Still here and watching this build with great interest. Between the knowledge and surperb build quality, this will be the go to reference thread for some time.

I commend all of you and it is not even finished yet. This is a wonderful example of how a FSM build thread should work. 

Ben

stikpusher

I’d love to have a few of these for my yard... 

 

Only $418 + s/h (looks like ±$30 tax and ±$30 shipping; did not look to see if you need letterhead)

Dummy fuzes are only a hundred.

https://inertproducts.com/product-category/replica-ordnance/artillery-replica-ordnance/artillery-fuzes/

1:1 modeling is pretty spendy

DRUMS01

Still here and watching this build with great interest. Between the knowledge and surperb build quality, this will be the go to reference thread for some time.

I commend all of you and it is not even finished yet. This is a wonderful example of how a FSM build thread should work. 

Ben

 

I am pleased with the Royal Model photo-etched tread plate. The quality is excellent, and the 1/35 scale looks perfect. I created a paper template and transferred the layout on to the brass material. It was easy to cut with heavy shears and did not require any deburring. The tread plate is painted with Vallejo Surface Primer and 71.315 Tire Black to get a realistic rubber matt finish.

I painted the HE projectiles with Vallejo 71.289 US Dark Green as indicated by the information Gino provided and ordered Vallejo 71.009 Duck Egg Green for the Smoke projectiles and 71.279 Insignia White for the Illumination projectiles. The HE projectiles are loaded in the ammunition storage box and the Smoke and Illumination projectiles will be standing upright in the deck storage.

The dark green projectiles look a little too green in this photograph, but that is my camera. They actually look like the Vallejo color chip below.

Question: Is the eyebolt lifting plug a different color than the projectile?

Question: If I were to add an LED light to the interior for daylight viewing, what color should it be: green, white, orange, red or blue? I have never used LED lights before in armor modeling, but with a full interior it might help to see inside.

The battery and switch can easily be hidden in the engine compartment.

The shipping plug/lifting ring is unpainted galvanized steel.

The interior light is provided by M35A2 Dome Lights.  They have two lights on them to select between; one clear; one blue or red.  Most modern ones are clear/blue.

If none are provided in the interior set, you can get them at shapways:  https://www.shapeways.com/product/4N2MYKDE9/1-35-m35a2-dome-light-msp35-011?optionId=60183354&li=shops

GreySnake

You are doing some great work in the interior Sarge. Can’t wait to see the next update.

 

In the meantime, I have been working on the interior hand painting which is very time consuming. I finished the HE (high explosive) projectiles with a galvanized steel lifting ring and some of the black details. Then as I started making progress, I broke the cammander's seat and had to build a new one from scratch. I like the new one better anyway, so it was no great loss. But I decided this is a good place to stop and post an update before I break something else.

I decided to try Vallejo Metal Color #77.720 Gunmetal Grey and #77.712 Steel on the breech assembly. So, I ordered both colors to compare with Vallejo Air #71.072 Gunmetal and Vallejo Model Color #70.863 before using them on the model. See sample spoons below. The AFV Club instructions indicate this assembly should be steel, but clearly, it is blued steel, or very dark oiled steel with a little shine. See photographs of the breech assembly below.

I am still hand painting the interior; however, I wanted to stop and tell you how pleased I am with Vallejo Metal Color, Gunmetal Grey #77.720 that I used on the breechblock assembly. It has that black-grey metallic shin I was hoping it would have and the paint flowed like nothing I ever used before with a brush. I highly recommend this Vallejo product for hand painting even though it was designed for airbrushing.

Harold

Looking great.  The breech looks spot on.  Another tip, the powder cannisters in the rack at the bottom right of the below photo should be dark green with white lettering on them.

Powder cannisters (w/round and powder bags).

Thank you Gino and G.S. I admit at times I feel out of my depth on this interior. I am truly thankful we have experienced artillery veterans in this forum.

Harold

Oh wow, that does look good. Great show!!! 

And thanks, I really enjoy following along with you. 

Gamera

Oh wow, that does look good. Great show!!! 

And thanks, I really enjoy following along with you. 

 

Gino gave me a nice set of decals for the projectiles and powder canisters and I want the ammunition they are on to look good too. I have gone as far as I can go with interior painting until I receive the AFV Club ammunition, so it's time to park this model and get started on the M109 L23 I have waiting under my bench.

Harold

Cool, I hope the shells won't block you from seeing all the detail you added though. 

Very nice.  The interior looks great.  You will like the rounds.  They come out really nicely.  Another painting tip.  The two boxes next to the TCs chair are standard .50 cal ammo cans and should be dark green.  They are above the seat in the below pic.

"Ammo can green" is one of those colors that's easy to spot, and hard to pluck out of a model paint rack.

