POST M113 APC SIGHTINGS AND DISCUSSION HERE!

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 2:26 pm

JOC -

Those mods look very nice, and now you're tempting me to do something similar with my tan M113! Did you fill in the holes? The OD one looks great with the 'Nam figures as crew. The Xd M113 vehicle is itself a well done piece, but I want to know why 21c went so cheezy with the figures and the baggage. I mean look at the XD Sherman, Tiger, and M-48 - they all have some extra "baggage" and it looks realistic...

JOC · Post by **JOC** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 4:03 pm

Thanks for the complements. Coming from you guys means I did something right

I really like using the stowage from Military Diorama. I also used some on the new BBI Sherman and it finished it off, just right. I used their sand bags in 1:18 for the from and stowage bags on the rear. On the M113, I did not have to fill the holes from the 21st provided stuff as I mounted the bags over the holes, hanging the duffel bags by the string provided on them. If you haven't tried their stuff, give it a shot. It's worth the $$$ and really dresses up the armor.
Thanks so much to Teamski for taking the time to post my photos for me.
JOC

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 4:52 pm

You obviously used the Build-a-Rama accessories, both modern and WWII. I've got some of both and share your opinion fully! Excellent stuff. Most of mine, however, is on my M2 Bradley, M-41, and M3 Halftrack. I'll have to give the M113 a try.

JOC · Post by **JOC** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 9:37 pm

Teamski also posted some mods I did on a Huey slick. He put them in with the M113 shots. This was my first try at this.
Hope you enjoy it.
Thanks
Jay

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Sun Dec 12, 2004 10:03 pm

A simple, but effective, conversion! You've got a good 'Nam series going!

mburduck · Post by **mburduck** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 9:58 am

My local Wal-Mart has a ton of these in green, too. And yes, two of them did look like a woodland camo scheme.

Mike

Adeleron · Post by **Adeleron** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 11:35 am

Where abouts are you located? Just trying to track where the woodlands are

chesy · Post by **chesy** » Sun Dec 26, 2004 11:44 pm

...the "grill" on the side of the M 113 is a thermal recognition device issued to us just prior to hitting the Line of Departure into Iraq in March 2003. Most allied vehicles sported them but interestingly my own, a Marine AAV unit was not and I don't recall seeing any Tractors (AAV's) with them. The theory, as I was told, was that it would dissapate heat rather quickly as opposed to the rest of the vehicle so when viewed from a distance through, say, an Abrams thermal sight, the gunner would see a large "cool" square and therefore confirm an unknown as a friendly before opening fire... we were a little upset at not having been issued them, too as you might imagine.

chesy · Post by **chesy** » Sun Dec 26, 2004 11:54 pm

...just saw Don's post in reference to the CIP's after I posted my own. Interesting details on unit prices, etc.. I had no idea they were that high-speed. Still don't know if AAV unit's currently in Iraq are now issued them but I know for sure we were'nt though even the company water-buffalo's seemed to have em...

Helo Driver · Post by **Helo Driver** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 9:28 pm

The WalMart by my house has these on clearance for $25 each. If anyone needs one at this price let me know....and I'll go see if they still have any left. They are the tan ones...and most of the boxes were a bit dinged up.

Adeleron · Post by **Adeleron** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 6:03 am

Helo Driver..Do they still have any - I would pay you 30$ plus shipping if you could get me one..

I need to ship it to Canada though..

Adeleron · Post by **Adeleron** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 6:57 am

For the Tan.. or woodland... I have one.. but I would like to have two...

Adeleron · Post by **Adeleron** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 11:28 am

I went to WM today in Amherst and found one Tan.. Now I have two

captain hawkins 1696 · Post by **captain hawkins 1696** » Sun Jan 02, 2005 12:20 pm

Picked up one of these the other day at a Wal-mart in another town for only $10.00 thats right folks only ten bucks......All there tanks were ten bucks..the German tank as well......the M113A2 that I purchased was OD green and if anyone was wondering yes you can take those crappy bags off the sides.....the main gripe I have is the figures are very crappy looking.....

ParatrooperCarbine · Post by **ParatrooperCarbine** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 7:01 am

Wow. Even worse than I thought.

I was in WM last night and looked at a display of these... Of 9 M113s I saw 3 broken figures. 2 had their heads completely broken off. Broken off, not fell off. You could see the broken plastic neck still attached. The third was broken at the waist.

It looks as if the piece of plastic connecting the body and waist is tiny-and that trying to swivel them at all will break them quickly.

ParatrooperCarbine · Post by **ParatrooperCarbine** » Mon Jan 03, 2005 7:02 am

Just to be clear-

I'm not knocking the vehicle at all. When I said "even worse than I thought" I meant only the figures.

