This is a story of love and hate.
I just (finally) finished the 1/16 M113A1 APC from Andy.
When the 1/16th scale armor kits began showing up, I swore I’d never venture into that space. I’ve always been a 1/35th modeler, mostly dioramas, and could never picture building such a monster sized model, let alone a diorama in that scale.
But then Andy came out with the M113A1, and I couldn’t resist. In 1973-74, I rode around in one, during my stint as a platoon leader in a Mech Infantry Battalion. 1/11 Inf (Mech)
They were a fun (all things being relative) ‘battle taxi’. We didn’t have to hump rucks over hill and dale. And they were the ultimate ATV, taking us places even the M60s couldn’t go.
So, despite the kit’s size, and the lack of shelf space to display it, I picked one up.
And then the problems started.
Our ‘tracks’ were always loaded with gear, and of course my huge inventory of 1/35 figures, equipment, and soldier stuff wouldn’t work, So I had to search out and buy a bunch of suitable 1/16th after-market accessories.
The Jason Studios figure set, decal sets from Peddinghause, and a bunch of gear from Steve at ValueGear (I’m lucky enough to live in AZ, so Steve is a friend and ready supplier).
The kit went together fairly well. I had some issues with the instructions, and the fit, but the result looks fine to me.
Unfortunately, way back then, we didn’t have cell-phone cameras, and I didn’t take many photos of my own vehicles, or of myself either, for that matter.
I used all the usual techniques, up-scaled, for the build and they seem to have worked. I do often paint larger scale figures and busts so the crew wasn’t an issue.
Those things were mostly aluminum, so there was very little rust. And the paint was solid so not much chipping either. The swim vane on the front, though, was just a sheet of ¾” plywood, so it often took a beating. That was fun to paint (hair spray method)
Note all the stenciling on the ammo cans, crates, and smoke grenades. I consider those markings to be important to add visual interest, validate the scale, and to reflect reality.
It took me more than twice the time to finish this monster – it’s more than twice as big as a 1/35th kit. Several times I lost interest and considered abandoning the project. Recall, I build dioramas, to tell stories, and the only story for this project was, “I used to ride in one of those.” Big deal…
I even had trouble fitting the thing into my normal workspace, cluttered as it is with paints and tools. The tracks, stretched out for painting were something like 14 inches long!
The interiors of those APCs were terrible places to ride in, noisy, dusty, crowded, unpadded and full of sharp edges. We did pack them with our personal gear. Luxuries like coolers and water jugs, and loads of ammo.
Luckily (good & bad) we were never up to full strength, so we never had to try and cram an entire ten-man squad inside. Most of the time, the grunts stood in the top hatch or rode on the upper deck.
Jason did a great job on the TC’s (track commander) pose; putting on his CVC (combat vehicle crew) helmet. One of the things I remember clearly was having to constantly drop my steel pot, to pull on my CVC helmet, tearing off my ears in the process. You’ll see my helmet on the deck between the driver and the TC.
It did appear to me that the kit had the standard vehicle mounted version of the PRC77 radio, as well as the small receiver-only radio mounted next to it. That was the config for a platoon leader’s vehicle. We could talk on our unit’s radio net, while monitoring a second one, say, for the armor unit we were attached to, or who as attached to us. But that required a second antenna, not provided in the kit. (Of course, this was a long time ago, and my memory might not be up to par – you can calculate my age from the years in uniform.)
All in all, it brought back some decent memories. But the build was long and frustrating.
Now I can get back to an enjoyable 1/35th diorama.
Thanks,
Ralph (Bravo36)
…
Outstanding work and an interesting story-line as always.
