In the 1950s as the Cold War heated up there was a concern that the Soviet Union had so many tanks that the West would not have enough.
So the US Army looked for ways to upgrade existing tanks often with new parts intended for use on newer tanks.
This is the Roco M47 tank, it was painted with at least for layers of paint and after a week in and out of paint stripper this is how it looks. As long as the engine grill is clear that's good enough. It will get brushed, sanded, and scrapped to take a bit more of the paint off before it gets a coat of primer. It is also missing the commanders hatch. I am missing ten commanders hatches. I made some but they were barely acceptable.
On of the upgrade plans for the M47 tank was to use essentially the M48 commanders cupola with .50 caliber machine gun. The concern was on the nuclear, chemical battlefield that tank commanders would need to be inside, so by adding a cupola they could continue to fight their .50 caliber machine gun. I think they may have done some test installations but I can't find anything that says this version was fielded.
Still it is an interesting idea.
My plan is to make a few of them using surplus M48 cupolas that will be replaced with new upgraded cupolas.
This is the first one. Just drill a giant hole in the roof and drop in the cupola. I also cut off the M48 cupola hatch hinges and glued in the hatch.
This tank also has a replacement bow machine gun. Many of these old soldiers have been missing hatches and bow machine guns for decades. This one is all better now.
