Hi all,

I am looking for a new project to start with and am looking at one of the AFV Club’s M109’s.

Now the M109A6 Paladin has a special appeal but I would also like to add details like an interior. I found only an interior set from Black Dog which seems to be designed for an A2.
Does any know if the Black Dog set can also be (mostly) used for the A6 version ?

Or if somebody is aware of a interior set for the A6 this would also be most welcome.

Kind regards,
Marc

Marc,

The Black dog set is for an A2. I am building it with the AFV Club A2 right now. The Black dog set is pretty good and really the only one around. The turret fit with everything put in is tight and the directions are a bit light in some areas-mainly the gun sights connection to the mantlet. The driver area also needs a lot of fitting work.

The AFV kit is good, no major issues that I can see. I will see if I can post a few in progress shots.

I was an M109A2 platoon leader so I had to work for a living - I may get around to an AFV A6 at some point- I have only built the Revell kit

Cheers
Bret

Most of the parts from the Black Dog M109A2 interior can be used on an M109A6 Paladin as well. Pretty much the whole lower hull is the same on both, so the A2 interior is fine there. The differences are mostly inside the turret. The biggest difference is the hydraulic pump and reservoir and parts behind the TC seat are moved to the left front compartment on the Paladin. Also, the recuperator and recoil cylinders mounted on the ceiling in the A2 are moved to the outside of the turret in the raised compartment on the A6. There is also the enlarged ammo storage across the back on the A6, and the digital fire control system in front of the TC on the A6.

I've owned the Black Dog set for a while now, and have commented in the past about its inaccuracies. I may never get around to using it. Sometimes good old fashioned scratchbuilding gives you better results.



The projo storage in the rear of the turret is easy enough - I did three interiors assembly line style. The problem is unless you open up the whole turret most goes unseen.



And there are enough differences between the A2 and the A6 lower hulls that you're going to want to check your references carefully. Projo storage, absence of bench seats, a few other things. I know I've elucidated them in another thread somewhere.

The 2 main areas of the BD set that are a pain are the drivers station and the sights attachment points. On the ammo rack, I only put the front part in, I am trimming the diameter on a few rounds to make them fit into the rack.

Thanks for the help quys

One other thing; if I understand correctly if I want to depict an ODS ‘91 M109, I should go for the M109A2 and if I would choose for the M109A6 this would mean a 2nd Gulf War version of ‘03. Correct ?

Thanks again.

That is correct. The A6 started getting fielded to units in 94/95. The A2/A3/A5s were in the National Guard for a bit longer.