Hey guys,

I do recall asking this quite some time back but cant seem to re-locate the thread which had some answers regarding the different brands of kits that makes figures that could be used to load a 1:35 M113 scale kit.

Im basically looking for figures that are in a sitting position (ie: Vietnam or Modern era). Im planning to complete another M113 and would love a fully laden APC.

Would appreciate recommendations which includes the item number code etc.

Academy's #1389 'M113A1 APC VIETNAM' has a couple of seated figs (this is the kit with the Viet woman).

There's also a Tamiya track with several seated/crouching figs that are quite good. I built this some time ago, but I don't have the box anymore, sorry.

These are the two kits I was talking about:

http://www.hobbyeasy.com/LoadProduct.do?productid=15459
http://www.hobbyeasy.com/LoadProduct.do?productid=17681

Thanks for those references David. Its funny you mentioned the Academy kit as thats the one i currently got and am hopping to load it with troops since it comes with an interior.




James you wouldnt happen to have the item number handy would you? I went to 2 LHS so far and browsed through the shelves and couldnt find any that i wanted. If Tamiya makes them, i will be placing an order for it but its going to be hard without the name or item code.

Cheers

Jazza have you had a look at Firestorm's offering's?



http://firestormmodels.com/

Dragon kit #3317 of the M274 Mule includes 3 seated Marines. They are nicely molded but you'll have to swap the torso parts with some from Army figures as they wear the USMC flak vest.



It was originally possible to buy Tamiya's old seated soldiers set (included in their M113 kit) separately but it seems to be OOP now. It doesn't appear anymore on Tamiya's website...
HTH
Frenchy

Not a big loss, the Tamiya Armored Troops were pretty bad. Soft on detail, badly molded helmets, thin weapons, etc., etc. There are very few good seated figures. Best bet is to convert something else to make them. You can take some of the Dragon Vietnam figures and combine legs and torsos to get some decent seated figures.

If you want to do a nam M113 with troops you have a several options. Hobby fan do some seated troops intended for the LVT, they also do a tank/apc commander. verlidne do loads of nam figures which can be adampted/converted for the M113. The theres the softer Dragon options or those useless Tamiya figures-seriosuly do not buy these! They are really bad, rubbish gear, soft detail and generally poor.

Just don't forget that they are Marines, wearing USMC M55 flak jackets...But I've got at least one picture showing an Army M113 with Marines riding on the top....

Frenchy

I know everybody is trashing them, but really, the Tamiya Armored troops (35117) if you can find it is quite a steal. The seated figues can be placed inside the track where they would not be subject to close scrutiny and thereby in my opinion add a fullness to your vehicle.. Folks have gotten so lazy and spoiled these days that they forget how to do some sculpting and parts substitution. Spending $30 for 3 or 4 figures is no problem to some folks. The price tag on my box of "old figures" is $5---for 5 figures

The pose of the guy sitting with the rifle across his lap is perfect. Those look like German troops? I must be blind though as i cant seem to find it on the site. Do you have the item number handy?




You do make a valid point both in terms of minimal scrutiny and cost. Dragon figures cost about $19 here so it will be making a large dent on the pocket not to mention, the APC itself cost $30. Ive already got some of Tamiya's Modern Infantry kits with me.

Do you guys reckon swapping the torso from this kit with only the legs from Tamiya's 35117 kit would work? What would be the potential inaccuracies with this mix?

The Tamiya kit ive got at present are these ones:

Tamiya figures seem to get rubbished quite a lot on this site. OK, they aren't resin quality, nor are they up to Dragon Gen 2 standards, but they can look OK "making up the numbers". How difficult is it to replace a weapon or helmet from the spares box anyway? Also as I recall, one of the Tamiya figures is clearly a Black American, a subject particularly poorly represented in model form, since an inordinate number of "grunts" in Vietnam were black.

Agree that Tamiya figures aren´t the best in town, but both set Jazza shows and the one coming with their original M113 kit are inexpensive and a useful way to improve the numbers of figs for your dio/vignette. In my case, the Dragon figures cost more than 10 us dollars, and the Tamiya Leopard 2A6 it´s nearly $80 So I prefer to get sometimes chaeper but less quality/acuracy kits....

For example, I use the last kit I mentioned to try to depict chilean soldiers, mainly adapting and mixing parts of other Tamiya kits (If you mix with Dragon, you will probably have a big dimensional problem, the Tamiya figs are smaller than Dragon), and replaced the rifles and other gear. Yes, if you look them close, they are poorly cast and awfully painted, but work for the overall mix.... :-) :-) :-)


Here a couple of example pics (vehicles build for Wheels 2006):

Detail vehicle....





And among lots of things on a proper base....not ready though









Conclusion.....Tamiya figs works for me hope it works for you

Cheers

Guys, easy. We are not bashing Tamiya. It is just that they are 30 year old figures and are way past their prime. Never said he needed to go out and get a bunch of resin figures. If you can get Dragon ones, they would be much more accurate and look a whole hell of a lot better. They aren't that much more expensive than the Tamiya ones either. Dragon does a bunch of black soldiers as well, most of their sets has one in it.

The Firestorm ones are Aussie troopers and wouldn't work well for US soldiers. Their uniforms are cut totally different. Weapons are SLRs too, not US weapons. They could be easily changed though.

As to the Tamiya Modern Infantry guys (both sets), as Jazza posted, they are not accurate at all for Vietnam. They are in mid-'80s BDUs/DCUs, PSGT body armor, and Kevlar helmets. They would work for 1980's through ODS guys. There were a few infantry units still equipped with M113s at that time ('80's, not ODS) too. These guys aren't much better than the Armored Troops though. Their biggest problem is that they are skinny to the point of anarexia. They don't look good at all. Their weapons and gear are great though and can be used with other figures.

If all you can get/afford is the Tamiya ones, great. If you can get better, I would do so.

Jazza,
I did this dio years ago using DML figures. I combined the upper parts from 3313 Marine Recon and the lower part from 3317 Mule. Here is the pictures for your reference:
http://images.sonicalbum.com/upload_909/myphotos/mc_tourofduty0.jpg

http://images.sonicalbum.com/upload_909/myphotos/mc_tourofduty3.jpg

http://images.sonicalbum.com/upload_909/myphotos/mc_tourofduty4.jpg

Best Regards
MC

Thanks for the input Gino. That was the one thing that was bothering me about those specific Tamiya figures hence why they are still in their boxes. Their legs are indeed fragile looking to say the least. For the Dragon kits, have you got any suggestions on which once i could mix and match?




After seeing your images, i think i might heed Gino's advice and try for the Dragon figures. I can use the gear from the Tamiya figures if needed but by the looks of your images, Dragon provided pretty decent ones.

EDIT: Crap i called up the LHS and they havent had those in stock since 1999 and 2001! Back to the drawing board.

Thanks guys for all your input. Much appreciated!

Dragon has a bunch of Vietnam era ones. Their 1st Cav figures give great Torsos for Army guys in VN. They also have lots of ODS and a couple modern sets too. Look for ones who are on one knee, you should be able to find some who have alternating knees down. Combine the opposite raised knees and you know have a seated figure. Also, all Dragon's figures are laid out where they have separate legs, split down the groin, so swapping them around works great.

Good luck.