MK · Post by MK » Mon Jan 03, 2005 11:20 am

I just received my M113 from ebay. I am looking to customize it into the nam era vehicle. Without going the whole AVAC variant, does anyone have any pictures of the earlier model? I know I need to take the fuel tanks off but I need to know if the side skirts are acurate and if the triangular guards on the top need to come off. Thanks!

MK

mondaytanker · Post by **mondaytanker** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:35 am

I finally found one of these at a WM in Sheboygan WI. They didn't have it on a shelf for sale, it was on the very top shelf. I was shocked to find them, they had 4. After the very helpful and knowledgeable sales person (I am being very sarcastic) got one down, I immediately noticed the poor figures. The lack of quality on the rest of the vehicle was masked by the clear plastic holding the baggage on. Once opened I was appalled by the quality! The .50cal is an absolute joke, the tow cable molded to the back, the baggage and the piss poor periscopes. Good God what the hell was 21st thinking?!?!

My guess is this might be a commissioned piece for 21st, and was not developed by 21st. Why re-tool for the .50cal MG? But I was wrong about the Schurtzen armor on the Panver IV.

Long story short, I removed all the baggage and .50 cal from the M113 and installed it onto my daughters $10 Lenard tank which also got a repaint and some weathering. My daughter was very thankful.

The M113 will receive a rework to get it up to minimal standards.

mondaytanker

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:16 am

Sorry to hear that you didn't like the vheicle. What color was it - tan, OD Green, or Woodland cammo? I have the tan M113, and besides the figures, actually like the vehicle! Mine was the only one left at the Wal Mart, was in a trashed box, and discounted to $10. This APC has an accurate interior, with opening hatches and engine compartment !It can hold 8 armed BBI troops, with equipment (I only use BBI modern figures with my modern 21c vehicles). That puts it ahead of any BBI modern vehicle and it is a better vehicle, functionwise, than the new 21c Panzer IV! I will admit that much of the baggage was poorly done, but that can be easily fixed. The .50 cal gun is actually very similar in quality to that on the XD Sherman as far as quality goes... There is a post a few pages back on this thread where a boardmember removed the origional M113 baggage and replaced them with Build-a-Rama accessoreis. This might give some ideas!

mondaytanker · Post by **mondaytanker** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 11:03 am

My expectations of models works on a sliding scale, the more I pay the more I expect. That is why I was so disappointed in the FOV KT. I felt $40 would have bought me a better M113. It is just not up to 21st standards comparing it with the M-2, M-41, M-48, Sherman, Tiger or Panther. Which, in my opinion look better than BBI's M1 with it's glossy finish. But once the baggage and figures were removed the M113 looks half way decent. A re-paint and replacing the gun, periscopes and cable will go along way. I am comparing the .50 cal to the one that came with my M-41. Yes, the figures are poor but maybe a re-paint could bring them back to life as well. They are just skinny little teenagers though. I want to replace the block of plastic in the engine compartment with something that looks like an engine. For now that hatch stays shut.

Mine is green. I don't mean to sound craby, but 21st can do so much better. Perhaps this is a reflection of WM influence, driving the manufacturers margins way down.

mondaytanker

billgiff · Post by **billgiff** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 12:15 pm

MK, I made a custom V.N. era M113 ACAV which is posted on the board.
The M113 floatation skirts are accurate but were usually removed because of damage. The middle part of the skirts were made of hard rubber which aided in its floatation. Of course once they were removed, the buoyancy was changed. There are a few changes you will need to make. As for references I used: Vietnam Armor in Action by Concord Publications Company and also use Google Search M113 Images. The skirts on the 21st M113 are molded onto the main body and will be a tough job to remove without unwanted damage. If you need any help, email me at billgiff@optonline.net. Bill

immeww2 · Post by **immeww2** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:59 pm

Just read in today's paper about plans for the military to replace the Humvee with the M113's that are being used in Iraq. There have been too many instances where the Humvee was not adequate in protecting the soldiers from rpg's. The M113's would be more suitable for Iraq operations.

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 8:43 pm

Funny, while looking at my tan M113 today, I was thinking why they weren't used as widely on the dangerous streets of Iraq, given that their armor is far heavier than what can be installed on a Hummer. Now they should find a way to attach another .50 cal machine gun, or two!

Small Scale Military Headquarters

POST M113 APC SIGHTINGS AND DISCUSSION HERE!

Where abouts are you?

Anyone need an apc???

Helo Driver...

For the Tan..

Scratch that..

M113A2 cheap

M113 figures