Paint it Black.. 1/35 King Cobra Gun Truck

[diases]

Hi There

Well, with all these flying things around, I thought I'd better make something for the Grunts on the ground.

This caught my attention immediately, as it's a real soldiers invention, rather than a planned, expensive, and often late solution.

 

 

as you can see, its a M113 APC mated to a M54 truck.

They were used to protect convoys, as M113 was to slow, and sandbags,etc were to heavy and slowed truck.

 

I have two options I can build, King Cobra as supplied in Box, or The colonel which I have decals for. 

Looking forward to starting it. Truck will be first.

Need to research its history a bit more before deciding on the final scene, As the convoys operated over various areas, earth colours varied and so did the roads.

But thats for later, let the fun begin

 

Cheers

Paul

Edited August 21, 2020 by diases
change to photo links

[reini]

That is such a cool looking thing - looking forwards to see this build come together  Hoping to get that model one day too.

[modelling minion]

Oh yes, an immensely cool project!

I recently watched a documentary on gun trucks in Vietnam and was really impressed with the ingenuity of the crews to come up with various designs to mount more and better weapons such as miniguns. I was also very impressed by the bravery of the crews, one of whom won the Medal of Honor by sacrificing himself to save other members of his crew.

I shall be watching this with great interest.

[trickyrich]

welcome along with something truly interesting and quite bizarre

 

I haven't seen anything like this before, and I love it....so much so I may have to get me one!! 

 

When I have some more time I'll have to have a look up on these creations.

 

Well good luck with the build, I for one will definitely be following this one!

[diases]

Hi peeps.

Made a start on the M54 Truck.

Not to bad really apart from the poly caps being missing from kit. Don't know if its a mistake, or a production problem.

As this kit is a mash up of two previously released kits, The M113 is missing its running gear, Not certain if the kit had poly caps that could have been left out.

A quick rummage found a very old Tamiya T-62 part built, which has now been liberated of the caps. They were slightly to long but correct diameter, so 1 became 2 and problem solved.

 

 

That's the rear Suspension sorted, made a slight mistake by building the area up from rear chassis to front, that became a problem when fitting the last drive shaft (left of picture).

But a quick snip, fit, size, sand, align, and glue manoeuvre seems to have worked.

 

 

This is biggest disappointment so far, the engine consists of just the sump cover.

I know the engine is not visible, but you would think that a bit of effort could have been made by AFV Club.

OH well, at least it opens the door for the aftermarket boy's.

 

Enjoying so Far, and more updates soon.

 

Cheers For looking

Paul

[JeroenS]

1 hour ago, diases said:

This is biggest disappointment so far, the engine consists of just the sump cover.

I know the engine is not visible, but you would think that a bit of effort could have been made by AFV Club.

OH well, at least it opens the door for the aftermarket boy's.

Same with my M49 and M35 (which has the same sprues as the M49 except for the tanker stuff)....  Look at it this way, it saves a bit of time, leaves more for the fun stuff 🙂 

 

Good start on the M54

[modelling minion]

Great start on the chassis Paul, looks good.

Don't worry about the lack of engine, as Jeroen says it means more time for the fun stuff.

[diases]

Lo There.

Well, Chassis basic structure is complete.  No major problems and looks suitably robust.

First coat of semi-gloss black applied, missed a few (well, lots) bits getting into all the small places. But I may over paint a few Items with standard olive Drab indicating repairs.

These pic's are the front end as it stands atm.

 

 

Also have the wheels built, hubs painted, and working on painting the tyres.

So tomorrow will be detail painting, assembling the tanks/stowage boxes, and ancillary bits and pieces.

And hopefully a start on weathering.

 

So far a nice kit (the M54) with so many customisation options and configurations.

 

Cheers for looking

Paul

[modelling minion]

Looks great Paul, will look fantastic when weathered.

[badger]

Nice build!!

 

I'd love to do this in 1/72 but no-one does the M54.

 

Following along with interest.

 

All the best 

Ben

[diases]

Another Update.

Chassis is complete. Wheels are on.  Flat bed is Built, but requires paint, hopefully a few pic's later.

A quick dust wash over the semi gloss black has given these results.

 

 

Plenty of weathering still to do.

As these trucks are mostly for convoy escort duties, theres not going to be much mud, more dusty effects for accuracy.

