I’m James Lyles, author of several books about gun trucks used in Vietnam. I did four tours in Vietnam and I was an NCOIC on gun trucks and I’ve been told I’m considered an expert on the subject. I found quite a few discrepancies with the AFV Nancy kit and I’d like to air them here.
There were quite a few running changes in Nancy’s history. Slight armor changes, quite a few paint jobs, etc.
The first thing I found is the absence of the M20 trailer which other people have also noted. The kit offers two tall riser rings instead. The M20 trailer is supposed to be mounted to the bed floor on a frame assembly.
There is also supposed to be a built-up wooden floor platform surrounding the trailer. This wooden floor is also missing from the kit. By the way, the frame assembly would not be visible once the wooden floor is installed.
Nancy did not have an armored bed liner like some 5-ton quad 50’s. There is however a section of steel that sits on the tailgate that’s attached to the rear of the bed sides for support. This piece of steel holds extra equipment or ammo.
There were two manufacturers of front turret shields and they are noticeably different. The lower part “nose” of the shield is much larger than the other. The real Nancy had the larger one. That shield, referred to as the M45C shield was made by Kimberly-Clark. The one provided in the kit is the smaller one which was made by Frary-Landers-Clark. This incorrect small nose turret shield makes adding the decal with the teeth extremely difficult. The shield in the kit can be modified to better resemble the one on Nancy. I have shown how to accomplish this in another topic.
The decals in the kit for the face and teeth on the turret shield are totally wrong. I have added a photo dated early 1969 showing the correct graphics.
The flower graphics on the side shields changed numerous times during Nancy’s history. The ones provided in the kit are generic but sufficient.
The kit provides a bumper number 12 but Nancy NEVER had a bumper number 12. The only bumper numbers were 28T-9, 28T-66, 444T-55 and 444T-72.
I’ve determined after years of research that the image of the Nancy doll on the rear turret shield was only on the vehicle for a very short time when it was assigned to the 28th TC. (8GP, 27T, 28T, 9) Unless you’re adding the correct 28T 9 bumper number, it should be omitted.
The bumper guides were made from lengths of rebar. The rebar was painted white with a red lug nut attached to the top but I have also seen the lug nuts painted white. The top of the bumper guides should be about even with the bottom of the windshield frame.
