Carrier, Mortar, 107-MM, Self-propelled

Painting in my opinion was good, but the weathering of this model left a lot to be desired. For some reason, a white wash was applied, and was not very realistic. It was spotty and very watery looking in places and obviously applied after all the detail parts were assembled and decals had been applied. I attempted to tone this down some by applying a thinned artist oil black wash, and once dry, I applied a light dry brushing. I also question the inside surface color of the rear ramp. It is white but it should be the vehicle's exterior color. Perhaps it was white on this particular vehicle, but I have never seen any reference to verify this. It was certainly not standard procedure to have the ramp interior painted in white.

This model did require some additional exterior detail painting to bring the appearance up a notch. Due to the limited access of the interior parts, I was not able to get in there to paint any of the details. I tried to disassemble those parts, but was not able to do so. Basically, the interior is cast (and remains) in color but would surely benefit from some extra detail painting.

The Details:
The only assembly required to this model was to attach the antenna to its mount. I also made some ties out of ship's rigging for the roll of barbed wire on the trim vane.

The Base and Groundwork:
The base measures 4-1/2 inches x 6-1/2 inches and is made of scrap oak. The edge is routered out with a routing bit inserted into my Dremel Tool. Stained with a natural colored stain, then sealed with multiple coats of Polyurethane. Once dry, I masked off the wood with lo-tak drafting tape.

The groundwork is made of my usual mix of Sculptamold mixed with white glue and water and painted. To this, various ground litter consisting of Hudson and Allen tall grass, Verlinden static grass, hand made palm fronds, bits of my wife's dried flowers, miniature dried plants collected from my property and finely chopped up debris also found on my property were added.

The nameplate is made from .015 thick x 1/2 inch wide K&S Engineering brass stock that was buffed to a shine with fine steel wool. The numerals and letters are 12 point (.12") dry transfer lettering from Letraset, and were applied by using my trusty burnishing tool. Once the lettering was in place, I airbrushed on a coat of Future floor wax straight from the bottle to protect the brass and lettering from any finger prints and/or tarnishing.

Finishing:
All the extra painting was accomplished with Polly Scale/PollyS acrylic paints. The wash was created by mixing Winsor and Newton artist oils thinned with Loew-Cornell Odorless Brush Cleaner and Thinner.

To finish this subject, I applied a Polly Scale acrylic flat coat to the overall subject. I also applied Polly Scale acrylic gloss coat to the lights and vision blocks. I then removed the drafting tape masking and touched up along the edges of the Sculptamold with Polly Scale paint.

General Info:
Conceived as a lighter and less expensive alternative to the M84 Mortar Carrier that was based on the M59 Armored Personal Carrier. The M106 was first accepted into U.S. Army service in 1964 and was produced by FMC Corporation in San Jose California with 1,316 examples being delivered. The M106 continued to serve with U.S. Army units well into the 1990's when it started to be replaced with the current M1064, 120mm Mortar Carrier. (The M1064 is also a product of the M113 FOV.) The M106 continues to serve although in reduced numbers until eventually and completely replaced by the NATO Standard 120mm Mortar, M120.

The M106 is fully amphibious (with preparation) and is air transportable in C-130 (and larger) sized aircraft. The aluminum armor does provide ballistic protection for the occupants of the vehicle from small arms fire (up to 12.7mm) and shell fragments.

The model depicted here is of a vehicle belonging to A Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry, 1st Division in Vietnam during 1965. On November 12, 1965, at the battle of Bau Bang (Ap Bau Bang), this vehicle was destroyed by a direct hit from a Viet Cong Mortar round, subsequently detonating the remaining internally stowed ammunition. Sgt. Bill Baty was the TC (Track Commander) of this vehicle and was seriously wounded with two of the mortar crew being killed.

Reference:
Squadron/Signal Publications "M113 In Action" by Stephen Tunbridge, Don Greer and Rob Stern.

On the Internet:
The AFV Database

Sources:
Mr. Michael H. Pruett
Mr. Paul Truhe

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