writes:At my usual glacial pace, I've been painting up some Israeli forces for 1980s scenarios. According to my sources, one of the recon companies in a armored/mechanized division would be mounted in scout cars – and the early 1980s is when the RAM V-1 Scout Car was introduced into service.
The RAM V-1 is an open-topped vehicle with light armor. It is fast, rugged, and can be airdropped. There are three mounts (one in the front, two in the rear) which can take a 12.7-mm heavy machine gun, a 7.62-mm general-purpose machine gun, or a Mk.19 40-mm automatic grenade-launcher.
The RAM V-1 closely resembles its predecessor, the RBY scout car... which is good, because I don't have any RBYs yet.
I picked these 1:300 scale models up from Skytrex. The range has since been sold to Heroics & Ros. (There is also a TOW-equipped RAM in the range.)
The model measures 17mm long and 6mm wide. There are two variants - one with a single weapon in the front, and one with two weapons in front.
I chose to paint the models in the ubiquitous Israeli Armor Sand color, which is described as being a greenish grey color. Having no confidence in my ability to mix that color from scratch, I bought a bottle of Model Master Acryl Israeli Armor Sand Gray. The Acryl paints are supposed to work equally well, whether spray-painted or brushed on; I found them to be thin, requiring several coats for good coverage. The paint, when dry, seemed a bit too "apple green" to my eye.
I pictured these vehicles at war in the Middle East, so went for almost a "harsh" contrast. The models were primed white, basecoated with Israeli Armor Sand Gray, and detailed (tires: grey, weapons: black). I then applied a strong wash of black ink, followed by a drybrushing with a light sand color.
The models were then based on 1"-square Litko 3mm-thick wooden bases, which had previously been painted and covered in sand. I may add some crew figures eventually.