1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
Re: 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
I look at the work and from emotions I have only commas in my mouth, so I just keep quiet and enjoy the work of the Master.
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Re: 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
Thanks guys, I am taking a short break from the stress of binge modelling.
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Re: 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
Honestly, there is nothing to say that others have not already said. This is above museum quality.
Re: 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
Hi everyone,
I received a few items i was waiting for, so i will continue the build.
This is the Jason accessory set for the Takom M113
The quality is there, all the items needing a lot of preparation.
The set comes with two boxes with decals, very nice. This one is a box of flares.
The other box contains illuminating rounds for 4.2inch mortars.
One thing i have never seen before are 3D printed individual M2 machine gun belt links. They are meant to be spread on the roof of the vehicle. Fragile.
Of course, they are too thick to accept an ABER .50 cal brass ammo. They break if anything more than a standalone display is attempted.
It comes with 5 closed .50 cal ammo boxes. example on the left, and one .50 cal ammo box with opening cover.
The moulding is still too thick to accept the ABER brass round, forcing the designers to reduce the size of the ammo in order for them to fit inside the box.
Jason provides an open ammo box but not the cradle mount to accept it. It forces the builder to use the box as a standalone open box on deck (which makes little sense), or sculpt the mount to remove the plastic molded in ammo box like i did. It is a very annoying task but can be done. In my views, Jason Studio could have easily provided a new mount to fit the ammo box.
continuing on following post
I received a few items i was waiting for, so i will continue the build.
This is the Jason accessory set for the Takom M113
The quality is there, all the items needing a lot of preparation.
The set comes with two boxes with decals, very nice. This one is a box of flares.
The other box contains illuminating rounds for 4.2inch mortars.
One thing i have never seen before are 3D printed individual M2 machine gun belt links. They are meant to be spread on the roof of the vehicle. Fragile.
Of course, they are too thick to accept an ABER .50 cal brass ammo. They break if anything more than a standalone display is attempted.
It comes with 5 closed .50 cal ammo boxes. example on the left, and one .50 cal ammo box with opening cover.
The moulding is still too thick to accept the ABER brass round, forcing the designers to reduce the size of the ammo in order for them to fit inside the box.
Jason provides an open ammo box but not the cradle mount to accept it. It forces the builder to use the box as a standalone open box on deck (which makes little sense), or sculpt the mount to remove the plastic molded in ammo box like i did. It is a very annoying task but can be done. In my views, Jason Studio could have easily provided a new mount to fit the ammo box.
continuing on following post
Last edited by lmcq11 on Thu Feb 27, 2025 3:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
Comes with 5 ammo boxes for the M2 and 5 ammo boxes for the M60. It would have been interesting if Jason had provided resin ammo belts for the M60 to put in the ammo bin behind each shield, instead of some other items.
Pair of boots, canteens, and bags.
A rare food container, and two replacement jerrycans with straps.
An M-16A1, two flak jackets, a combat vest and some used rounds.
Shipping costs from China was a fixed price so i ordered some more stuff, either for this model or future builds. It is mostly the same items sold separately. The jerrycans do not have the straps. The cost was reasonable considering the cost for similar products from other vendors.
Those helmets with decals and interior liner seem very nice.
The used cartridge is of the same size as ABER. Anyway, i will not be using the Jason ammo for the M2 because i am very difficult so i will revert to previous plans to use the ABER M2 ammo kit. But the Jason open box and ammo would do just fine, if you can manage their painting.
This is how the ammo belt, and links should look like, in size and color.
The ABER ammo links are in brass so they need to be colored.
continuing on following post
Pair of boots, canteens, and bags.
A rare food container, and two replacement jerrycans with straps.
An M-16A1, two flak jackets, a combat vest and some used rounds.
Shipping costs from China was a fixed price so i ordered some more stuff, either for this model or future builds. It is mostly the same items sold separately. The jerrycans do not have the straps. The cost was reasonable considering the cost for similar products from other vendors.
Those helmets with decals and interior liner seem very nice.
The used cartridge is of the same size as ABER. Anyway, i will not be using the Jason ammo for the M2 because i am very difficult so i will revert to previous plans to use the ABER M2 ammo kit. But the Jason open box and ammo would do just fine, if you can manage their painting.
This is how the ammo belt, and links should look like, in size and color.
The ABER ammo links are in brass so they need to be colored.
continuing on following post
Last edited by lmcq11 on Thu Feb 27, 2025 3:23 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
After sanding with a very fine grit in order to remove some tarnish, they were treated with Perma Blue, a gun bluing solution that leaves no thickness or residue, available on Amazon. Done in a few minutes. I don't recommend painting these.
The fact that i left some bit of the connector from the sprue is no mistake. Doing this makes the fingers longer and provides a better grab on the cartridges. These are hidden and do not show. I believe the fingers are a bit short.
As usual, a 1.5mm rod is used as a guide. The fingers are rolled over the rod using the tip of a blade. Forget about using the jig coming with the kit, it's useless.
Then flip to the other side, the small finger goes at the front of the cartridge.
It took me about 1 hour of work to produce enough links for a 25 round ammo belt. That was the easy part, it just requires patience and some prayers of encouragement.
