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First Look Review
135
M60A2 Patton
M60A2 Patton Late Version Starship
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by: Darren Baker [ CMOT ]

First Look

The M60A2 Patton Late Version Starship by AFV Club was a surprise delivery on my doorstep. Knowing how much this kit is anticipated by the modellers out I decided to get a first look review out to you all as soon as I could. I suspect that tank crews hated losing their spacious turret for the new modified turret in this offering from AFV Club; however I am sure that modellers will leave to see this kit.

It will not exactly be a surprise to the modellers reading this that a large amount of this model is the same as the previous release of the M60A1 last year, but as we all know it is a very good model for this release to be based on. For those that don’t know AFV Club has provided working geometry suspension, detailed drivers position, well designed road wheels that allow accuracy and a well designed engine deck for those who wish to add further details such as an engine and a gearbox from the after market sector. Anyone who has purchased the previous M60 offering from AFV Club will be happy with what they see here.

The turret is where the changes are and the area you are all interested in. the turret looks to be the correct shape to me, there is also a very light texture present on the turret which I like, but I do not know about the accuracy of this feature. I like that AFV Club has provided vinyl mantlet canvasses, also the barrel is a turned metal offering. I also like that photo etch has been supplied for the turret baskets and a very nicely detailed searchlight has been included not forgetting the power lead.

Lastly I would like to say a very big thank you to AFV Club for getting this offering of their M60A2 Patton Late Version Starship before its general release.
SUMMARY
Highs: A very good use of workabkle aspect and multi-media to keep the modeller happy.
Lows: The use of rubber band style tracks will not please everyone and the texture has caused controversy.
Verdict: I really like this offering from AFV Club. Also be warned once out of the box you will need to build it as it is not gonna fit back in.
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: AF35230
  Suggested Retail: £54.99 Approx
  PUBLISHED: Jun 12, 2016
  NATIONALITY: United States
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 87.04%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 89.68%

Our Thanks to AFV Club!
This item was provided by them for the purpose of having it reviewed on this KitMaker Network site. If you would like your kit, book, or product reviewed, please contact us.

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About Darren Baker (CMOT)
FROM: ENGLAND - SOUTH WEST, UNITED KINGDOM

I have been building model kits since the early 70’s starting with Airfix kits of mostly aircraft, then progressing to the point I am at now building predominantly armour kits from all countries and time periods. Living in the middle of Salisbury plain since the 70’s, I have had lots of opportunitie...

Copyright ©2021 text by Darren Baker [ CMOT ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

