I haven't been posting on the boards lately. I've been busy with work and preparing to deploy to Iraq for trip # 2. I have been modeling though. My latest is an Italeri M923A1 that will be the Prime Mover for the Airmodel M198 Howitzer I was working on a few months ago.

I started with the Italeri M923 kit. I added details to the wheel wells such as inner fenders, steering gearbox and links, compensator shock on the right side, dryer bottle, brake lines, etc...




I also added details to the cab such as the bracing on the rear cab wall, reworked both seats and their supports, added the T-bar shift lever and removed the floor-mounted gear shifter, added the heater box and hoses, air lines for the windshield wiper motors, etc..




I also added air lines to all the air tanks and brakes underneath. Along with bracing and supports for various parts of the frame.





The bed was corrected by placing a piece of 0.010 styrene sheet over the incorrect wooden bed. The actual one is two sheets of metal welded together at the center-line. I also added supports for the seats and bow sections stored on the front panel. I also detailed the MG ring mount as well.




Lastly, I will be using CAM M923A1 resin wheels on it. OOB the wheels are too square in profile. I sanded them down a bit to give them a more realistic, used look. I have left the spare in the original condition since it is a new tire.




Hope you like it. More to come as it gets some paint on it. I'm still undecided if it will be NATO camo or sand.

It's looking really good so far, Gino! Will you be using any other AM sets on this one (PE, etc.)?

looking good gino, then again, anything from u looks good...and dead accurate. Keep it up.

Great detail work Gino, it's going to excellent once painted and finished out. It's nice to see a corrected floor bed in these trucks. Is this project yours or you building it for someone. Waiting for more.

Joe

Thanks guys. This one is for me. I decided to go the old-fashioned scratch route for all the details except the tires. No other AM sets will be used on it. I'll keep you posted on the progress with more pics. Paint is next.

Great work Gino. Nice and clean with all the little details, as is expected from you.

Looks good from here to Gino.
Nice scratch build .
Can't wait to see the paint on it.
To bad on the 2nd Tour.

Jeff

Excellent improvements on that truck Gino. Those pics will be helpful for me in the future.

Do you recomend the CAM wheels? I have one of those on the shelf and haven´t decided what brand of resin replacent I´m gonna use.

Good luck in Iraq and stay safe.

Cheers

Thanks Klaus. The CAM wheels look to be the most correct for an M923A1 (w/o CTIS). Pavel's article shows them well in comparison to the CMK A2 set. I also have a set by MR Models for an M923A2 (w/ CTIS)which look very good and are the same size as the CAM A1 wheels.

Thanks for the tip, I´ll look for a retailer to get them.

Best Regards

Hi Gino,

Nice work ! Hope to see the finished model soon !!

Keep Safe !!

Gé Hovens

Looks good, Gino. A lot of nice details added. Looking forward to see some more.

Have a good #2 trip and keep safe.

Hi Gino,
the model looks great, well done mate,
as for iraq, as we used to say in the british army....

keep your head down, and your powder dry, hope you have a good tour.


stay safe mate,
malc.

Great job Gino, I can't wait to see this done and mated with the M198. Good luck with it and good luck with getting your deployment ready.

Jeff

Sahweet details man! I am not personally familiar with the accuracy, but if you're building it, then it must be right on point.

Thanks guys. Looks like this one will have to wait on paint. I leave Friday for 3-weeks of training at Ft Bliss, TX. No time to finish it up between now and then. The weather has been bad here the last few days as well. Cold and rainy; definitely not painting weather. I'll post again when I can.

Hey sir since you haven't decided on paint why don't you combine the two colors like half the stuff in Iraq is anyway. Enjoy Ft Bliss and Dona Anna.

Good Luck and be careful. I was at BIAP July - Nov 2003. I will use your detail pics on a project of mine Thanks

Good luck, Gino!

Thanks guys. Will do.