M113 ACAV test run

I found the time to assemble the 105mm howitzers for the ARVN artillery support this evening, including the crews. I ran short of gunner figures so adapted some infantry to add to the numbers. They look quite good and, with a few sandbag revetments on the bases, they will do very nicely for off table fire missions.

I also test assembled an M113 ACAV to see how one goes together. The Minifig kit has quite a lot of components given the small scale including a hull, track units, top armour, a rear door, a .50 cal cupola, a top gunner and two side M60 gunners. The fit isn't too bad but I did need to do some carving and sanding to get it all to stick together. The hull, for example, required some heavy sanding and cutting work to get it looking half way decent due to the rough casting of the back end.

The end result looks fine, however, although I've left off the M60 gunners both to make things easier and because it gives me greater flexibility in gaming terms. It also seems to reflect actual ARVN M113 usage which is a great!