Hi all,
thanks to the members who kindly sent some reference material I wll be able to resume working on this huge kit.

So far, I have built the running gear and some of the interior sub-assemblies.







Olivier

Looking forward to following this one.

Thanks for sharing

All the interior bits and panels are assembled. I need to paint them before glueing and closing this huge box.
On the last picture, I've added the engine access panel I omitted on the previous pics.











The ceiling parts are ready for the painting step as well.

Olivier

The same with some Tamiya Sky sprayed over the parts.









I'll let the base coat dry while I tackle the crane.
Olivier

Nice work Olivier, I didn't know this kit came with an interior, I may now look out for one myself. I'm following along.

Looking good. The Sky works great.




All of the Hobby Boss LVTP/AAV7s come with complete interiors. They are great kits.

Good progress Olivier ... Tamiya Sky looks good to me.
Keep up the godd work.

cheers
Walter

Thanks for the comments. The light is not great and it's hard to see the real shade of Sky.

The kit is not bad but requires a lot of sanding to fit the parts together and I used a lot of putty too.

I spent a couple of hours just on the crane today because of poor fit and strange instructions. HB has designed the crane with mobile parts so you can "play" with the boom and the winch. The only issue is that there is no way for the cable to go from the winch drum to the hook!! I ended by gluing all the parts. I don't really mind as this is not a toy but it's a bit frustrating to see how poor the desing can be in some areas.
Concerning the accuracy, some interior parts are wrong, some are oversimplified and some are missing but ref pics are scarce so I didn't try to improve anything.

I have a question about the vision blocks. From the pictures I have, they are not the usual periscopes but more direct vision blocks. If I'm correct so HB got this point wrong too as the clear parts which are provided are periscopes.

Olivier

Hello

Very nice start. I don't know if you are aware but there is a nice rendition of an AAV7 interior in the last Weathering Magazine.

PM me if you want some details

Best regards

Nicolas

Hi all
here are some pictures of the interior quite done. I still have to glue the vision blocks after I have cut them to the proper shape. I will probably add some items useful to a maintenance crew.
The dry test fit of the roof onto the hull proved to be really painful. Some bad times are ahead I fear.









Olivier

First class !

Hello Olivier,

I am following your build with interest. You are probably already aware, but, there was at least one builder on ML who encountered the roof fit problem. I am pretty sure that either he or others learned of a fix to this issue.

Respectfully,

Allen

If I remember correctly on the roof issue, shaving about 1mm off the back end (toward the rear wall) of the fuel tank was the fix.

Fortunateely fitting the roof was easier than expected. However, there are some large gaps to fill and some edges to sand flush with the hull sides.
The crane was not difficult to assemble but there again putty is required.
















Olivier

HB do not give any markings for the vehicle. What kind of markings are usually painted on the real things?

TIA
Olivier

Olivier, I just did a search and really didn't see and vehicles with markings on them. I would just leave it bare of markings and weather it nicely.

From what I can tell, they usually have at least a USMC serial number on them. Here are some examples below.

USMC Serial and unit letter/number on bow


Unit number on side, possible USMC Serial number on boom


Serial number (?) or unit number on side.


USMC serial number and unit number (?) on top of rear ramp.

There will be a serial number on the hull somewhere.
There is no "unit number" per se. That is a "speed number" used strictly for vehicle id.

G

Thank you for the inputs. Apparently it is not an easy job to find proper markings.
Unfortunately David Harper's book is not a great help for this too.
I'll keep on browsing the internet.

Olivier

You can also check out Daniel's R7 pics for some markings examples :

http://s10.photobucket.com/user/deattilio/library/Amtracs/R7?sort=4&page=1

H.P.

Thanks HP,
that should do the tirck. The R02 looks to have a complete set of markings. Even the crane name is clearly visible. Which color should I use for the markings?

Olivier

Hi all,
some progress has been made during this week. The tracks are assembled, I just need to add the 166 rubber pads! The ywill be weathered then put in place before continuing the build.

On the upper hull, a lot of details have been added. Unlike what HB tell you to do, I advise to glue the both hull halves before adding any details to the hull.









Olivier

Coming along great Olivier. This is a one kit I don't have.

Thanks Mike.

Yesterday I felt a bit disappointed. After adding the rubber pads to the tracks I tried to set the right track in place and it had shortened I tested the left track with the same result.

Whatever the way I tried the tracks miss 1mm. The junction was placed around the sprocket so I could use the teeth to keep the track attached but it wouldn't simply work. So I had to cut the both tracks aft the sprockets. Fortunately this will be hidden behind the bolted panels.

Another bad surprise is that the winch prevents the central hatch from opening. The rear swinging arm is blocked by the winch frame.

I'll add pictures tonight.

Olivier

The build is looking good so far. I have fond memories of these beasts.

I have had individual link tracks shrink on two occasions. To prevent this now, I place single strips of masking tape over the idler and road wheels where the tracks make contact.

After assembly and forming the tracks around the wheels, I allow the entire assembly to sit for a minimum of three days.

No issues with the new method.

G