Looking fantastic Olivier. Very nice variation with the different colours.
Are the bolted wheels aftermarket or did you add the bolt detail? If AM. which manufacturer made them?
1 Like
Thank you Peter. The roadwheels are old Heller ones I detailed and modified some years ago.
Using the Takom ones is also possible but you first need to delete the weld marks which is a quite a tedious process.
The only AM roadwheels are in the sets by Azimut and Accurate Armour dedicated to the Israeli AMX 13.
Olivier
1 Like
Thanks Olivier. I built (badly) the old Heller AMX 13 and VCI kits back in the late 70’s. I should have kept them for the wheels!
We have the big annual PX (plastic exchange) model swap coming up in a month here in Brisbane, I’ll have to see if I can find one there (I have always wanted to do the VCI again). Hoping it will be a big turn out this year as it was called off last year due to Covid.
I would love to see a new tooled VTT/VCI. Officially the VCI was the version with the 20 mm automatic cannon.
Today I tried to apply the decals to the three tanks. To say it was not a success is an understatement.
The French markings for the 13/90 are wrong for most of them. So I ordered a set from Star Decals. From the kit decals I can only use one registration plate, the second is wrong.
The Israeli markings went well till I tried to apply the stripes around the gun barrel with no luck. They were so thick that they would not adhere to the barrel. I ended up by throwing them in the bin and airbrushing some white over the barrel. Tomorrow when the paint is dry I’ll apply masking tape to make the stripes.
Fortunately the Argentinian markings are useable. There are three “serial” numbers. I didn’t strictly follow the instructions as my reference pictures show different locations for some of them.
I’ll post pictures tomorrow when I have painted the stripes on the Israeli tank.
Olivier
2 Likes
So the 13 IDF got its markings. The unit badge and the V are decals while the barrel stripes are painted. The decals were too stiff to wind around the tube and a bit too short.
The Argentinian tank has 3 serial numbers only. The third one is on the rear basket and unseen on the picture.
A little guess game to finish: which ammo box is correct? On the left the MAG58 one, on the right the .30 cal.
I guess that the research team at Takom did not do their homework with a lot of care.
The MAG cradle is wrong anyway. But I can’t fix this, it would be too much work and I don’t have enough reference pictures.
A question to those who know the MAG. When the stock is made of wood, which material are the plates of the firing handle?
Olivier
6 Likes
I still have a Heller AMX13 for IDF version, I won’t be doing all that extra detailing you did, even though it looks really good! And I love the paint job on both the versions.
Too bad you decided after al to not build the Dutch version, but these look great as well!
The Heller is not that bad. You need to change the tracks though and modify the headlights for a IDF version.
I agree for the Dutch tank but to be honest the kit needed more extra work than for the Argentinian version.
Olivier
Cracking job Olivier, they look great and painting is very well finished 
1 Like
Olivier, can I ask who makes the replacement 105mm barrel? And does it come with a muzzle brake?
Brian
I expect FC Modeltrend to release one soon. They have modified the gun of their Sherman repotenciado set and made a print test. I don’t know when it could be available.
Olivier
Thanks for that; but just to be clear that would be the one used by the Dutch would it?
Yes Brian. The 105 mm gun is the same whatever the user. The Lebanese tanks had the same gun as well.
Olivier
Thanks - I was just worried about that muzzle brake being either specifically Dutch or not Dutch (!) if you get what I mean. As I have the ancient Heller kit in my stash (AMX 13/105) was considering what was needed to make the Dutch version. Obviously, a dedicated gun barrel would be very useful.
Definitely as the Heller muzzle brake is a bit off detail wise.
Olivier
Great! Good news! I have 2 of them but so many models, so little time…!
Further to my last, I was thinking along the lines of something like this:
or this:
However, kits apart, I need to do quite a bit of research.
1 Like
Being that I crewed an M60A1 for a while and I have not been on an AMX 13 it seems by the 105 gun tube size that the AMX is small. The 105 on an M60 kit looks small in diameter but on the AMX it looks large.
Greg, the AMX13 is a light tank weighing 16 tons so it is quite small.
But the 105 gun by Takom is not correct and the muzzle brake is larger than it should be (x1.4). At scale 1/1 the Takom gun caliber would be 175 mm.
Olivier
Frighten the opposition with a telephone pole. 
2 Likes
Slow progress now that I’m tackling the last details.
The IDF jerrycans are US or British modified jerrycans. The Takom ones are not good neither for an IDF tank nor a French one. So for my French 13/90 I used one resin jerrycan from the spare box. I just thinned it so it could fit into the holder.
Then I tried to upgrade the MAG 58 bracket. I made a new ammo box holder. I drilled out the solid molded glass of the searchlight and added a piece of rhodoid to make the glass. The bracket itself is wrong as you can guess from some pictures in a Dutch museum. Unfortunately there are not enough clear pictures to make a new bracket from scratch.
Olivier
4 Likes