Christmas came early (or late I guess depending on your outlook) for me!
I've recently taken an interest in MRAPs used in Afghanistan and Iraq. I've just completed the RG31 (once I've finished the base I shall post pics), and am in the process of building a Buffalo ... what a beautiful vehicle! While researching these vehicles the South African connection was a common thread to almost every MRAP out there.
So, to try get a timeline of sorts of MRAPs I went to baxmod.co.za and ordered 4 of their kits, Buffel, Casspir, Ratel and Rhino. An impatient wait followed but finally last week they arrived!!!!
As I have limited resin kit experience I am going to start on what seems to be the easiest to build, the Buffel.
I will post some 'in the box' pics tonight and once that's done I shall break out the superglue and start gluing pieces together.
Constructive Feedback
For in-progress or completed build photos. Give and get contructive feedback!
For in-progress or completed build photos. Give and get contructive feedback!
Hosted by Darren Baker, Dave O'Meara
BaxMod 1/35 SADF Buffel
gajman
Joined: April 02, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Armorama: 17 posts
Posted: Wednesday, April 01, 2015 - 04:21 PM UTC
gajman
Joined: April 02, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Armorama: 17 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 18, 2015 - 05:28 PM UTC
Thanks for the replies everyone. Apologies for the delay in posting the promised photos but family life got in the way. Anyway, here's the photos and an update.
Here's the box shot:
At first glance the kit looks good. I downloaded a number of reference photos and everything looks pretty good. This is a resin kit and the instructions are what I've come to expect from resin kits - you need to have some photos to cross reference against the plans and you need to do lots of dry fitting before applying the superglue.
There are a number of areas that I noticed could do with improvement. BaxMod give you some etch metal parts which I felt needed replacement. I have never been keen with many of the parts that manufacturers give as etch metal as I feel they are too flat, etch is often used for steps etc. that in real life are made from piping of some thickness.
I decided that the etch grating was too large and needed to be replaced with something finer. Also the bars that protect the headlights are better represented using plastic rod.
Here's the grating in place:
I also decided to replace the suspension with coiled wire:
And finally here's a shot of in progress work on the passenger compartment and the chassis:
Overall I am finding this kit is very easy to put together. There are a number of errors when compared against my reference photos but in defence of BaxMod, it does appear that the Buffel went through a number of modifications throughout its career.
Thanks for reading.
Here's the box shot:
At first glance the kit looks good. I downloaded a number of reference photos and everything looks pretty good. This is a resin kit and the instructions are what I've come to expect from resin kits - you need to have some photos to cross reference against the plans and you need to do lots of dry fitting before applying the superglue.
There are a number of areas that I noticed could do with improvement. BaxMod give you some etch metal parts which I felt needed replacement. I have never been keen with many of the parts that manufacturers give as etch metal as I feel they are too flat, etch is often used for steps etc. that in real life are made from piping of some thickness.
I decided that the etch grating was too large and needed to be replaced with something finer. Also the bars that protect the headlights are better represented using plastic rod.
Here's the grating in place:
I also decided to replace the suspension with coiled wire:
And finally here's a shot of in progress work on the passenger compartment and the chassis:
Overall I am finding this kit is very easy to put together. There are a number of errors when compared against my reference photos but in defence of BaxMod, it does appear that the Buffel went through a number of modifications throughout its career.
Thanks for reading.
Littorio
Joined: September 15, 2004
KitMaker: 4,728 posts
Armorama: 504 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 18, 2015 - 05:57 PM UTC
Interesting build Gary, I've been thinking of getting the Baxmod G6 for some time, what's your view of the kit?
bison126
Joined: June 10, 2004
KitMaker: 5,329 posts
Armorama: 5,204 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 18, 2015 - 05:58 PM UTC
Nice and very unusual subject Gary.
Thanks for sharing
Olivier
Thanks for sharing
Olivier
gajman
Joined: April 02, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Armorama: 17 posts
Posted: Saturday, April 18, 2015 - 06:36 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Interesting build Gary, I've been thinking of getting the Baxmod G6 for some time, what's your view of the kit?
Hi,
You get a lot of resin for your money when you buy the G6. I've opened some of the parcels within the box (it comes well wrapped in bubble wrap) and am happy with the quality of the castings, nice sharp mouldings and some very good detail. The etch looks pretty good (as an example, if you were to scale up the etch grating on the buffel it would scale up to large gaps between the wire, whereas the grating on the G6 kit looks much more to scale). There are some bubbles in parts but nothing that looks too horrendous.
It looks to me like the quality of the mouldings is better than those of the Buffel. I don't know the history of BaxMod and the sequence in which they released their kits but if you were to ask me, based on the quality of the mouldings, I'd have guessed that the Buffel is an older release than the G6.
