1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC

[HERMAN BIX]

Ive heard of the term 'Vietnamisation' but this thig sure looks the term and condition
Very helpful to see the actual pigments used Mr Mcq11 too, and the perceived risk of spraying the whole thing in pigment fixer without degrading the overall finish is very inspiring.

Thanks for doing what you do and especially for sharing it here with all of us looking on.

[Pavel]

I used to work with reenactors when I played airsoft for the USA.
The guys bought REAL uniforms, for a lot of money, to look authentic, on various vintage resources, and I can tell you that in the platoon it was impossible to find a pair identical.
And the color rendition in the photo does not give the real color, even the film "Platoon" has different shades of OLIVE.
And they could have found the uniform, I think.
I myself have BDU camouflage, Corcoran boots.....
The uniform was brought "by weight" for 10 bucks, boots from warehouses...

[lmcq11]

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

[lmcq11]

12 fragile 3D printed hands straps for the interior are provided by Jason Studio, 10 are needed. It is a good thing because i ended up breaking 2 of them, one when removing it from the mount, and one when manipulating the roof top part of the vehicle to put it back in place. Touch it and it breaks...

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They were airbrushed painted while still on the mount, easier this way, then separated. Then the exposed partial tie downs were hand painted with the same interior green as the interior.

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The hand straps are installed on the interior roof and looking good, adding a lot to the realism of the detailed interior.

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These are the accessories created so far.

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One of the M16A1 had a molding problem on the carrying handle. I used an air dryer to soften the resin and make it strait. Be aware that the resin Jason used is extremely responsive to an ordinary air dryer heat, taking just a few seconds to soften.

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The Jerrycans before mounting on the vehicle.

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The Jason decals for the .50 cal ammo boxes gave me a lot of problems. They are extremely thin and fragile during manipulation. The first one instantly detached itself from the paper backing and rolled into a unusable mass at the second it was soaked in warm water. And there are no spares. Taking lessons of this, i used cold water going forward. Then, positioning them on the ammo box did not go well. They either would not slide for repositioning, did not look good, or were damaged in the process. Finally, i ended up using one Jason decal for the box that is mounted on the cupola, and then decided to use the .50 cal ammo box decals of the Echelon Sheridan sheet. They are for a different type of ammo belt though, these have tracers. The yellow paint seems a bit too bright on the close up pictures, i am thinking of darkening them a bit.

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Not sure it was the decals themselves or my better experience with them, but the decals for the 7.62mm ammo boxes went relatively well. All boxes were then given two coats of Tamiya flat clear enamel to hide the decal seam, then dry brushed with dark steel pigments. They are looking good in my view.

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The food container. Looking at it now for the first time in close up after painting, it could use some better weathering.

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continuing on following post

[lmcq11]

I had a Verlinden sheet of card board of US ration box. I don't know anything about MRE, and not sure if they are WW2, Vietnam or Modern era, it does not say. They were difficult to fold and assemble, and are not good looking. If i decide to use them, they will obviously be in some deep corner of the interior.

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The Jason Studio boxes are excellent. They had a large carrot that needed to be removed but they are well moulded, and the decals are great. Weathered with black pigments and given two coats of Tamiya flat clear enamel from a spray can.

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These Jason T56 tank helmets... Very difficult to remove from the big 3D mount they came with without some damage to the extremely fragile microphone set. I saw it would be a problem. I airbrushed it with some black paint before attempting the extraction process and the clean up operation. The idea was that paint could give it some strength. It has limited ability to bend, touch it and it will break on contact, not ideal for an RC model... Life expectancy on a RC model, likely not even 2 minutes...

I am thinking of replacing the thin 3D printed wires by brass rods. I have not yet decided what to do with them.

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And the inside of the helmet is fully detailed, meaning it will be very difficult to install it on the head of a figure. It is designed to be a stand alone item. I do not understand why a figure producer would not create a helmet that can go on the head of a figure... I will have to either cut the ears of the figures, part of the head, and/or reduce the thickness of the helmet ear phones, do all kind of mods and dry fitting while not touching the microphone... It's not looking promising. Keep that in mind if you plan to purchase these Jason Studios helmets, they are helmets for standalone display, same as their infantry helmets.

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Currently preparing for the painting of the figures. I have acquired the AK Interactive set for US uniforms in Vietnam.

