Problem… the decal sheet got ruined for this kit, no big deal cause i wasn’t planning on using them anyways. But i need help creating its own unit markings like what company it belongs to. I’m not looking for anything accurate but believable. For example if i wanted this to be a recon unit how would i identify it as such?
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The interior looks great. Did you ask if there’s anything else missing? At the table under the radio there is an element of the AFES system (red box). Another thing - the window defrosting system - a small black box below the wiper motor. I’m not sure if you have the camouflage on the hood painted correctly
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Thanks for the tips! I scratch built the AFES box, where was the window defrosting system? And what you mean the camo is wrong? Is there a certain pattern for the NATO scheme?
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Could you show me NATO scheme?
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Need some tips on painting carbines? What could i do to make this look better? Also, the some of the m4s i seen online have different colored stocks and grips? Is that like a civilian thing or does the military use it to?
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OK, first, the metal parts. The main part of the M16 family is made out of high grade aluminum alloy, with a black factory finish. Depending on the age/use of the weapon, this can wear in some very unusual ways. The upper and lower parts can wear differently. Look at photos (there are plenty online) to get some inspiration.
Military issue stocks and grips are normally black, but as you noticed, these can be colored many different ways. In fact, some people have their entire weapon painted up, or wrapped in camo tape.
Ken
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Very nice build!
As far as weapons, as Ken said, the uppers and lowers can have a different finish. In this case you can replicate it with different levels of sheen - from dead flat black to eggshell to semigloss.
In Afghanistan, sand and brown matched the terrain fairly well. Standard Krylon was used. Even the M203 tube gets the treatment.
A lot of us purchased aftermarket grips and buttstock attachments. I used the CAA one simply because it held extra CR-123 batteries which never lasted as long as advertised.
I put an ergo grip on this one as well. “Four two oh” cammo was more suited for Afghanistan, but I used it in Iraq, because I could.
Final note: I did not use the grip pod as a grip. I prefer grasping the weapon farther out. But they sent me two, and the internal bipod did come in handy on occasion.
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Strange thing. There is one painting standard, but this photo shows that the engine hood is painted differently.
PS-a better photo of the box with the defrosting system
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It has been thru my experience that the pattern on the NATO camo can vary in shape and position. It may all come down to the Person and place where the painting was done. Also, they may have a policy to rotate the pattern after so many uses. I really need to go visit the civilians that do the paining on FT Carson and get some answers to these questions.
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Ft. Carson still uses CARC Sand for most of their vehicles when repainting, I’ve got photos inside their shop.
My experience strictly with M109 series going all the way back to 1998 when I attended Filed Artillery School at Ft. Sill is that the three tone machines were all painted almot identically, including the move to Paladins. If you look at the PzH 2000 even it attempts to stick with the very same pattern as best it can, even though the vehicle is longer.
Certainly repaints can be a different animal altogether, but the Army has good reason to keep them close to identical, going back to the 80’s (supposedly) - OPSEC. It’s harder at a glance to differentiate vehicles and get a count as to how many we have. How well that works is debatable, but even in Iraq in '07 SF had to remove all the identifying marks from their gun trucks - even though they were different makes with different turets, different antenna arrangements, etc. Some even had hood scoops while some didn’t.
I say paint the hood sand and be happy! 
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You provide a great point. I have never looked at it that way. I was going to freehand my NATO camo but now I need to go deep diving again.
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As I mentioned earlier, even in the early 80’s attempts were done to do this. The Brits tried it, and failed specatacularly - you can see these two tanks are not painted the same. And they also did not cover the registration numbers. All of the US vehicles in Berlin at that time were OD. And almost always the bumper codes were hidden with sand bags taped over/aroung them.
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O.K., I failed the “Spot the difference” test, all I could find was the front face of the big box on the turret of the tank on the right of the picture is the wrong colour…
Perhaps you could repost the picture with the offending errors circled?
Cheers,
M
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You found it! You must have read Highlights as a kid. I know I did. 
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You asked what else is missing. Academy’s biggest mistake (not yours) is too high a suspension. This can be fixed with a suspension lowering kit or using a Bronco chassis frame. Another thing - the chassis. The UPK kit, additional armor and air conditioners in the wheel arches are missing. It should look like this model in the photo. Don’t look at the cover of the additional fuel tank in front of the rear bumper - this is only for the GMV version All of these items are available for purchase.
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Did you use Bronco’s chassis frame on your M1151 models? How does it fit to Academy?
DEF was working on upgrading their suspension lowering kit, but there seem to be some problems with the production and I have no idea if it will be re-released or not.
Mario
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yes- I use a Bronco suspension frame. There is also a correct silencer (in Academy it is incorrect). The frame fits - you need to slightly adjust a few elements, but it’s very good.
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Thank you, that sounds good. I guess I’ll just need sprues A and B from Bronco model… getting the entire >40EUR model just to cannibalize it for the suspension seems a bit too much. Perhaps I can get the sprues only from Bronco.
Apologies to the original poster for sidetracking the thread.
Mario
It’s true - cost-wise…poor. For this you need to buy wheels. If you want to take parts from Bronco - more will be useful - correct engine cover and its fasteners, PLGR, intercoms and a few more things