Latest updated pics May01 2007
Peace to all,
In the 1973 Ramadhan war between Egypt, Syria and Israel, set the stage for biggest tank battles in history since WWII.One such scenario was the battle in the Sinai desert between Egyptian T-62 tanks and Israeli Centurion tanks.
In the 1973 Ramadhan war between Egypt, Syria and Israel, set the stage for biggest tank battles in history since WWII.One such scenario was the battle in the Sinai desert between Egyptian T-62 tanks and Israeli Centurion tanks.
History
One of the oldest tanks used by the IDF was the WWII upgraded version of the Sherman tank. It was renamed M-51 Super Sherman. This tank had better suspension system and the most obvious change was the new french made 105mm barrel. This gave it better firepower against more modern Russian T-55s and T-62s used by Egypt and Syria.
This tank was mainly utilised by IDF border units and reserve units. It shared limited success of engaging the Arab tanks but still lose out in matters of armour protection, design and movement . Though it had been put out of combat service for many years now, it still looks a pretty cool antique tank that has its own uniqueness.
Building the Model
(Thanks to my pal randomtask for the pictures taken using his new cybershot cam phone.)
The whole process of building this model I give it a moderate rating. The parts are good and do not break as easily as Trumpeter and Mini Hobby models. Actually I am beginning to like Academy products better now. Trumpeter tanks are the easiest to build except for the brittle parts.
The whole process of building this model I give it a moderate rating. The parts are good and do not break as easily as Trumpeter and Mini Hobby models. Actually I am beginning to like Academy products better now. Trumpeter tanks are the easiest to build except for the brittle parts.
The only setback is that I do not fancy are the static wheels that cannot turn like the M2 Bradley I build earlier. However the coolest things about this new models are that the level of detail such as textures on the surface of the turrets. They even beat more established and expensive Tamiya models.
This model comes with 3 tanks crew figures that wear the older IDF tank crew helmets. I have not finished painted them yet so no pictures yet.
Colours
I use vallejo acrylics, desert yellow and olive drab mixture as the base colour for the whole tank. The red colours on the tools handles make the whole colour scheme more interesting. The canvas near the barrel is a mixture of olive drab and khaki painted in different stage of darker shades. Below is a link to a video by the Egyptian army in the war. The Egypt army assault on Israel's Bar Lev Line across the Suez Canal.
I use vallejo acrylics, desert yellow and olive drab mixture as the base colour for the whole tank. The red colours on the tools handles make the whole colour scheme more interesting. The canvas near the barrel is a mixture of olive drab and khaki painted in different stage of darker shades. Below is a link to a video by the Egyptian army in the war. The Egypt army assault on Israel's Bar Lev Line across the Suez Canal.
An Israeli video montage of the war:
