Yes, I know, 22 years is a long time coming for a review,
but this is a rare kit. I checked on Scalemates and though there are some videos and build-logs, there don’t seem to be reviews
online, and no history of production beyond the original 1996 release of this
variation of Academy's basic M113 moulds. So why now? I just finished it, my fourth
completion for 2017.
I bought this kit on eBay many years ago and put it together
way back—I built it in 2009 when I wanted to get in some gluing time, not painting, and just set it aside
awaiting paint – and it’s been in its box ever since. I figured it was high
time I lay this Shelf Queen to rest.
It took a remarkable amount of effort to get the job done. I
laid on the base green of the NATO camo several months ago, then it went on the
back burner yet again as the affairs of life clamoured for attention and my
writing career occupied a great deal of my time. But the crunch point is what
it’s always been for me – that moment of truth when you need to airbrush at
reasonably fine definition to lay on the second and third colours. I’ve never
been able to airbrush as tightly as I’d like, it’s true, and there’s a bone in
my head doesn’t like to accept that, and avoids the reality. Hey ho.
I can say the early-ish Academy engineering was not too
great, though probably in some aspects mirrors early Tamiya, knowing their
habit of copying the great firm from Shizuoka shamelessly. When, at the very
end, I went to fit the separately painted smoke grenade dischargers, I found
the holes in their bases and the pins over which they plugged were both
different shapes and different sizes and that’s what prompted me to check
Scalemates – I suspected for a moment that Hobbycraft might be involved
somewhere in its pedigree. But no.
The plastic did not react very enthusiastically to cement,
and many of the small external parts which go to make up this variant were
without positive location devices – “prayer and superglue” as I always call it.
Outlines appear for the locations themselves, after that you’re on your own.
Given the nature of the plastic, the indie track links were beyond even
contemplation, and I picked up a vinyl replacement set from AFV Club that
worked well. They could have been tighter, but that’s my only criticism, and as
the vehicle is featured with side skirts, the lack of proper sag in the upper
run is invisible.
I used my standard armour techniques, with a few tweaks. I
used Micro Flat to tie the camo (Tamiya Acrylics NATO shades – I lightened the green for scale effect but then forgot to do the same for the others – my bad) together, though the
jury’s out on how bright an idea this way; I’ve done it a couple of times before
on NATO camo to suggest the low lustre of a well-maintained modern vehicle, but
the feel is not necessarily how I
like armour to be. I also tried 6B pencil graphite over flat black to create a
metallic effect on the tow cable, and while it may not be too great for bowden-cable
I think it’ll work well in future for the barrels of light canons.
The kit was very fiddly at times, and I omitted the stowage
accessories in the interests of getting it done – likewise the early Academy
decals were not impressive at all (scalding hot water needed to get them off
their backing, then they had almost no stick to the model) and I left off the
large exercise markings in the name of sanity. Too many parts, too few
attachment devices – that sounds like 1990s asian kits to a T.
I also forgot that the M113 is an aluminium vehicle – it does
not display rust. The streaking in the images here is mostly done with MiG pigments,
so it’ll wash off, and when the day comes I can think about this project again I’ll
have a go to tidy it up and correct it.
It looks pretty fair on the shelf, a decent addition to my NATO/modern
armour collection, but I’d have to say I look forward to whacking together
Tamiya’s old M113 for comparison – a Vietnam era paint job with lashings of red
dust. In conclusion, if you want the M901/M981 fire team combo, Academy is your
source, and with care they build into nice looking models.
Cheers, Mike Adamson
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