1/35 Academy M50 Ontos, WIP 6/12/10, Completed

Bill - Not to worry. Hope all is well by you. Thanks for the comments but mainly you take care....hope to see you back at the bench on a regular basis real soon.

Rounds Complete!!

Haven't been able to pop in as much as I'd like to Mike, but this one's coming along nicely.

Bob - Thanks for stopping by and for the comments

Rounds Complete!!

Red - looking awesome!

Bob

Thanks for the info,, We didn't get the 900 series until after my tour in GITMO,,so I need the 800,,I may just go with the AFV M35A2,,we did have one of those too,,,

Soon as I learn to post pics,,I'll take the plunge and let you guys 'bite'

Your 106 detail photos will be a huge help..

Kevin – Glad you are inspired. As far as WIP photos….”there is nothing to fear but fear itself”….trust me, we don’t bite….not hard anyway!!

For a 5 ton, not sure which series truck you need. The 900 series, Italeri has their kit…if it is the 800 series, you may want to cheat and use the AFV M35 duce&1/2….it is the closest thing to the 800 series 5 ton.

Thanks again for stopping by

Schnobs – Always a pleasure to have you stop by!!

Rounds Complete!!

Hi Mike,

Great detail work Mike! 

Looking great Mike! The barrels are amazing, you did a great job. They look just right.

Like I said before you have inspired me,, I grabbed the SkyBow Jeep and 106 kit,, going to use the 106 and mount it on back of 5 Ton like we did in Gitmo,,,park it in a dio outside the barracks next to the ready ammo bunker.

Now just need to find the truck,,I could not find any Jeep Pick-ups in 1/35 or 1/32. Don't think I yet have the 'courage' to post a WIP,,but your work is inspiring!!

Semper Fi

Kevin

Read you Lima-Charlie on the Honey-Do list... Bummer. I'm remodeling the/her kitchen in my 'spare time'...

Doing a great job on this "Thing" there Mike.

Kevin - Thanks....I wish I had the DTs.....the Honey Do list was a killer....my escape was the town parade!!

Thanks for the look. As they say in football..."after further review" yep the barrel has a slight warp. It is one of those modeling mysteries how...but thanks, I will take care of it!!

That's the great thing here....sometimes you are so far into the woods your friends have to show you the trees!!

Thanks again

Rounds Complete!!

Crusin' along nicely there Mike! Check one of your spotter barrels... may need to be straightened out some although I will admit that I too am suffering from the DT's after this past weekend.

Marc -  First, thank you.....second, thank you for the thought on the postings....third....math class 3K = 3000 ...lastly...long weekend, remember this or this is much better than or this ......

Thanks again

Boyd - I knew you would understand military intelligence

Brian - Thanks for stopping in....and it most certainly did in its day!!

Rounds Complete!!

Coming along very nice Redleg!  This wee beastie gonna give some Vietcong nightmares I bet!

Brian

OOPS

Yup, comin' off a rough  weekend.  Must be the DT's

wing_nut

Looks great Mike. And congrats on the 30k

30K??!!  WOWZA....

I trust your over-cafeinated fingers really meant to not throw that extra '0' in there, eh Marc...

Mike, good answer on that 'flipped' spotting rifle thing - no real reason is needed so long as it makes 'military sense'...

Looks great Mike. And congrats on the 30k

Karl - Thanks...Yep, planning on some grass also. There is an outside suspension bar which connects all the wheels. I have some pics where that became a "grass catcher" ....planning on it. Lots of red dust...chunks and grass where stuff can get caught.

Thanks again

Boyd - Glad you like the pic, it is a fun little kit.

Now to the question...well the "inside" ones are easy.....they both face the TC hatch for access. The outside left faces outside and the outside for access....then the right faces inside....which is the military way....almost all thought out but one just to pi$$ you off!! That one I cannot explain but the drawing from Aberdeen shows it facing in!!.....That's the best answer I have.

Thanks again guys

Rounds Complete!!

Mike

I love the night firing picture - that is just six barrels of unsolicited RAGE!  Awesome...

I am also loving your progress.  Super work...  I am sorely tempted to add this little guy to my stash now that you have highlighted it so nicely.

