This is my current project ( yes, another target :-) ), it is A.F.C Clubs 1/35 A.I.F.V ( Armored Infantry fighting Vehicle).
It is being built OOB and will depicted as a Turkish United Nations peacekeeping vehicle that was sent to Bosnia.
The colour scheme will be all white, so weathering it should be really interesting.
So far the hull is nearly completed, minus the road wheels and the tools which will be nearly the last things on. The turret is the next phase of the build.
Comments are welcome as always.
Andy

Looking good Andy.
Should be able to find some nice colour references for this with it being quite a recent subject.
The way your building recently this'll be finished in a couple of days,LOL
Nige

Andy

You should try this camo :-)



Ross

Yes you have got to do that camo scheme and you must also replace them tie down loops, moulded on the forward hull
Mal

I totally agree guys.
If your going to work in such a large scale then attention to detail is all important!
snigger snigger,,,
That camo scheme does look sweet though Andy dont you think?
Nige

Sorted, cut them all off . All the pics i have found of this target, i can't find one with them on, some have them going vertical but not horizontal.
If you cut me out the masks, i'll spray it .
Andy

'kin' 'ell, what a cop out, anyone would think that cutting out a couple of masks is difficult I suppose you're just going to spray it "green", now that will be interesting :-)
Mal

Not Green, olive drab :-) . Well olive drab base coat then oversprayed with white, for the U.N peacekeeping missions in Bosnia.

Andy

Hi Dad, it looks nice, (as it's sitting in front of me :-) ). Remember to keep it on your side of the desk and keep your tea cup off my cutting mat ! Enjoy building the rest and try not breaking it .
Courtney

Thanks Noughts.
Update
The turret is built (minus the gun, which will go on last). It has been primered and a base coat of Olive Drab applied ( yes Mal, Green :-) ).
The next part is to spray thin coats of white over it. This should be fun as there are so many nooks and crannies that i have to be careful not to flood some areas too much, trying to get the paint in .
Andy

Andy, is that a lighter next to your paint ? :-) .

Good build so far, it has reminded me that I have this same model somewhere in the box, half painted as a Dutch YPR... I waited ages for the LHS to get this one in, finaly bought it, started trying to convert a few bits to the Dutch YPR version, then I find out AFV actualy DO a Dutch version.... but only market it in Holland... (this was well before I discovered the internet and mail order... )
Will you be using the kit's rubber tracks or replace them?

Cheers
Henk

Hi Henk,
Errr, ummm yes it is, Warning, do not put lighters next to flammable products , right that's got me out of that bit of bother .
I got this kit in a collection i bought off of E/Bay, about a year ago. I won the excellent modelling the M113 series off the Osprey challenge on Armorama and have been itching to build it since. Some great tips and techniques in there.
I plan on going with the kit tracks, but i will see how they go on, and if they are , I'll get a replacement set in.
What gave me a chuckle about this kit, it says on the box " Various NATO painting available", which consists of 3 in Olive Drab and the White Turkish U.N vehicle, what a choice :-) .
Andy

Update
The main colour is on. I had to spray about 4 thin coats of white paint to completely cover this.
Next to do is to paint and attach the wheels and tools, then paint the periscopes and lights.

Andy

Andy - That is looking really good. What sort of weathering you gonna do on it?

Ross

Thanks Ross.
Weathering, errr will hmmmmmm ahhh, be thought about later :-) . Seriously though i have a book on modelling the M113 series which has some excellent tips on weathering ( its under all that stuff some where ), so i will be trying a few of these techniques.
Andy

Finished
Turkish A.I.F.V in U.N peacekeeping markings in Bosnia.
The weathering was done in in three stages. 1st - a buff mist applied to the lower parts of the vehicle, then kleared ( for the 3rd time), 2nd - an oil wash of a mix of Payne's grey and titanium white to the whole model, then a burnt umber wash to the lower parts. 3rd - Dull-coated, then a mix of pastels and burnt umber oils to the road wheels and lower parts, then finally a dusting of pastels.
A rather enjoyable build, and a nice learning experience regarding using white paint and different weathering techniques.
Comments welcome.
Andy



P.S I think i overdid the weathering on the road wheels .

