FMC Skidder Model - Part 2

I had received a couple of the kits and began assembling what I can. The main part assembled was the tracks - each individual link had to be drilled out and pinned with some brass wire.

The drilling was pretty simple - especially when I put the 0.5mm drill bit in a Dremel and set it for a low speed.  The pinning was a little tedious, mainly over the size of the links, but I'm glad they are not any smaller!  

I also selected a bit of paint for the machine.  I am going to try out acrylic, mainly because I never had good experiences with enamel.

I understand acrylic is more prone to fading, but I believe a proper clear coat will avoid those problems.

So far, I am impressed - I did not use a paintbrush on these parts - I spread a bit of paint on the engine using the toothpick I was using to stir the paint, and I covered the road wheel literally by smearing the paint that was on the cap.

In both cases, the paint not only dried to show the details, but also had no translucency.

The paint scheme I am going with is what FMC used - Red for the undercarriage, blade and arch, and white for the operators cab and hood.  The engine will be that ugly marine green that Detroit Diesels are known for, and I'll go with a dark grey for the steering gearbox and transmission.

I'll need to delve into resin casting for the transmission.  On the M113, the steering gearbox was almost in-line with the engine with a direct connection from a Allison transmission.  On the skidder, the engine is elevated somewhat, and uses a driveshaft from a Clark "dropdown" transmission.  What I will do is play around with modeling clay until I have a proper "Master", then start looking around for casting kits.

I bought a model winch that I will use for modelling the cable winch in the back.  It might be on the small side, but I should be able to use it or even play around with it with resin.