One of my dearest friends was the Command Sargent Major of the 11th CAV. Lost him in February.
Some have said that there were no Gama Goats in country. I never saw or even heard of one till Tamiya did the kit, but I’m also an I-Corp Rat and at the near end of the food chain. As for the Skycrane; your probably right. I know they were few and far between. That’s why I said a Chinook was the work horse over there
Cav units used mostly air lift when out in the bush, but have seen them supplied via five ton trucks and even a duce and a half once in awhile. You might want to think about a Sheridan as many units did a switch over in very late 68.
gary
As per usual there’s a goof or two in the build, the ammo trays for example are canted way off level but I was too far in to the model to try and fix it, the tracks were an absolute PIA! But in the end AFV Club did a respectable job of reproduceing one of my favorite tracks.
Mean while, since Gecko has announced their upcoming release of a CONEX container I’m feelin’ more comfortable about tackleing the M520 GOER, just needed something to put in the cargo bed.
Thanks for the kind words G @G-man69, your vignettes are an inspiration for me, your talent at creating realistic ground cover is something I want to emulate in my work but I’m more focused on getting the AFV kits built before I put a lot of effort into scenery. I’m just fortunate that the model companies are making some of the AFV’s from the 'Nam era.
It was fun looking through your pictures. The scale of the project only becomes apparent at the very end.
Does the landscape base come apart into sections? I considered doing something similar and decided very early on that any such project must be sectional for cleaning, moving, and possible storage.
How do you keep dust off everything? Dust in my house is horrible. I need to keep models in sealed containers or display cases.
Do you ever plan on taking your display on tour? The model club I belong to used to put on occasional displays for veteran’s groups and such. I pitched the idea of a modular terrain system for the displays but there was not enough interest.
I’m flattered you’ve noticed my "fantasy build " Doug @Damraska, yes the terrain feature is sectional, I’m working on part III now, it’s very light which is what compelled me to share my particular process and the materials used. It can be dismantled with little effort, transporting it along with 29 models (last count) though, would be a more involved undertaking. Like youself my home seems to manufacture dust but it hasn’t proven to be an overwhelming issue so far . . .
The M151-A2 built back in '03 is still fairly clean . . .
Your models are practically dust free! I really enjoy all the small little details and extra equipment associated with each piece. Things like that add so much character and visual interest to a project. In some of your pictures, the terrain blocks are so big the models look like they are 1/72 scale. The gun sight on that anti-aircraft vehicle is fantastic. The paint finish is really good even at that level of zoom. The photo etch grab handles on the gun shield show no signs of super glue mistakes. Very nice.
This is the Perfect Scale Modellbau GOER, finished in 7th Army markings. A decent kit. Don’t know how it stacks up against the Commanders kit. Commanders line also has the fuel tanker version of the GOER, while PSM does not. I don’t know if PSM is currently offering their kit.
Sweet! I haven’t been in the box to look at mine since it delivered back in 2016 (?) but I’m hopeing it has a canopy, if I remember correctly there was a difference between the head lights, one being verticle the other horizontal and there was an issue about the traffic horns not present on PSM’s version, I’ll get into mine in a few and take a look.
Lots of flash on the delicate parts, time to start assessing what I’ll re-fab with metal or styrene rod.
The hydraulic hoses and power cables between cab and cargo bed is going to be a trial finding research photos.
Well I’m getting stoked to begin this one, it’s been in the stash for a while.
While I applaud your effort, I see way too many vehicles that may have had a very limited role in the titled scenario. Not a critizium, just a comment. Wayne
According to Wikipedia, they were sent to Vietnam for field testing in 1966 and did very well:
In the US’s involvement in the Vietnam War, the Goer developed a reputation of being able to go where other trucks could not, and it was one of the preferred resupply vehicles after the pre-production units’ introduction in 1966. They achieved a 90% availability rate even though spare parts for the Goer were not an official part of the US Army inventory until 1972.
We had them when I first got to Germany. Hated riding in them. They had no suspension, only a shock absorber in the seat mount. You had to hold on for dear life so it wouldn’t throw you out of the cab when on a hard surface. They were better off road.
Ken
I would doubt it as the conflict was starting to seriously slow down by then. I still find it hard to believe (after all these years) that we don’t have a ten ton wrecker. They were everywhere, and the cranes most folks think of were uncommon. The M88 yes, and the ten ton wrecker was next in line.
Most trucks you see did not have tarps or even a top on them. We see Jeeps everywhere, but they never went far out past the wire (if at all). The 3/4 ton was actually more common than a Jeep, and even they didn’t venture much past the wire. CAV units used five tons like arty units, but if your out on a remote FOB; the odds are against seeing a truck. Why? A Chinook can’t haul one, and forget about the Skycrane. My base camp had a Jeep, and the other one was sent back to the rear because it wasn’t needed. We had six or seven five tons and that’s about it. You usually don’t see armor in base camps unless there is a problem. You want armor out there face to face with the opposition, and not catching Z’s inside the wire. Armor’s job is to keep the other guy out of the base camp, and the base camp’s job is to be fist of armor 24/7 (or infantry)
gary
must have used them close to the big cities down south. You get fifteen miles out of the wire and the roads are not fun. It’s not so much the ride, but the ruts in the road. A duce and a half would eat your wrist alive, but not so much with a five ton. Besides most everything that made it’s way to an FOB came by air. Much quicker and safer
gary
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