#1: M966 TOW Missile Carrier/ ACADEMY

....let´s go 🙂 

...first things first: 40% diluted Vallejo Bronze Green 70.897
 

A classic saturday morning: coffee and a kit!
Instruction steps 1&2 finished
Tryout/ Muffler brown: mixture of Vallejo Flat Brown 70.984 and a good dose of Vallejo Pigments "Old Rust_73.120" 

Steps 3-5 done 

weekend result: steps 1-7 without clear parts 

...a dry-fit before painting and decals 

Late last evening I searched for some Humvee detail-material and found a final diorama theme 

This plastic bag came with a pair of shades. Since I had it in my hands for the first time, I knew, I could use it...time to wrap up this old Tamiya guy, winter is coming 

I´m pretty happy with the result 

Test fit... 

This guy had his shirt sleeves rolled up, so he needs to stop by at the clothing store, too... 

...unwanted wrinkles will be touched up with Vallejo Putty.... 

...done 🙂 

A convoy of M-998 series multipurpose-wheeled vehicles proceeds through the Norwegian countryside during Operation Cold Winter '87, a NATO-sponsored military exercise. The first two vehicles are equipped with Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) anti-tank weapons systems and the third has an M-2.50-caliber machine gun. 

By Bernard E. Trainor, Special To the New York Times
March 29, 1987:
Four NATO countries are conducting maneuvers this week in northern Norway within the Arctic Circle to test the alliance's ability to defend its northern flank in the event of a Soviet attack.

The exercise, called Cold Winter, involves 14,000 troops from the United States, Norway, Britain and the Netherlands.

While the British and Dutch forces came by ship, the 4,000 American military men flew across the Atlantic last week to demonstrate NATO's ability to reinforce Norway. This is almost a third of the forces that would be dispatched in a real crisis. The Americans were mostly from regular and reserve Marine air and ground units trained for Arctic warfare. An Air Force Reserve detachment of A-10 aircraft also took part. More than 120 aircraft from the four North Atlantic Treaty Organization nations were involved in the exercise. Early Deployment Plans

Much of the equipment and supplies to support the Americans is already in Norway. ''The Marine reinforcement is part of our maritime strategy,'' Brig. Gen. Matthew R. Caulfield, the Marine commander, said. ''Holding north Norway is essential if we are to prevent Soviet bombers and submarines from interfering with the reinforcement of NATO.'' 

The plan, according to the general, is to get Arctic-trained and -equipped forces into northern Norway before hostilities begin, to discourage a Soviet invasion and to stop one if it takes place.

There are four airfields in the sparsely populated and bitterly cold area of northern Norway that, he said, must be held. In addition to Evenes, west of Narvik, they are Andoy, Bardufoss and Bodo. According to General Caulfield, aircraft flying from these fields are needed to stop a Soviet advance from northern Russia across the Finnmark region of Norway and also to prevent a Russian amphibious attack between Tromso and Narvik on the Norwegian coast. Carriers in the Fjords

''As the land battle for Norway goes on, NATO naval forces will move into northern waters to join the battle with aircraft carriers and submarines,'' the general said. ''The carriers will operate out of the deep fjords in the area where they will be hard to detect by the Russians and harder to hit. It will be a total NATO effort with the land-based early warning radar and fighter planes helping to protect the fleet and carrier planes helping the ground forces.''

Gen. Fredrik Bull-Hansen, chief of Norway's defense staff, is aware that in the United States there are critics of this maritime strategy, who say naval forces would be sunk in wartime if they came within striking distance of the major Soviet bases on the Kola Peninsula near Norway's northern border.
He said, however, that NATO's resolve to defend Norway is essential to deterrence. With or without American carriers, northern Norway will be defended and the entire Norwegian population will be mobilized for the effort. the general said. He pointed out that the current maneuvers include not only NATO allies and the regular Norwegian Army, but also Norwegian reservists and home guards.

The Norwegians do admit that early reinforcement of their fully mobilized but small defense force by allies is vital to a successful defense of Norway. ''Time is of the essence,'' a Norwegian officer said. ''All