Very nice jet maker.

Is that your hobby desk?, is the most clean desk I've seen.

Your build is going very good. Dont hurry and take your time on the build, for me the best part is painting and weathering.   So far, so good.

Keep us posted.

Thanks Feldgrau! I think I might be able to get her ready for paint this weekend. Had to work OT though, so not much time. I might have a long weekend next week, which would be great for getting my paint going - that's going to take some warm-up time with the airbrush

Thanks to HeavyArty too!! I think I'm going to give the circle template a go. At first I was thinking of using a dark gray for the rubber "tire" portion, but I think I'll just go with flat black and lighten them up a bit somehow. I'm really glad Ikar reminded me to put the tracks on facing the right way haha! I would have probably overlooked that and put them on backwards

Should have some more pics up tonight, or at least tomorrow

Looking good Jet keep at it.

Track shrouds are optional. They are most used for swimming the thing. They are rubber with metal end pieces and separate top rails to hold them in place by a series of 3/4" bolts. More often than not we left them off. If your doing a gate guard type track  I'm willing to lean towards leaving them off.

Thanks Stik! I wondered about that. It was hard for me to imagine that they would have been part of the main hull without some sort of weld there. I looked at a bunch of pics, and most of them were covered in mud haha! The ones that were clean I couldn't really tell if I saw a seam or not. Sometimes I thought I saw one, the I'd see another and it looked like it might be smooth. I'm trying to decide if I want to attach the skirts or not

Thanks GMorrison! Yeah, I made that rookie mistake when I put the tow hooks on. I quickly learned that a little CA goes a looooong way haha! Something I started doing for attaching small parts with tweezers, is to use the bottle and hold it upright to gently squeeze out the air bubble(s), then ever so gently squeeze just enough to form a dome at the opening, then dip the attachment pin of the part into the liquid. I think this only works if you're using the attachment pins. For running a seam or attaching a part with a flat bonding surface, or something to that effect, I'm sure I'll have to use the toothpick method like you mention. Using tape is a great idea! I'm definitely going to use that. I could probably use the glass surface I'm working on, but I really don't want to risk that stuff running everywhere

I've been using Squadron sanding sticks. They're good, but a little pricey. I got some thin sanding strips that were real cheap at the local Hobbytown. I go to CVS all the time. I'm going to look for those next time I go

Just a word on the rear fenders, they are lightweight metal and not the aluminum alloy armor. There is usually a weld seam there. Especially if they are damaged in service and replaced.

Your skills are impressive. I use toothpicks a lot to apply adhesives. never from the bottle. Squirt some on a swatch of tape and load up a toothpick tip.

Have you tried sanding sticks from CVS? get a bunch of grits, the foam backed ones. A swipe and problems disappear.

Spent the last two days filing and sanding the rear fenders. Taking from my limited experience working in aviation, I have a "last resort" mentality toward putties and fillers. I'm not averse to using them, but I try to get proper form or gap through forming the indigenous parts first. Then, if flaws still exist, I'll use an additive - in building 1:1 aircraft, we typically use either a specially formulated RTV or epoxy in such circumstances, which are rare and nearly always require a decision from an engineer. The idea, I believe, is to use as little non-indigenous material as possible, therefore minimizing the possibility of any sort of issues with bonding, corrosion, fatigue, etc

Both fenders had no issue with gap. I used liquid plastic cement along the main bonding surfaces, and a drop of CA on each of the attachment pins for a quick bond to hold the parts in place while the plastic cement did its work. The right side, in the first picture, needed little corrective action. There was a slight ridge along the seam, but a little filing with a flat needle file took care of it. The left side (second pic), however, was not so nice and easy. There was a significant drop off at the seam, which took a lot of careful shaping with a semi-round needle file, followed by a lot of planing with a flat file along the side of the hull to get rid of the wave. There's still a very slight wave impression when looking through magnification, but it looks flat to the naked eye and feels flat to the touch. That is well withing my own tolerances, so I'm good with it

I wish I had taken before pics, but I got into fix-it mode and started working it before I thought about taking pics. In fact, taking progress pics is a totally new thing for me. I like it though!

