I built it a few yrs back . I didnt have a fancy smancy photo box so i took the pictures on a white table top in my darkened basement .The kit is OOB except for the nylon string tow cables and the reflective ribbon that i used in the vision ports and other glass areas.Oh , on the 40 mm gun barrels i used ground up pencil lead rubbed over a base of flat black.Maybe their to shinney , but i cant stand a dirty gun ! Or guns in this case.
I wanted to represent a vehicle that was being tested out in the field and had had many personel climbing all over it throughout the day trying to solve the problems of this vehicle that never lived up to expectations.
Here’s a close up of the vehicle that shows what looks like foot / boot marks on the hull .
And now the model .
I came across this M247 at the Yuma Proving Grounds , Arizona. I thought the vehicle would be bigger than it looks in this picture .
O ye, i remember that kit. I did build and paint it many years ago but never finished it. Think its still in a box in the shed with my other wrecked kits. But mine was going no where near looking as good as that one. And for a moiment, i thoought they were un painted metal barrels.
It looks really good. The boot marks dust looks nice. Two snall corrections for you though. First, only the upper left oval on the tail lights is red. The right side should be just a black slit top and bottom. Also, on the main gunner’s sight, there are two angled bars across the glass. These are windshield wipers and should be black. You have them unpainted.
Other than that, it looks great. The barrels look really good. Great job.
I remember this one…built it around 1984 though it came out no where near as good as your build! Ironically, I just picked this kit up again off ebay so I could try it in a MERDC scheme. Perfect timing, I’ll use your build as inspiration.[:D]
Looks great. Have one in the 25+ year stash. Also saved a copy of the Army FM on it. Don’t know whether to build it or try selling it. Your’s looks supurb!!
They don’t go for a lot on the secondary market. I built one mounted to the chassis of the M1 tank and called it the Sgt. Major York. I added smoke grenade launchers and an M60 at the commander’s position. It looked pretty good.
Very nice work on the model and dusty finish…captured that photo perfectly IMHO. [Y]
My dad served in the ADA when he was on active-duty and also worked with many of the other ADA programs in development in the '80s as part of the Civil Service after his medical discharge/retirement at Ft. Bliss and White Sands. I have fond memories of him bringing home all the different posters/promotional materials from cancelled programs or from different conferences he attended and the Sgt. York was one of them. The others I remember were various NLOS and ADATS systems…many of which had quite the futuristic look/appeal about them (for the time) which made them perfect for slapping up on my bedroom wall even though at the time I was only building aircraft models and hanging them from the cieling. [;)]
Heavy Arty …just one thing . Those arent windshield wipers you see and i used reflective tape to represent the glass , not painted . What your seeing is a reflection of detail in front of the lense . If you look at the same sight several pictures down you’ll see the diff . Thanks for your expertese input .
I was in the army at the time that vehicle was being looked at. I said it was a dog from day one. Outdated guns on an old chassis with an F16 radar…bad ideas all around. Our M113s could not keep up with the M1A1 how could that?
But it looks great, nice looking build.
Why we didn’t just use the M1 chassis with the German/Swiss dual 35mm turret I’ll never know.
Hi, Carl, I do indeed remember this kit, I did see inside the box but never owned or built one, don’t know why because its unusual and certainly cool, two criteria I look for in a kit.
You certainly have done justice to a golden oldie in your usual manner, brilliant work again.
Nice job Shellback. I like the “walked all over” effect. [:)]
Hey Gino, [:)]
I could be wrong, but in light of the OP using reflective film on the ports, it does look like a (slightly distorted) reflection of the two moulded ridges in the right front corner of the pic. Perhaps the pic was taken at just the right angle to catch that reflection? I though it looked like wipers too at first.
I built the model and its sitting here in front of me . Those are not wipppers .
Maybe this will help clarify. Red arrows show whats being reflected .
Here’s a closer look .
Here’s another angle without the reflection of the 2 objects .
Yet another picture with the reflection of another object that could look like a whipper , but the angle of the ghost " whipper " is different and know there is only one ghost “whipper” blade .
I too built this kit years ago and I very much like what you’ve done to yours! Good dusting all around but especially up on top.
Altho it was good to see the M48 chassis rebuilt and resurected, I never understood the reasoning behind that decision. I like the looks of it on the M1 chassis… at least that would’ve kept up with the rest of the battle group.
Great job on yours and thanks for posting. Fun kit to build.