 

Next up is the Cab, and it will basically be finished, then onto the M113

 

Cheers for looking

Paul

 

[modelling minion]

Nicely done, it certainly has that dusty look to it.

[Hewy]

 Your doing a Smashing job paul, looks a good kit too

[diases]

Latest update.

Been working on the cab.

Nothing to Taxing and quite a good fit. Only awkward bit was getting the 4 sides and base aligned and straight, but it seems to be good. I'll let you judge for yourself.

 

Simple and basic, but as you will see in a later picture, not really seen

 

Result of needing 4 hands.

First bit of PE (4 clamps for cable to secure M113 to flatbed)

 

The built up cab.

The extra armoured doors and windscreen really limit the view inside, so only limited weathering and no extra details added inside.

I'll get the bonnet built up and see what it looks like before any filling/sanding.

 

Thanks for looking

Paul

[modelling minion]

That is very nice work on the cab Paul, a pity it will hardly be visible later but at least we know you did a good job.

[trickyrich]

gosh she does look good Paul!

 

The weathering is turning out nice, she looks like she's been clean with a hose and broom by someone who'd rather be doing something else!

 

if you want a complete engine I'm sure @JeroenS will knock you one up in a flash....he's good at that sort of scratchbuilding! 

 

My desire to buy one of these models is getting greater as you progress, though they're not cheap on evilBay. The main problem is that there is a certain F-4E that is currently at the top of the must buy list! 

[diases]

To be honest, you could buy the M54 for £40, and a tamiya M113 ACAV for £14.

Then pick the decals of choice.

TADA.. a gun truck model for about £65, a bargain.

 

AND if you look at some of the pics on the web, truck and scratch building could be even cheaper.

Food for thought

 

Cheers

Paul

[diases]

Update time.

Beavering away at this kit, trying to avoid starting something else, as my GB completion rate is woeful.

 

So the truck is just about complete, some mirrors for cab, and underside mudflaps on flatbed.

Still need to work on weathering the beast, but starting to look the part.

 

 

Not happy with the yellow on the grill/bonnet, so will need to find a solution.

But its a good solid kit, and looks the part.

 

Cheers for looking

 

Paul

 

[modelling minion]

That, sir, is looking fantastic.

I really like the reddish dust, looks just the right shade.

[diases]

It's mig African earth PO38.

It is less vivid than most Vietnam earth pigments I've seen, and I personally like the colour better

 

Paul

[diases]

Truck Build is Complete.

 

 

Mirrors were fun, very delicate clean up required, and a guess on actual placement of one mount point

Tailgate has real chain and a PE hook. very fiddly, but looks OK.

 

But now onto the M113.

Made a quick start on it, but now need to start sorting internal colours and decals before continuing.

Couple of picks for a taster.

 

 

 

M113 sprues need a lot of flash removed, so progress will be slower.

 

But

 

If I get it finished quickly, I picked up a 1/32 Cobra Gunship and a 1/48 UH-34D today, so may try another build.

 

Thanks for looking

Paul 

[modelling minion]

Well I think that your truck looks superb Paul.

The dust is very good and looks just right to me.

It's going to look fantastic with the M-113 on the back.

[trickyrich]

she's looking great, well done! 

[diases]

Cant Believe that it's been 4 weeks since I've posted about this one.  The UH-34 must have got my interest in aircraft going, after many, many years.

 

Anyway, Here's the update as it stands now.

Most of the work has revolved around the inside.  I decided to have the troop seats folded away, but that made the interior look really empty.

 

 

Looking for Inspiration, I found some old german ammo crates from the stash, and was really lucky finding a set of tamiya paper ration boxes.

So made them up (fiddly, but nice when complete).

Think it makes a bit more interesting interior, especially as all the roof hatches are going to be open.

 

Rear end mocked up, but this is how the final version will be.

 

While contemplating the final scene, I thought how high up these things are, for loading ammo, etc.

So Scratched up a set of steps

 

 

Needs a little refining, but the basic structure seems OK

 

 

Finally a mock up of rear end.

 

Next will be the top plate, which has quite a lot of detail, both inside and out, then the gun positions.

Ill then be able to place a couple of Figures on the rear, as I'm not certain yet of their positioning due to hatches etc.

Guess I had better make a effort at a base as well.

 

So lots to do

 

Cheers for looking and all the nice comments

Paul

 

 

[trickyrich]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!