M109 Doher

[phildagreek]

My first work in progress, mainly because I never remember to take photos! So as an experiment, most of these will be taken on my Iphone and posted via Flickr with a view to kicking Photobucket into touch.

This is the AFV Club M109A2 kit (as you can hopefully see) with the Black Dog conversion kit. So the obligatory box shots.

Untitled by phil da greek, on Flickr

Untitled by phil da greek, on Flickr

So the photos worked! And not to shabby IMHO.

Anyone with any experience of building the kit (or the real thing) then pitch in with any tips or photos etc. The aim is to display the gun in a firing position with it's crew doing various things.

Already it's out of control.

This will be long and it probably won't be pretty, but pull up a chair shipmates, I'm going in!

[FrancisGL]

Now I have the chair ... lol, I have one in the closet Italeri, waiting their turn, maybe I inspireel yours ... ,cheers Phil

[Gremlin56]

Nice, more heavy metal

[phildagreek]

So on with the show.

First up, the Black Dog conversion set. You certainly get a lot for your money!

Untitled by phil da greek, on Flickr

Then build up the roadwheels, 14 of them, 5 pieces to each one, each piece needing a little clean up so they fit together.

Untitled by phil da greek, on Flickr

Then build up the basic hull shape, all seperate flat pieces, all needing some clean up & a steady hand with a set square to get everything square.

Untitled by phil da greek, on Flickr

Finally for now, the interior has no detail & I want to have a couple of hatches open, so this is the beginning of getting a deck in place, building the walls for the engine compartment & adding some detail for the driver's area which is being donated from an M113 kit. The scratch detail is in white & in the background the running gear waits for primer.

Untitled by phil da greek, on Flickr

That's where we are.

[FrancisGL]

Nice progress and good scracht!, cheers mate

[tankboy3]

Coming together nicely. Have you sorted out decals for her yet? The ones from Bison are good if you can find them as I think they may be OOP now.

I believe the resin parts are copies from the old AEF Designs Doher so you probably want to test fit parts before committing to glue!

[phildagreek]

Just ordered a boatload of Bison & Star decals from Hannants, I don't have a particular vehicle or even unit in mind, so it might become a little mystery trip.

[tankboy3]

Just ordered a boatload of Bison & Star decals from Hannants, I don't have a particular vehicle or even unit in mind, so it might become a little mystery trip.

Excellent!

Have you decided on the colour/paint you're going to use? The Lifecolor IDF paint (Israeli Sand Grey 1982 UA035) is a very nice match if that helps.

[phildagreek]

Thanks, the final coat of paint will be a mix of Humbrol enamels 168 & 145 (3:1) applied in a thin coat over 168 & a white undercoat & some pre shading, this (I think) gives a nice approximation to the Sinai grey colour, especially with some soot & weathering.

[phildagreek]

Pressing on then, encountered the first snag,

M109 DOHER - 11 by phil da greek, on Flickr

The Black Dog kit comes with one side of A4 with some black & white photos for instruction. This is the supplied replacement for the rear of the turret. It doesn't fit. Too short and this one is warped. Binned it, replace with plastic.

M109 DOHER - 10 by phil da greek, on Flickr

General idea of what's going on. There are no internal bits supplied with the kit, so the inside is scratch and spares. There are some pretty good reference pictures on the net & generally the inside is "busy", so whilst it won't be 100% accurate it will at least have the flavour of what's going on. Above shows a new floor down and the start of the interior, built up the turret ring with plastic as it was full of sink holes and pretty ropey looking.

M109 DOHER - 9 by phil da greek, on Flickr

More of the scratch inside, some work on the inside of the turret, showing the commander's position, the beginning of the gun and some primer down, although it is whiter than it looks.

Next job is going to be the driver's position, most of which is coming from a Tamiya M113 kit although there is some scratch building with new gauges, wall panels and bits & pieces.

I'm thinking of building it with all the turret hatches open, in between fire missions, some of the crew brewing up and maybe a commander figure with a headset and a map getting new orders. Of course that could change like the wind.

Any comments are welcome.

[FrancisGL]

I believe what your plan may work fine...

[phildagreek]

Updates then, it took a bit longer than I thought to build the driver's compartment. Most of this has come from a Tamiya M113 kit, having decided to have most, if not all of the crew hatches open, the bare insides need some spicing up.

Looking forward through the rear crew hatch towards the driver's position. Very white! Once the vehicle is closed up you won't actually see much.

M109 DOHER - 12 by phil da greek, on Flickr

Showing the inside having been dirtied up, I'm leaning now towards displaying it on a small base in between fire missions, photos show it being not to clean after they've been in the field a few days. Also note the bare metal where boots have scuffed the paint away. The last photo shows some the detail added, crew benches, cable runs, ammo storage by the back door.

M109 DOHER - 14 by phil da greek, on Flickr

M109 DOHER - 15 by phil da greek, on Flickr

M109 DOHER - 17 by phil da greek, on Flickr

The weathering looks a little over the top at the moment in my opinion, but there is still a lot of detail to be added inside, so there won't be as much weathering to be seen, if that makes sense.

Next job will be to add the gun and work my storage around that, rather than the other way round because experience shows that isn't going to work!

Hope you like it, any thoughts etc....

[FrancisGL]

As you say, when closed, you can not see almost nothing inside, a shame, but it will probably inevitable ... well, cheers Phil

[phildagreek]

Work progressing.

