RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

What Herman said...times two!

Cheers,
Eric.

Thank you Herman and Eric, your encouragements always make me want to do a better job. As i have also tied this build to an actual battle, it put some pressure to make sure i do it right, at least the best i can. I want to honour the guys who valiantly fought there.

The tank itself is pretty much finished, machine gun, tracks on and weathering. I still have a few accessories to put on and i see some areas to improve but its about done. Next step is the painting of the figures, always complicated.

Here is a quick workbench walk around photoshoot of an RC 1/16 scale M-24 Chaffee US light tank, a very rare sight.
Glacis with hatches open
The sprocket is a success. Remember that this is a Mato M4A3 metal sprocket with open teeth that was modified with closed teeth on the visible outer face. The tracks, road wheels and return rollers are also successful conversions. The lower hull is heavily weathered with Vietnam red earth pigments, a typical feature of this theatre.
The cast metal effect can be seen on the frontal section of the turret, with rolled steel towards the back.

Headlights on
Tail lights on
Coax machine gun firing
Bow machine gun firing
Next step, the painting of the figures.

Regards, Louis

Fantastic Louis, from the scratch build to the functionality and now the finish!!


Barry

Thanks Barry, I appreciate your support.

I remembered that the opening scene of the movie "The bridge at Remagen" features M-24 Chaffees charging at great speed to capture the bridge before the German destroy it. Not all RC tanks should be slow crawlers, certainly not the Chaffee.

Battle of The Bulge has Chaffees moving at a good clip as well.

Louis,

That camo and weathering is some of the best I've ever seen! So subtle and realistic. My Father-in-Law still has some of his gear from his tour in Vietnam, and it's still covered in that red dirt! He said, "you'd bleed red, and sweat red"!

I've always wondered what you did with all of your works of art. Now I see the shelving lined with models in the background! Mystery solved!

Cheers,
Eric.

Thanks Eric, i appreciate your feedback. The camo is not too bad indeed.

The model and the figures are finished. Here is an extended workshop photoshoot of the Chaffee. I know its kind of dark in the basement. But with winter outside with an ongoing snow storm, there is nothing close to Vietnam landscape around now... I will take it outside later in the spring for a natural light photoshoot with some green background. I will take and post a video of the model in action in a few days.

First, the painting of the crew and soldiers. I am no expert in French military uniforms. But what i know is that French Indochina is the most confusing theatre for someone looking for some standards. The French Far East Expeditionary Corp was composed of many different types of units; Colonial regiments, Foreign legion, Infantry, Paratroopers, Commandos, Auxiliaries, mixed units, Naval, etc. Each having their own customs, uniforms, mix of origins, and practices. After some web search, i selected something interesting that made sense.

The two Paratrooper captains are given a TAP 47/52 Lizard uniform. A colored picture was printed for reference. I took out many Tamiya green and khaki colors, blended some and did multiple tests to come up with the closest match.
The foreign legion radio man (le p'tit radio) is given a cool camo uniform that i saw was used by Foreign Legion infantry units. To make the tank commander's uniform a bit more cool, i gave him these camo pants as well, borrowed from the tank repair company...
Overview of the figures. Painting these five 1/16 scale guys took at least twice as long as painting the tank... Complex camo but something close can be done without difficulty.
Here we have Captain Hervouet with the driver of that day, Willer.
I gave the captain a heavy combat uniform, not the light tankers khaki uniform used on parades and low intensity operations. Pictures of Hervouet later during battle do not exist so this uniform is an assumption but is aligned with the picture of other crews. Once fighting has started in Dien Bien Phu, one never knew when the crew had to disembark in the middle of battle, and likely at night, in the rain with artillery fire.

The beret was given a light khaki (buff) color, as seen in reference pictures of the 1st RCC in Indochina. Nowadays, the 1st RCC is using Leclerc tanks and i have seen crews with blue berets.
I am a tank builder, not really a figure painter. So, i tend the keep the faces pretty simple. I found out that the more i try to make it complicated with various shades and colors, the uglier it gets. I do not want my figures to become caricatures either. When i look at a real pictures of a soldier in battle, the faces and expressions are usually bland. So my technique is to keep to basics and not overdo anything. Works better for me.
The driver, Willer.
Continuing on following post

More pictures of Captain Hervouet. He would normally replace his beret with a steel helmet before battle.
This is one of the Paratrooper Captain. I think the French post WW2 camo uniforms for Indochina and Algeria are the best looking uniforms to exist. Considering the French had the ugliest uniforms and helmet of WW2 and then coming back a few years later to have the best ones, decades in advance with other countries, is a true revolution. Finally, someone, in France, understood that to attract volunteers in the army (no conscripts could be sent to Vietnam), you have to give the men cool uniforms that they will be proud to wear.
Equipped with M1 carbine with folding stock.

The other Paratrooper Captain. The two captains, being veterans of WW2 in Europe, still proudly wear their prized Luger pistols, taken from the Germans after a successful ambush.
These guys were chain smokers, it helped manage the stress. Their favorite Con Gai in Hanoi were not around.
The red leather box on his chest are for binoculars.
"Le P'tit radio" of the Foreign Legion.