[/quote] I read that in the news item. What threw me was that the AFV Club color sheet still has the US ARMY markings (as does the boxtop), list the colors as green and black, and doesn't say who/what unit the vehicle belonged to.

anyone interested in doing one of the other Aussie vehicles, there is this one showing the call sign and shield added to the .50 cal. The painted over US ARMY is quite visible on this one.

Well a few tons of tank rumbling over you would likely awaken you too

I wonder when it'll actually hit the shops?

Great little book about the Australians using these tracks . "More Bang for no bucks" by Colin Campbell. I think he was commander of 6 Troop,A Sqdn, 3 Cav. Book has a lot of illustrations, and the tactics used as well. Check out LINK

All six SPHs were issued from US 1st Logistic Command stocks and were possibly previously operated by the 11th Armored Cavalry (Blackhorse) Regiment. 11ACR had upgraded to the larger 155mm M109 and the M108s were effectively redundant. A photo in Colin Campbell's book shows 12U779 was already camouflaged when collected by 6 Troop from Vung Tau with the remainder wearing the standard US Army OD finish. Given the tight acceptance period of a few days, I doubt the RAEME guys had time to apply fancy paint in amongst modifying the gun traversing mechanisms for single gunner use. My theory is that it had been unofficially camo'd by its previous US Army user. All six SPGs (12U713, 12U779, 12U792, 12U826, 12U892 & 12U925) retained their US Army registration numbers, no Australian ARNs were applied. The US Army titles were painted over by 3CAV after delivery to Nui Dat, almost certainly in LOD. It's possible that 12U779 gained some LOD at a later stage as a few colour pics with US ARMY titles painted over suggest a third green in the camo pattern. Regardless, the notion of black camouflage by AFV Club seems inaccurate. The base colour would have to be US Army OD, with a lighter green over the top? All six SPHs ultimately wore the 6 Troop unofficial emblem of a golden wing holding a sword painted both front sides of the turret astride the gun barrel. The emblem was actually the ARVN parachuting Jump Status Badge.

Another useful reference is the AWM film F03901 LINK

Such address does not exist...

I received a review copy of the kit yesterday. I only had a few minutes to look at the kit and instructions. At first glance it looks like a great kit. I didn't see any obvious issues with the instructions. There are decals and painting instructions for 8 different vehicles in the service of 6 different countries. I'll be working on an in-box review this week. Due to travel, I won't be able to start construction for a couple of weeks. Rick