Cars I Have "Babysat"
M474 Pershing Missile Carrier
Well, I didn't really "own" this baby, but spent many months babysitting it...scrape paint...re-paint...scrape paint..etc. The XM474 was a modified M113 Armored Personnel Carrier and designed to transport the U.S. Army Pershing Missile System. The steel APC body was stripped and replaced with a welded aluminum body loosely resembling a pickup. Power came from a Chrysler V8 outputting around 215 horsepower. The view from the drivers seat was excellent when empty, with your head sticking out of the compartment next to the engine. With a missile mounted, consisting of a 3 foot diameter tube laying inches to your right, visibility was extremely limited to the "eastern seaboard". The lightness of this vehicle due to it's aluminum body allowed hair raising speeds...a personal best of 60 mph on asphalt (with disabled governor) having been obtained. It could turn with a deer on the open prairie and (almost) with a fleeing jack rabbit!
This model was constructed in a similar fashion as the real one...cut down from a M113 APC. Only the lower body remained after chopping the top and constructing the front panels from sheet styrene. The tailgate, front missile brace and various attachments were scratch built from styrene. A small picture of the Tamiya M113 can be seen below as reference.
Although the markings appear minimal, they are fully accurate as these units carried none of the typical identification numbers. Only a colored dot and a two digit max vehicle number front and rear marred the gorgeous OD paint scheme!
A 3D computer model of the M474 and missile system can be seen in the Works in Progress section on my 3D Studio pages.
