A major external difference between the 'Nam and the A1 versions will be the APU box behind the right door. This APU is molded on to the top hull piece of the A1 kit so major surgery might be required in this area to backdate it. The 'Nam is a gasser while the A1 is diesel but I don't know if the engine change also made some external changes. Everything else is similar I think.

Hi guys,
I haven't seen the AEF interior but I can whole-heartedly recommend the MR Models Int. kit

Chuck

I'm just building it.. It is great, somewhat complicated instructions.. I'm glad Sabot has posted photos of the interior so I don't get confused with MR diagrams. I have also started to scratchbuild some interior stuff and I guess building the interior will take as much as building the model itself.

Mario M.

Got a new question: What are those two long scythe-like tools on the engine deck?

The AFV Club M88A1 has one drawback: It lacks the two locks for the hooks on the front corners of the upper hull. These locks look like the locks that hold the chain in place at the back of the beast. Am I going blind or does anyone else have the same experience? Easily remedied with some scratchbuilding though

My beast awaits its first coat of paint.

I am not quite sure I understand what you are referring to with the "scythe" tools. If you are referring to the two long objects on the left rear side of the hull, that is the tow bar used to tow vehicles. There is another one stored under the exhaust deflector at the extreme rear end of the tank. The round loop goes in the tow pintle like a trailer hitch, the tow bar opens into a "V" with the shackle ends hooking into the tow hook mounts on the disabled vehicle's front hull.

Thanks Rob! But the tools I'm referring to are stored right on top of the engine deck. One is right beside the vise. The other one is on the other side of the deck. The handles are very thin, almost as thin as the shovel and pick handles. The 88 in the Motorpool has the slots for these but the scythes themselves are not there.

I've got the insctruction besides me at the moment. If I understand you, you are talking about parts B2. I'm not certain, but my guess would be that these objects are 2 crowbars.
Thats just my impression, I could be wrong.

greetz Jan

Hey Jeepney, those are "breaker Bars" or "tanker Bars", basically big, heavy duty prybars.

Thanks guys! Had to know what they were so I won't paint them the wrong color

Tanker bars are normally black metal, very similar to a vehicle's lug wrench color. Some times they are issued painted in black or the vehicle color. Breaker bars are normally that silver metal color that most tools (like Craftsmen) come in. I'll have to take a gander at the instructions and see what the items are.

did not know there was a difference between breaker bars and tanker bars...well, they must be tanker bars on top because noone would be putting big silver bars on the top of MY M88!

A breaker bar is the big 3/4" drive wrench handle (like a big rachet without the racheting action). A normal socket is placed on it and it is used to "break" the nut free, hence the term breaker bar. Cheater pipes are put on it for extra leverage.

gotcha. We used the terms interchangably for the Tanker bar. We called the Breaker bar "the big-assed wrench.)

BTW, and on the side, when I was at Ft. SIll in summer of '92 there was a VERY bad storm that went through (100+ MPH non-tornadoe) and we all swear we saw a breaker bar go flying through the compound...really. Pretty freaky storm, but it got us out of a 12 mile roadmarch!

OK, I dug out my M88A1 TM (it's one step closer to being scanned and uploaded now). The two items are:
crowbar; pinch point, 5' long X 1-¼" wide: on top of engine deck cover, 2 each.
AKA "tankers bar". You can paint them either black, OD green, forest green or the base color of your M88 (like desert sand). They would not be in place when the vehicle is painted.

Gotcha! Amazing what someone can learn from asking about a part Thanks for the info! They will be painted Forest/NATO Green, the base color of the NATO camo I'm putting on. Maybe I'll paint the vise aqua for contrast.

I'm building the AFV 'Nam version (M-88), but I'm getting burnt out on OD. Was the M-88 gas powered ARV in Europe and painted in the 3 color NATO scheme prior to conversion to the M-88A1? It would have to be around 1975 or so I think.
Thanks,
Cob