The AMX 13 series 2 was adopted by the French army in 1952. Designed as a light tank for the airborne troops, it became the standard light tank of the tank regiments and the mechanized infantry regiments. Along its service life it has undergone a number of upgrade programs dealing with the hull and the turret. Moreover the earlier tanks have often been upgraded to the latest standard which made the AMX 13 fleet very diverse.

Concerning the hull, the most visible modifications were the adoption of straight fender bins, the adoption of infrared headlights and later the introduction of a newer suspension with new shock absorbers and 4 return rollers (type 2D). In the 1970s the tracked vehicles all got rubber padded tracks to minimize damage to the roads.

The turret also was modified with the most obvious changes concerning the main armament. The initial AMX 13 were equipped with the SA50 75 mm gun. In 1964, the 90 mm gun began t oreplace the SA50 gun. The tank with SS11 ATGM entered service in 1963.

The AMX 13 SS11 was initially built on the late type hull (2D) then earlier hulls were progressively used which gave many combinations. One must note that the early hulls with sloped bins got at the left rear corner a straight bin which accommodated parts of the missile control system.

The AMX 13 SS11 was initially fitted with a manual command to line of sight (in French TCM or T9C) with which the tank commander (TC) controlled the missile to the target. Some years later a semi-automatic command to line of sight (in French TCA or T10K) was adopted. The gunner only had to align the sight with the target and the SACLOS gave orders to the missile. To do so a guidance unit was fitted on top of the turret rear. In the late years the guidance unit was removed and the T10K SACLOS was used in a manual mode by the TC.

Starting with the first version a protection for the TC central episcope was fitted. Along with the introduction of the TCA a new bracket for the joystick was fitted in front of the TC station. This bracket had a transport position at the level of the original bracket and a firing position on both sides of the central episcope. In all there has been 3 types of turret for the tank with SS11 : the early type (TCM) with the bracket for the T9C joystick on the gun mantlet, the intermediate type (TCA) with the double bracket for the T10C joystick and the guidance unit on the turret top and the late type with the bracket for the T10K and the guidance unit removed.

The adoption of the missile launcher generated internal modifications to the turret to host the fire control system. Thus the left side radio set was removed and the left antenna was no longer fitted. The MAC31 coaxial MG was replaced by the smaller AA52 MG.

The AMX 13 SS11 has been in service in the light tanks regiments and the M47 tank regiments in a company of 12 tanks. Later it served in the mechanized infantry regiments with one platoon in each of the two light tank companies.

The AMX 13 SS11 only served with the French army and was retired  in the early 1980s when the VAB HOT entered service.

The kit

This reference was released by Takom in 2016 along with the AMX 13/75 and the AMX 13/90 models. Even though it is named AMX 13/75 with SS11 ATGM, it can build into a gun tank with the late hull with the four return rollers and the reinforced idlers. In fact the box illustration states this is a 2 in 1 model while it is in fact a 3 in 1. This will be developed later.

The box includes 15 light grey plastic sprues, 10 sprues for the tracks, 1 clear parts sprue, 1 lower hull, 1 oscillating turret shell, 1 soft vinyl dust cover, 1 sheet of photoetched parts, 1 sheet of decals, 1 instructions booklet and 1 color leaflet for the decoration instructions.

The cast and the level of detail are very good. The attachments to the sprue are often thick and require a good amount of cleaning. The instructions booklet comprizes 20 pages. The front page presents the history of the AMX 13. The assembly is divided into 32 steps with some options. Starting from step 16 you have to choose between the gun tank and the missile launching tank. Step 17 gives the choice between two versions of the missile launching tank. Takom did a first mistake by calling the late version "early type" and vice versa. Other mistakes are present in the instructions and will be mentioned later on. The assembly is sometimes tricky due to the lack of marks to place some parts. The PE sheet is common to several models and some parts are unused. The parts are well designed and fit very well.

Before starting the building you need to choose the version. For the gun tank there is no specific issue. For the missile launching tank you have to choose between the 3 options described in the introduction above. For the TCM version you just have to add the protection for the TC central episcope. For the TCA version you have to add the protection for the central episcope, the brackets for the T10K joystick in front of the TC station and modify the bar at the rear of the turret roof around the guidance unit rear leg. To depict the TCA version in the manual mode you need to make the previous modifications without adding the guidance unit.

The choice of all steel tracks by Takom is not really wise but not wrong either. When the missile launching tank entered service the tracks with rubber pads were standard but they were sometimes replaced during maneuvers in military training camps.

For my build I chose the TCA version with rubber padded tracks.

The build

The hull

The build starts with the running gear. It is quick and easy. At step 4 you have to assemble the roadwheels. It is time to fix a little mistake from Takom. In fact the roadwheels feature weld marks that Takom has depicted as rectangular plates. I smoothed this look by soaking the welds with liquid cement. Before gluing the upper hull you can scribe two panel lines omitted by Takom. Weirdly enough those lines are present on the drawings in the instructions. The first one is running in front of the large hatch on the glacis, the second one is running just in front of the bolt heads line behind the turret ring and in front of the rear grilles.
Takom have molded large holes on the glacis to attach the spare roadwheels and the spare track links. It is a pity because it prevents you to depict these elements removed. The rivet counters could add one bolt head in the middle of the bottom of the front right hatch. I also drilled out three holes depicting the thread to remove the round ventilator panel. At the rear, near the right fuel hatch you have to add a bit of rod identical to the one one the left hatch.

