I've started my big$$$Vietnam dio with Academy's M163 Vulcan SPAAG. I still need to dulcoat it, add weathering and add the 50cal. machine gun. On with the photos



The indi tracks were a nightmare and the control arms on the minigun did not fit the locator pegs. I cut off the pegs and glued the control arms into place. I may add some more stowage as I go along.

It's certainly a good start. You may want to bleach out (or paint) the wooden handles on the tools, and tone down some of the steel. Most of the tools' metal parts are painted, and even though it wears off over time, some tools like the sledge still keep most of the paint.

Hey Matt, looks good so far. I'll be watching this one as it's of interest to me. I know that 6 of the M163's were sent to V.N., but I thought the radar was removed, though I'm not 100% sure. I have the makings for a convoy securrity with M113's I've been stashing for a future build. And there was some one Ithink last week posted for sale some D.M.L., V.N. U.S. troops for sale, can't remember who it was and computer wont let me go back that far.

Nice start Matt- what are you plans for the dio or are you still thinking about it?

Here's the list of intended kits:
M151A1
M113a1 Vietnam
M151 Accessory Set (Vietnam)
M113 Vietnam Sandbag Armor
Vietnam Platoon 3 Figures
M35A2 2 1/2 ton Truck
M49A2C Fuel Tanker
Transfers M35A2 Instruments & Placards
M551 Sheridan
M151A2 Hard Top with Trailer
M113A1 Vietnam Exterior
M35A2 Cargo Truck for AFV
The Grunts
Vietnam Search & Destroy
M151 Mutt War Wagon Vietnam
UH-1D Iroquois Mask
UH-1D Helicopter "Huey" w/ Four Crewmen
US Cavalry Heliborne Trooper Figure #2 Vietman
US Cavalry Heliborne Trooper Figure #3 Vietman
US Soldier with a Vietnamese child on his shoulder
US 1st Cavalry
M16A1 Machine Gun
M-113 Tracks
U.S. Army in Vietnam (Mechanized) -figures only
American infantryman (Vietnam)
U.S. Infantry Machine-gunner Vietnam`68
M548 Gun Cargo Truck Vietnam
M163
M577
Sheridan
This will be a 2'x5' dio. All of the vehicles, save one M151, the M577 and the Huey(s), will be moving down a road parellel to a rice paddy. The M577 will be parked alongside the road with the tent up. A M151 will be parked nearby and some of the figures will be present. The Huey will be coming in over the top of the paddy. I may add a 1/48 Huey to the far side of the dio to help create the illusion of depth. This dio will be modular to make for easier transport and storage. Once finished, I intend to sell it or donate it to a museum. This is my goal. This is my mission. This is my opus. I expect nothing short of a year to finish it to my standards. And, I have already placed a bulk order for Tamiya XF-62 OD.
I appreciate any suggestions and/or comments.

Wow, sounds like a huge dio. Most overly large dios don't work well, but we'll see how it comes out. It sounds to me like way too many vehicles. To have them properly space (50 meters between vehicles) you won't be able to fit them all on your dio.

Also, the M151A2 Hard Top with Trailer is not correct for Vietnam. M151A2s were not fielded until '72 and were not sent to Vietnam since we were pulling out by that time. The M151A1 is correct for Vietnam.

Good luck on it.

WOW thats some serious ambition. Having seen some of your other works on this site, I believe you can pull this off Mr. Matt! Will be watching the build closely. I'm planning my first 'opus' right now too so you will probably be a big inspiration. Very much looking forward to it.





Hahahahaha by the case right??

Looking at your M163 closely, there are a couple issues as well. First off is the paint scheme. 5 of the 6 M163s that were sent to Vietnam were in overall OD. Only one, Duster Buster assigned to 5th Battalion, 2nd Artillery Regiment, was in the experimental camo. It was not 3-tone NATO camo as you have painted yours. It was a lighter tan/OD green/brown camo.

Here is a drawing of it.


I have only seen a couple color pics of it and the drawing is very close. Here it is in B&W.


Here are 2 of the 5 overall OD Green ones.


There are more great pics of them at this site.

Next is the vehicle itself. Academy's M163 is a later M163A2. The upper engine deck around the radiator filler cap and intake grills if wrong for an M163A1 as seen in Vietnam. The exhaust pipe is also pointed in the wrong direction. It should point backwards at a 45 degree angle, not toward the front. The two triangular pipes behind the intakes should not be there either. They are the intake and exhaust for the heater, which was not on A1s in Vietnam. The rear tail lights and their guards are missing as well. The A1 didn't have the radar nor the same optical sights. The only sight was a scope. There was no .50 cal on it either.

Also, it looks like most of your decals are silvered. Did you gloss under them before applying? You may be able to reduce the silvering using a bit of decal set as well.

Lastly, the helmet on the gunner figure is an '80s to modern CVC helmet. In Vietnam, the CVC helmet looked more like motorcycle or pilot's helmet.

Vietnam CVC Helmet.


80's to modern CVC helmet.



Hope that helps.

correct, and you might also add an M38 to the group as well. They also used M54 5 ton trucks all over the place. Also noticed you left out the M42 and M50 from the group
gary

In my humble opinion, it will take at least 3 years just to complete the list and about another one for the dio...just my two cents

But anyway, I really admire your initiative



Have a good look

Cheers

You sure have your work cut out for you Matt! Good luck with it.

Gino: Thanks for the heads up. I have already removed the radar. For the camo, I am going for a field applied pattern for low light fighting. With the exception of the engine deck, I have already taken care of the other fixes. The figure's helmet looks to be exactly the same as the CVC photo you posted.

Gary: I'm only getting the M151A2 for the trailer. The rest of the kit I will sell or stash for later use.

Thanks for the support everyone.
P.S. The only armor I am including is either infantry or air cav based.

You're certainly off to a great start there! Looks like a big buck project, wish ya luck with it and keep the pics coming!

[quote]Gino: The figure's helmet looks to be exactly the same as the CVC photo you posted.quote]
My bad. You are right. Out comes the figure to have his head lopped off.
In the b&w photo, the M163 clearly has a three tone camo pattern.

Yes, it has a 3-tone camo, but it is not like you have applied. Yours looks like the NATO camo that wasn't applied until the mid-'80s. The camo on the Vietnam M163 is mainly overall light tan, OD green, and black. The tan and OD are the main colors with smaller black streaks. If you are going for a what-if scheme, thats fine. If you are actually going for an authentic, Vietnam scheme, it isn't the right scheme.

I like the photo of the vehicle coming out of the pool. That would make a good diorama with the troops sitting on the seats at the back of the vehicle.

It's quite an ambitious project you got there !!!
It might take more than 1 year for sure... life gets in the way of modeling too many times. I stopped twice and came back...

Anyway glad to see the Vulcan finished !!
There might be some stowage & update sets from Legend with this one.

From that huge list, what's next ?