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Panhard 178 AMD-35 Command Car

JamesOLeary

Master at Arms
This project is a bit out of the norm for me as it is not a Vietnam subject. I bought this kit when Squadron was having one of its sales and got it for about $15. I had bought it because I remembered the French in IndoChina had some Panhard 178 units after WWII, but it turns out that they were the Panhard 178B version which has a different turret and main gun, so this kit will not work for IndoChina. So I am going to build this as a WWII vehicle. The kit does include a pretty decent interior, but I want this build to go pretty quick as I am just building this to try various painting and weathering techniques, so I am going to build this with all hatches closed and building the interior is not necessary.

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Since I am not going to build up the interior, the build has been going pretty quick. Last night I put these pieces together and prepped the sides of the hull. When I cut one of the sides from the sprue, the top part of the door frame, which was pretty thin, broke. I glued it back in place and let it dry overnight.

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Today, I steadily put more and more parts on. Most of them fit really well, but there were some parts that had bent in the box (primarily the back portion that included the fenders) so I had to hold them in place until they conformed to the rest of the model when I glued them in place. When I put the doors on, the piece of the door frame that had broken off was adjusted so it would fit better.

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When I placed the left side fender piece, I noticed that the plastic was short from the moulding process. I guess I will have to build up the portion that is missing with some putty.

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I am going to call it a night and let the glue cure. I will work on it some more tomorrow.

Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
James
 
Hey is this the one that Tamiya is now 're-boxing'? I will be watching with interest!
 
Thanks, Guys.

The ICM kit is pretty nice. Some of the parts I had problems with probably would have fit better if I wasn't building so quickly.

I might end up getting another ICM Panhard 178 so I can build one with the interior showing, but it won't be the command vehicle. I might also try out some other ICM kits.

Cheers,
James
 
James, there is a version using the same gun in IndoChina but the turret is again different:

Here it is amongst Japanese Type 89 at their surrender:
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It is not too difficult to make. It is on my radar since I have the Fine Molds Type 89 kit.

Regards,
 
James, there is a version using the same gun in IndoChina but the turret is again different:

Here it is amongst Japanese Type 89 at their surrender:
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h0193e0d.jpg


h9b9d0b9.jpg


h2369879.jpg


It is not too difficult to make. It is on my radar since I have the Fine Molds Type 89 kit.

Regards,

Thanks, Saul.

The version you show might be doable as that turret does not seem all that difficult to make. However if I do make one it will be on a second model as I am just going to go straight out of the box on this one.

Cheers,
James
 
Nothing wrong with keeping it simple. :ro:

And that is what I plan on doing with this one... :)

Here are some things that I have done to it since the last in-progress set of photos. I added the drive train and axles and two things to he front of the vehicle. I also worked on the main gun, but did not take pictures of it yet.

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That's all for now.

Cheers,
James
 
I did some more work on this kit. It is coming along pretty quick. Tomorrow I should be able to prime the lower portion of the kit. Once I finish the turret I will prime and paint that, too.

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Cheers,
James
 
It's looking great James, and surely doesn't show your discomfort in this new zone. There's a company that does these Panhards in 1/72 scale. Your work is convincing me I need to find them and pick a few up.

Keep these pics coming James!
 
Thanks, Guys.

Duke, I am glad that this model is making you think about making a few Panhards in 1/72 scale.

Well, there was very little wind outside today, so it was a good day for primer, base coat, and dullcote.

Before anyone points out that there is a tree growing in the middle of the armored car (Holy Crap! There is a tree growing in the middle of this armored car!), I am using it to hold the model while painting. I would have used a rod or dowel (some guys in the model club I was a part of when at Fort Sill showed me to do that - to use a dowel or rod, not a tree), but I did not have any around, and the pencil I tried to use would not stick, so I glued this tree in the middle of the interior. I will just break it off when I am done.

Here are the photos. If they are a bit blurry it is because I am holding the tree while taking the picture with my other hand. :)

Here it is primed with black...

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After the primer had dried, I used a can of Tamiya TS-5 Olive Drab for the base color...

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It covered fairly well. After it dried, I attempted a camo pattern, but it did not turn out like I was wanting it to, so before I got to a point where I would have ruined the paint job, I stopped and painted over the spot with the Tamiya OD paint. In hindsight I should have tried out the camo on the undercarriage, but I started on the side. Once the fixed section dried, I started drybrushing the model to bring out the details. I also tried to highlight some spots by drybrushing as well. An airbrush would probably be better for that, but since mine is in a box somewhere in a storage container, I will have to make due with regular paint brushes. :) While drybrushing, I broke off the rear view mirror. Luckily, it did not go flying off into oblivion, so I can attach it after the model is completed.

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For the drybrushing, I first used Scale 75 War Front Olivegrun Green SW-01, followed by Vallejo 70.881 Yellow Green, and then highlighted with Vallejo 70978 Dark Yellow. I think it turned out halfway decent. I then sprayed the model with a coat of dullcote so I could put the decals on.

The decals for the hull consist of only two decals of registration numbers - one on the front and one on the rear. I cut them flush with the border of the decals and applied them. I then hit them with a shot of dullcote.

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I usually use dry transfers rather than decals, but these turned out pretty good for me. I think cutting flush with the borders helped.

Now to get that turret finished so I can get that painted, too.

Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
James
 
The tree I could care less, that Center Tab Fold thing is driving me nuts!

Really nice paint session James, well done! (y)
 
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