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Post by jkb on Apr 22, 2020 19:45:03 GMT
Hi everyone. In this build i will attempt to build an M48 A5 MOLF. In case someone wonders what an M48 is doing in this section, the MOLF as it is simply known, is an upgrade of the M48 that was made by the Hellenic army in 1990. It is still serving as a reliable old hull with a vastly upgraded FCS, superior to those of the Leo 1A5 and Leo 2A4. The M48 MOLFs that were retired had their FCS components removed, to be used on Leo 1 tanks, that were upgraded in the Leo 1A5 GR+ version. 250 M48 A5 MOLF are still serving and will soldier on for some years more. Here are some pics of the tank.         And now to the build. For a base kit, i will use the Academy M48 A5K. It will need a lot of work on various places, some scratch building, the Slingshot models conversion kit, LM decals, an M2 machine gun from Aber and tracks from Bronco. As you can imagine, this will take some time to complete......       PS: Wish me luck.  |
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Post by Boots on Apr 22, 2020 19:56:08 GMT
Great choice John and count me in fella  |
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Post by Ian H. on Apr 22, 2020 22:19:59 GMT
Looking forward to this because I love the M-48.
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Post by Paul B on Apr 23, 2020 3:59:41 GMT
Looking forward to this one  |
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Post by Snipersmudge on Apr 23, 2020 7:03:38 GMT
Nice one John, a version I've wanted to build myself. The slingshot set is very good too.
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Post by Paul B on Apr 23, 2020 7:59:50 GMT
Lovely choice there John |
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Post by Marco on Apr 24, 2020 12:44:04 GMT
Good Luck! But I'm sure you'll build a fantastic tank!
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Post by jkb on Apr 27, 2020 20:27:15 GMT
Thx for dropping by guys. Work has started. The wheels are assembled. They needed some work but they are ready. The lower hull needed some attention. There were holes for motorizing the kit. The suspension needs some work. I will make a post about that tomorrow.  |
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Post by Snipersmudge on Apr 28, 2020 5:40:52 GMT
Looking forward to seeing your improvements John  |
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Post by Paul B on Apr 28, 2020 7:51:38 GMT
And we're orfe |
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Post by jkb on Apr 28, 2020 17:03:52 GMT
Well here i am again. Started work on the suspension of the MOLF. So let's begin with the issue of ground clearance. In the actual tank this is 40cm. That means that it should be about 1.14 cm in 35th scale. The kit without the tracks sits at about 1.9 cm. with the tracks probably over 2 cm. That's a big difference. Plus the finished kit will look odd. The suspension is given in a funny way, were suspension arm and bump stop are given as one part. They must be cut.  Then, there is an issue with the fiirst suspension arm. it sits much higher than the rest.   So, as you can imagine setting up averything at the right position, and aligning everything on both sides will take some work. Hopefully i will have an update soon, as between work, rebuilding my Sprint and everything else, i don't have too much time... |
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Post by Paul B on Apr 28, 2020 17:43:40 GMT
So you'll be back in about an hour the eh? . Great info there John, I'm sure many will appreciate that, including myself  |
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Post by dukemaddog on Apr 28, 2020 19:30:52 GMT
Interesting... They must have copied the Tamiya M-48 since the Tamiya one also sits too high due to the fact they measured on that had already had the engine removed. It's tough enough having to build one of these without having to correct the suspension. Looking forward to seeing your improvements.
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Post by Snipersmudge on Apr 29, 2020 9:43:26 GMT
Good refs for future M48 builds mate, nice one! |
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Post by northmuskie on Apr 29, 2020 11:17:56 GMT
Very nice start JK.
I had the same problem with the hight of roadwheels on the bronco shaffee.
Ill get myself a brew and hop aboard(as soon as it's noon of course😉)
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Post by jkb on Apr 29, 2020 14:51:45 GMT
Good refs for future M48 builds mate, nice one! As you can see it's a low ride....  By more modern standards at least.   |
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Post by jkb on Apr 29, 2020 15:01:32 GMT
Very nice start JK. I had the same problem with the hight of roadwheels on the bronco shaffee. Ill get myself a brew and hop aboard(as soon as it's noon of course😉) It seems they dont really care where and how they take their measurements. At least this is an old and cheap kit... the Bronco kit isn't.....  |
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Post by northmuskie on Apr 29, 2020 16:40:05 GMT
Life is cruel!
They are testing our problem solving skills😆
I should get myself a Tamiya kit to rest between two builds 😉 Never had any real issues with Tam. Except the rubber bands tracks, of course!
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Post by Robbo on Apr 29, 2020 17:56:02 GMT
Interesting build. I'm liking this one
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Post by jkb on Apr 29, 2020 18:14:05 GMT
OK, back to the build. The suspension is a bit of a mess. The best solution as you can see in the pic below, is to cut the part that joins the bump stops with the suspension arms. Then just let the suspension arms rest against the bump stops. That will allow them to sit at exactly the same height as the first one that is different from the others as I you can see in the pic that I posted yesterday. Normally there should be a gap between them, but that won't be visible at all, because they are exactly behind the road wheels. The ground clearance now is at 1.2 cm. That is not perfect but acceptable.  There is also an issue with the shock absorbers. They are too long, but only for the last road wheel... 😁 Just let them rest were they sit. The difference is very difficult to see and again, they are behind the wheels. Now to the next issue that needs to be addressed. The fenders have a thick raised line. That is for the sideskirts of the K version. That must be cut. As you can see in the pics below, the one is there and the other one is removed. The plastic is soft and is easy enough to do it with a simple modeling knife.   |
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By more modern standards at least.
