This is a progress report on the interior.
There are the communication switch boxes and the periscope that has an instrument panel attached. We need 3 of the small ones so i built 4 and selected the best 3. The decals were mostly easy to install but some on the bigger box were not used as i determine they would not look good with the space allocated.
- 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
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Example of one of those decals on the tip of a hobby blade, and its not the smallest one.
As a lessons learned, I would have equipped myself with better optics before starting the interior decal installation. I was given by my sister years ago one of those hobby magnifier with lights that you put on top of your head, with various lenses. I thought it was the perfect setup for using it for the first time. I must report that it ended up in the garbage after 5 minutes, just not powerful enough.
- 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
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I regret having left the molded in wires on the right wall. As expected, they were very difficult to paint, with lot of paint bleeding and counter bleeding from the other direction in a vain attempt to make a clean separation between the wire and the wall. It looked terrible. I am no paintbrush virtuoso. I ended up having to insert black pigments in the separation line, and deal with it as part of weathering. Looks ok now. Lessons learned; on a future M-113 build, the removal of all the molded in wires is the first task i will do on such project, especially before assembling the walls.
- 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
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Black electrical wire shown in a previous post was used to build all the wires on the left wall. What a joy it was, and it looks good and very realistic. I still need to install the anchor points.
Small holes the size of the wire must be drilled in the switch box connectors for a solid joint between the wire and the box. It must be done prior to fixing the boxes on the walls.
- 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
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For the wiring, i did quite a lot of analysis to find a realistic result. It is difficult to find wiring information, most interior pictures available only show a narrow view without the end to end view, and for different vehicles. What i found is that every M-113 seems to be different, wires going everywhere, some with more than others. I am not a radio or M-113 expert but i could at least determine that a wire between the ANT port on the radio and the Antenna should be realistic. I need to install a few more smaller wires.
I took a few minutes to apply some basic weathering for the picture. I like to have my models displayed with simple light weathering. Mainly because it is simple to do, risks are low, and I am not good at doing anything more complicated. I have ruined enough models in the past to know my limitations. In the end, it is a question of personal taste.
These are my first test shots of the incompleted interior, in order to analyse and find defects to fix.
It is through close up pictures that all these little painting issues and mistakes just pop up like alarm bells.
- 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
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- 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
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The interior decal sheet is great. The decals are very thin, solid and slide well without any breakage happening. There are a lot of interior decals, taking hours. Floor treadplates were painted aluminum. I have no clue where the "Pamphlet bag" should be.
- 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
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Various improvements needed here, but it give a good idea of the finished model.
- 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
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Need to give the wire a smoother rounded curve. Wires from T56 helmets or some headsets can be plugged to the ports under the control switch.
- 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
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I am very happy with the radio and the results of the re-wiring. If Takom wants to improve its kit, it should eliminate the molded on wires on the walls and provide a string of soft electrical wire like I used, along with wiring instructions. It is also a lot more fun to do than painting molded-on wires, with various results.
- 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
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Continuing on following post