Medium Green plus Black-green has been my starting place; but it never seems to be the same mix twice.

Thank you Gramera, Gino and CapnMac82. Gamera, no problem with ammunition blocking the view of interior details. Gino, limo-charlie on the .50 caliber green ammo boxes. CapnMac82, I found Vallejo #71.289 US Dark Green over Vallejo Grey Surface Primer gives me a good Vietnam era Army Green. It is too dark for uniforms, but good for ammo boxes and gas cans.

I have started assembly on the AFV Club M109 L23. It is basically the same as the M109A2 assembly in steps 1 through 5. This is the version I worked with during the Vietnam War.

Bish, if you are following this thread, I found a cool item to consider for your AS90 build. It is actually a review that Gino did in November 2013 on an Real Model resin M109A2/A6 engine kit. Please check with Gino, but I believe the engine in an AS90 is similar if not the same as the M109A2/A6. A 660hp V8 diesel engine from Cummins, coupled to a ZF Gear Ltd. automatic transmission.

http://armorama.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=9622

Sergeant

Bish, if you are following this thread, I found a cool item to consider for your AS90 build. It is actually a review that Gino did in November 2013 on an Real Model resin M109A2/A6 engine kit. Please check with Gino, but I believe the engine in an AS90 is similar if not the same as the M109A2/A6. A 660hp V8 diesel engine from Cummins, coupled to a ZF Gear Ltd. automatic transmission.

Unfortunately, it is not the same engine.  The AS-90 uses a Cummins VTA903T V8 making 660 Hp, while the M109 engine is a Detroit Diesel 8V71T V8 engine making 450 Hp.   As both are V8 diesels, they may look similar enough to put in the AS-90 though.

Some stunning progress there Harold. Thank for the link on the engine, as i mentioned in my PM, i have already built the AS90 at the tail end of 2017, but i would deffinetly consider this for the m109.

Nice review Gino, thank you.

This whole thing has been quite amazing to watch. I love this kind of work, I just don't usually have the patience for it. Well done.

BK

That is some dang fine work! 

She's coming along great!!! 

And good thing you have Gino, it's an engine- they pretty much look the same to me! 

HeavyArty

Sergeant

Bish, if you are following this thread, I found a cool item to consider for your AS90 build. It is actually a review that Gino did in November 2013 on an Real Model resin M109A2/A6 engine kit. Please check with Gino, but I believe the engine in an AS90 is similar if not the same as the M109A2/A6. A 660hp V8 diesel engine from Cummins, coupled to a ZF Gear Ltd. automatic transmission.

Unfortunately, it is not the same engine.  The AS-90 uses a Cummins VTA903T V8 making 660 Hp, while the M109 engine is a Detroit Diesel 8V71T V8 engine making 450 Hp.   As both are V8 diesels, they may look similar enough to put in the AS-90 though.

 

Bish, BK, Ogrejohn and Gamera I really appreciated your comments and input. I completed steps 1 through 11 and I am working on 12 through 17 to complete the hull. I already have the Friulmodel tracks assembled, so I should be able to start on the turret by Friday.

Harold

Sergeant

Thank you Gino for clarifying the difference between the AS-90 and M109A2 engine. 210 hp is a big difference, about 30% more power. I am surprised the US Army did not use a larger engine too.

You have to remember when the vehicles were designed/made originally.  The M109 dates back to the late 1950s.  The engine has been upgraded over the years, but you are limited to engine size based on hull size.  On the other hand, the AS-90 was designed in the late 1980s.  It was designed with a larger engine in mind.  The hull/engine size of the M109 and its inability to keep up with Abrams and Bradleys on the battlefield is the reason for the new M109A7 Paladin.  The A7 has an all-new, wider  hull using the Bradley engine, transmission, running gear, and tracks.  The turret is an improved A6 turret.  The Bradley/M109A7 engine is the same Cummins VTA-903T diesel as the AS-90.

M109A7 Paladin

Panda offers the M109A7 in 1/35.

I did a build review of it at Armorama:  https://armorama.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=Reviews&file=index&req=showcontent&id=15016

It is pretty nice out of the box, but apparently it still has many of the prototype features as opposed to what is currently being fielded.  There is a great thread at Armorama now that shows what can be done to bring it up to the fielded version:  https://armorama.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=286988&page=1&ord=0

Gino, thank you for providing background information on the engine size and the M109A7 Paladin. My goal is to build every version of the M109 available. My M109A2 will have the interior and one of the others I hope will have that cool engine kit you reviewed. As time goes on, I hope to have five or six M109 versions.

GreySnake

The interior is really coming out nicely, looking forward to more.   

