M114A1

[MrT]

M114A1 by Takom

 

[moon puppy]

Back in the grove are ya?

 

[Tojo72]

Looks good T weathering looks great

 

[Greg Kimsey]

That is fabulous!!

 

[MrT]

Back in the grove are ya?

I don't know about that. It's kinda one of those builds where the more you do to it the more things go wrong.

 

[JamesOLeary]

The M114 looks good. Since my dad was one of the original Old Reliables at Fort Riley when they were forming up and preparing to go to Vietnam, anything 9th Infantry Division from that time period captures my interest. Where did you get info that 2d Battalion 60th Infantry had these? I am not trying to be a nit picker, I am just curious because I find it odd that 2d BN 60th IN would have M114s when they were a regular Infantry Battalion and were destined to be part of the Mobile Riverine Force where vehicles were pretty much useless. The two Mechanized Infantry battalions in the 9th Infantry Division were 2d Battalion 47th Infantry (Mechanized) and 5th Battalion (Mechanized) 60th Infantry which both were equipped with M113s and they were already worn out old ones when they got them. In fact, 2d BN 47th IN (Mech) didn't receive their M113s until a little over a month before they deployed to Vietnam as they were originally going to be a regular Infantry battalion. Not sure why the way the unit designations were written out varied like this, but that is how they looked on the unit's MTOE. I am just curious about the Division even having any M114s assigned to them at all since the Division was activated specifically for service in III and IV Corps in Vietnam and by 1966 it was already determined that the M114 was not suited for US service in Vietnam. Now I could see it being possible for it being in that unit after the war when the majority of the battalions were redesigned as Mechanized and Motorized battalions. Now my curiosity is peaked. I will have to look up some things just for fun.

 

[helios]

Stunner.

 

[Rhino]

Another beauty! Did it have any interior details?
This Takom kit is the closest I have come to buying a kit made in China in many moons.

 

[Brokeneagle]

 

[Jeeves]

Another beauty! Did it have any interior details?
This Takom kit is the closest I have come to buying a kit made in China in many moons.

The original release had some interior bulkheads with some detail on them, but they've released a new version with interior. Our AMPS president did an in-box preview here:

https://www.amps-armor.org/SiteReviews/ShowReview.aspx?id=14994

 

[MrT]

The M114 looks good. Since my dad was one of the original Old Reliables at Fort Riley when they were forming up and preparing to go to Vietnam, anything 9th Infantry Division from that time period captures my interest. Where did you get info that 2d Battalion 60th Infantry had these? I am not trying to be a nit picker, I am just curious because I find it odd that 2d BN 60th IN would have M114s when they were a regular Infantry Battalion and were destined to be part of the Mobile Riverine Force where vehicles were pretty much useless. The two Mechanized Infantry battalions in the 9th Infantry Division were 2d Battalion 47th Infantry (Mechanized) and 5th Battalion (Mechanized) 60th Infantry which both were equipped with M113s and they were already worn out old ones when they got them. In fact, 2d BN 47th IN (Mech) didn't receive their M113s until a little over a month before they deployed to Vietnam as they were originally going to be a regular Infantry battalion. Not sure why the way the unit designations were written out varied like this, but that is how they looked on the unit's MTOE. I am just curious about the Division even having any M114s assigned to them at all since the Division was activated specifically for service in III and IV Corps in Vietnam and by 1966 it was already determined that the M114 was not suited for US service in Vietnam. Now I could see it being possible for it being in that unit after the war when the majority of the battalions were redesigned as Mechanized and Motorized battalions. Now my curiosity is peaked. I will have to look up some things just for fun.

Just one of the decal options in the box.

 

[JamesOLeary]

Just one of the decal options in the box.

I thought that may be the case as I have seen several kits from Asian manufacturers who get either the markings wrong or the time and place of the vehicle depicted by the decals wrong. I am thinking Takom either used a display vehicle that was outside of battalion HQ when the battalion was at Fort Lewis, WA in 1972 onward and painted in the battalions markings eventhough the battalion never used them as is common practice at many bases, or in the early days of the 9th Infantry Division being a test bed for new concepts and vehicles, they may have had some M114A1s to augment the new equipment they were receiving during this time period. The 9th Division Patch painted on the side of the vehicle was a practice undertaken in the mid 1970s. AFV Club M110 has similar decals but for 1-84 FA at Fort Lewis in 1967. The problem with that explanation of those decals is that 1-84 FA was in Vietnam in 1967 and was not at Fort Lewis until 1972. I was hoping that through researching what the decals were supposed to represent that I would learn something new about the 9th Infantry Division. Unfortunately, what I learned is that you can't trust kit decals being accurate.

Aside from that, your model does look good and I do like that there is a 9th ID patch on it. It makes a good display piece.

Sorry if I came across as being nit picky. I have just been seeing a lot of made up stuff in regards to Vietnam era vehicles and dioramas that my sensitivity level was running higher than normal and if I wasn't so much of a modeler of 9th Infantry Division Vietnam subjects I probably would have taken Takoms marking suggestions at face value. Your models are always excellent and this observation was by no means meant to be critical of your work.

Cheers,
James

 

[MrT]

I thought that may be the case as I have seen several kits from Asian manufacturers who get either the markings wrong or the time and place of the vehicle depicted by the decals wrong. I am thinking Takom either used a display vehicle that was outside of battalion HQ when the battalion was at Fort Lewis, WA in 1972 onward and painted in the battalions markings eventhough the battalion never used them as is common practice at many bases, or in the early days of the 9th Infantry Division being a test bed for new concepts and vehicles, they may have had some M114A1s to augment the new equipment they were receiving during this time period. The 9th Division Patch painted on the side of the vehicle was a practice undertaken in the mid 1970s. AFV Club M110 has similar decals but for 1-84 FA at Fort Lewis in 1967. The problem with that explanation of those decals is that 1-84 FA was in Vietnam in 1967 and was not at Fort Lewis until 1972. I was hoping that through researching what the decals were supposed to represent that I would learn something new about the 9th Infantry Division. Unfortunately, what I learned is that you can't trust kit decals being accurate.

Aside from that, your model does look good and I do like that there is a 9th ID patch on it. It makes a good display piece.

Sorry if I came across as being nit picky. I have just been seeing a lot of made up stuff in regards to Vietnam era vehicles and dioramas that my sensitivity level was running higher than normal and if I wasn't so much of a modeler of 9th Infantry Division Vietnam subjects I probably would have taken Takoms marking suggestions at face value. Your models are always excellent and this observation was by no means meant to be critical of your work.

Cheers,
James

No worries

 

[moon puppy]

Note to self, check unit markings of Vietnam subjects with James.