Heres my M579 Fitter I completed in time for the IPMS Vancouver Fall Show a couple of weeks back

The Academy kit with a wack of super detailing in the crew compartment. Hydraulic lines and electrical cables galore....

Maple Leaf Models supplied the Diehl sprockets, antenna mounts, some interior bits. Eduard PE and AFV Club Diehl/NATO track.

Tamiya and Vallejo paint with MIG Pigments.

The periscopes are a little too green in the photos, I use an iridescent film that creates the look of armoured glass, but only in my opinion.

This one is a bit more sublime than the ARV as the weathering ( outside of the dust) is very subtle and minimal, not usually my style but I was able to hold back this time.

As always thanks to those who helped out : Jim, Jason and Ross.Thanks men.

Too bad I didn't notice the hook was off kilter when I took the photos...one day I'm gonna get it all right...

Cheers

Pete

Wow, great job Pete, really looks cool! Is the crane boom substantially correct as per the kit (I have the IDF Fitter kit, same one I think) other than your added hoses/cabling etc or are there other changes.

Looks really great, I hope to someday see your models in person. I've seen your Lynx at last years AAFVMS show so I'd like to see more.

cheers;

Bob

impressive fitter =]
im currently building that kit =]
are the external fuel tanks form the tamiya kit??

the idf fitter is the same kit because it can be built the idf or aussie but you can convert it for other armies

Thanks for the kind words...

One day Bob, one day, It's a tough one to fit in because the show falls on the same day as the Victoria show and about 2 weeks before ours. I was thinking about the Rocky Mountain show, but I'd have to find out when it's on.

James, I think the fuel cells came from Maple Leaf, but not sure.

Cheers

Pete

great looking build. and was wondering why the us never did use this vechile?

Peter,

Excellent build!! I love the crew wooden boxes, reminded me of our tracks in 1 CER.

Darryl

neat little build especially with your detailing. Did you find pictures and information easily?

Thanks for the encouragement.

Darryl, the wooden boxes were the first time I had tried weathering that type of surface, I'm pretty happy with them.

KoSprueOne, I was very lucky to get some photos which are available online, I just have to find the address.

Thanks

Pete

Pete,

Fantastic project......extremely well done.

You should not be so shy and tell all the folks that at the IPMS Vancouver Fall Show your M579 won ..........

Best Armour 1/35 scale ...and...
Best Canadian ...and...
Best of Show

Congratulations!!!

Ditto, those boxes are totally real looking. Are they made from balsa and the scraped down?

Great Fitters, it's fantastic to see the spanners get a bit of coverage for a while. What a difference the lack of internal fuel cell makes to a Fitters track. It's very interesting to see the RCEME approach to them
Al

wow great fitter!

love the intirior


Martyn

I agree about the internal fuel cell, it just creates so much more space...too put more junk in there. Anytime I ever drove the M113 ( A nothing back then....) the track was filled with personal kit, P.O.L. fluids and the ubiquitous Canadian Tire Cooler ( always tripping over that)..there would have been so much more space without that fuel tank...

The wooden boxes are styrene with painted finishes.

I was very lucky to have worked in the film business as a scenic painter for a few years before working as a graphic designer. I was taught by some really talented people. One thing I learned was how to create an aged wood effect on a brand new surface. Similar to chipping its a matter of hitting the corners and edges. It's also about colour grey/tan colour is more accurate than fresh wood colour..unless the scrape just happened.

With all my weathering I think about layers, it takes a long time to create a certain look on a real vehicle, so it takes a lot of layering to replicate it in scale. As I don't see alot of tanks in my 'hood I use construction equipment as reference point, especially for track.

We used a book called " Surfaces" by Judy A. Juracek which had photos of various surfaces such as stone, metal and wood, very useful. I didn't work with one head painter who didn't use it as a reference.

MIG also has a good series of photos in his book that sort of explains how he does it.

Thanks again

Pete

Congrats on a great build. It looks terrific.

That interior is looking super! The weathering is also great.

Lars

Hi Pete, This is a really super build,(no wonder you won at the show) and the fitter's vehicles are a subject that's not covered enough, it's my favourite military modelling subject and when you see one that's done as good as this, it's always a pleasure to see. I Think you've got the weathering just right as you say understated and subtle, which is what it should be in my opinion. Excellent....can't wait to get started on mine. regards Mark

Pete,

Great build.

Where did you find the vice on the right glacis plate?

I think I saw one in the old tamiya stowage set but I think it has gone out of production?

W

Super job on the Fitter!

You can almost hear the clanging of the old MK 3's on the aluminium floorboards!


cheers from the sandbox

In fact this set has recently been re-released with some ICM Gulf war era figures (set #89772) :


Great built indeed BTW !

Frenchy

Thanks kindly Frenchy