M-113 APC Upgrade With New Molds

[pickelhaube]

Love the new turret. Will it include the machine gun?

Well I was just going to sell the turret and shield by itself , but I have made a mold of a .50 cal so I guess I could include the Ma Duce if needed .

New turret and your choice of front shield $25 plus shipping .

Flat railing kit $15 ONE SIDE Plus shipping

Round rail kit $20 ONE SIDE plus shipping.

The flat rail kit will have the floor main front rail and 2 sides , per side

The round rail will have a cap strip , 2 ends , floor , 5 vertical railings and 5 plastic styrene runners per side

I am taking orders now .

[normandy]

Matthew, wow! nice job on this custom kit, it makes the 21st M-113 look great.

[tmanthegreat]

The railings look fantastic! Just waiting to be filled up with various Build-a-Rama stowage items. Glad I've got a set of the turret and shields coming, though... I've got a customized Vietnam-era M-113 waiting for them

[pickelhaube]

Thanks guys but it looks like no one wants the railings .

[pickelhaube]

I ended up making the molds for both racks as well as the old and new shields and turrets.

Everything is coming out great and smooth . The first time I made the molds ( 7 years ago ) I was new to it and the pieces were ok .

Now I would say that the parts look great !!!

[rschaap]

Outstanding. Looking forward to seeing photos.

[tmanthegreat]

I ended up making the molds for both racks as well as the old and new shields and turrets.

Everything is coming out great and smooth . The first time I made the molds ( 7 years ago ) I was new to it and the pieces were ok .

Now I would say that the parts look great !!!

Fantastic to hear! Glad I wound up waiting a few years

[rschaap]

I received Pickelhaube's m113 APC upgrade. After removing all of the gear from the original model, filling the holes, cleaning up the new parts, assembling them, painting the parts and the final assembly, here is the semi finished result. Once again Matt (a.k.a. Pickelhaube) you have out done yourself.

I added the MK 19 grenade launcher instead of the .50 cal. I plan on doing a little weathering and loading it up with gear after a few tweaks here and there.


Upgrade parts




The 1/18 scale M113 that will receive the upgrade.



The upgrade

[tmanthegreat]

Fantastic work, rschaap! Really like the way your modern M113 came out with the turret shields and especially the stowage racks. Did you do a complete repaint? If so, what shade of tan did you use and are the markings new decals?

[pickelhaube]

I like it !!!!

Paint is a perfect match .

How long ( after cleaning filling and what not ) did it take you to build up the side racks ?

[rschaap]

The paint was color matched at Home Depot. I took a hatch with me for them to match and bought a sample pint for a few dollars. I only painted over the areas where I had to fill holes. I left all the original markings to save time on the build. Matt gave me the idea to match the color economically when he was doing a conversion on a Pavehawk helicopter a few years back, the color is almost a perfect match.

The clean-up and assembly of the racks and shields took about two hours with another 30 minutes of filling and sanding. I actually found it to be a fun build. This makes my second converted M113 all thanks to Matt and his conversions. Hopes that answers the questions.

[pickelhaube]

They look like 21st factory promo pics !!

[slogan]

Looks great!

[rschaap]

Thanks for the complements. This forum and the people on it make these things happen.

[tmanthegreat]

Thanks for the info, rschaap. I've done the Home Depot paint matching myself, actually for the same 21c OIF M-113A2 (which was my very first custom back in 2005). They did get a very close match... Looking closely at a couple of your pics, I can see where the different shades of paint are, but its really hard to discern. Seeing that makes me feel better about my APC with its slightly mismatched spots

[Rylau]

Hi Matt; Received the rear shields and side racks today. Looking good. Going to do the rear shields on my RVN APC first then the racks on the modern one. Should go well with the upgraded Hummer. Thanks. Bob

[rschaap]

I tried taking a picture of my two converted APC's side by side but they did not turn out. I decided to cut and paste the photos of the two Pickelhaube conversions. The green APC is the Vietnam era M113A1 with .50 cal MG and a .60 cal MG with shields, along with a recoilless rifle. The tan one is the Iraq M113A2 with racks and a MK19 grenade launcher and gun shield. Thanks for looking.

[tmanthegreat]

Awesome work, rschaap!

[rschaap]

Thanks tmanthegreat, I like what you did with your Vietnam conversion. I have a few more M113's I am working on. I'm also in the process of perfecting my weathering techniques. I hope to get some updated photos out there in the near future.

[granch]

Nice to see both models side by side!

[mutt71]

Matthew, Would it be possible to buy the Viet Nam Era M-113A1 ACAV kit? If so, what would it cost me with shipping? I'm looking into buying one of the 21st Century M-113A3's right now.
Thanks,
Jack

[pickelhaube]

Matthew, Would it be possible to buy the Viet Nam Era M-113A1 ACAV kit? If so, what would it cost me with shipping? I'm looking into buying one of the 21st Century M-113A3's right now.
Thanks,
Jack

Sure but give me a few weeks .

I kinda have my hands full right now.

I remade the molds and they are good.

[mutt71]

Sure thing Matthew! I am glad to hear that the molds are still good. I pulled the trigger on the purchase of the M-113, so this is huge for me! Many thanks in advance!

[tmanthegreat]

Mutt71, you will enjoy Picklehaube’s turret shield kit for sure Below are some pics of my 21c diecast M113 backdated to an M113A1 ACAV that I finished last year...

[mutt71]

tman, Your Photos of your M-113 are some of the reasons that I wanted to make the conversion/backdated Vietnam version. Yours is a fine example of taking Matthew's works of art and your talents to backdate this workhorse of the US Army. I will be using your photos as a guide, as to how it should be done. Thanks again!