Took the M151 to the MVPA show in Topeka

[m151dave]

I took the newly repainted M151 to the MVPA Nationals in Topeka. Ignore the date, I dropped the camera and the batteries flew out and I guess dumped the date program.

[Jay Mallari]

Nice one Dave.

[moose53]

nice touch with the spent shells and links. one question though, why is the MG mount painted red?
I especially liked the Biere 33 and Biere LaRue bottles lol. '33' beer was sweeter than the tiger piss, but maybe it was just the formaldehyde in it that made me think that lol.

Jim

[toptiger]

great set up.

[m151dave]

I get a lot of questions about the red mount. The jeep is configured as a convoy escort jeep, working in hand with the convoy gun trucks. It was not uncommon to see the mounts on the jeeps painted the same as the trucks they worked closely with. Since the gun truck is painted and marked for the same unit, I went with matching trim paint. All the guys out on the gun truck forum love it, which is pretty good confirmation in my book, I have seen them really eat up some guys for failing to get it right.

I honestly can not remember if I have mentioned the truck or posted a link before, so if not, here it is

http://guntrucks.multiply.com/photos/al ... ck_Project

This documents the build of a first generation convoy gun truck from start to finish. A first gen truck was a deuce and a half, still painted green to blend in (sort of) with convoys. Employed a single wall construction on the box and minimal protection for the cab. Ours is armed with two .50 cals and an M60 for the tail gun. We named it Business As Usual, something of an inside joke. But like so many vehicles, it sort of named itself.

Thanks everybody for the good words. Oh, by the way....I cut all of the paint stencils on a Cricut Expressions home hobby machine, using a software package called (and I am not kidding) Sure Cuts A Lot. this software allows you to use any truetype font to make things, without all the pesky cartridges they love to sell for this machine. you can do anything up to just under 12x24 inches. I have also worked up paint stencils for smoke grenades, with Vietnam dated lot numbers on them, available in any color.

[WC Matt]

nice touch with the spent shells and links. one question though, why is the MG mount painted red?
I especially liked the Biere 33 and Biere LaRue bottles lol. '33' beer was sweeter than the tiger piss, but maybe it was just the formaldehyde in it that made me think that lol.

Jim

I've seen the red painted M142 mounts on gun trucks and thought it was done to "pizazz" things up but maybe there was a "real" reason behind it?

Matt

[m151dave]

The gun truck guys were, and I say this with absolute respect, very individual in their dedication to the mission. They were often described as cowboys, though I think it is often taken in the wrong context. They were hard charging and willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. To that end they were granted a lot of liberty in the realm of self expression. The original trucks were painted to blend in with the convoys, but as the tactics progressed and the trucks mission became more aggressive that was no longer an issue. Ultimately the trucks were often painted gloss black with gun mounts colored red, blue, white, yellow, along with a lot of trim on the truck. They painted nuts on the tire spindles, hinges and tie-downs, gas tank straps, headlight rings. The taste of the crew limited the depth of accent coloring. Same goes for the truck names.

Red is just a decorative color for the truck and jeep. We built the truck with only tools that were available to the actual troops of that time. We also went that route with the paint. White, red and OD green where easily available colors to the troops.

[m151dave]

The beer bottle labels were made by me. That is just two of the brands i have on hand. There is also PBR, San Miguel and some others. The art is available at
http://firebasenam.myfastforum.org/about1544.html you need to register as a user, no charge. I bought bottles at a home brew store, printed on a good quality printer and used a good grade of paper plus a glue stick to apply them.

This is a great resource site. Many different things you can make yourself that are hard to find out there. documents etc...

[rickf]

VERY nice Dave, Keep in mind though that beer was NEVER consumed in or around a military vehicle!

I want a M-79!


Rick

[SEABEE62]

Ah...........that's true Rick !!!! And we never had a bottle opener on any of our deuces either......Seabee

[WC Matt]

Ah...........that's true Rick !!!! And we never had a bottle opener on any of our deuces either......Seabee

Why those were for opening up bottles of grape neehigh(sp?) ..........
Matt

[Ralph Fuller]

I've posted 418 pictures of Vietnam Gun Trucks and Jeeps here:

http://uglyranger.multiply.com/photos/a ... _and_Jeeps

[m151dave]

I used that site extensively for my research. Great stuff and great feedback from the guys on the forum.

[csmith]

Nice rig Dave, great display!

[m151dave]

Thank you very much!