"Young Entrepreneurs" Vietnam 1968 COMPLETED

[JamesOLeary]

"Young Entrepreneurs" Vietnam 1968

And the final thing I did today was weathering the M113 and putting the tracks on.

Here are photos of the M113 weathered with dirt and scratches from scraping against branches and stuff when busting brush.

And then I weathered the tracks a bit and put them on. It was kind of a pain in the butt to get the proper track tension without having the entire set of tracks and road wheels. I think it turned out well, though.

It isn't totally perfect, but it is good enough for now. I will touch some things up when I mount this to the base.

Now I just have to put the glasses and watches in their places, make the base, and put the figures and wedgie on it. I think I should be done in a few days.

Cheers,
James

 

[tom1815]

"Young Entrepreneurs" Vietnam 1968

 

[moon puppy]

"Young Entrepreneurs" Vietnam 1968

Nailed it.

 

[JamesOLeary]

"Young Entrepreneurs" Vietnam 1968

This is getting closer and closer to completion.

Here are some photos of the Vietnamese girl trying to sell watches. "This numba one watch, GI! It keep time real good."

 

[JamesOLeary]

"Young Entrepreneurs" Vietnam 1968

And here is the Vietnamese boy with the case of sunglasses and watches. I might even add a couple cartons of cigarettes if they will fit. The sunglasses and watches are photo etched pieces from Aber. They are pretty nice, but are very delicate to work with.

"Those sunglasses make you look like numba one movie star! You should buy them."

 

[JamesOLeary]

"Young Entrepreneurs" Vietnam 1968

With the figures and the wedgie of the M113 complete, it is now time to work on the base. The groundwork material with Magic Sculpt textured with a toothbrush and the road is a piece of sand paper. The figures are set into the putty to get the impressions of their feet so they can be glued on later.

I needed to fill up some space, so I used some gravel to fill it up. It breaks up the monotony of the ground and will look nice with a few clumps of grass thrown in among them after painting has been completed.

After these photos were taken, I took the figures off the base so the putty can cure. It usually only takes a few hours, so if it is cured before the sun goes down I will spray this with flat black. If it isn't cured by then, I will spray it tomorrow morning so I can start painting and get this done.

Cheers,
James

 

[moon puppy]

"Young Entrepreneurs" Vietnam 1968

That's soo cool

 

[Iron Mike]

"Young Entrepreneurs" Vietnam 1968

Very nice!

 

[JamesOLeary]

"Young Entrepreneurs" Vietnam 1968

Thanks, Guys.

Well, I got the groundwork painted and the figures attached. Now all I have to do is add a few clumps of grass and put the M113 wedgie on the base. I made a support device to help hold up the wedgie as I forgot to put the counterweights in above the road wheels on the inside of the model. I hope it turns out OK.

The next time I post I hope to have it completed.

Cheers,
James

 

[centaur567]

"Young Entrepreneurs" Vietnam 1968

Numba 1 GI!! Gary S.

 

[JamesOLeary]

Thanks, Gary.

I am calling this one done. I finally got the M113 wedgie mounted to the base. It was not an easy task like I thought it would be. I had glued the tracks to the base and all was well as it was drying and it was staying in place. I figured that I would need to place some sort of support on the outside of the cut portion for transporting the piece to shows and to the reunion. When I touched the support to the wedgie, it tipped forward and the place where the tracks met the road wheels broke loose. I had to glue those back on and then I ended up having to re-sand the support piece because it was pushing the M113 too much to the right. After all was glued in place, I looked at the area where the tracks meet the pavement and it seems like the track pads are too thick as the metal part of the tracks do not touch the ground. Depending on the angle it is viewed from, it is hardly noticeable, but I know it is like that. If I use these types of tracks again on pavement, I think I will sand the pads down a bit where they meet the ground.

Here are some photos of the scene prior to me putting on the grass:

This is the support piece glued onto the side of the wedgie and the base.

 

[moon puppy]

He's profilin' with those shades.

Outstanding work James.

 

[JamesOLeary]

These photos are of the completed vignette with the back of the wedgie and the support painted black and the grass and accessories are in place.

Starting with a shot of the title plate.

I might take a few more pictures to see if I can get some better focus to some of these angles, but the vignette itself is complete.

Thanks for looking.
Cheers,
James

 

[Iron Mike]

Nicely done.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Sensational work James! I love it! Way to go man!

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Very cool James!
Love it!

 

[JamesOLeary]

Thanks, Guys.

I don't know, but these photos might be better.

I really need to learn how to take better photographs.

Cheers,
James

 

[Steve Ski]

Excellent Bro, love this vignette. Great work Ma Brotha!

 

[moon puppy]

 

[JamesOLeary]

Thanks, Ski and MP.

This was a fun build...except for when the wedgie knocked over...and I would like to do more scenes showing the interaction of Soldiers and civilians in a good light but the selection of civilian figures is pretty sparse.

Cheers,
James