Still putting things away and finishing up my work area. I made a lot of headway, but there's still much to be done. My space is very limited, so I've had to search my poor, abused brain to find ideas. I decided I'm going to use pegboard for shelving and to hang tools 'n' things. I can use it both at my assembly desk for glues and frequently used items, and at my spray booth for paints. I'll accomplish this over the summer. It's on my immediate to do list, but it's not a show-stopper. I'm already struggling with moving forward on this build and I don't want to get too bogged down - not all of this is because of work area projects, it's also because I'm meticulous and I move very slowly at first when acquiring new skills

That being the setup for this week's progress report. I got only a few small things done on the kit. However, I picked up a new technique: using super glue. The last time I built a model, I was probably 12 or 13 years old, and all I knew back then was tube glue and spray paint. I twisted parts off the sprue and went to town. Flash to the now, and I am using sprue cutters, filing and sanding, dry fitting, holding parts with tweezers, and all kinds of things I never even knew of or cared to do. The latest is using super glue. The much loved CA

My first attempt at using it was to attach one of the front tow hooks. I used a bottle of Loctite Liquid Super Glue, and I thought the applicator bottle would be sufficient to place a small drop of CA into the depression where the hook sets into. It was easy when I used it on the vinyl tracks, but this was a little different. I was wrong. Capillary action caused the very runny "liquid (duh)" glue to not stay all nice and neat inside the cavity like I had hoped. So, I got some acetone-based nail polish remover and cleaned the area up as best I could. It looks fine now. I then decided to try a different approach and used the applicator to squeeze just a little bubble of CA at the opening and sort of "dip" the little nib on the hook that goes into the cavity on the hull. Then I carefully placed the hook on the hull, held it for a couple seconds, and it worked like a charm. I'm still getting a feel for how much - or, more accurately, how little - glue to use, and how to work it for a good, quick bond and zero mess, but I feel very confident with it already. I am now a huge fan. Once I figured out a good technique it became immediately obvious how perfect this stuff is for attaching small parts, or anywhere a strong non-fused bond is desired (tracks, for instance)

So I took my time and attached the tow hooks on the front and back, the hitch, and the ramp handle. I also went to Lowe's and got a piece of 16" x 20" glass, then went to Michael's (next door) and got some white grid paper, and made a very nice work surface. The guy at Lowe's asked me what I wanted to use it for, and then tried to talk me out of it. It started to get a little irritating, but I insisted on glass, not acrylic, not lexan, not anything else. I love it. Glass is a fantastic work surface for this. Flat, smooth, and easy to clean. I guess it's hard on blades, but I have a cutting mat right next to it if I should need it

Here's my pics for this week...

HeavyArty

... I would stick to black paint and a circle template.

There should be a slight edge around the roadwheel where the metal rim and the rubber meet.

Also, I wouldn't use the sharpie.  The color will not really look right as it has a purpleish tone to it.  Also, it can be dissolved by dullcoat and turpentine washes.  I would stick to black paint and a circle template.

One thing about Sharpie ink- before you use it on the model, try a compatibility test with whatever you plan to overspray it with, like matte clear etc. I've had a few bad experiences where clear lacquer will dissolve it and make it bleed.

Just test it first.

Amazing suggestions!!

Ikar, those pics are excellent! They gave me some really great ideas on how weathering might be applied to the 113

Phil and SprueOne, the ones in this kit have a raised lip around the rim. After seeing those pics, I'm wondering if I should file it down? It wouldn't be hard to do I don't think, and it certainly looks like it would be more accurate. AND, painting them would definitely be easier

feldgrau, I just tried some Sharpie on a small area of one of my wheels to see what it looks like. It looks pretty good. I wonder if the tone of the Sharpie color, once matte-ed, would look similar to rubber? I'm going to test that this weekend on some sprue

Karl, that is an outstanding idea! I never thought about selling the interior parts

I was able to get a little done today before work, very little haha. I got the drive wheel housings attached. That's it. The good news, though, is I had a badly curled cutting mat that I just finally wrestled to lay flat. I can't wait for this weekend. I'm really hoping to fire up the airbrush(es?). Have a good one guys

Cool concept.

Put that interior sprue on eBay. It'll get lapped right up!

This is true. Primeportal M113 by Cesar Ferreira

For the Tamiya 113's, you don't really need to use a circle template. Unlike many other AFV road wheels, the wheels in this kit don't have a noticeable rim between the wheel and the rubber tyre section.

You just need a steady hand and a lightly loaded brush to do the outer faces of the tyres.

Sorry, it's been some a while since then.  I sit corrected.

Heck, back then I was driving them sometimes.

Very cool Jetmaker!

I've been on a bit of a golden oldie kick myself.

