Vietnam M113 A1 and spider hole

Vietnam M113 part 4

So now I've got the bits cast up, resin body and metal fixtures and fittings and crew I decided to paint one up. This one had a few bits that didn't cast as well as some others so I thought I'd have that one for myself, with a bit of battle damage.

The pack will include the crew figures with the stowage available as a separate pack and a second vehicle, the ACAV version available as well.

Prices not fixed at the moment but these will be released at Warfare in reading in a couple of weeks time. The stowage pack will include a few packs, a jerrycan and a couple of rolled up bits to look like tarpaulin or netting. Side skirts are included in the vehicle pack although they are not shown in these pictures.

Vietnam M113 A1

Vietnam M113 part 3

Vietnam M113 part 2

Ok, so next stage done, main wheels complete, drive wheels and idler to finish. main body shape ready for fixtures and fittings.

The holes for the hatches are now in place as are the main panels ready to start adding the detail, periscopes and hatch detail. The hatches will be separate metal castings along with the weaponry. I am hoping to get two variants done, a basic M113A1 and an ACAV version, perhaps with additional floatation devices on the bow brake which will again be a separate metal casting as will the side skirts.

Stay tuned for part 3, the detail bits then the tracks. I am still not too sure how I am going to do the tracks but I am sure I will sort something out.

M113 for Vietnam Part 1

I decided it was time to make some transport for the US in Vietnam, so the M113 project began.

Here are some photos of the start of the project showing how I built up the hull shape with plasticard, the photo above shows the basic model with Parkfield figure to indicate the size of the model. The actual vehicle is not actually very tall, the top of the hull is 6ft from the ground, so not a bad fit if I say so myself.


I plan to make the hull in resin with the wheel assemblies and accessories in metal. The wheels are plastic rod cut down, the next stage is to fill the hollows with magic sculpt and impress the detail using a die I have made from magic sculpt. The next stage, if it works, will show the wheel detail done.

The model was designed to a scale of 1/55, a reasonable size to fit in with 28mm figures, the body is resting on the basic wheel assemblies at present to get some idea of how they will look together.

New 28mm Vietnam figures

Kit Carson scouts in a variety of dress with a variety of weapons

Prone US M 60 crew

Beowolf for Black Pyramid Miniatures

Dog and handler for Vietnam WIP

new Vietnam bits, VC and US infantry

More 28mm VC for Vietnam

The next batch are now underway. My intention is to produce, at least to start with, enough figures to create a squad each for the US and VC forces. I am aiming at 9 figures of each then a few variants before moving onto, maybe, ARVN and VC Main Force figures.

Above is a kneeling VC firing an SKS rifle, hat still needed. Of course, the VC figures will be easier to alter just by changing the headgear to a non la-a conical rice straw hat.
Above is a VC squad leader and RPD gunner with, below, a view of the three figures I have got farthest with so far. I am working on a few more US infantry figures to include a squad leader, grunt with M-79 grenade launcher and one with M-60.

Parkfield Miniatures Vietnam comparisons

The centre figure is from the new Parkfield Miniatures 28mm range of figures with, on the left. a FoA figure and on the right, a figure from TAG

More Vietnam stuff

latest for Vietnam-US RTO

The first US soldier rolls off the workbench, a RTO crouching holding handset to his ear.

28mm (1/60 scale) Vietnam

I decided it was time for something new, so for some reason I plumped for the Vietnam War. The American figures will be 27/28mm to eye level with the Vietnamese measuring around 25/26mm to eye level.

This all sounds a little complicated but I wanted the Vietnamese to be slightly shorter than the Americans to reflect their slightly shorter stature. This meant that I would be working to a scale of 1/60 allowing me to make scale weapons.


These are the first two VC figures, one with SKS rifle and one with an AK47. They are both passive but I will be moving on to some more dynamic poses, I wanted something to start on to gat the clothing and equipment sorted in my own mind

The two figures were built up from wire armatures, something else I wanted to do to get a little more variety in the stances although I will also be working from dollies I created whilst doing the first few weapons.

PULLING FACES

I have been meaning to do this for a while now, a series of posts showing how I sculpt figures. this first is to show how I shape faces and I must stress this is the way I do it, it is in no way the only method, so go and experiment.

This is a series of photos taken during a session to put a face on a model. As you can see, to begin with I had a stump that would be the neck onto which I placed an appropriately sized blob of putty. In my case I tend to prefer Pro Create for most of my modelling.




This blob is basically shaped between finger and thumb to see where the nose will be.
Next I push the putty around to create a basic nose and pus in slits where the eyes will be.

The next stage involves starting to shape the nose and smooth off the face to get the right shape. All faces are not the same so just getting the basic shape will do at this stage. It is important to keep your tools wet so they don't stick to the putty. As you can see the final shape is not important at this stage, but it is the beginning of placing everything where it should be.

Next i trim off any excess around the chin and neck area, now it is starting to take some shape.

More smoothing and shaping of the features to get them looking right and approximately the right size and shape.
Next, a modelling tool is gently pushed up from the chin towards the nose to create the lower lip and then a slit is cut above this to form the mouth.
More smoothing and then taking a scalpel I cut and push to create basic eye shapes. these will be manipulated by sculpting tools to the right shape and size, smoothing everything as I go.


Now all that remains is some final smoothing and gentle shaping, pushing in the cheeks and finalising the finished shape of the face.

I don't really like the figures blown up so much in photos, the faces are only 4mm high in reality.