Box is done. Now to the tiedowns.

Amazing attention to detail! And, to a M113! Keep em coming.

Looking great Bob. The details are awesome.

Robert,

I agree with Matt and Gino; your M113 is looking incredible! All of your efforts are paying off manifold.

Phantastic work, Bob!

Detail work is incredible - the most detailed M113 model I´ve seen so far.

Keep on the good work.

Cheers
Walter

Thanks folks for the continued encouragement.

I am in the homestretch now. I made up all of the tiedowns and here is a sample.

I was scratching my head as how to best handle this since they are so tiny and I had lots to do. I decided on a jig, but with only one side. First I folded the tiedown into a 'U' which was easy enough with two blades. Now I had to deal with folding the ever so small sides to finish them off. If I made a two sided jig I knew I would constantly be wrestling with trying to get the tiedown into the jig in the first place. I felt I could more easily just sidle the 'U' up to a one-sided jig and hold it in place with an Xacto knife blade and then fold each side one at a time using another blade in my other hand.

You can see what I came up with by using an appropriately thick Evergreen strip and then I glued that to my workbench with white glue. Later I used a large straight edge to rest my hand on which also kept the jig from popping loose from the table. This took me about an hour or so to do - I think 40 tiedowns.

Half the nightmare is over. Now I need to glue them on nice and straight and not glue them to myself either.

Nice work on the tie-downs. Just imagining it makes my hands hurt and eyes tire. Gluing them on straight is easy. Use a piece of paper and trace its edge onto the model with a pencil.

I was able to finish the roof. Now all the tiedowns are postioned and I have started to prime some things, like the pioneer box and here I have test fitted it to be sure it fits inside all the tiedowns. I have the tracks together and primed too.

I will place the side hull tiedowns after I have the tracks on since they will just pop off from handling until then.

I am glad to finally be moving onto the painting phase.

Really can't wait to see it completed; the interior is just fantastic.

And it begins - finally started the painting. I thought I would never get here. But I still need to finish the .50 cal mount.

Tracks are from Friul.

Some progress on painting the pioneer box and getting the .50 cal set up. Stack of cones will be lying on its side on the roof.

Looking really nice Bob. Great job as always.

Nicely done, very impressive and inspiring..

Regards...

CC

Painting moving along.

Highlights done. Tracks painted rust color and pads painted dark grey. Pioneer box markings placed.





Markings put on. Periscopes and lights put in. I still need to figure out how I will depict the damaged periscopes






Camo. This was done by the company first sgt using cans of rattle can spray paint.
First the real thing.




I used a yellow light on these photos and it really changed the way it looks. I was trying to get more light in my dark work area. Next time I will not use that light.






Now the filtering and washes and weathering will begin. The tracks are almost done. I will wait to mount them and then provide a highlight dusting, and some graphite to bring out the metal.

Bob

Always a pleasure to get down to the paint. Every step is impressive! Keep 'em coming!

The paint and cammo is looking great Bob. This is turning out awesome.

I was concerned about the battalion ID numbers. I took my own photos of the track while on a visit to Ft Stewart and took some good side shots of the numbers. I used the photos to make templates. I allowed overspray on purpose since that is how they are in real life. Even the chevrons aren't that proper in real life.

The museum is moving into a larger space next year and they will be displaying the real track along with the tower that was dismantled in Iraq and brought back.

I replaced the traffic cones. Although many tracks had large cones like the ones I started with, in reviewing the one photo I have of the this track, I decided I needed to go smaller. Here is the new stack of cones, along with lead foil that I used to form over a square rod to make pickets. The engineers carried stacks of pickets, and there is a small stack on the roof I need to have.



The painted cones with civilian style backpacks. The crew tried to lessen the bright orange effect with black spray paint, so what I have here is their sloppy attempt. There will also be a tarp partially covering it. Other crews covered the cones in tape and then when the needed to "deploy" the cones they removed the tape to reveal the orange. Still other crews used plastic bags to cover them.
I used chocolate brown for a pin wash. Later when I am all done I will put a dust wash in some crevices.


I did a test fit of the Friul tracks too.




Next up I will do some filtering.

It may just be tired, old eyes, but I didn't even see the crew until the last photo. Your work is truly impressive! I think everyone can learn from you.

Bob, from a trackdriver from the old school, very well done.

For a cracked periscope or a damaged one from gunfire, you might try silver paint with a single hair from a paint brush. Start with a very small circle for a bullet hole, and do spider webbing out with the hair brush. Don't go overboard with the cracks. A few is better than a bunch.

Also, I don't know if the original track had many bullet impact marks, those can be replicated with a hot razor knife blade, then using a small dab of silver paint inside the bullet mark for the deformed or damaged aluminum hull. All 113s were aluminum, and when damaged, the paint was removed and the bright aluminum showes through.

Looking good Bro. GROG

You had me with the interior, but the exterior is equally great if not better. Nice!

George, thanks for the tips. I will give the cracks a try as I experimet.

Bob

Tracks are on. I need to tweak the sprocket on one side. Weathering getting there, with some streaking. Somehow the rear ramp star floated up on me without me noticing - I will have to remove that.

Closer...

I will be working the side stowage this weekend. The cones will be partially covered by a tarp. The crews did not like the bright orange being so conspicuous.

Coming together nicely Robert!



cheers