At step 10 I modified the spare track links support. In fact the rubber padded tracks were thicker so the original support was modified by welding a riser to each side.

Step 11 deals with the headlights. Takom did a mistake on the brackets. In fact the IR light did not rest on the fender but on the bracket of the protection grille. I did not fix this.

At step 13 I removed the infantry telephone from the rear right fender and with the help of reference pictures I depicted the back of the light and the empty space at the telephone location.

At step 14 Takom gives the choice between two types of towing hooks. Only the late type is right for the late type of hull. So you have to glue part E31. The hull assembly continues from step 30. However I deal with the last step right now. The gun travel lock can be presented folded or locked around the gun. If you choose the folded position I advise you glue the PE part TP10 only after you have glued the mud protection B13 on the glacis. The right stiffener J7 must go through the travel lock ring in the folded position.

I replaced the box tracks by the Takom reference with the rubber pads. It includes the links and separate rubber pads. Takom asks you assemble 85 links per tracks but 84 are enough. You have to thoroughly clean the links for a good assembly and a perfect fit around the sprocket.

The turret

The turret is dealt with in steps 16 to 29. The assembly starts by drilling homes from inside. Take note that at step 16-1, for the missile launching tank only, you must not drill all the holes in the turret roof. For the TCM (late type for Takom) you need to drill the holes in front of the TC station and only the two holes on the gun mantlet which appear larger on the instructions. For the TCA (early type for Takom), you need to drill the holes in front of the TC station, the central hole on the gun mantlet and the three holes for the guidance unit at the rear of the roof. On the turret sides, all the holes must be drilled out.

At step 17 Takom asks you to glue part J12 which unlocks the hatch. This is not mandatory. Moreover this part should be an oval and hollow handle and not a plate as depicted. For all the ATGM versions you have to add the protection for the central episcope on part B4.. I did mine from aluminum foil. The protection is about 5 mm long.
For the TCA, you need to shorten part G15 by 1.5 mm by cutting it in the center. On each side of this part a bit of tube is glued in a horizontal position. These are the supports for the joystick in the transport mode. To do so a bit of 0.5 mm styrene rod is used. I hollowed it with a 0.3 mm drill. At the ned of each tube a wingnut screw is added. On both sides on the central episcope the vertical support for the joystick in the firing position are added. They are made the same way as the horizontal ones.

At step 18 you need to remove the rods on the ventilator E17. I remind you that late type (for Takom) is in fact the early one. The instructions are right for it. For the TCA (early type for Takom) you have to modify the bar at the rear of part E50. On the real tank, the bar is not straight but runs around the guidance unit leg.
Takom has omitted to represent on both sides of the gun the plates which support the launching assembly G6. To get the right position you should better glue the reel J14 on the support G6 and then glue the assembly onto the gun mantlet and check the alignment by gluing part G8 at step 19. The second handle J12 is not glued on the gunner hatch. The assembly of the guidance unit is easy.

At step 23 Takom proposes not to glue the dust cover. I advise not to do so as at that time all the tanks were fitted with the cover. Moreover Takom did not represent the upper securing rail for the cover. The cover is a vinyl part which is glued with normal plastic glue.

At steps 24 and 25 it is better to first glue the antenna bases and then only the smoke dischargers. You have to check they have a correct orientation.

Step 27 requires you assemble the both turret halves. To myself I did not do this that late to avoid breaking parts while handling the turret.

The missiles assembly requires some attention so the fins make a perfect cross. Befroehand you have to fill the recessed lines. On the real thing they are barely visible. Unlike what the instructions show the PE protections TP22 must be glued inside the frames G4 and G5. Do not glue the frames yet. You have to glue sub-assemblies G2 and G3 on the support first. Then you can glue the frames with their rear edge glued on the vertical post of the support.

To finish the assembly you can add an antenna on the right side only. The radio set location was used for some control system components.

The decoration

I chose one of the two French decorations. They are both correct for a TCA tank only. On the plain green tank I chose you must not use the MLC decal on the left side.

The base green is a mix of XF-65 Field Grey, XF-69 NATO Black and XF-15 Flesh in the following proportions: 5/2/1. For the missiles I used some XF-67 NATO green t ovary the green shades.

The weathering was done with a dark brown pinwash. The I added some color variations with the oil dots technique and the following colors: blue, yellow, ochre, burnt umber and white. The dusty look was achieved with various pigments shades keeping in mind that the French military camps are mainly located in the chalky Champagne region.

Conclusion

This kit is a nice addition to the AMX 13 series of models. If the tank gun can be built without issue, to get a fully accurate AMX 13 with SS11 missiles be prepared to do some extra work. However even straight out of the box this kit is light years ahead of the old Heller kit.

05/2020