 

 

Gino, I just finished reading the review and build you did and Robert Skipper did on the M109A7 Paladin from Panda and it looks like a winner with some modification. Do you think Panda will come out with new tooling to correct these issues that Robert mentioned? I also checked Scalemates for manufactures of other M109 versions:

1. M109 L23 - Tamiya and AFV Club

2. M109A1 - None

3a. M109A2 - US Army version - AFV Club, Italeri and others

3b. M109A2 - Doher version - AFV Club

3c. M109A2 - IDF Rochev version - AFV Club

4. M109A3 - None

5. M109A4 - None

6. M109A5 - None

7. M109A6 Paladin - AFV Club, Academy, Italeri, Tamiya and Riich

8. M109A7 Paladin - Panda

Can the Real Model resin engine kit be used in the M109A2 Doher or IDF Rohev versions?

Harold

AFV Club currently offers all the major versions that make it pretty easy to build all the other versions by mixing and matching different parts from their existing kits.  Here is a rundown.

M108: AFV Club kit

M109: AFV Club kit

M109G - Germany: AFV Club kit

M109A1
Replaced the M126 gun (M109 gun) with a longer barreled, 39 caliber M185 gun.
To model: Use the M109 kit and replace the barrel with one from the M109A2 kit. Alternately, use IDF M109 Rochev 1983 kit and leave off all IDF parts.

M109A1 Rochev (1983) - IDF: AFV Club kit

M109A2: AFV Club kit

M109A2 Doher - IDF: AFV Club kit

M109A3
Rebuilt M109A1 to A2 standards; only external differences to an A2 are flotation bolts left on hull sides and lugs left on front lower plate.  To model: Use the M109 hull, but leave off the parts for the flotation collar on top of the hull under the front of the turret.  Also use M109A2 turret. 

M109A4
M109A2s and A3s with added NBC protection and a few other improvements; all intenal, no external differences to A2s.

M109A5
Replaced the M185 gun with the M284 gun (M109A6 gun). To model: Use the M109A2 kit and replace the barrel with one from the M109A6 kit.

M109A6: AFV Club kit

M109A7: Panda kit

Your best bet is to stick w/the AFV Club kits.  They are light years ahead of the old Italeri kits.  All the others are reboxes of Italeri's molds, with some minor updates in the Tamiya kits and usually some stowage and/or figures added.  The Kinetic A2/A3 isn't that good (about the same as Italeri) and is soft on details.  Riich Model never released thier A6.

I doubt Panda will come out w/an updated version, but who knows. 

The engine can be used on any version of the M109 up through the A6.  The engine layout didn't really change.

HeavyArty

AFV Club currently offers all the major versions that make it pretty easy to build all the other versions by mixing and matching different parts from their existing kits.  Here is a rundown.

M108: AFV Club kit

M109: AFV Club kit

M109G - Germany: AFV Club kit

M109A1
Replaced the M126 gun (M109 gun) with a longer barreled, 39 caliber M185 gun.
To model: Use the M109 kit and replace the barrel with one from the M109A2 kit. Alternately, use IDF M109 Rochev 1983 kit and leave off all IDF parts.

M109A1 Rochev (1983) - IDF: AFV Club kit

M109A2: AFV Club kit

M109A2 Doher - IDF: AFV Club kit

M109A3
Rebuilt M109A1 to A2 standards; only external differences to an A2 are flotation bolts left on hull sides and lugs left on front lower plate.  To model: Use the M109 hull, but leave off the parts for the flotation collar on top of the hull under the front of the turret.  

M109A4
M109A2s and A3s with added NBC protection and a few other improvements; all intenal, no external differences to A2s.

M109A5
Replaced the M185 gun with the M284 gun (M109A6 gun). To model: Use the M109A2 kit and replace the barrel with one from the M109A6 kit.

M109A6: AFV Club kit

M109A7: Panda kit

Your best bet is to stick w/the AFV Club kits.  They are light years ahead of the old Italeri kits.  All the others are reboxes of Italeri's molds, with some minor updates in the Tamiya kits and usually some stowage and/or figures added.  The Kinetic A2/A3 isn't that good (about the same as Italeri) and is soft on details.  Riich Model never released thier A6.

I doubt Panda will come out w/an updated version, but who knows. 

The engine can be used on any version of the M109 up through the A6.  The engine layout didn't really change.

 

Harold

That looks great! Love how the tracks came out. 

Gamera

That looks great! Love how the tracks came out.

 

I also received some Evergreen Scale Models stock to rebuild the rammer in styrene on the M109A2 barrel and breechblock assembly. The resin loader-rammer was very rough and poorly modeled as you can see in the second photograph below. I would not bother with it except the rammer is easily seen through the turret door.

Harold