M-113A1 ACAV APC - Vietnam - Build

[lmcq11]

Thank you, I appreciate your encouragements.

What remains to be done before it's time to paint? Have you had any ideas about paintwork or markings?

Will work on roof now (outside/inside), including cupola, MG shields and then it will be painting. Further fine detailing (ie radios) will be done after the main paint coat.

The base external coat will of course be Olive Drab, with light green insterior. Markings in 1/16 scale are impossible to find for Vietnam era vehicles. It will require thorough planning. I want it to have US white stars and likely will be 11 Cav (black horse), or 4th or 5th infanttry division. I have not finalize the decision.

The weathering is the main issue. I could sink my M113 in a mud pit, leave it outside in the rain for a couple of days and the result would probably be realistic. However, I do not want a red M113... It could also brush and scratch it all over in order to simulate the vehicle running through the jungle for months but not sure I want that either and what kind of result it would give in 1/16 scale.

I am also challenged by the creation of the crew and infantry inside and on top. This will be a big task, some standing, some sitting. I certainly did not create the interior to leave it empty.

Putting dust is unavoidable, how much of it is the question. The whole thing needs to blend together in harmony. So my plan is to create mock up sections of the M113 in plasticard that will be painted OD and then I will experiment various weathering patterns, evaluate, practice and then select one before I perform anything on the model itself.

Regards, Louis

Some pics from the web.

M113 vietnam

Capture1.JPG (94.44 KiB) Viewed 3994 times

M113 vietnam

M113 vietnam

Capture3.JPG (66.62 KiB) Viewed 3994 times

[43rdRecceReg]

Superlatives fail me, Louis. I agree with Carl about the interior too: it seems uncommonly commodious, and much larger than 1/16 scale. It does look ready to move into In fact, kitted out like that I could happily use a full size version as a Camper Van

[lmcq11]

Hi,

Here is the commander's cupola, Part 1.

Here are the parts that I have gathered or created for the top of the M-113. Only the 2 small plasticard rings on the upper right came with the kit... Ludwigs could have easily provided more material for the cupola, it was a big task to create the other rings that will be used as the basic shapes for the cupola and hatch. Most were made using leftover plasticard from the part frets.

1/16 M-113 cupola

The core of the cupola are two 57mm X 3mm X 13mm rings glued together, then sanded and polished. The hatch is made of one 38mm X 3mm X 1mm ring, glued to one that was 38mm X 3mm but then shaped inside and outside, and then a smaller 30mm X 2mm ring added on top, all shaped using Dremel and various polishing files, not fun and it creates a lot of dust, wear protection or go outside to make these. A small strip is used for the hatch ring. I suggest you use a geometry school kit to create the rings.

1/16 M-113 cupola

Take note that the maker did not put the hole for the cupola at the right location on the roof, It is too much at the front. One of the ring into which the copula will be inserted is made and placed correctly, the hole is then remade accordingly with a Dremel. On the inside, I noticed that some M113 have a flat armored plate added to the roof underneath the copula. I have replicated it in order to hide remnants of the wrong hole, I will show it later. Not sure if it is authentic for the M-113A1 but it looks good and fit the need.

1/16 M-113 cupola

Parts are made of the M2 .50 cal machine gun mount.

1/16 M-113 cupola

The basic cupola is taking shape. The two rings coming with the kit are glued together and placed centrally underneath the cupola and will fit into the roof hole and ring.

1/16 M-113 cupola

1/16 M-113 cupola

Of course, the hatch can be opened or closed. Some more finer detailed items needs to be added later to the hatch and hinge area.

1/16 M-113 cupola

Here is the cupola with the Verlinden ACAV side gun shields added, they fit perfectly. As I mentioned earlier, the 1/15 Verlinden ACAV conversion kit can be bought right now on eBay for $14 and includes two M-60 mg, a real bargain. I am finding that the Ludwig and Verlinden kit are likely of the exact same size.

1/16 M-113 cupola

1/16 M-113 cupola

Periscopes were added. Notice the inside of the hatch.

1/16 M-113 cupola

Creating the cupola is possible but time consuming. I wish Ludwig had provided the basic rings shown above. I must have spend about 8 hours on the cupolat so far, and I am not finished. If ever you have access to a full Verlinden M-113 kit, it would be a good idea to use it for detail parts, they will fit perfectly the Ludwig kit, including the road wheel that could be made to turn I am sure. You will save a lot of time but is now very expensive. Experts in 3D printing can likely make it faster.

Regards, Louis

[C.Ellis]

Love this build
the amount of detail is amazing! Keep up the good work.

[HERMAN BIX]

Yes Sir, the turret and related detail is certainly a new level of achievement .
Me?...........I have far more simple needs.............sandbag the floor

[wibblywobbly]

The superlatives just don't exist, this build is beyond mere words!

[BarryC]

Bravo!! I really enjoy watching your detail creations.

Barry

[lmcq11]

Hi, thank you for you compliments. I am really just an amateur with some styrene...and what seems to be a lot of time available.

Here is part 2 of the cupola build; The M2 50 cal machine gun and shield.

I decided to try the ABER 16L-04 METAL BARREL upgrade set. I had to put two sets of glasses on top of each other to have enough zoom to see the small parts. The goal was set on a 'Best effort" basis because I knew this would be complicated and was unsure of results. At one point, I almost threw the whole thing in the garbage but some rest and a cooler head really helped.

ABER 16L-04 METAL BARREL set

After 3 hours of work, I managed to put together most of the Aber set together with the Tamiya Pershing M2 Machine gun, along with the Verlinden resin gun shield, installed on the scratch built mount. I had to lower the gun mount that I made earlier because it was too high. Nothing here did fit well together, nothing, so I think I had to redo the integration at least 3 times before I got it strait. I think the shield is still probably 1 or 2mm too high but I won't touch it again.

M113 cupola

M113 cupola

M113 cupola

M113 cupola

M113 cupola

I found the Aber gun barrel itself to be amazing and sharp, well worth the effort to put on. As for the rest of the Photo-etched parts, their value is marginal because the Tamiya M2 is already a great kit by itself, but using these is an experience to live through... With my limited skills with PE parts, in the end, I think the Tamiya parts would have looked better. I did get over my head on this one.

ABER 16L-04 METAL BARREL set

ABER 16L-04 METAL BARREL set

ABER 16L-04 METAL BARREL set

ABER 16L-04 METAL BARREL set

Next post will deal with the M60s.

Regards, Louis

[Ad Lav]

Goodness that looks amazing!

I am sorely tempted to make one, or get you to make one!!

[lmcq11]

Hi,

Here is part 3: The M60 machine guns and shield.

Two M60s are coming with the Verlinden ACAV kit. There are of great quality but again the Photo-etching is a risk factor.

Verlinden M60 machine gun

I replaced the static resin pins by brass rods, which allow movement for the M60.

Verlinden ACAV kit M60

I used a few brass washers to create a way to swing the gun shield instead of fixing them in static fashion. I can now see on the M60 pistol grip that I need to remove some excess resin.

Verlinden ACAV kit 60

Front view of the M60 with PE parts bringing a lot of value to the model.

Verlinden ACAV kit M60

Verlinden ACAV kit M60

I have started to finish the roof. There is still a lot to do, including the second M60 and lots of tie downs, hooks, etc.

M113 ACAV

Be aware of a small mistake on the trap kit part. The double hinge had to be relocated from the right to the left. Weld seams seen on picture on top of the trap were recreated here.

Verlinden ACAV M113

Verlinden ACAV M113

Regards, Louis