And I back Bish, the circle template seems to be the easiest and fastest way of painting road wheels.

Nice start. I did build the Tamiya ACAV kit many years ago and recall it was a nice build.

In regards to the wheels, I only first used a circle template on my last armour build and its much better than my previous method of painting the base colour and then hand brushing the rubber. And I will echo stick on the absence of rust on the tracks.

On our armour, we used to leave the radio's fitted but just removed the antennas. But if as you say you want to do a museum piece, I think leaving those off would be just fine.

Thanks for all the responses!!!

I got some 3M Scotch-Blue Painter's Tape for Multi-Surfaces. That should be okay right? I also have some small and large Tamiya tape, and I plan to acquire an assortment. I also have the basic masking tape like I used in the pics, and some electrician's tape, double-sided tape, Frogtape, aluminum tape, and the quintessential duct tape. So far, the only masking I see for this one is the track pads and roadwheels - which brings up my first question: any advice on painting roadwheels? - I have a couple circle templates, but I'm not sure if there isn't a better/easier way

0.15 wire for antennas? Awesome! That will help me greatly if not now then in a future build. I was starting to fall into the romanticism of building a tribute to my friend and co-worker, but I think it's better that I stick to my original concept and go with a monument/museum type piece. I haven't seen any display M113's but I would imagine they might not have antennas, but may have gutted weapons attached. That's my thinking behind mounting the .50 but not the radios - btw, Stik, after I thought about it, I do remember that the only time I saw any vehicles without radios mounted was when they were parked in the motorpool. And when I worked in supply we had to mount radios any time the vehicles were used at all, even for recruiting events and such, so, basically, any time the vehicles left the motorpool they had comms

I was hoping to get some more done on her today, but I got up late, and I have to be at work shortly. I did stay up a bit last night after my shift and messed around with my work area a bit. I raised the overhead light and it's even better now than it was. One thing I've learned about lighting is that it's all about a balance between placement, power, and color temperature. I replaced the bulb in the light behind me from one of the natural daylight 6500k's to a soft white 2700k. It's significantly more yellow, but the mix is good. The way I have the light reflecting off the walls and ceiling, along with the direct LED overhead inside the aluminum reflector is really nice. There is no strain at all, and there is no shadow at all. When I need to use my lighted Optivisor, it performs beautifully. I also added a third LED strip in my spray booth. It's in front, along the top, and perpendicular to the two running along the sides, so it makes a "U" shape. The lighting in that thing is outstanding. I'm a big believer in good lighting. Working in aviation has drilled that into me

I'll have more pics up soon, this weekend at the latest. Cheers!

Phil_H

ikar01

The Tamiya kit has been out since the late 60s or early 70s and it's the one I use for builds.

This kit was first released in 1974.

yes it was. 

I'm seeing a current trend of resurrecting old kits and building them OOB or mostly OOB. 

 jetmaker  Looks to me you're progress is right on the mark.  It is a good idea to start a model with specific points you want and not to stray into too many extra detail detours -don't ask me how I've almost learned this 

ikar01

The Tamiya kit has been out since the late 60s or early 70s and it's the one I use for builds.

This kit was first released in 1974.

Make sure the tracks are pointed in the right direction.  A lot of people I have seen get it mixed up.

Here's a couple of shots of tracks from our squadron in S.E.A.

i213.photobucket.com/.../scan0251.jpg

i213.photobucket.com/.../scan0055-3.jpg

i213.photobucket.com/.../scan0141.jpg

The Tamiya kit has been out since the late 60s or early 70s and it's the one I use for builds.

Oh yes, tracks should not be rusted unless the vehicle is sitting in one spot for a long time. As soon as they start rolling, any rust formed gets scoured off. While tracks do take on a brown burnished metal look, they do not get deeply rusted. Each link also has a black rubber pad in the center.

You're off to a good start, and that kit, like most older Tamiya armor, is a great "learning/training" kit for building your skills. A piece of .15 gauge wire makes a simple antenna if you do not care to try your hand at stretching sprue. All US AFVs carry radios in the field. At least since post WWII. I'll be keeping a watch on this project as the 113 is near and dear to me ;)

Excellent start Harold. Looking forward to seeing more from you.

Looking good. I'd suggest you upgrade your tape. That brown stuff is ok for assembly, but it's no good for paint masking on plastic. A roll of 3M blue tape with the orange colored core is a worthwhile purchase.