My personal opinion is that if you're familiar with resin kits then it won't be too much of a challenge and it looks like it will go together quite easily. Again, I stress that I have not started building this kit, I am making these judgements purely by looking at the parts.
Also, I think at the moment the SA Rand to any other exchange rate is pretty much in your favour. So ordering direct from BaxMod will probably work out to be quite a good deal. It took two weeks for my kits to reach me in the UK from SA.
Hope this helps.
Gary
gajman
Joined: April 02, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Armorama: 17 posts
Posted: Friday, May 01, 2015 - 11:14 PM UTC
A quick update. I've added some wiring to make the engine look busier and assorted support struts that are not in the kit but which appear in all my reference pics.
gajman
Joined: April 02, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Armorama: 17 posts
Posted: Monday, June 22, 2015 - 12:59 PM UTC
I've finished it! I still have to add a windscreen wiper and some seatbelts which I'll do in time but for now I am calling this one quits.
Feel free to give any constructive criticism.
Feel free to give any constructive criticism.
SGTJKJ
#041
Joined: July 20, 2006
KitMaker: 10,069 posts
Armorama: 4,677 posts
Posted: Monday, June 22, 2015 - 04:10 PM UTC
Great build, Gary. Definitely a build out of the ordinary. Interesting how the South Africans developed a solution to the mines/IEDs long before it became an issue for allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing
maximus8425
Joined: May 12, 2006
KitMaker: 331 posts
Armorama: 320 posts
Posted: Monday, June 22, 2015 - 05:32 PM UTC
Hi Gary,
I Like it, it's unusual and so appeals to me. I especially like the mesh, it looks far more in scale than the kit supplied parts, what did you use? It's almost got a mad max/post apocalyptic look to it. As to the differences with reference photos I imagine that there was a lot of local modifications done at unit level when this was in major use. Possibly due to the arms embargo etc.
Max
I Like it, it's unusual and so appeals to me. I especially like the mesh, it looks far more in scale than the kit supplied parts, what did you use? It's almost got a mad max/post apocalyptic look to it. As to the differences with reference photos I imagine that there was a lot of local modifications done at unit level when this was in major use. Possibly due to the arms embargo etc.
Max
gajman
Joined: April 02, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Armorama: 17 posts
Posted: Monday, June 22, 2015 - 05:52 PM UTC
Thanks Jesper and Max for your comments.
Max, looking at reference pics there did seem to be a fair amount of variety regarding certain aspects of the vehicle.
However, my model does differ from the standard Buffel at the front. I really am not sure if I messed up or if the kit supplied chassis is too short but I found that when it came time for me to put the drivers cab on it actually went into framework of the mesh. There should be a gap. Basically the front was too squashed so I had to modify the grill etc to make things fit.
With the benefit of hindsight what I should have done was to to cut the chassis and just extend it by 5mm or so. Anyway, too late now.
For the mesh I used a broken bug catcher that my kids were throwing away. You get them at any toystore, it has a plastic bug holder with the mesh, a magnifying glass and sometimes some tweezers. The mesh is a soft plastic and is a pain to work with but if you are patient you can get it to bend to whatever curve you want.
Thanks again for looking.
Gary
Max, looking at reference pics there did seem to be a fair amount of variety regarding certain aspects of the vehicle.
However, my model does differ from the standard Buffel at the front. I really am not sure if I messed up or if the kit supplied chassis is too short but I found that when it came time for me to put the drivers cab on it actually went into framework of the mesh. There should be a gap. Basically the front was too squashed so I had to modify the grill etc to make things fit.
With the benefit of hindsight what I should have done was to to cut the chassis and just extend it by 5mm or so. Anyway, too late now.
For the mesh I used a broken bug catcher that my kids were throwing away. You get them at any toystore, it has a plastic bug holder with the mesh, a magnifying glass and sometimes some tweezers. The mesh is a soft plastic and is a pain to work with but if you are patient you can get it to bend to whatever curve you want.
Thanks again for looking.
Gary
zvezdah1
Joined: February 21, 2015
KitMaker: 36 posts
Armorama: 27 posts
Posted: Monday, June 22, 2015 - 06:12 PM UTC
actually it was the Rhodesians who came up with a lot of the design philosphy the South Africans later used. The Pookie, the Rhino, Kudu, loads of others.
https://www.google.com/search?q=rhodesian+mine+proof+vehicles&biw=1366&bih=681&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=61qJVf6gJsOnggS6hYCADw&ved=0CB0QsAQ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_security_vehicle
Chris
https://www.google.com/search?q=rhodesian+mine+proof+vehicles&biw=1366&bih=681&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=61qJVf6gJsOnggS6hYCADw&ved=0CB0QsAQ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_security_vehicle
Chris
Quoted Text
Great build, Gary. Definitely a build out of the ordinary. Interesting how the South Africans developed a solution to the mines/IEDs long before it became an issue for allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thanks for sharing
gajman
Joined: April 02, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Armorama: 17 posts
Posted: Monday, June 22, 2015 - 06:42 PM UTC
Quoted Text
actually it was the Rhodesians who came up with a lot of the design philosphy the South Africans later used. The Pookie, the Rhino, Kudu, loads of others.
