These Relay Valves just might be as small as I ever want to go in the scratch building department!


14 parts per valve assembly.

Interesting but totally undocumented bonus part included in the Real Models HEMTT engine kit:


The transmission oil filter.



Cool! Another frame mounted detail along with the Relay Valves, to add to my HEMTT!

I am so jealous Mike, those relay valves look awesome. Wish you could cast these, I would by some off of you to add to my M983 even though I finished it.

The Trumpeter M983 transmission doesn't come with the transmission oil pan molded on or a separate part.

I know it is underneath but the transmission oil pan is a fairly major detail for them to leave off. (You probably knew that would be my attitude!)

Tinted windows, how do I do tinted windows? Like I said this is my first modern armor project. Suggestions????

I sprayed Tamiya clear green diluted with their thinner and added a few drops of clear blue (add more clear blue if the windows are more blue than green). I airbrushed this with very thin mist coats on the inside of the windows. I built up the mist coats (7 or over time letting it dry in between coats.

cheers
Bob

Well that's two votes for the Tamiya transparent green. My buddy said the exact same thing.

Thanks Bob!

First I tried AlClad Transparent Green on some sample pieces - it worked but it instantly crazed the plastic and turned foggy.

The clear green will work, but HEMTT windows are clear, not tinted. I think you are just seeing a reflection of the dark green interior that makes them look tinted.

Seriously? - I really thought the HEMTTs had the heavy lead anti-laser coating.

Yup, only the armored versions have the thicker, armored
glass. It is still clear, but has a green tint due to the thickness.

HEMTT w/CPK armored glass.


Standard M1120 w/clear glass.

A family weekend therefore only some minor small progress:

Relay valves mounted.


The spare is now locked down.


Just noticed; I need to add the crank handle to the spare tire davit.

Looking great I can't wait to see the final product.

Fantastic work and attention to details! Looking forward to future progress

YOU GUYS ARE A-FREAKING-MAZING!!!

I'm definitely archiving all of this great info! Every so often I see the HEMMTs of our local US Army National Guard Engineer Battalion...

I know what you mean - one time as I was doing some storm sewer mapping work in a very LARGE heavy truck facility in town and just by chance I came across the following - and for once I had my camera with me!


Sorry the A4 was parked so tightly with the other trucks that no long shots were possible.

Radiator installed, cab installed, more piping on the way.









Also 2 out of 4 front tires repositioned. One more to go.

Question: Where does this brace anchor in the other end/side?



I always see it on this side of the vehicle and the bracket attachment you see here is included on the Italeri kit but I have yet to find a photo of where it terminates on the other side of the vehicle.

The Eduard etch set for the tanker even includes this brace in brass but does not tell you where to anchor the other end to.

Source of photo:

http://www.primeportal.net/hemtt2/dieter_krause/m1120_lhs/

Dieter Krause - Prime Portal

I thought I would go in a slightly different direction with the LHS. I've seen a number of photographs showing a NATO Green LHS mounted on a Desert Sand colored HEMTT and thought it would be right for this model. It adds a bit of visual variety to the otherwise monochrome model.

Enjoyed the build Michael, details are just stunning. On the last photo you have of the lifting arm, the ram shafts of the hydraulics looks on the thinner side of the scale or am I just seeing it at a different angle? Can you measure its diameter on 1/35th and convert it to actual 1:1 scale to just give us an idea of the diameter of the kits part. Thanks

The rams on the Italeri LHS HEMTT are .062 inch or 1/16". If I am not mistaken that works out to a 3 1/4 inch diameter ram. Compared to the many reference photographs on the Prime Portal site, they MIGHT be a tad under sized but look pretty good to me. I did consider rebuilding the rams, maybe even using chrome rod but I wanted a LHS that functioned so I chose, at least for now, to go with the stock Italeri parts.

The LHS assembly looks top notch!

Always looking for places to add detail!

Working on the glazing now and a few more interior details.

Windshield wiper affect, subtle, hard to capture with the camera. Glass is not yet glued in.

I have a small compass with a cutting blade instead of a pencil. I cut my own clear tape windshield masks using the compass to measure the actual wiper length on the model. The "dirt" is matte clear spray dusted over the windshield glazing in the spray booth. (An old cardboard box with a bathroom vent fan.)

Question:

Saturday at the Dayton IPMS, I can place this model either in the "Soft Skins" classification or in the "Scratch Built & Conversions" category.

In which group would you guys think is more appropriate?

Given the addition of the Real Models engine conversion set and the interior cab Eduard etch, plus all the scratch built added details, I am leaning more towards the "Scratch Built & Conversions" class. (Emphasis more on the "Conversions" portion - some hobby groups separate these into two distinct classes but it rarely happens.)