Comparing the Jason link on the left with the ABER link on the right.
Once the first two are inserted and glued in place with a drop of superglue under the belt, it goes a bit easier but creating a perfect result would require better optics and more time. The belt is created telescopically, one round at a time, each round and link are glued in place with a drop of superglue at the bottom before moving to the next. Otherwise, the belt will fall apart.
Pictures with zoom were a good way to notice issues and create corrections, when possible. I needed two rows of ammo inside the box to give it some depth, without going insane. This is the bottom row.
I purchased in the past some Voyager brass M2 ammo boxes designed for the M551 Sheridan turret. However, they are made too narrow and i could not use them as mounted open boxes. The ammo rounds do not fit inside... But some parts can be reused.
So, i am creating the body of a new ammo box in brass, taking the measure from the exterior of the Jason box. As the brass is much thinner, the ammo will fit inside. ABER sells a complete M2A1 ammo box for their brass ammo rounds but it is very expensive. As i just need the main body without cover to fit in the mount, it can be easily done in thin brass sheet at no cost.
continuing on following post
The fact that i left some bit of the connector from the sprue is no mistake. Doing this makes the fingers longer and provides a better grab on the cartridges. These are hidden and do not show. I believe the fingers are a bit short.
As usual, a 1.5mm rod is used as a guide. The fingers are rolled over the rod using the tip of a blade. Forget about using the jig coming with the kit, it's useless.
Then flip to the other side, the small finger goes at the front of the cartridge.
It took me about 1 hour of work to produce enough links for a 25 round ammo belt. That was the easy part, it just requires patience and some prayers of encouragement.
Comparing the Jason link on the left with the ABER link on the right.
Once the first two are inserted and glued in place with a drop of superglue under the belt, it goes a bit easier but creating a perfect result would require better optics and more time. The belt is created telescopically, one round at a time, each round and link are glued in place with a drop of superglue at the bottom before moving to the next. Otherwise, the belt will fall apart.
Pictures with zoom were a good way to notice issues and create corrections, when possible. I needed two rows of ammo inside the box to give it some depth, without going insane. This is the bottom row.
I purchased in the past some Voyager brass M2 ammo boxes designed for the M551 Sheridan turret. However, they are made too narrow and i could not use them as mounted open boxes. The ammo rounds do not fit inside... But some parts can be reused.
So, i am creating the body of a new ammo box in brass, taking the measure from the exterior of the Jason box. As the brass is much thinner, the ammo will fit inside. ABER sells a complete M2A1 ammo box for their brass ammo rounds but it is very expensive. As i just need the main body without cover to fit in the mount, it can be easily done in thin brass sheet at no cost.
continuing on following post
Last edited by lmcq11 on Thu Feb 27, 2025 3:33 am, edited 2 times in total.
Re: 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
A new ammo box for the mount is created. The hinge is coming from the Voyager set.
Notice the difference in thickness. The 3D printed box probably has the equivalent of being 5mm thick or more in 1/1 scale, which is a lot for an ammo box. Brass is a more realistic thickness, and the ammo rounds of the right size will fit inside...
Sliding it into the mount. The box has no bottom, no need. The height needs to be calculated according to the thickness of the bottom of the mount. As the ammo box does not go as deep as it should on this carved mount, i had to reduce the height of the box to compensate.
I gave it a raised internal plasticard platform to keep it square and for the 25 round ammo belt to rest on.
Dry testing the height of the first row of ammo.
The 25 round ammo belt is ready. The tip was painted in dark copper. I have not yet created any pattern for tracers.
The new ammo box and belt are installed on the Browning.
This is it for now, next step, the new decals.
Regards, Louis
Notice the difference in thickness. The 3D printed box probably has the equivalent of being 5mm thick or more in 1/1 scale, which is a lot for an ammo box. Brass is a more realistic thickness, and the ammo rounds of the right size will fit inside...
Sliding it into the mount. The box has no bottom, no need. The height needs to be calculated according to the thickness of the bottom of the mount. As the ammo box does not go as deep as it should on this carved mount, i had to reduce the height of the box to compensate.
I gave it a raised internal plasticard platform to keep it square and for the 25 round ammo belt to rest on.
Dry testing the height of the first row of ammo.
The 25 round ammo belt is ready. The tip was painted in dark copper. I have not yet created any pattern for tracers.
The new ammo box and belt are installed on the Browning.
This is it for now, next step, the new decals.
Regards, Louis
Last edited by lmcq11 on Wed Feb 26, 2025 11:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
The "food container" is a "Mermite" Hot/Cold Insulated Food Container. Ate many green eggs and ham out of them in my military days. The pot metal inserts that held the food would react with eggs and literally turn them green.
Derek
Too many project builds to list...
Too many project builds to list...
Re: 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
Aren’t you afraid that the weapon may be recognized as operational, but as far as I understand, you don’t have a license for it...
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Re: 1/16 RC M-113A1 ACAV - Converting the Takom/Andy's HHQ kit to RC
Pavel is right! That's an astounding level of realism. In fact, I was exhausted just reading about the handiwork you accomplished. Wow!