I recently bought the Tamiya M577, what appears to be the Vietnam era, with wood planks on this side. I am trying to build one for a friend who was on one.
Is there a kit that represents the modern m577, or do I have to do a lot of scratchbuilding? I have not ventured into scratchbuilding and am worried on my results. Photo etching..... read about it many times... have no idea what it is. Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance!

Don't put the wood planks on it ..... It Should still work for a newer one....

This is the only M577 kit available; however, if you buy the Academy M113A2 kit and use that hull coupled with the M577 extended upper hull, you will have as best an M577A2 as can be made without major surgery. Most parts should be interchangeable since the Academy kit is heavily based on the Tamiya M113A1. You can also continue to build the Acdemy M113 using the rest of the Tamiya parts so it won't be a total waste of a second kit.

What time frame are you looking for? There are some details you can add but not much unless you want to scratch the interior.

The ballast racks on the top can be added. We used them to store fuel and water cans. The Eduard PE set is hard to find and isn't that good IMHO.

Take a look at these pictures:
http://fullmetaljacket.tanxheaven.com/m577/m577a2.html
The weld seam on the side of the vehicle may or may not be be present on your friends vehicle and the driver's side headlight guard is non-standard for US vehicles.

I was on a M577 from '88-'89.

Paul

Ahhhh, you are correct. I thought the wood planks made the upper part of the hull. I see they are an option.
Thanks!

Wooden planks represent a type of flooring that could be used. When stopped, the M577 lowers its ramp and then a canvas tent is constructed. The palleting is used as a floor to keep from having to walk on the mud. Units have used various items from flat pieces of plywood to just plain canvas as the floor to their tactical operations centers (TOC, pronounced "talk").

Currently, the canvas is that new type of plastic canvas that is modular in design and multiple M577s can join together creating what we jokingly refer to as "TOC Mahal" which is a play on the name Taj Mahal. The current tent design is called "SICPS" and is pronounced "Sick Ups". It stands for Standardized Integrated Command Post System. These newer modular tents have been retro fitted to earlier M577s but technically refer to the newest M1068 or M1068A3 variant of the old M577A2 command post tracks.

Howdy Rob,


...It puts a smile on my face, and a 'Thx' in my heart to see you posting like that again!

Tread.