centaur567
Well-known member
I recognize some of those pics from my hutches walls. Great job on the interior. Gary S.
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AFV Club M113 ACAV
- Thread starter JamesOLeary
- Start date
The interior looks just right! Much more and I think it might be overdone!
Bob
Bob
JamesOLeary
Master at Arms
Thanks, Guys.
I think you are right, Bob. I am going to stop adding any more stowage and will be working on getting the top of the interior done so I can glue the roof on. That will be in a few days as I just started working on that Panhard 178 Command Car as a change of pace and for painting practice.
Cheers,
James
I think you are right, Bob. I am going to stop adding any more stowage and will be working on getting the top of the interior done so I can glue the roof on. That will be in a few days as I just started working on that Panhard 178 Command Car as a change of pace and for painting practice.
Cheers,
James
iambrb
Well-known member
Thanks Guys.
I haven't gotten as far on this project over the last few days as I would have liked, but I made some progress nonetheless. I have all kinds of stowage and accessories for this track that are in various stages of painting. One of the more colorful items that is complete is this ammo can used for personal stuff (letters from home, writing paper, pens, etc) by one of the crew members. To make sure it was not confused with somebody else's can, he painted it in Red, White, and Blue. Here it is in miniature.
I also put some items in the driver's area such as his personal effects ammo can and a flashlight with red lens. A few ammo cans were placed on the floor in the troop compartment and a fire extinguisher was mounted in on the back wall on the right side near the bilge pump pipe.
I will be placing some spare man-pack radios and accessory bags in the space under the radio shelf. There will be some web gear in various spots in the interior. I am also planning on placing a figure either reading a magazine or sitting with his head in his hands like he is tired in the troop compartment.
Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
James
Wow that is some incredible work, especially the ammo box! I am old enough to remember the "Black Label" beer....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUd6lYNc_EE
Bob
Bob
iambrb
Well-known member
Wow Mr. Letterman, that is a neat commercial! Truth is, I did not really care for that beer, but I am pretty sure I was drinking it illegally, so it really didn't matter, eh?
It may post-date Vietnam, but would be interesting to see some cases of Red, White, & Blue Beer? (AKA: YUCK)
It may post-date Vietnam, but would be interesting to see some cases of Red, White, & Blue Beer? (AKA: YUCK)
JamesOLeary
Master at Arms
Unfortunately, 2/47th Infantry (Mech) did not get their choice of beer. Since they were out in the field most of their time in Vietnam, they got whatever the other units did not want...Black Label instead of other brands. On occasion someone going to the rear for some reason might be able to snag a few cases of something else to bring back to the crew, but those times were few and far between.
Well, I decided which vehicle this model is going to represent. It is going to be C-13 HARASSMENT which was part of 1st Platoon, C Company, 2d Battalion, 47th Infantry (Mechanized), 9th Infantry Division. As you can see from these photos, the .50 only had the front shield in place and only one shield for the M60 which was on the right side of the track. They also had the pieces of metal that were on the top part of the track shrouds still attached although the shrouds themselves were removed. Something else that they also had that was unusual was a shop welded headlight guard on the driver's side headlights instead of the flimsy rods that were normally found on gas-powered M113s. The right side headlight guard was the original type for the M113. The following photos are from fellow Texas Jon "Tex" Bowers.
Well, I decided which vehicle this model is going to represent. It is going to be C-13 HARASSMENT which was part of 1st Platoon, C Company, 2d Battalion, 47th Infantry (Mechanized), 9th Infantry Division. As you can see from these photos, the .50 only had the front shield in place and only one shield for the M60 which was on the right side of the track. They also had the pieces of metal that were on the top part of the track shrouds still attached although the shrouds themselves were removed. Something else that they also had that was unusual was a shop welded headlight guard on the driver's side headlights instead of the flimsy rods that were normally found on gas-powered M113s. The right side headlight guard was the original type for the M113. The following photos are from fellow Texas Jon "Tex" Bowers.
JamesOLeary
Master at Arms
So now that I have chosen a particular track for this model to depict, I had to do a few additional things to make it look more like HARASSMENT. I took the track shrouds that came in the kit and cut the support beams / rails off and glued them in place on the sides where they attach to the vehicle.
Since I will be putting the roof on soon, I added the periscopes and some grab handles. The AFV Club kit did not come with the grab handles and I could not find my photo etch sets for the Academy kit that had some so I used the plastic ones from the Academy kit. I will be painting the area for the driver by hand.