That looks great mate.
The road wheels look good to me,but I know nowt about targets.
I like the base as well.Sets if off nicely.
Are you going to build a proper model now mate,,you know,one with wings and stuff?,, :-)
Nice one.
Nige

Nige,
That looks really good (sounding surprised )
The white over painting looks good, maybe just a tad of weathering back to the underlying colour, at some of the edges, if you wanted a more weathered look. It accurately reflects the picture you supplied though Certainly the weathering around the lower half looks pretty good too and I don't think that you have over done the road wheels.
Remembering that I used to "own" my own tracked vehicle:
The track, where the road wheels contact it, and if it's steel, would be polished steel. This is true even if the tracks are caked in mud, as the contact of the rubber on the wheels, with the track surface, keeps it that way. If the vehicle then stands still for a couple of hours these contact points gain a surface rust layer. This surface rust disapears as soon as the vehicle moves again. The sprocket wheel teeth are also in constant contact with the track, so they are warn as are the track guide slots. The sprocket teeth show this ware at their edges and tips. The track guide teeth rub on the inside of the road wheels and show a similer polished metal look, usually to about half way down. If you dicide, in the future, to simulate this ware, don't use bright silver paint, as that would look wrong, on a model.
The antenna on AFV's are, usually, made from brass sectioned tube and therefor are straight. On the picture that you supplied they have be pulled over, by a cord (supplied as part of the radio fit), to keep them out of the way of over head cables. They are pulled down so that they still clear the turret and don't get in the commanders way. You can see this cord on your pic, look at the commanders helmet. Although the antenna are rigid the base is designed to allow flexability (i.e. It's rubber). When the antenna is pulled over like this it does curve a little. The two antenna would be over in a "X" shape but not touching. If you can see the cord you will see where it's fixed at an angle to clear the rear turret. Having said all that, the vehicle thayou have depicted is different than the pic. The main gun is much longer and will interfere with the antenna anyway, which might have something to do with why they appear shorter (fancy camo pic), if they were tied down the cord would be simply push off, if the main gun were to be traversed over the rear.
So what I'm saying is, the antenna should be straight
Mal

Mal.



Not as surprised as me mate,,I didnt even realise I built it,, :-)
I think I'll give Andy the credit for this one, as it was his idea
If Id have built it the radio ariels would have been straight first time anyway
Nige ((who doesnt build KFC's,,or whatever they're called :-) )

Oooooops, let's try again :-)
Andy,
That looks really good (sounding surprised or really suprised if Nige had built it )
The white over painting looks good, maybe just a tad of weathering back to the underlying colour, at some of the edges, if you wanted a more weathered look. It accurately reflects the picture you supplied though Certainly the weathering around the lower half looks pretty good too and I don't think that you have over done the road wheels.
Remembering that I used to "own" my own tracked vehicle:
The track, where the road wheels contact it, and if it's steel, would be polished steel. This is true even if the tracks are caked in mud, as the contact of the rubber on the wheels, with the track surface, keeps it that way. If the vehicle then stands still for a couple of hours these contact points gain a surface rust layer. This surface rust disapears as soon as the vehicle moves again. The sprocket wheel teeth are also in constant contact with the track, so they are warn as are the track guide slots. The sprocket teeth show this ware at their edges and tips. The track guide teeth rub on the inside of the road wheels and show a similer polished metal look, usually to about half way down. If you dicide, in the future, to simulate this ware, don't use bright silver paint, as that would look wrong, on a model.
The antenna on AFV's are, usually, made from brass sectioned tube and therefor are straight. On the picture that you supplied they have be pulled over, by a cord (supplied as part of the radio fit), to keep them out of the way of over head cables. They are pulled down so that they still clear the turret and don't get in the commanders way. You can see this cord on your pic, look at the commanders helmet. Although the antenna are rigid the base is designed to allow flexability (i.e. It's rubber). When the antenna is pulled over like this it does curve a little. The two antenna would be over in a "X" shape but not touching. If you can see the cord you will see where it's fixed at an angle to clear the rear turret. Having said all that, the vehicle thayou have depicted is different than the pic. The main gun is much longer and will interfere with the antenna anyway, which might have something to do with why they appear shorter (fancy camo pic), if they were tied down the cord would be simply push off, if the main gun were to be traversed over the rear.
So what I'm saying is, the antenna should be straight
Mal

:-) :-) :-) :-)

Thanks Guys. I am rather pleased how it came out. I thought the white would be a lot harder to apply then it was.
I didn't weather the model back to its original colour as (apparently) the Turkish vehicles were extremely well looked after.
The photo of the real A.P.C is a later variant.
The tracks have been sprayed in Alclad steel, so maybe i should just buff them up a bit. I shall give the sprockets a touch up of worn metal on the teeth.
The antenna is just something i am not at all happy with, as 1- i keep knocking them off and bending them and 2 - they just don't look right.
I have some plastic rod that i am going to try and use, and i will then tie them down into the "X" position.
What did they use to tie the Aerials down with ?
I still need to tinker with the whole thing yet as I'm not completely happy with the base at the moment. It needs something else on it ( bush, tree etc) and some more pastels applied to tie the vehicle to it more.
Andy

Is this better Mal. Its the best I could do going by the photo . Its still fuse wire though as the plastic rod i had looked way too thick .

Andy