Stik's Vehicle Overhauls & Rebuilds

[stikpusher]

I'm gonna start an ongoing thread here to cover my rebuilds and overhauls of my older AFV & Softskin builds. These are not Shelf of Doom kits, but kits that I finished and they decided to revamp somewhat (overhaul), or quite a bit (rebuild).

So here is my first entry, an overhaul of Dragon's M26A1 that I built almost 30 years ago. It came out nice then, but over the years the decals flaked off, and I found out that the Marine Pershings in Korea were in OD not Marine Corps Green (they were taken from Army stocks and due to the situation in Korea in 1950, there was not time to repaint them). Anyways, since I was doing an airbrush session today, I figured that I would also reaping this one... plus I cut off the fenders a bit to match what was shown in photos during the winter of 1950.

This was how it looked after I removed the last bits of the decals and the fenders, painted in Humbrol USMC Green





and this is how it looks after I painted it in AK Real Color Olive Drab





More to follow soon... I have some Star Decals to do the markings...
and I'll share some more projects here too

[Green KreationZ]

It looked good before.. it looks great now. This is a great idea and I’ll be following along!

[Golikell]

Quite an undertaking! I tag along to see what miracles you manage to work out!

[handiabled]

This will be great following to see the transformations you do Carlos

[brandonk]

What a great idea. I will be watching. 

[dupes]

That kit is already 30 years old? Yikes.

Nice revamp!

[lyle]

It is always great fun to watch you work your magic!

[tcoat]

Fun little project. I have enjoyed reviving my shelf queens and doing some repaints so this should be interesting to follow.

[stikpusher]

Thanks guys! Just the paint makes a big difference. I’m a big fan of OD, in all its variations, not any particular shade…lol!

Erwin, aside from adding a bit more stowage, and the previously mentioned markings and weathering, not too much more is in store on this one… just the process to get there…

Dupes, the kit was released 30 years ago, and I bought it and built it around then. No later than ‘96 I think. Really didn’t have much of a stash back in those days… 🤨

[kyledehart5]

Very cool. Looking forward to seeing the resurrections and rebuilds

[dean48ws]

Great to see this with a new lease on life so to speak.

[406 Silverado]

Lookin' good Carlos. That freshened up paint job sure breathed alot of new life into this puppy. Looking forward to seeing what else you bring to the table on this one.

[TJ]

Big difference. And a really good idea

[Leon]

Looks good Carlos!

[Joe Rix]

I am really liking this idea Stik. These transformations of sorts will be fun and interesting to watch. That is a nice repaint on your M26.

[stikpusher]

Thanks guys! I figure if I work on this as a side project along with other main projects, I should have it completed in a week or two.... Yesterday I used a Microbrush to get the area between the road wheels with a good dried mud color that I can never quite get with an airbrush once the road wheels are on the suspension...

I want this to look on par with my other two member of the family, T26E3 and M46...



I'll take another of these photos once the overhaul is finished!

[deafpanzer]

30 years old?! You have to share your secret with us to keep it free of dust! Did you paint or use the tiger decal on one of the M26s?

[handiabled]

Something sits in our house for a couple days it has dust on it thanks to windblown farm fields and all the animals in it.

[stikpusher]

LOL! You guys are too funny

Andy, that tank has been dusted before each of the photos. that is my secret! Thankfully the dust here is much lighter and more fine than the dust where I used to live… The M46 was a combination of deals and paint work. The basic yellow, along with the white areas and black stripes were painted. The mouth, eyes, and claws are decals with paint touch ups where needed.

Brent, the dust builds up here more slowly than where I used to live in CA. We do have farms a couple of miles away, but the desert itself has plenty of dust to add as well, particularly in the summer when we get the haboob dust storms. I dust off my models and their shelves once or twice a year to keep them looking their best. That’s about a week long task to do in total.

[speedgraflex]

Following (I think)!

[stikpusher]

Thanks Bruce! I hope that you enjoy the show on this one.

[speedgraflex]

Carlos, With Armor Projects I watch from afar with various degrees of joy and envy. So many small parts, so many details and the wonder of the final colors on top. Bravo!

 

[stikpusher]

Thanks Bruce! Yeah the real on armor builds is the weathering. That’s when it comes alive, so to speak.

[Art Laski]

Nice upgrade!

[dupes]

Jan 19, 2024 12:38:33 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Whoah, Pershings! Those are hot. Excellent lineup.

[stikpusher]

Art & Dupes, thank you!

Dupes, it’s actually Pershing, Pershing, Patton there. But the M46 Patton was essentially an M26A1 Pershing (middle tank) with a new engine and transmission, plus a few other detail changes. But man, do I like the look of that basic design. They just look solid and mean!

[406 Silverado]

These are looking good so far Carlos!! Have you gotten any progress on these since the last update? After reading about Pershings in the Adam Makos book Spearhead, I became quite the fan of these. 

[stikpusher]

Jan 31, 2024 5:54:37 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

These are looking good so far Carlos!! Have you gotten any progress on these since the last update? After reading about Pershings in the Adam Makos book Spearhead, I became quite the fan of these. 

As a matter of fact, yes, I’ll have an update soon. I airbrushed on a gloss coat this morning and am aiming to get new decals on this evening or tomorrow morning… so stay tuned!

[stikpusher]

So here is the latest update... yesterday was a gloss coat and today I applied the decals... !st Marine Tank Battalion in Northe Korea, Hamhung to Chosin, and back...

[handiabled]

Looks good so far Carlos, how heavy are you going to weather/dirty this one up?