Hosted by Darren Baker
DML M103A1 - disappointment
Posted: Sunday, August 02, 2015 - 07:39 PM UTC
I need more pictures about how you rebuild the hull.Could you give some help.I want rebuild my M103A1 like you are.
Posted: Wednesday, April 29, 2015 - 11:12 PM UTC
Posted: Sunday, January 11, 2015 - 12:34 PM UTC
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Pawel, if i may ask, what did you use as your primary filler? is that auto body filler (bondo) that i see in your pics? I'm trying to use milliput and apoxie sculpt, but neither has the consistency or smoothness i'm looking for. I think i might go down to the store and just get some bondo.
I used Magic Sculp (a flesh colored version, http://www.magicsculp.co.uk/ ).
Posted: Sunday, January 11, 2015 - 09:38 AM UTC
Pawel, if i may ask, what did you use as your primary filler? is that auto body filler (bondo) that i see in your pics? I'm trying to use milliput and apoxie sculpt, but neither has the consistency or smoothness i'm looking for. I think i might go down to the store and just get some bondo.
Posted: Wednesday, January 07, 2015 - 08:09 PM UTC
Pawel, using your work as a guide i've started hacking apart the "new" M103A2. You can see my progress here: http://www.armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=230397&page=1
27-1025
Posted: Tuesday, September 23, 2014 - 05:47 AM UTC
Wow!!! Amazing work correcting this kit. Should not have to do all that to a "new" kit but good on you for tackling this. I'm stunned as to how much is wrong with the original kit.
Posted: Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 06:39 PM UTC
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Adding a few photoetched pieces to the pile of sh*t will not change the fact, that it will still be a pile of sh*t, just a bit more shiny...
But you know what they say: "Better a shiny turd than just a regular turd."
Posted: Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 06:34 PM UTC
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Nice but I'll get the new Voyager set--it's not how you start but how you finish...
And the Voyager set will give you a new turret, new gun mantlet and a new hull with a new engine deck?... You get a gun barrel, but I don't know if it is as accurate in length as the RB Model part.
Adding a few photoetched brass pieces to the pile of sh*t will not change the fact, that it will still be a pile of sh*t, just a bit more shiny...
Of course you can create a very nice model adding just the Voyager set, but in fact so you can just with the Dragon kit out of the box. But you will not get a reasonable M103A1 scale model / replica from it without serious plastic surgery...
Posted: Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 12:45 PM UTC
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Soooo, not to get too far off topic, but where, exactly, is this town "Estes" you speak of??
:-)
Estes Park, Colorado?
hugohuertas
Posted: Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 09:27 AM UTC
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Nice but I'll get the new Voyager set--it's not how you start but how you finish...
And how will the Voyager set fix the huge errors of the base kit?
Posted: Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 09:19 AM UTC
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I say it's still easier to find a virgin in Estes than to do what you just did to this model .
Soooo, not to get too far off topic, but where, exactly, is this town "Estes" you speak of??
:-)
Posted: Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 07:41 AM UTC
Nice but I'll get the new Voyager set--it's not how you start but how you finish...
Posted: Tuesday, September 16, 2014 - 03:08 AM UTC
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But I hope you agree that it is now significantly closer to the real thing - particularly the turret shape.
The shortened engine deck makes all the difference in the world!
Thank you sharing your completed work. Simply stunning what you have done.
Dave
Posted: Monday, September 15, 2014 - 03:31 PM UTC
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Quoted TextWhat I'm curious about is how much of that is just KIT. How much hasn't been modified?
Very little... Suspension arms and other components and road wheels are original, although the wheels are far from perfect (but I just didn't think the kit was worth the investment in replacements). A few other details, like travel lock are original as well. But indeed almost every part required modification or replacement... Even tracks, even though they are Dragon DS tracks, are not from this kit, as the kit ones had much too much flash do be usable. As once again I decided against using aftermarket product, I used tracks from DML M48A3 kit lengthened slightly with a couple of links cut off from the kit tracks.
Man... That's disheartening... That a company like Dragon simply can't get a kit like this up to their well established standards. It does not reflect well on their company values when they pull a stunt like this. If it was from a company like Revell, Zvezda, Italeri, or some other company I don't think it would cause such a fervor as it does being issued by Dragon. Now don't think that I'm saying that those companies put out bad product because they put out some pretty good but I don't think they are upto the modeling standards of Dragon. But it's a true shame that a company such as Dragon had to put out such POS' such as this kit when they didn't have to. It's practically intentional how they did this.
Sorry to be on a sour note and a tad off topic. Extraordinarily nice job fixing this kit Pawel. Think you might help any other company try and make a styrene M103 at all if they approach you?
Posted: Monday, September 15, 2014 - 12:24 PM UTC
Any pics of how you fixed the chassis?
Posted: Monday, September 15, 2014 - 09:11 AM UTC
I say it's still easier to find a virgin in Estes than to do what you just did to this model .
Posted: Monday, September 15, 2014 - 07:49 AM UTC
Wow really nice!!
I'll be honest I had no real interest in this tank or kit, but watching your blog and how you reworked this thing is inspiring!
I'll be honest I had no real interest in this tank or kit, but watching your blog and how you reworked this thing is inspiring!
Posted: Monday, September 15, 2014 - 07:09 AM UTC
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It came out great. Are you going to do a feature on your site that explains to us mere mortals how you did it?
What he said. Hell!! I'll pay for it, real money!!
hugohuertas
Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2014 - 04:58 AM UTC
Those comparative side views definitely proved me -if still needed- that Dragon's kit is a bad -and expensive- joke...
Amazing work, as always, Pawel!!!
Amazing work, as always, Pawel!!!
Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2014 - 04:34 AM UTC
Extraordinary modeling skill!
Now I know for sure I'll never build one, as I simply don't have the talent to duplicate this kind of work....
Now I know for sure I'll never build one, as I simply don't have the talent to duplicate this kind of work....
Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2014 - 04:17 AM UTC
Now _that's_ what an M103 looks like!
Well done, Pawel! Bloody well done!
Well done, Pawel! Bloody well done!
Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2014 - 03:30 AM UTC
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It came out great. Are you going to do a feature on your site that explains to us mere mortals how you did it?
Sooner or later I probably will do it.
Now a few more pictures to show that it now looks more like M103A1, unlike the Dragon OOB caricature. My model is not exactly accurate - the turret is still a couple of millimeters too long (despite being already shortened significantly...), the sprocket wheel is still attached a bit too high and some details are not perfect. But I hope you agree that it is now significantly closer to the real thing - particularly the turret shape.
Extended and reshaped hull nose, shortened engine deck and completely remodeled turret top:
Flat rear hull plate, the kink eliminated:
Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2014 - 01:45 AM UTC
Yes, please! 
Chuck
Chuck
Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2014 - 12:32 AM UTC
It came out great. Are you going to do a feature on your site that explains to us mere mortals how you did it?
Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2014 - 12:09 AM UTC
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What I'm curious about is how much of that is just KIT. How much hasn't been modified?
Very little... Suspension arms and other components and road wheels are original, although the wheels are far from perfect (but I just didn't think the kit was worth the investment in replacements). A few other details, like travel lock are original as well. But indeed almost every part required modification or replacement... Even tracks, even though they are Dragon DS tracks, are not from this kit, as the kit ones had much too much flash do be usable. As once again I decided against using aftermarket product, I used tracks from DML M48A3 kit lengthened slightly with a couple of links cut off from the kit tracks.
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