Hi all, my latest project is AFV Club’s M109A2 and I’ve ordered the AFV a/m tracks. I’ve never taken on this type of track before and wonder if there’s any advice out there on a jig or similar to help with this project?
TIA
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No jig really necessary. The components are properly spaced on the sprue - so you can assemble them in sections right on the sprue. Opinions vary on how well they stay together. I’ve built them many times without a problem.
I will point out that way back when I did this particular model the tracks were not the correct ones for it. Still, they did not object to going together well.
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Wrong company Sorry
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Many thanks Donald, wonderfully-detailed explanation.
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Thanks very much. A great help.
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The AFV Club set is straight forward- I have built several. A sanding stick is handy for some of the edges. Yes a few end connectors may be loose, but once you get the track set on the wheels a drop of liquid cement will fix.
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Thanks for that. I’m also have a paint issue; my ODS-era M109A2 is wearing a lightened coat of Tamiya Desert Yellow. My question is, is it still too dark a shade? The box art on the Tamiya M109A6 shows a similar shade on the later vehicle but I want to keep it as accurate as possible for an ODS vehicle.
Any comments or recommendations would be appreciated.
TIA
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It is a bit dark. Tamiya does not have a like color. The dark yellow with some Buff to lighten it may be closer. Or Buff with some dark yellow.
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Or AK RC CARC Tan.
Thanks guys. I see what you mean about Tamiya Buff and I have a few bottles. Regrettably I’ve only got two small bottles of AK CARC tan and I’m guessing there’s too much plastic to cover on the M109…….(I’d love to try it though).
ETA Ive checked re the AK CARC tan and it looks much more of a grey tint than pics I’ve seen. There’s some discussion on the old site which seems to support this, so Im going to try Tamiya Buff and mix in some Dark Yellow.
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As stated above, the AFV Club tracks are spaced out on the sprues where all you do is add the end connectors (also spaced on their sprues) and you are done. They are very easy to work with and need no jig to make them.
As to color, the best I have found is Testors Model Master Sand (FS33531), unfortunately, Rustoleum bought out Testors and discontinued the Model Master line. For single colored sand vehicles, I have also found the Krylon Khaki in a spray can is a pretty a good match. Initially it is a little light, but after weathering looks great and matches CARC Tan well.
Also remember, for ODS you can paint them just about any sand color you want as most vehicles were painted in Saudi Arabia with non-FS paint that was bought locally. The sand/tan colors varied widely and faded badly. Some vehicles had the paint chipping off all over from wear and cheap paint by the end of the conflict too.
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Thanks Gino. Is the lightened Desert Yellow pictured above credible as a Saudi-painted vehicle?
I’ve spent the last while mixing something closer to last of the MM Sand I have left. I’ll respray over the Desert Yellow if I have to🤔
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I hear Tamiya’s Light Sand works great, same with Wooden Deck Tan. I painted this Tamiya M2A2 build to represent a Bradley IFV during Operations in Somalia in 1993.
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Which of the two you mentioned did you use on the Bradley?
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Tamiya Light Sand = TS-46. Mind you, it’s spray paint in a can. If you want to use an airbrush, then the Tamiya Wooden Deck tan is your color. XF-78.
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Deck Tan is also a good color, especially if you weather. As Gino said, lot of variety in the shades
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Thanks for that. I’ve got 2 bottles of the Tamiya deck tan. In the bottle it looks quite a bit darker than your Brad, which looks more like MM sand. Maybe its the lighting?
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I use black surfacer primer on all my models, so the colors come out slightly darker.
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That’s interesting. I’ll look at the deck tan tomorrow as its’s come out nicely on your Brad. Nice build.
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It will probably work, especially if you do a couple light sand washes on it to tone down some of the brown in it.
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