I met a local vet who wanted a model of the vehicle he served on in Vietnam. He already had a copy of the Tamiya M113 ACAV kit, but health issues meant he'd never gotten to it.

I'd long been a M113 fan and built the kit way back when, so I jumped at the chance.

We emailed back and forth a bit and he mailed me the kit.


I have to say I have not had so much fun working on a model in a very long time.
First night progress


At first I was just going for an ootb build, but then I realized I had a set of the old Quartermaster Depot placards in the stash, so those came out tonight. More pics as the build progresses.

Nice start Mike. And very nice of you to offer to make one for a vet.

One of my club members is doing the same for a daughter of an Aussie Vietnam Vet who was a M113 driver; she wants to give it to her Dad.

Hope it all goes well for you.

Some more progress, Form chatting with him, the rear hull was filled with three layers of ammo cans I've got the AFV Club ammo cans set in the stash.
The placards are from a Quartermaster Depot M113 interior decal set I had stored away as well.

Hi

I think your ammo cans need to be painted and weathered a bit more ... :-P

Kudos for doing this, it likely means the world to him.

Tom

latest update, some exterior bits, all the hellacious Tamiya e-pin marks in the inner side of the front hull, and some soon to be invisible when posed open exterior rear ramp details.

Tom
Thanks for the heads up on the ammo cans, I'll look into that. What is this 'weathering' you speak of? ... and I hope so.

I was hoping to have it done for Christmas, but it is not looking good. I've got some Archer stuff on the way for the build. I was looking over the ancient Eduard set and will probably not use much of it. 50 cal grips and ammo box holder, exhaust guard, drivers scope cover..

Lots of AMPS-level 'show details' are going to be left right the hell out in the interest of finishing in a decent amount of time(ramp pulley? bilge outlet, light wiring) but I do still plan to source markings for 'his' ride.

Mike