Hi Everyone,
Thank you Meter Rat about the info on the black paint on the Gun Truck. I have to admit that a dark
M113 and M48 looks good as well.
Thank you Martin2566 and Herman for your encouragements.
Thank you Pavel, your comment gave me the idea to paint the infantry in different tones of uniform color, representing their different duration time in country. It should make the display more interesting.
Continuing with the painting phase.
Looking at the model in different lights, i decided to tone down the Vietnam red earth a bit. This was done by simply over spraying some thinned olive drab on specific areas, specially on the top and sides that i thought were too red. It's ok to be authentic but the bottom line is that i have to like it as well. I found it better like this, and proof that pretty much anything can be adjusted.
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The tracks were painted with Tamiya flat black, then dry brushed with red earth pigments and some dark steel on the sides, and sprayed with thick layer of pigment fixer. The tracks are still performing well but i had one failure during turn tests. One of the track link halve came unglued, due to the small amount of glue used, without breakage however. It was simply glued back. This little RC conversion is really a running diorama, a table top RC showcase of the APC model, interior and figures. It is not meant to fight in the field against a Leopard or else... Those tracks do not have much lateral resistance due to the lack of a strong track pin and I will never attempt to run it in the field. I have a feeling that one day, R-Model will come out with a metal track set for the
M113, like they do for many other Takom kits. But then, it will be the small gearbox that will not take the load.
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The Jason Studio accessories included replacements for the jerrycans at the back, with molded on straps that fit the model anchor points. Nice but they require a lot of clean up that i did not expect. Removing the CUT on the handles did not look like much to do at first but it took a good 30 minutes of carving work with a knife for each jerrycan.
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They are thick and care much be taken not to damage the handles. The handles end up having to be sculpted round on the inside. It is strange that this design was needed.
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But they look good.
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The tools were added to the top rear of the vehicle. Straps between tie downs should technically be made to represent the anchoring of the tools. However, because the tools end up mostly hidden under the opened cargo top hatch, i felt there were limited benefits in doing so. Actually, scratch built straps sometimes do not look good at all because of my limited ability to represent a buckle or some sort of way to open them.
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Tow cable in place.
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Continuing on following post
