The figures were already built for a previous project but were not used, so all I had to do was paint them. The wedgie of the M113 had to be built which I derived from the Italeri M113 ACAV kit. I chose to use that one since I liked the way the lights attached to the model, but also because I was cutting it apart and doing so with this kit wasn't going to do any harm. I was able to transform this to a gas-powered M113 and made my own headlight guards from wire and I drilled holes where the track shrouds or whatever those things are called would mount on but were taken off by the crew. I painted the vehicle with a primer coat of Krylon flat black and then brush painted a base coat of Vallejo US Olive Drab covered by two coats of Reaper Black Green. The US Army, Registration Number, and bumper codes are dry transfers and I painted the Panther on the trim vane fr eehand. The vehicle represents one of the worn out gas-powered M113s belonging to 2d Battalion, 47th Infantry (Mechanized), 9th Infantry Division based out of Bearcat (the town of Long Thanh was located nearby). The sunglasses and watches are from Aber and the cartons of cigarettes are from Duplicata. I chose to make a wedgie of the M113 as to not detract from the figures. When I was putting the wedgie on the base, all was well until I must have tapped it somehow while the glue was drying. The place where the tracks meet the roadwheels and the ground popped off and I never could get it to set back in place properly, so the wedgie is a bit off from what was originally intended. I also fashioned a support for it from balsa wood so it would not break away during transport.
Like my other pieces that feature 2/47th Inf (Mech) in Vietnam, it will be displayed at the 47th Infantry Regiment's reunion in April.
Here are some photos of it:
Thanks for looking,
James
