Meng M1A2 Abrams TUSK II

[BUCKY]

Those tracks are looking very nice!! Turret is pretty massive looking.

[JCON]

Build is coming along nicely, pass the ribs over please... love some good ol' slow cooked ribs, they just fall off the bone!!!

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

Way better-looking kit than the 88 Revell version.

[doogie]

Looking great! Those tracks are no joke, holy cow.

[thug626]

Jeff In my household you'd be fashionably early. It build up quickly. There are a few spots that the directions are not clear, but one can puzzle it out.
Keith It's a monster. It dwarfs a CV-33 tankette I built a while ago. I'm pretty sure the HVAC unit on the rear rack has more power than the CV-33.
Jcon Were you here I'd have gladly passed you the platter. Though after last night, I am painting a big red X on my front door. The flu dropped me like a home sick brick. Dammit!
Bruce I've never seen that kit but I would surmise that the answer would be a "OH heck yeah!"
Doogie Thank you kindly my good man.

The flu has now hit this house, and by the sounds of it my lovely wife is getting it. Crap. Crap. Crap. I can only handle watching so much TV. So, I hit the bench. A good distraction therapy. I got the smoke dischargers on, the side boxes, the rear rack with the HVAC, and the additional rear rack.








The smoke dischargers are empty. I'll be filling them up after the base coat gets started. The CITV got installed. I painted a custom mix of red, backed by chrome paint. I have an idea for the iridescent appearance of the lenses. But not yet.

[BUCKY]

Nice progress, in spite of the flu bug!!

[thug626]

Thank you Keith I'm kind of crusty at baseline. Getting sick does nothing for my disposition. The bench helps. My wife used to chew me out for being at the bench when its cold and I'm sick. She's a doc by the way. So I explained it in a direct way that I'll not explain here due to the family presence at this site. Let's just say there were a few choice expletives (not directed at her mind you), that she laughed heartily at, and agreed that it is better that I am at the bench. I love that woman. She loves this crusty Son o......never mind.

[JCON]

Sounds like you are blessed like I am with a good woman Dave!!! Get well soon and sending prayers your way for the whole family!!!

[BUCKY]

Jan 13, 2018 19:55:50 GMT -6 thug626 said:

Thank you Keith I'm kind of crust at baseline. Getting sick does nothing for my disposition. The bench helps. My wife used to chew me out for being at the bench when its cold and I'm sick. She's a doc by the way. So I explained it in a direct way that I'll not explain here due to the family presence at this site. Let's just say there were a few choice expletives (not directed at her mind you), that she laughed heartily at, and agreed that it is better that I am at the bench. I love that woman. She loves this crusty Son o......never mind.

Sometimes, when I'm under the weather, if I just go into the hobby room and sit at the bench and blankly stare at stuff, it helps me feel better!!

[JCON]

Yup, me too!!! Therapeutic!!!

[CarlRF (R.I.P.)]

I see that nun-skid now . Nice detail all over .

I got flu and pneumonia shots first time this year . I just hope it helps.

Good luck with getting over the illness Dave .

An understanding wife is is pure joy

[JEFF]

Sorry to hear you Guy's are under the weather, Dave. Hang in there, Bro.

Nice update by the way.

[ogrejohn]

That is some fine looking work Dave!

[thug626]

Jcon Amen to the first, and thank you kindly for the second brother.
Keith I hear ya. Sometimes I just sit and stare.
Carl The nun-skid really does start to show up when paint is laid down. It's better today. Now its just dealing with the viral aftermath. Yes, yes it is.
Jeff Thank you kindly buddy. Everything is on the mend. Got a couple of things done around the house.
Ogrejohn Thank you very much my good man.

Here's a heads up for anyone building a Meng Abrams kit. You're going to want to sand down the sides of the periscopes for the commanders cupola. Just enough to allow them to slide in a bit easier that when I just dealt with. As it is, they are a snug fit and distorted the ring just enough that the gun ring wouldn't fit or move. So, a lot of delicate sanding was involved to get the assembly to fit well enough to be able to traverse the gun ring.

The primer was Vallejo RAL8012. The top coat is MIG Sand



The cupola is dry fitted here. The main gun became a permanent fixture last night. The turret with both rear racks and minus the main gun scales out to about eighteen feet. That's one foot longer than my pickup!

More shielding for the commanders cupola. This is only dry fitted.


And of course I had to fit the turret to the hull.

[JCON]

Looks awesome!!!

[JEFF]

Now we're getting serious.

[dogfish7 (R.I.P.)]

Amazing details on this. Might have to try a newer version.

[thug626]

Jcon Thank you very much my good man.
Jeff I don't know about serious, but more progress has been made.
Bruce Try one one for size. I think you'll like it.

Last night I prepped the inner aspect of the road wheels with an 8B graphite stick, and then burnished it with a smudge stick.


All of the road wheels and idlers. That was my big revelation about this beast. The idler and road wheels are one in the same. I had never realized that. A brilliant reduction in parts.


The beginnings of a base coat.


Yet another detail shot. The mud scrapper was optional. I opted to add it....ya never know when you're gonna need it.


I used Vallejo Oiled Earth wash for the effect. A bit blurry. This was more of an exercise, as this will be hidden behind the TUSK II armor.


Here's the stuff...


Washed wheel on the left.....on the right....no wash.


We have a full compliment of road wheels and idlers.....

[BUCKY]

Yer making it come to life, Dave!

[thug626]

The beast is "standing" on its own now! I dry fitted the TUSK II side armor. It's massive!