https://www.google.com/search?q=rhodesian+mine+proof+vehicles&biw=1366&bih=681&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=61qJVf6gJsOnggS6hYCADw&ved=0CB0QsAQ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_security_vehicle
Chris
Very true Chris. The Rhodesians started developing mine resistant vehicles as a result of the terrorist war they were fighting. The South Africans continued that work.
Today many of the SA designs are incorporated in most of the mine resistant vehicles in operation around the world. In fact the Buffalo is a direct descendant of the SA Casspir.
There is a really good book just been released which details the various mine resistant vehicles developed by SA.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Surviving-Ride-Pictorial-African-Manufactured-Armoured/dp/1928211178
I love the look of many of these mine resistant vehicles because as Max pointed out above, some of them look so 'mad max' like. They look mean! :-)
Gary
zvezdah1
Joined: February 21, 2015
KitMaker: 36 posts
Armorama: 27 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 03:05 AM UTC
Gary, here's an interesting book that came out in 86. IT's quite a good read lots of illustrations, but long out of print tho it seems you can still buy on amazon.
Taming of the Landmine
http://www.amazon.com/Taming-Landmine-Peter-Stiff/dp/0947020047
Taming of the Landmine
http://www.amazon.com/Taming-Landmine-Peter-Stiff/dp/0947020047
Quoted Text
Quoted Textactually it was the Rhodesians who came up with a lot of the design philosphy the South Africans later used. The Pookie, the Rhino, Kudu, loads of others.
https://www.google.com/search?q=rhodesian+mine+proof+vehicles&biw=1366&bih=681&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=61qJVf6gJsOnggS6hYCADw&ved=0CB0QsAQ
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_security_vehicle
Chris
Very true Chris. The Rhodesians started developing mine resistant vehicles as a result of the terrorist war they were fighting. The South Africans continued that work.
Today many of the SA designs are incorporated in most of the mine resistant vehicles in operation around the world. In fact the Buffalo is a direct descendant of the SA Casspir.
There is a really good book just been released which details the various mine resistant vehicles developed by SA.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Surviving-Ride-Pictorial-African-Manufactured-Armoured/dp/1928211178
I love the look of many of these mine resistant vehicles because as Max pointed out above, some of them look so 'mad max' like. They look mean! :-)
Gary
gajman
Joined: April 02, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Armorama: 17 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 03:21 PM UTC
I have that book too! I happened to come across it in a second hand book store. It is a good book.
Quoted Text
Gary, here's an interesting book that came out in 86. IT's quite a good read lots of illustrations, but long out of print tho it seems you can still buy on amazon.
Taming of the Landmine
http://www.amazon.com/Taming-Landmine-Peter-Stiff/dp/0947020047
oliver
Joined: August 26, 2006
KitMaker: 119 posts
Armorama: 84 posts
Posted: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 - 11:52 PM UTC
Nice build but just to add one small thing most of the Buffels that were in our unit had hinged roofs over the drivers cab.Lots ot times in summer we used a tarpaulin over the top of the troop compartment
gajman
Joined: April 02, 2015
KitMaker: 18 posts
Armorama: 17 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 25, 2015 - 05:11 PM UTC
Quoted Text
Nice build but just to add one small thing most of the Buffels that were in our unit had hinged roofs over the drivers cab.Lots ot times in summer we used a tarpaulin over the top of the troop compartment
Hi Oliver,
Thanks for the info. Is there any chance you have any pics? I did read that subsequent versions of the Buffel had a fully enclosed drivers cab but haven't seen any pics of one. If you have some pics of a tarpaulin covered cab I might think about adding that to my build as it will certainly be different.
One of my next builds is to do a Moffel, the fully enclosed Buffel, using the Revell 1/35 Unimog chassis and a load of scratchbuilding. But I've also got the Casspir and G5 to do ... so many models so little time :-)
Cheers
Gary
165thspc
#521
Joined: April 13, 2011
KitMaker: 9,465 posts
Armorama: 8,695 posts
Posted: Thursday, June 25, 2015 - 05:52 PM UTC
WOW that is one very weird (and extremely cool) mine resistant vehicle!
(Found online - Photo credit unknown)
(Found online - Photo credit unknown)
 |
WEB HOSTING BY
Copyright ©2021 Armorama and Kitmaker Network, a subsidiary of Silver Star Enterprises
All Rights Reserved. Please read our Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.
All Rights Reserved. Please read our Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.