M-113A1 ACAV APC - Vietnam - Build
Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 6:48 pm
Hi,
This is the start of my latest build, a 1/16 scale M-113A1 ACAV Armored Personal Carrier in Vietnam war markings.
I have always been fascinated by the Vietnam war. Between the clarity of WW2 and the professionalism of modern Nato, the Vietnam war and its conscript army of the 60s allows the modeller to dress up a vehicle like a Gypsy wagon and get away with it as being realistic. Can't do that on anything else and this difference makes this era appealing to some, appalling to others.
The M-113 is also fascinating to me. When I was younger, I have build 10 of Tamiya 1/35 scale M-113 in all variants provided by Verlinden conversion kits. It is inconceivable that main RC tank makers have not realised the sale potential of this basic little vehicle that can be derived in N versions. That explains why I have 12 Shermans but will only ever have 1 Leopard II, 1 Abrams, 1 Challenger II...
The base for the model will be the Ludwigs shell kit in plasticard, along with the few available accessories, meaning the rest needs to be scratch built. The strait armor plates of the M-113 should allow for a relatively easy project. Two of my old 1/35 kits and a bunch of references will guide me through it.
The base model is 65EU and consist of the following 4 plasticard sheets. I have compared the size of the main parts against the 1/35 kit and the Ludwigs kit dimensions are perfectly accurate for 1/16 scale. Angles are good and other than a few items that I noticed, it seems to be a very good base.
The kit is designed for Taigen suspension with torsion blades. Since these are difficult to find now, the options were to adapt it to latest Taigen Panzer III torsion bars (somehow) or to contact Ludwigs and see what they can offer. In the end, instead of cannibalizing a nice Taigen Pz III chassis like I was planning to, I decided to order a 3 part Taigen suspension arrangement that was offered to me by Ludwigs for 25Eu.
Also available from Ludwigs are the M113 sprocket (resin/metal) and Idler wheels (3d printed) for 33 and 20eu, these look very good and accurate. They fit the Heng Long Panzer III tracks. Ok, these are not exactly like the original T-130 tracks of the M113 but there is no other alternatives of that size.
Also part of my plans is the Verlinden ACAV conversion kit. Yes I know, this is in 1/15 scale and designed to fit their static resin kit. I have determined the parts are technically just a few mm to large but I think I can reduce the parts a bit to help with the fit to 1/16. It is also impossible to find 1/16 scale M60 MG on the market so this is the only alternative. After being very rare, this Acav conversion kit came back in quantity this year and can be purchased for $20 on ebay (on sale at one point for 14$). Someone must have found an inventory... I grabbed 2 because Verlinden has closed and those M60 with PE parts seem like a good deal.
More parts will be arriving soon, such as the road wheels. This should be interesting...
The fun starts here.
Regards, Louis
This is the start of my latest build, a 1/16 scale M-113A1 ACAV Armored Personal Carrier in Vietnam war markings.
I have always been fascinated by the Vietnam war. Between the clarity of WW2 and the professionalism of modern Nato, the Vietnam war and its conscript army of the 60s allows the modeller to dress up a vehicle like a Gypsy wagon and get away with it as being realistic. Can't do that on anything else and this difference makes this era appealing to some, appalling to others.
The M-113 is also fascinating to me. When I was younger, I have build 10 of Tamiya 1/35 scale M-113 in all variants provided by Verlinden conversion kits. It is inconceivable that main RC tank makers have not realised the sale potential of this basic little vehicle that can be derived in N versions. That explains why I have 12 Shermans but will only ever have 1 Leopard II, 1 Abrams, 1 Challenger II...
The base for the model will be the Ludwigs shell kit in plasticard, along with the few available accessories, meaning the rest needs to be scratch built. The strait armor plates of the M-113 should allow for a relatively easy project. Two of my old 1/35 kits and a bunch of references will guide me through it.
The base model is 65EU and consist of the following 4 plasticard sheets. I have compared the size of the main parts against the 1/35 kit and the Ludwigs kit dimensions are perfectly accurate for 1/16 scale. Angles are good and other than a few items that I noticed, it seems to be a very good base.
The kit is designed for Taigen suspension with torsion blades. Since these are difficult to find now, the options were to adapt it to latest Taigen Panzer III torsion bars (somehow) or to contact Ludwigs and see what they can offer. In the end, instead of cannibalizing a nice Taigen Pz III chassis like I was planning to, I decided to order a 3 part Taigen suspension arrangement that was offered to me by Ludwigs for 25Eu.
Also available from Ludwigs are the M113 sprocket (resin/metal) and Idler wheels (3d printed) for 33 and 20eu, these look very good and accurate. They fit the Heng Long Panzer III tracks. Ok, these are not exactly like the original T-130 tracks of the M113 but there is no other alternatives of that size.
Also part of my plans is the Verlinden ACAV conversion kit. Yes I know, this is in 1/15 scale and designed to fit their static resin kit. I have determined the parts are technically just a few mm to large but I think I can reduce the parts a bit to help with the fit to 1/16. It is also impossible to find 1/16 scale M60 MG on the market so this is the only alternative. After being very rare, this Acav conversion kit came back in quantity this year and can be purchased for $20 on ebay (on sale at one point for 14$). Someone must have found an inventory... I grabbed 2 because Verlinden has closed and those M60 with PE parts seem like a good deal.
More parts will be arriving soon, such as the road wheels. This should be interesting...
The fun starts here.
Regards, Louis