Some detail added to the inside, but the space is a concern, that is, putting too much in so the lid doesn't go on! Here's where we are.

M109 DOHER - 21 by phil da greek, on Flickr

M109 DOHER - 20 by phil da greek, on Flickr

Then with the turret sat on top to give an idea of what is going on.

M109 DOHER - 19 by phil da greek, on Flickr

M109 DOHER - 18 by phil da greek, on Flickr

Gives you an idea of what the space is like inside, there's still a lot of stuff to get in there! And then, the lid is on!

M109 DOHER - 22 by phil da greek, on Flickr

I'll let it sit for a while with the clamps on & then start stuffing it full of the bits & bobs.

Thanks for looking.

[FrancisGL]

Yep, when each piece is in place, one can do idea that is a real car, with its interiors and details ... , cheers Phil

[phildagreek]

Thanks.

[phildagreek]

Some progress but no more pics as yet.

Main hull roof is on & secure, with a little fettling it's a nice flush fit. The turret upper is secured to the ring, again some fettling is required for a good neat fit. And that is currently the story of the kit, by no means cheap it requires a lot of "fettling" with many tweaks required to make it come together in a neat way.

The bare kit interior has now got some detail & I'll turn my attention to the exterior which is a lot of Black Dog resin add on, I have to say, considering the price of it, it's not that great. The exterior generator that sits on the rear of the turret is a case in point, lopsided with wonky lines is a disappointment. Another piece, that like the rear of the turret, may have to be binned & scratched from plastic card.

[Dads203]

Some good skills on display here mate, nice one

[phildagreek]

Just to repeat my moan from above, this is the generator supplied as part of the Black Dog kit,

M109 DOHER - 23 by phil da greek, on Flickr

It is a little bright but you should be able to see that it is far from square & is, in my opinion, a piece of junk. Which is a shame as first of all it was expensive, secondly it does have some detailing on the side and third, the generator is one of the distinguishing features of the Doher. So,

M109 DOHER - 24 by phil da greek, on Flickr

The beginnings of a new generator!

The gun is now mounted in the turret as I was getting concerned about fitting the bits and bobs in and around the gun. I was right to be worried. The bits and bobs fit, but the kit gun looks like it was made for a different model turret. Everything is AFV Club and yet the trouble to make it fit was a real pain in the...it's done now, cutting and filing got it in, superglue holds it and eventually paint and the dust sheet / mantlet cover will hide most of it.

This modelling's good fun!

On a plus, the whole Iphone & Flickr combo works well and makes posting photos much easier.

Laters.

[FrancisGL]

I wish you a good scratch... , cheers Phil

[phildagreek]

So SWMBO comes home from shopping (how do they "shop" so much?) and asks, "what have you been up to?" I reply quite happily, "putting lifting eyes on my new genny".

Silence. Then, "there's no need for the sarcasm".

M109 DOHER - 27 by phil da greek, on Flickr

This is upside down, but you get the idea, plastic card & some more bits off the M113, it lacks some of the wonky detail from the Black Dog version, but this is square & flush. There was going to be detail on the top but that will be used for more stowage so you won't see it.

Meanwhile, inside the hull, a lonely Billy no mates sits & ponders the empty ammunition stand.

M109 DOHER - 25 by phil da greek, on Flickr

M109 DOHER - 28 by phil da greek, on Flickr

And yes, he has been carefully positioned to avoid any "conflict" with the turret.

The final job for the inside will be building up the contents of this;

M109 DOHER - 26 by phil da greek, on Flickr

Still a long way to go. Thanks for looking.

[FrancisGL]

Nice stuff, it's look very fine, cheers Phil

[phildagreek]

Updates - not much to be honest, but little bits. Having finished the majority of construction - I build in stages then stick it all together later, I've primed in white & now undercoated in Humbrol enamel 168 having done a little pre shading.

Meanwhile, Billy no mates has got his maps out & is planning a jolly for later.

M109 DOHER - 29 by phil da greek, on Flickr

A view no one will ever see now, looking up into the turret that's the bottom of the commander's seat on the right & the ready use charge locker on the left, ready to smash your head if you're new to the job.

M109 DOHER- 30 by phil da greek, on Flickr

There is still some internal detail to be added even though I have simplified it (a lot) but I don't know if I can cram it in there!

Thanks for looking in.

[FrancisGL]

Anyway it looks very "real" , cheers Phil

[phildagreek]

Update.

Working away, trying to get the ammunition done so it can go inside and that can be finished. This will be pretty fiddly as I made the classic mistake of putting the roof on too soon! Ah well. More scratchbuilding, just little pieces, the stand for the generator to stand on (?) and the hull rails so the gear has something to hang off. Couple of quick photos.

M109 DOHER - 32 by phil da greek, on Flickr

No mates is still looking at his maps, likes the look of Benidorm, the empty space to his right is waiting for five 155mm HE rounds, it's opposite number is waiting for five 155mm smoke rounds. Visible in the background on cocktail sticks waiting for stenciling. I'm waiting for my eyes to reset so I can do it!

M109 DOHER - 31 by phil da greek, on Flickr

Afore mentioned genny stand. Pretty basic really, but this beast is going to be covered in gear so I don't think you'll notice the lack of nut & detail.

Thanks for looking.