RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hi,

A short post to show the inventory of available parts provided with the kit. This is a shell kit so it is important to see what is there, and what is not there. Need to plan on the best way to bridge the gaps and make an inventory. The instructions are limited to pictures on the Ludwigs website and it does not show them all. As usual, the building will be done one module at a time.
I did not find a use for these parts, but later found potential use for 2 of the rings for the top hatch and turret rings.
Some of the parts, such as most hinges, will require rework for accuracy. Also need to order some parts and that takes time.

Regards, Louis

lmcq11 wrote: I did not find a use for these parts, but later found potential use for 2 of the rings for the top hatch and turret rings.

rsz_img_2412.jpg

Looks like the long bits are left and right sided, but no idea what they are... unless for a modified version?

Hi,

A successful build like this involves a lot of planning in order to assemble the various parts required to complete the model. When lucky, someone faced the issue before you, designed a missing part and is offering it on Shapeways or elsewhere. But it is always a big task to integrate them to the model, and do so using easy to work with materials. The idea is to ensure i am not getting over my head, discouraged or facing slow progress.

Here are the M113 road wheels. This is one of the few 1/16 M-113 part available on Shapeways.com. They sell for $6 each and you need 20 of them... so it is a significant expense. These are just bare wheels. But there is no real alternatives other that maybe using M41 or Pershing road wheels and modify them. Some experts would design and build these themselves, but I am not there yet. The Shapeways wheels have a good resemblance with the real thing. One obvious mistake are the 10 holes for the bolts, there should be only 8. Not a big deal but it could have been avoided.
One huge item to figure out is how to mount them, and the M-113 hub caps are not available. After some scavenging in my part box, I have selected the hub caps of a Tamiya 1/25 scale Centurion that I must have built when I was 14. Although not totally perfect (they have 5 bolts instead of 4...), they have the right look and feel, and most important, they fit the hole of the M113 road wheel perfectly. I needed to experiment various options and create a prototype so that the required parts can be inventoried and ordered asap.
An 8mm brass tube provides the central shaft and the Centurion hub cap was modified to fit into it.
A round plasticard spacer is put between the 2 wheels to have the right spacing between them.
The 10 bolts will be made fully functional. Shown here with M1x6 brass hex bolts for display purposes, I have determined that I will need to order 100 M1.2 x 8mm bolts with nuts from Knupfer. I will drill through the spacer and install the bolts with the end with the nut on the front face like the real thing. That should be fun to build and look good..
The bolts will be inserted all the way through the plasticard ring that I added on the other side to create some substance to the road wheels arrangement, the bolts will hold the 2 wheels together, with glue as well to ensure solidity. A 3x20mm metal pin and a socket (again from Knupfer) will be used as the axle. The 3mm axle tip fits tightly inside the Centurion hub. The axle will rotate in the socket that will be made to fit the suspension arm. Oh well.. that's the plan. It is really when the suspension from Ludwigs will show up that I will finalize the arrangement and test it all. They are other arrangements possible as well.
Another Shapeways part that is available and I have determined that it can be used on the M113 is the Sherman Drive cover. It needs to be modified to fit behind the sprocket but the important thing here is that the visible front section showing when looking at it from the front be authentic.
The Sherman drive cap seems to be of the right dimension in order to recreate the M113 arrangement at the front. This will speed up the process. I will use plasticard to create the front part adjacent to it.
The M17 periscope model of the M113 is not available in 1/16 scale on Shapeways. So, I ordered the King Tiger ones that seemed to be of the right shape. They look ok but seem small. There is something wrong with the driver's hatch size that I have not yet figured out what exactly. Even with the periscope cover, the periscopes will look too small but they should not be... I will need to analyse that.
Ok, enough planning.

Regards, Louis

Louis your planning is the exciting part for me. Seeing all the parts sourced from all different kits and incorporating them into a working model is a true testament to your skills.

And on another note think of yourself as a trailblazer paving the way for another builder to incorporate your ideas and design process.

Of course they would be very happy that you did all the hard work

Keep it up Mr Louis

Could have saved you some money - mk makes a set with rubber tyres etc. The whole wheel setup.




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Ad Lav wrote:Could have saved you some money - mk makes a set with rubber tyres etc. The whole wheel setup.

Interesting... Thing is I search vendor websites for months, including MK, and did not see it advertised on any listings or search.

Regards, Louis

It's not advertised. I asked him about making some.

Would have been cheaper than shapeways.

Hi,

This is turning into a most pleasant build. After so many Panzers and Shermans, I find it refreshing to do something different.
The provided hinges for the engine hatch were modified and redone for accuracy . A KS 2.38mm brass tube was also used. I recommend not to follow instructions but to study references instead and try to reuse available parts when possible. I built the new hinges in 30 minutes.
A plasticard sheet was applied to the front lower hull for a tight fit with the upper full.
Mato Sherman headlights and taillights will be modified for the M113. With 4 of these powerful high beams in the front, it will be impressive to see it being driven in the dark.
Regards,

Louis

Hi,

For the headlights, the builder is left to design everything himself. Creating these from scratch is not an easy task because we have to select the material and also determine the location and the size of the arrangement. Positioned on the front like this, they are quite visible and the M113 has a very specific and complicated style that need to be custom made.

References are reduced to a few useful close up pictures. Be careful with Squadron Signal M113 walk around book because many of the close up pictures provided are of the 3rd prototype, the guards shown on these are not the production variant.

Four Mato Sherman lights were modified and installed using my best judgement at calculating locations from 1/35 kit.
The guards are made with K&S 8240, 0.81mm X 6.35mm brass strip. These were formed using pliers and then filed with a hand file to give them the shape you see. A couple of Meng nuts were added as per reference.
These lights are functional and the wires were inserted into the hull where they will later be connected to the Heng Long lights wire.
It was a complex job. Took me about 3 hours of work. P-E parts could have been used to install the headlamps on the chassis instead of plasticard but the P-E parts would have been very small and I did not think it would have looked better with my limited skills at bending these things. Maybe with a cooler head I will decide to redo these, but not tonight.
Regards, Louis

Louis,
These lights are very pleasing to my untrained in M113 eyes. That is a good heads up about the Squadron Series book on these APVs. Not even photos can tell an accurate story if the source material is wrong.
Following along,
regards,
Painless