black. Thats about a %66 / %33 ratio. It did come out on the dark greener side of the OD spectrum as was my jeep when I freshly repainted it in 2020. I could have gone with a 70/30 mixture which would have toned the green down a little and the brown up a little. The brown starts to become prevalent around the 75/25 ratio. The more black, the greener the color the more orange the browner the color or before it gets to brown, the lighter green the OD shade is.
So, to my eyes the color looks spot on for color chips of the paint that I have and how my jeep looked when it was fresh as well as my old powerwagon when it was still in fresh paint. OD fades quick in the sun and thats one reason the Army liked the Semigloss finish, it was easier to maintain the vehicles and lasted longer before it would fade out and rust through. OD is not a very good moisture barrier paint.
Because of the colors of the tamiya paints being gloss finish the tank is a high gloss, which also makes the color appear much darker than if it were flattened out. I plan to spray a satin clear coat over the tank when its done, after I get that commanders cupola and get it painted up.
Note, the OD color appears darker in these pictures than it actually is.
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