Man, that looks real in some shots, like looking in through the rear ramp. Great job
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Looking good Donald
Jack
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the holders around the edge of the engine access panels have black rubber end covers on them also the gaps between the floor plate would normally look black as they had a rubber strip glued to the beams underneath
this picis of the A1 panel that was split but still have the same panel clamps
you can see some of the rubber strip left on our carrier here. we had to lay the rest back down after cleaning
as far as the trim vane goes yes some carried stuff in them but not often. the Australians normally deployed them if doing ambushes etc as it could add an extra spaced shield if hit from the from from rockets and also the break up the shape a little.
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just noticed they haven’t included the Slave Socket on the Master Power box it only has the master switch and the power outlet for the IR scope (although they have left the plug part of the cable sticking out of the socket - would not be hard to make one though.
can not say i ever remember seeing a picture with now socket included even on A0 Petrol carriers.
you can see here on the carrier i help with the slave socket with the cap on and the small socket in front of that is where the IR Scope plugs into. (hated using those scopes they were horrible and if really lucky it would give you a zap off the cable)
only carriers a lot later removed the socket from there because they had a bogger display and moved the whole box or the socket was mounted elsewhere like some put it externally.
here’s a reference for the drivers bay for you - missing in this pic is the fuel gauge.
our front warning panel under the periscope was lowered slightly to add in a switch for the indicators
to start you make sure gear selector is in neutral, fuel shutoff in, master switch you pull out then turn to strait up and down, make sure battery indicator is high yellow/low green range, then hit the start button. it is easy as that.
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Spent a couple of years in that seat as part of the E4 Mafia. Man those things were fun to drive.
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i did 12 1/2 years then got back in one after 20 years away from them to help with a museum one on loan locally for the last 5 years. fun fact the armour shrinks over the years as the gap into the drivers seat is harder to get through these days as it got smaller - honest LOL
painted as a Vietnam tribute
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LOL! Love it.
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See Pic. #48 The instrument panel isn’t installed yet. I have it painted black,
Regards
Donald
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That’s a great photo of the torsion bars.
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Thank You for noticing.
Regards
Donald
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OK Now for something some of you May find interesting.
Making Operable Periscopes, well at least the illusion.
Here is how I did it.
Let me know what you think.
Regards
Donald
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I like it. There are folks who always grouse about clear periscopes, thinking that painting them black and clear coating them is the way to go. I use a very similar method to you, but unfortunately the effect is not nearly as good in 1/35. Those look outstanding.
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If you do it this way, any light that shines even remotely will show through the other end of the periscope.
That’s why I use bare metal foil on the Mirror section and mask off the lenses , it works on the same principal as the real periscopes.
Regards
Donald
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Actually the Chain-link fencing was used as a RPG Shield when stopping for the night . The Fencing would pre- detonate the RPG Round. at least that was the general Idea.
Regards
Donald
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i would not use chainlink for unditching you do not want wire getting stuck in your tracks. have helped for several hours to try to get wire out of a track sprocket and they ended up gas cutting it. wire and tracks are not friends.
the chainlink would be erected around the carrier with stakes for a protection against rockets
a good driver would know he needs to access the engine bay easily so would not normally store things in there (just search for m113 in Vietnam and see how few pictures actually show them putting stuff in there) also the trim vane is not that strong as the main part is wood. yes they would drive sometime s with it deployed as i previously said to add a extra gap for protection against rocket attacks.
mesh and other items was more commonly carried above or over the trim vane.
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Thanks for the clarification.
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yes the panel holders on the picture you shared have been painted over but are normally just black rubber on the ends. the ones on the drivers side panel in the kit look a little on the thick side and you can see they are not
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