Now guys after bothering you yesterday with MM several olive drabs , that still dont have a secure answer to which is the right one, i am putting my M113 under your eyes to check if the colour seems right and do any more corrections now that i can fix them before i put it in the Cover Up Campaign dio. Hurry guys!!!!! Its not finished of course just started to wash up (that;s why is glossy) and have many more to add but isnt'it sweet?




listening !!!!

In my opinion,it seems the OD color is not a problem anymore.It will look better after weathering and a matt cote will make it a lil darker... Stop feeling bad this will be a great model when finished.Remember to add a roled RPG fence to the front of the M113.it is on the way :-)

What can i say my brother?..just thanks from my heart

Major_Goose,

It looks good to me! Question for you: Does this model have the belly armor bolted on? I believe that that steel plating is what justified the buoyancy cells being added to the front. (?)

Looking forward to seeing this baby completed!!

The exhaust is pointed in the wrong direction should be blowing away from the vehicle. I am not sure the trim vane (surf board) is correct. The Vietnam era vehicles had a 3/4 inch plywood trim vane for water operations. In Vietnam, the board was either removed or used to store gear. Regardless, it would seem to me that the trim vane you have is the one for M-163 Vulcan. Can someone who is more knowledgeable support or refute what I said?
thanks
DJ

I remember seeing only the plywood board also, thats the first thing I noticed. That is exept for it being a very fine model !
Nice work!

Garry

I trust someone will produce a photo to assist our efforts on the trim vane.

hey there guys, in response to the trim vane, on page 55 of Squadron/Signal's book "Armor In Viet Nam" there is a picture of an M113 with that style trim vane as well as the T/C turret shields and extra side mounted M60's. matter of fact, the way the pic looks, it may even be this M113.

http://afvinteriors.hobbyvista.com/m113/m113d.html Photos of Vietnam era APC

Hello guys there ! i wanna thank you for all your commenting and for trying to find out some clearence on the details info. At first i want to say that my poor english do not let me clearly understand what a "trim vane" and where this piece of plywood goes..So if possiblesomeone indicate it on a picture to let me know. As for the belly armour, before starting the model i ve made a coarse of searching asking and getting pictures , and one of this is the below


so i think that there were many variants on the vehicles and with so many long time fighting a lot of conversions and alterings should have taken place and also many of the crews have changed the vehicles due to theie easiest use and maintenance.
The exaust direction is obviously wrong and will be changed . So if any more suggesting will be welcomed and also clearing out this trim vane item. .Thanks

Some more info i have found from a vietnam war site concerning the changes on ACAV'S M113:
ACAV:
In 1965/66 some of the first M113s were converted into ACAVs (Armoured Cavalry Assault Vehicle) by fitting them with side mounted M60s and gun shields. Sandbags were placed on the floor of the inner troop compartment to absorb some of the blast from land mines. Sandbags were also placed on the outer hull and arranged as parapets around the troop compartment so as to allow the infantry to fire over the sides. As well as using sandbags for absorbing the blast from mines, ACAVs were also fitted with Titanium plates beneath the belly for the same reason.
Other mods to change the M113 into ACAVs involved ripping out all but the drivers seat, to make more room for the carrying of essentials like loads of ammo. The ammo was stacked two layers deep, and wall-to-wall in the troop compartment. As well as as much ammo as they could carry the ACAVs space was also filled with the crew's kit bags, spare gun barrels, water, C-rations, crew weapons, grenades, tool box, and a set of towing cables.
At a mere 22,000 Dollars per vehicle, the U.S Army had come up with a good all rounder. The M113 proved to be an excellent and effective Armoured Fighting Vehicle that went anywhere in Vietnam and did everything - and more besides!

Well, I have to tell you that the trim vane on the ACAV photo is clearly the same as on your model. Nice work.
DJ

FWIW, I remember hearing that there was a preference for the bigger trim vane as it increased the standoff for those RPG "events" against the front of the 113
John

Major Goose,

Good start on that M113 ACAV !!! You should not have any problem with the shade of OD.As stated above a flat coat will darken the shade, and the aklyd paints that were used in the 60-70s faded badly.

I would recommend that you use differnet shades of your basic color to paint the tarps and other rolls hanging over the sides, this will add interest and make them look like they were added and not painted at the same time as the vehicle. Also as 210CAV pointed out - you need to rotate the exhaust 1/4-turn counter-clockwise, or your track commanders going to get awful pissed having to breathe that exhaust

My first platoon sergeant was a platoon leader, as a staff sergeant, for a cavalry platoon with five ACAVs in the 11th ACR in Vietnam. He told me stories of what they did to their vehicles - similar to what you said. They took up the floor boards and filled the bilge with sand bags, put the floor boards back down and then covered the floor in .50 cal and 7.62mm ammo cans. They lined the drivers compartment with flak jackets as he was most vulnerable crew member to mines. They also removed the TC seat and stand and replaced it with a flare box. The crews for the ACAVS in the 11th ACR was five: driver, TC, two gunners for teh side mounted M60s and a grenadier with an M79 grenade officer. A Cavalry platoon on line was a powerful force!

Scouts Out!!

yep the exaust direction is already changed to a more proper one. The stowage is painted a khaki drab but in the picture seems almost olive drab so will be changed more effectively. Thanks for help guys

nam m113;
good am, regarding the so called nam era 113-one big no-no -what ever you have, keep it on or inside the pc-not hanging outside-first items to go when hitting the bush.
trim vane or surfboard used for water(amphibious) operation-front part of the pc, constructed of plywood and some had a vane constructed of a basic plywood board with a aluminium flotation chamber added-board connected to pc w/2 large bolts.
color could be any shade of od-as long as it isn't gloss-after one or two ops. the pc's all looked the same-in the rainy season-muddy-in the dry season-dusty-
cheers and good luck