What are your thoughts behind your rankings,accuracy,details,ease of build ?[/quote] I noticed a problem with the markings. The "Bandits" had 3▵1▵32AR and not 3▵32▵. I could be wrong for the period prior to 1977. I was in the battalion from 1/1977 to 12/1979. (The A2's were replaced by A3's in 7/1979.) Outside of that, the kit looks nice. It looks like AFV Club did their research. The top-loading air filters are correct. Personally, I do not remember "Aces Wild" but a few tanks in Alpha and Bravo companies had names. None of Charlie's tanks had names (outside of the "This Piece of Junk" but we could not paint that on the bore evacuators). [/quote] THAT's GREAT!!! "This Piece of Junk"!!! I HAVE to model THAT one!!! Might you possibly have any info on that particular vehicle? I.E: "early" or "late" -A2, serial number, or any other details to distinguish it from the other Tracks in Charlie?
JUN 19, 2016 - 05:09 PM
Just as a comparison of reviews of this kit, if any of you guys are interested, check out the review of AFV's -A2 over on the "Missing Lynx" site... (by Cookie Sewell, I think..?)
JUN 19, 2016 - 05:15 PM
Every M60A2 was a piece of junk. It was an unbeatable weapons system when it work but there was always something wrong. There were only a few good things about that tank. One, gunners were very good with the choke sight (because the laser range finder was broken more often than not). Two, you never had a hangfire with the conventional combustible cartridge. You just switched to "Missile" and "burned that sucker out". (Conventional mode caused a very short, high voltage charge to the electrical primer in the cartridge. Missile mode sent a long (i.e., more than 3 seconds) low voltage (I believe 24 volts) to the firing pin. That heated the firing pin which in turn ignited the cartridge. On the way! Unfortunately, firing a conventional round in Missile mode could throw the missile trackers out of alignment. In 1977, C16 had its T-97 put on backwards. (It happens when you change track in the dark.) In the middle of 1977, the battalion replaced the T-97 tracks with T-142. We were always losing track pads on the autobahn. That would go flying thirty feet in the air and then bounce three or four times. I am surprised that we never killed a German motorist. In 1977 or 1978, the battalion itself repainted its tanks. It took about a month to do all 54 of them. At least half of the tanks did not have bore-evacuators and those which did had theirs disabled. The CBSS was incompatible with the bore-evacuators. In 1978, one of the battalion's tanks sheared its drive sprocket when it threw its left track at Hohenfels. 1977 was the last year that we used "real" HEAT rounds. Beautiful rooster tails at night when you hit a hard target. After that, the rounds used during gunnery had inert warheads. In June or July 1978, Charlie Company's XO walked to the tent during gunnery and exclaimed that he could not wait to be in an M1 going down range and the hard target would be an M60A2. I had a bad time trying to keep them running through gunnery. In 1978 or 1979 at Hohenfels, Gen. Nutting climbed on A Company's 1st Platoon Leader's tank in the middle of the night. The General saw a full trash bag on the back deck. He asked the 2LT, "When was this trash was made?" The lieutenant had completely forgotten about the trash bag. So, he thought the General was referring this particular M60A2. He answered, "I believe in March 1974, sir." That should give you some ideas for some things that you could do with model.
JUN 20, 2016 - 02:47 AM
Gary we all lost track pads back then. That's why you always see period pictures with spare pads all over the bustle racks. I remember seeing an article in PS magazine stating that they had a bad batch of pads made over several months with defective bonding to the back plate. Who knows how many thousands were made that way. My unit ordered them by the pallet load. As a TC of an A3 in the late 80s I hardly ever saw a track pad fail. Tom
JUN 20, 2016 - 04:01 PM
OK, so the M60A2 was "a piece of junk". The vaunted German Tigers and Panthers weren't really as "great" as the Panzer-heads make them out to be, either. One can't fault the US Army for "trying". Whether the -A2 was "a piece of junk" or not, this new kit, IMO, will help to round out AFV CLUB's M60-series kits, what with an -A3 coming "soon". Hopefully AFV CLUB won't just let the -A3 slide into "Limbo", like they did their M8 HMC, (75mm Howitzer on a modified M5A1 Chassis)...
JUN 25, 2016 - 07:00 PM
Only one who has been there can tell funnies the the ones above. I was on a -A3 and we replaced road wheels more then we replaced track pads. NTC was the worst place on tracks; both on our A3's and 113A2-----B trp , 2/9 CAV
JUL 03, 2016 - 11:02 PM
The "Aces Wild" vehicle is the one that was at the MVTF in Jacques Littlefields' collection.
APR 25, 2017 - 04:56 AM
I think you guys must be talking about the M551 Sheridan when you list all the problems on the A2--oh wait! They both had the same gun system didn't they? Strange how many of the same problems occurred on the Sheridan. I was at Graf in 1978 when the CID shut us down and made us do a tool layout in the middle of gunnery. They were looking for accountability on our sight adjustment screwdriver, which had about a 2 1/2 foot blade. Someone had murdered the librarian at Graf the night before with one. Even the tools had to be specialized. Turns out it was a mechanic in an A2 DSU unit. I agree, the entire gun system was a piece of electronic crap-- up more than down. The recoil of the 152mm conventional round was something to experience-- shearing of one final drive? It was a common occurance to shear off both on the Sheridan-- usually during gunnery, just from the effect of the recoil. I have to admit though, using the A2 as a target downrange would have been more satisfying than a Sheridan-- the round would have just gone through the M551 and kept going! Now back on target so to speak-- I'm glad AFV club is finally doing justice to these dinosaurs. VR, Russ
APR 25, 2017 - 08:36 PM
Thanks for sharing the stories on the M60A2 and M551. It gives "life" to a otherwise cold and technical thing. So now excuse me, I have to kill a Sherman or three with my Panther.
APR 25, 2017 - 09:51 PM
   
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