Since the track shroud rails needed to be bent a bit to match the photos, I heated the areas with a hair dryer and used the handle of a paint brush to push the bottom part of the rail up or down depending on the corresponding damage in the photos of the actual vehicle. In hindsight, I probably should have done this prior to attaching the rails to the model. I ended up breaking off one of the torsion bars on the right side. I can glue it back on, so it's not a deal breaker. This is how the rails turned out. It is close enough to the pictures for government work.
The main thing is that you can tell there was some damage to the rails from busting brush.
Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
James
Since I will be putting the roof on soon, I added the periscopes and some grab handles. The AFV Club kit did not come with the grab handles and I could not find my photo etch sets for the Academy kit that had some so I used the plastic ones from the Academy kit. I will be painting the area for the driver by hand.
Since the track shroud rails needed to be bent a bit to match the photos, I heated the areas with a hair dryer and used the handle of a paint brush to push the bottom part of the rail up or down depending on the corresponding damage in the photos of the actual vehicle. In hindsight, I probably should have done this prior to attaching the rails to the model. I ended up breaking off one of the torsion bars on the right side. I can glue it back on, so it's not a deal breaker. This is how the rails turned out. It is close enough to the pictures for government work.
The main thing is that you can tell there was some damage to the rails from busting brush.
Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
James
Great photos and a very interesting thread James!
Bob
Bob
Brokeneagle
Master at Arms
Great work James and very interesting info with pics. The interior detail you have created is stunning to say the least!
Ian.
JamesOLeary
Master at Arms
Thanks, Guys. I am glad y'all like it so far.
I just found out that my friend Bill Rambow who was in this unit and whose track and crew are featured in my "Breakfast in the Boonies" diorama is in contact with the driver of HARASSMENT. Hopefully I will be able to talk to him prior to finishing out the details so I can make as accurate a model of this track as my ability allow.
Cheers,
James
I just found out that my friend Bill Rambow who was in this unit and whose track and crew are featured in my "Breakfast in the Boonies" diorama is in contact with the driver of HARASSMENT. Hopefully I will be able to talk to him prior to finishing out the details so I can make as accurate a model of this track as my ability allow.
Cheers,
James
Duke Maddog
Well-known member
That is so awesome! Man, there's nothing better than getting it straight from someone who was there. Way to go!
centaur567
Well-known member
All those young guys are old farts like me. Looking forward to more. Gary S.
JamesOLeary
Master at Arms
Thanks, Guys. Yeah, all of those guys in the pictures are in their late 60's and early 70's. Heck, I'm 48 and time just seems to be flying. I can remember certain things from my 28 years in uniform like it was yesterday.
I haven't done anything else to the M113 itself, but I have done some more putty work on one of the figures I will choose from for the guy sitting in the troop compartment. Last time I had added the rest of the right side of his shirt and this time I added the top right pocket. And I removed his head to replace it with a Hornet head. I haven't decided on which head yet.
I think the right side built up fairly well.
More updates later...
Cheers,
James
I haven't done anything else to the M113 itself, but I have done some more putty work on one of the figures I will choose from for the guy sitting in the troop compartment. Last time I had added the rest of the right side of his shirt and this time I added the top right pocket. And I removed his head to replace it with a Hornet head. I haven't decided on which head yet.
I think the right side built up fairly well.
More updates later...
Cheers,
James
JamesOLeary
Master at Arms
It looks like I am just about ready to put the roof on. I still need to highlight the grab handles (after looking at these photos I realized that one broke off so I just put a new one on so I have to paint that one prior to highlighting) and then I can glue it to the hull. The grab handles are from the Academy kit since I was unable to find my several PE sets for the Academy kit that has them in brass. They look OK and will work for this track and the diorama that the track will be in.
That's all for now. Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
James
That's all for now. Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
James
Wow! This his not only interesting, you are moving along quickly!
Really looks great James!
Bob
Really looks great James!
Bob
JamesOLeary
Master at Arms
Thanks, Bob. I am glad that I am making this build interesting...I was hoping it would be.
I hated covering up the details of the interior, but I just placed the roof onto the hull. Now I can finish building this model so I can start painting the exterior. I am going to take my time and not rush it so it turns out as well as it can be based on my skill level. Since I am going to build this with the ramp open, most of the details will still be visible. Sorry about the somewhat blurry pictures.
Now to place the exterior details...
Cheers,
James
I hated covering up the details of the interior, but I just placed the roof onto the hull. Now I can finish building this model so I can start painting the exterior. I am going to take my time and not rush it so it turns out as well as it can be based on my skill level. Since I am going to build this with the ramp open, most of the details will still be visible. Sorry about the somewhat blurry pictures.
Now to place the exterior details...
Cheers,
James