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It covers a lot of different types of uniform that i am not planning to repro. However, the different shade of greens will be useful to represent the various color tones of the uniforms, representing the different time in country.

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I also purchased a couple of extras, such as the British Dark Olive that i think could be used for the webbing. I made some tests of this paint. It is not designed as an airbrush paint, it is super thick and likely designed to paint figures with a brush. The first tests were positive, the paint covers well on a single coat, and no need for primer to be applied on the resin. However, it seems to be quite shiny and that will require some handling.

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Next step, the figures.

Regards, Louis

[Pavel]

You can wet your jacket a little between your shoulder blades on your back, believe me, a couple of hours of "toy war" and even in non-tropical climates leave a wet mark on your back and also with stripes of salt........
And don't tie your shoelaces....... if you step on a trap, it will take a long time to take them off..., although this is not relevant for the crew.... they are in a box.
The canister also needs to be tied vertically.....

[tankme]

The 3rd Gen paint needs a different method of thinning to airbrush. Go to 22:57 in this vid and he shows how to thin the 3rd gens. You can't use any alcohol for thinning 3rd gens or they will clump and be a ROYAL PITA to clean out of your airbrush. Ask me how I know.

phpBB [video]

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Gad, what realism! I am impressed by the effect of the red pastel on the OD! I have not used yet much pastel for weathering (except on some model RR stuff), so I am eager to try it. For those who want a bit of amusement, here's a Vietnam story from a fine friend, an aging Marine. (This will probably get me kicked off RCTW.)

My friend and two other Marines were on a brief furlough in Saigon. Not surprisingly, a young Vietnamese girl approached them with an offer: "Three cases Meals Ready to Eat; you **** my mother. She virgin."
Marine: "one case MRE."
Young Vietnamese girl: "One case MRE!? You **** my water buffalo!"

The three Marines walked off stunned. But when I asked my friend why he "re-upped" for 'Nam, he grinned and replied "for the water buffalo."

[lmcq11]

Hi everyone,

This is it, the model is finished. There is a video of the model in action at the end of the posts.


But first, some details on the painting of the figures.

I found this AK one pager on the web indicating the colors to use, somehow completely different than the AK Vietnam color set. Go figure.

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In the end, these are the main colors that were used. Light and base uniform color, then British Dark Olive Green for all the webbing, flak jackets and other details. Field drab on slings, helmet camo and other items. The Skin color is Vallejo Red Beige. I am not a figure painter so i keep the faces and arms to basics.

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I searched the web a lot, looking at Vietnam era helmets, uniforms, boots, etc. I found the best source is often people that list old authentic memorabilia for sale. That way i was pretty sure of the colors to use.

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Painting a total of 7 figures is a lot of work, there were many components that needed detailed attention.

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After days of painting, the figures are ready. They were drybrushed with with a bit of European earth pigments, the idea is to make them look dusty after a long day on the road.

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The Jason Studio infantry man, very good. I used the fragile 3D printed M16. It's too beautiful not to risk it on a RC model.

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The other Jason Studio infantry man. Same quality.

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This M60 gunner is technically a Marines, but he is now an Army Infantry gunner...

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Continuing on following post

[lmcq11]

Remember that it is highly converted from a running figure. The molding is ok but not as good as Jason Studio. The figure was complicated to paint, lots of details, ammo and equipment. I am happy with the end result.

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The Jason Studio M113 driver, nothing specific to report. I managed to safeguard the thin microphone.

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The black M60 machine gunner, another conversion. I just wish he would look more happy.

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The Takom commander. It is made to sit in the cupola, hands on the machine gun. That is perfect because the model has M2 Browning flash and sound. It is complicated because the one arm and the two thumbs cannot be installed until the commander is glued to the cupola and squeezing the handles of the M2, thumbs on the trigger.

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A South Vietnamese M113 commander is showing the position to shoot the M2, very inclined towards the back.

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Thankfully, Takom has represented the pose correctly. As mentioned before, the Jason Studio commander is not really made to sit in the cupola and that is why i converted him to a rear M60 gunner.

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The notch on the back is made to rest on the cupola inside ring. However, i had to carve the notch at least 3mm deeper in order for the figure to hold on to the M2.

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The first figure to be permanently installed was the driver. I eventually managed to make him hold the two lever correctly.

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Continuing on following post