One question about the spotting rifle - why was only one mounted in 'reverse'?  Also, (OK I lied - two questions...) was it always the same one (second from left as you have it)?  I looked at the set up and tried to figure out the practical reasons, for example, access for loading, but I can't see one...

The mud is looking great, Mike! Might wanna mix in some long grass in there? Vietnam is pretty dense with vegetation, I hear?

The whole thing is really coming together and the detailing with the wiring is up to your usual standards--really a fantastic job so far!

Well it was a long Memorial Day holiday weekend which means lots of outside time and chores, shopping, traveling….but not much bench time. With that said, I was able to squeeze a few things in

To get the track area ready I first coated the area with Liquitex Ceramic Stucco gel tinted with US Earth Red. This gives a nice fine “chunky” look. This is a bit simpler to apply with the road wheels out of the way. After the road wheels are added it will be time for pigments.

Next it was time for the decals. Not much on this Ontos as I decided to stay with the kit supplied decals. The simple B23 on the rear doors and front fender and the vehicle ID number on the side

With the decals on I could now mount the barrel travel supports.  With the stucco work in the lower area I mounted the road wheels and also mounted MV Lenses for the headlights.

Getting anal with the recoilless rifles, I uses some 18 gauge black coated wire for the black electric cables to the 50 cal spotting rifles. For the recoilless firing cables I used a n 18 gauge nylon coated cable which I painted with Alclad Steel. This cable has a thin coating but still shows texture as the real cables appear to be armor covered cable.

That’s it for now. Next up is weathering, tracks and detail adds.     

As always your comments either good or bad are appreciated.

Rounds Complete!!

Terry - Thanks for stopping by and for the kind comments......

PS Thanks for allowing me post

3,000 

Ok.....that's enough of that......and now we return to our regular armor forum!!

Rounds Complete!! 

Mike that is squaring up beautifully great etch work as well. I can't forsee the finish but it has GOLD written all over it so far. THis one deserves an article.

Terry.

Kevin - First thanks you for the comments, thanks for the info on the spotting rounds, but most of all I am glad this has brought back many of your memories. It is those types of comments that make the time I spend posting my work all worth while. I am glad to have been a help!!

Thanks again

Rounds Complete!!

Looking very very good!!  The 106's came out perfect and the color really stands out against the Marine green.

Just to chime in on the spotting rifle,, when I had 106s (Not Ontos) we used more incendiary rounds than tracers,,actually if my old memory works they were TPI rounds...and they were not standard .50 BMG rounds they came packaged as spotter rounds only. This was post Vietnam--late 70s. We were always told that the spotter rounds had a different loading than the standard 50 BMG rounds...but I can tell you that Marines being Marines...we did use the standard rounds once in a while,,just because we could. I never took a round apart and measured powder and bullet wt,,probably would today though..

We used the TPI to range the 106 for the AP or HE rounds,,,,Flechette or beehive no spotter required,,set up in a lazy W and 'Fire the 106 !!'...

Redleg thanks for this build,, it got me back to the forum and has brought back many forgotten memories..modelling is great !!!

Kevin

Looks to be more fun than firing a black powder gun in the dark! One of the most awesome pieces of weaponry I was priveledged to be near during my military career was the vulcan doing a night fire excercise at the NTC.Sounded like one of those fart machines with a nasty stream of tracers.This is going to be a very cool finally.

Gino - Great minds think alike.....you snuck in while I was posting.......as always, Thanks

Rounds Complete!!

Brian - Thanks.....I love playing with the details. Glad you like them

Detailfreak - Thanks....Yep, you could fire all six at one time......but why......as I was stating earlier...they would load six rounds of Beehive and then track from one side to another, firing as they tracked and clearing a wide swath of jungle.

Citadelgrad87 - Yep.....could cause you to clean your shorts!! Night firing had to be the best!!

Thanks again for the comments and for stopping by

Rounds Complete!!

She's coming along great Mike.  Excellent work as usual.

Wicked Cool, Redleg, there's something elegant about raw, unpolished FUNCTION.  Utilitarian is way cooler than sleek and sexy.

I would HATE to see that turret tracking my way. 

Wicked man,can all six be fired simultaneously? What a commotion that would make!