What do you get when Patton meets Bradley?

[kerick]

Have you ever read the book "Team Yankee" by Harold Coyle? If not, I highly recommend it. The scene is set in Germany, the mid 1980s. War has broken out in Europe with the Soviets and Warsaw Pact attacking west. Everything that rolls and shoots is being thrown into the battle. The M-1 Abrams and the M-2 Bradley are living up to their reputations but there just isn't enough to go around. Meanwhile, an Arizona National Guard tank unit has arrived with the equipment they were issued long ago. How such a ill equipped unit got shipped to Europe at all was a question that would have to wait until the war was over to answer. Even with the outcome of the war in doubt, their M-48s with the 90mm guns are deemed unsuitable for combat. Even if the gun was effective, these tanks had no night vision gear at all. At least the dry Arizona climate had helped preserve these vehicles in good running condition.

At the base where these tanks are held a damaged M-2 is brought in and dropped off for repair or salvage for parts. The hull is damaged and the engine is wreckage. Somehow the turret is in serviceable shape. Someone notices a badly needed weapon system in need of a capable hull and tank hulls burdened by obsolete turrets. Out come the torches, welders, and spare parts. The turret ring is cut from the wrecked M-2 and aluminum slabs are cut from busted M-113s. A rough box is welded together to give room for the Bradley turret in the comparatively shallow M-48 hull. Borrowing an old trick from WWII pieces of track are used for extra armor. A box is built to hold additional TOW rounds. A "luggage rack" is thrown together to hold all the stuff that would otherwise hang from the sides of the vehicle. Stealing an idea from the M-1s side skirts are installed on the sides. "If its good enough for an Abrams, its good enough for us" is the slogan. While the M-2 turret is left in forest green, the box is painted with some old OD found in the shops. Someone suggests a little MERDC treatment would be good, at least for friend or foe ID. There is no time for a proper MERDC paint job but some black and sand is an improvement. At the last minute an American flag is added to the turret sides for a little extra vehicle ID.
Our "Frankentank" takes to the field with a mech unit that has only M-113s and a few M-60s. At first the CO insists Patton/Bradley stay with the M-113s as a little extra security. When an enemy unit performs a night flanking attack and is ready to cut the M-113s to ribbons they get a surprise of accurate 25mm fire and TOW rounds they did not expect. The M-60s get into the fray when as the 25mm fire hits a tank and sparks fly, they follow up with a 105 round that finishes the job. With their BMPs shot up and several T-62s burning this unit withdraws.

I started this project so long ago I don't remember how long this has been on my work desk. Its the Academy M-2 kit and the Tamiya M-48. With the Tamiya kit there is numerous holes to fill as it was molded to be motorized. There is a good description at this website.
http://paulbudzik.com/tools-techniques/M48/m48-construction.html
There is a complaint that this kit sits too high. Well, I thought this would work out as the M-2 turret would be much lighter than a tank turret. The Bradley turret was built OOB but with a few mods as described in Vodniks website, http://vodnik.net/. Next was building the box and the side skirts. I found some photos of Korean M-48s with side skirts and the MERDC pattern and just went with that. The biggest problem I had was painting. The M-48 hull was painted with what I thought was olive drab. It turned out more brown. The turret was hand painted with what I thought was forest green. It was not. Model Master names don't match well with the actual FS number. So it got painted again. A total of four coats by the time I tried to get even coverage of the two colors. It got to the point that the detail was starting to disappear. After glosscoat, decals, and dullcoat the colors all changed anyway. Blame it all on a war time rush to get a fighting vehicle back out on the field.
Enough talk, here's some pics.

















I thought I had lost interest in this project completely but once I started fiddling with it, it all came back. Turned out pretty well. Now what do I do with a Patton turret and a Bradly hull?

[PR19_Kit]

Now what do I do with a Patton turret and a Bradly hull?

I'd have thought that was self evident........... 

Although I know naff all about tanks, the backstory reads great and the model looks like you wrote it too, nice one. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Not the worst idee... but the front plate defintively needs more sloping, it's an invitation for shots and missiles!

BTW: in the USSR, being a creative country concerning tank development, experiments had been made with MBTs with a lengthened hull, so that in the space between turret and engine a troop compartment with top hatches could be carried! Might have been based on a T-72 - it had seven wheels, but still the combat tank's turret. Did not catch on, though, esp. because the soldiers had to leave/enter the tank via the tank's back with hardly any cover...

[NARSES2]

I like that. From some angles it reminds me of a Matilda II - and no I haven't been on the Christmas booze yet  

[kerick]

Not the worst idee... but the front plate defintively needs more sloping, it's an invitation for shots and missiles!

BTW: in the USSR, being a creative country concerning tank development, experiments had been made with MBTs with a lengthened hull, so that in the space between turret and engine a troop compartment with top hatches could be carried! Might have been based on a T-72 - it had seven wheels, but still the combat tank's turret. Did not catch on, though, esp. because the soldiers had to leave/enter the tank via the tank's back with hardly any cover...

Have you checked out the Israeli Achzarit, Nagmachon, or Namer APCs? Or more closely to what you mentioned the Merkava's extra space inside it's hull. The Merkava was not meant to be an APC but it can carry a couple extra troops.
I've always thought about taking an M-60 or M-48 hull and lengthening it by a few scale feet for a tank armored APC. The trick would be making a ground level exit for the troops. It might end up looking like an M-88.

[Hobbes]

Interesting model; I've read some of Coyle's novels (The Ten Thousand was the first I read), he's got some good stories.

[Weaver]

Keen model, and just the sort of thing I think you'd see under desperate circumstances - well done!

[kerick]

Not the worst idee... but the front plate defintively needs more sloping, it's an invitation for shots and missiles!

I put a double layer of armor on the vertical panel above the driver's hatch. Its hard to see in my fuzzy fotos.

[Captain Canada]

That's awesome ! I love the look of it...the 'stance' just seems like she's ready to run ( and shoot )

Glad you decided to finish her off !

[kerick]

Not quite as done as I thought! Now that I've had a little practice with the Micro Mark Rust and Dust I'm going to try it on the Bratton (or is it Patley?).

[eatthis]

a bratton?

[kerick]

a bratton?

BRAdley + paTTON
or
PATton + bradLY

[PR19_Kit]

You could call it a Pratley, at the risk of being laughed off the battlefield by any Brit troops...... 

[kerick]

You could call it a Pratley, at the risk of being laughed off the battlefield by any Brit troops...... 

That would sound goofy even to most US troops. Perhaps "Frankentank" sounds better.

[pyro-manic]

Looks like one of those Israeli concoctions based on old T-55s or Centurions etc. Nice work!