Revell Germany (Italeri) 1/35 M113

That's really well done. The wet and dry mud effects are excellent as is the overall finish. Well done sir!

It looks like it just rolled out of the jungle.

Thanks MB! I am happy with the way that this turned out. The mud part was fun ;)

Great build, Carlos. I followed this throughthe Orphaned Armor GB as well, FMC used to build those just down the road.

Only thing it really needs are sandbags on the MG tripod legs

Note the tie down cargo straps there ;) But I do like the sound of those for another project in the future.

Oh no--bonus points for the straps.  it's just that the kick on the M1919 is best arrested with mass, like the mass of a sandbag.  The bags could be heavily bent around the leg ends.

Oh I am not arguing the point. The photos I found of ARVN 113s didn't show anything there, keeping the tripod in place, but they were not very clear. And I know there had to be something to serve the purpose. So I figured cargo tie down straps would be a good idea. Sandbags are great for emplacing crew served automatic weapons and keeping them in place. I never played with a M1919 myself, but I became quite intimate with its' replacement, the M60.

Ok, so imagine the straight-back kick on the Pig perched up on a tripod about 30" tall.

The tripod legs are short on that mount, to keep the weight down.

Part of that is that the tripod was designed for the 1917 with its water-filled jacket holding the nose end down more.

And, if you have photos showing it, that trumps my old-fogy reflexes on securing guns to slick decks and the like.

I hear ya loud and clear. We usually just put our 60s on the bipod on the cargo hatch, no tripod at all. Tripods were tucked away inside the tracks with the spare barrel.

But here is a photo of another ARVN track later in the war with the tripod strapped down to the top deck (and a recoilless on the opposite side)

on the other photos I have found of top deck mounted M1919s, there was no obvious sandbags, or other such stuff around the tripods, so thats why I went with cargo straps on my build

I'm not sure how this one is secured...

Nice job on the camo painting Stik,the dry mud is a nice touch also.

Stik I really like how you weathered it and the dry/wet mud effect was tastefully done. Lot of very nice parts to this and I like that the hatches are open. Oh and the MG is perfectly done, very nice build Carlos, one to be proud of. Terry

Tojo & Jibber, thanks for the compliments. This one came out right.

Watching this closely as I'm starting with a Tamiya M113. Throw me on the wet/dry mud bandwagon. That looks killer!

Thank you Jet. If you go over to either the Orphaned Armor of Vietnam War GBs, you can see the various WIP stages and progress of this build.

Now See !

That's a little tin can with a personality !

Hey Stik !

Did you have a scale mud puddle to work with ? Very nice touches indeed

Sorry Stik ;

    I just keep finding more to like on this one .The " 13 " has always been one of my favorite pieces !

LOL! Thanks TB! I'm sure my other half would say that I am playing in the mud when I do the weathering ;) But all it is, is a mixture of sifted dirt and Future... pretty much a mud.

Wow- looks good indeed Carlos! I like the look of the M113 myself

Dave

Thanks Dave. I agree that the 113 does indeed have its' own charm in simplicity.

Hey Stik, I asked this over on the GB thread, but thought I'd ask here too. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for ARVN decals for the 113? I'm thinking about doing a tribute build to a good friend I work with who was ARVN and got captured and was in a NV prison for seven years. He's an awesome guy. I don't know if I'll actually do it, but it's a nice thought. It really comes down to how easy it would be to get the markings. I don't want to put too much work into this build, being my first, I just want to keep it simple and basic

Do an image search for ARVN M113 or ARVN APC to get an idea of what markings you would need. Their markings were minimal and simple, with the main ones being the yellow strip for a vehicle number. Occasionally some tactical numbers or markings on the hull sides. But aside from this kit, I don't know of any other markings for certain.

Thanks man. I just did a search, and, yeah, the markings are very sparse. Before tonight, when I searched M113's I saw a B/W pic that had two ARVN guys, a 50 gunner (TC?) and driver. I think you have it on one of your reference posts. It's a pretty sweet pic. There were no visible markings that I remember

I might, at some point, try to get my printer set up to make decals and give that a run. This would be a good subject to start with. Few and simple

Nice Work Stik,,, It looks great!!!!

Thank you FG for your kind words.