Peter, with those two sets you have exceeded my expectations again. Thank you so much. I am going to go broke building one M1167! But what else do I have to spend my money on? Who needs food, right? I can stand to lose a few pounds. Again Peter, thank you.

Regards,

Eric

EDIT: Peter, are the small fire extinguishers in the earlier set suitable for the legacy HMMWV like the M1025 or M1046? Does the MRAP missile rack only work for the M-ATV or can it be used in the MaxxPro?

Eric, sorry my friend, but the most part of your “food” will be taken by the “greedy” Shapeways, with its “lion's share” . But there will be the "spiritual food", in the form of the first in the world official 1/35 model of M1167

As I understand it, usually standardized equipment is used in MRAPs interiors - racks for armament, radiostations, ammunition. Probably for the TOW missile containers too. The most optimal placement of containers is two in three floors, as the interior of the MRAPs is almost the same for different versions, M-ATV with armored cargo compartment, MaxxPro, Rg-31.

For Humvee are used Amerex, Bullex, Kidde, Ansul universal fire extinguishers. For example for versions such as M997, M1097, as can be seen on the photo references. I think for the versions of M1025, M1046 too - needs a compact fire extinguisher for action in extreme situations in close space.
http://data6.primeportal.net/trucks/brent_sauer/m997_ambulance/images/m997_ambulance_119_of_134.jpg
http://data6.primeportal.net/trucks/brent_sauer/m997_ambulance/images/m997_ambulance_120_of_134.jpg
http://www.primeportal.net/trucks/brent_sauer/m997_ambulance/index.php?Page=6
http://data6.primeportal.net/trucks/brent_sauer/m1097a2_secm/images/m1097a2_secm_56_of_92.jpg
http://www.primeportal.net/trucks/brent_sauer/m1097a2_secm/index.php?Page=3

Installment 6:

I am going to expand this blog to cover any sets I am building for either a M1151 or M1167. This includes sets from both Legend and Peter Samofalov. Armorama sent me a couple of new sets that Peter Mastered for Legend. These new sets are LF3D008, BGM-71 TOW Set and LF3D009, MRAP TOW Turret set.

The Boxes:





Set LF3D008, BGM-71 TOW Set is a complete dismounted TOW missile set that depicts the launcher on a tripod. The set includes enough parts to make two tripods, one folded for storage on a HMMWV like the legacy M966/M1036 or the version with additional armor on the doors like the M1045/M1046. If you have a Tamiya M1046 kit and one of their M1025 kits, you can use the parts from this set to build any of the above versions. The set also is necessary if you intend to do an M1167 since the earlier sets don’t have the tripod which the M1167 carries on the tailgate. Set LF3D009 is a turret similar to the one I reviewed earlier in this thread for the M1167, set LF3D007. This turret is intended to be used with a vehicle like an M-ATV, a MaxxPro or and RG-31/33. I have only seen photos and video of this turret in use on a MaxxPro. The turret in the set, like the earlier one for the M1167, allows the gunner to fire the TOW missile system from frontal arc cover and use a secondary weapon for self-defense. The secondary weapon in this case is an M240. The kits were again mastered for Legend by Peter Samofalov.

The Review: This will be a partial l build review of both kits. I say partial because the sight in both sets is exactly the same as the one from LF3D007 with one exception. Both new sets include two launcher tubes. One is loaded with a wire guided missile like the one in LF3D007 while the other launch tube includes one of the radio frequency controlled missiles with an insulating blanket on the motor section of the missile. These are two multi-media kits with parts in resin, brass wire and black insulated wire. The kits come packaged in Legend’s typical end opening card stock box with the parts in small zipper bags. The black boxes have photos of renderings of the two built kits. The kit contents come packaged in zipper bags.

Breakdown:
LF3D008 BGM-71 TOW set
45 Resin
2 Brass Wire
1 Insulated Wire

LF3D009 MRAP TOW Turret set
64 Resin
2 Brass Wire
1 Insulated Wire

The instructions are typical of Legend, which consist of photos of the kits being assembled with arrows to the parts being added. They are not what you would call step-by-step instructions. Some of the photos are of renderings and not actual kit parts. This method leaves a lot to be desired. Parts placement is in some cases vague. I would recommend having a good set of photos of the real thing ready as you build. The parts breakdown is shown in an exploded view of the main assemblies that make up the sets. Those assemblies for the BGM-71 set are for the folded tripod, the deployed tripod and the TOW missile launcher. Those assemblies for the MRAP turret are the turret, the TOW missile launcher, the M240 and its mount. One nice thing that Legend did is to include wire that can be used to add wiring to the model. This is a nice touch.

The Instructions:









The kits are cast in a light gray colored resin. The resin cuts and sands well. There are part numbers on the instructions but there are no numbers on the parts or on the pour blocks. All parts identification must be done by comparing the parts to the photos. There was no breakage and no parts were detached from their pour blocks. The pour blocks on most of the large parts are attached with numerous, large contact points that require very careful cleanup. The main sight from both sets, part #7 or part #32, has very delicate rib detail. The pour block on this part is attached along a face that has these ribs. I have no idea how this can be cleaned up preserving the detail. This part in both sets should have been broken down into more than one part. Another thing to note is that many of the flat parts have ribs that extend from the pour block along a flat face. These ribs are difficult to remove in most cases because they run close to required detail. The ribs are added by Legend to lessen any chance of warpage that may occur after the parts are removed from their molds. There are also numerous triangular ribs added to strengthen detail. Careful study of the real thing is the only way to guarantee you remove the correct material. There is no visible curvature to any of the parts. The smaller parts have small attachment points which should be easy to remove. There are large areas that need to be removed from the large openings. The main turret ring has a disc of resin over the opening that has no clear demarcation between the part and the disc. The disc attaches where the turret ring has fine toothed detail. It was impossible to tell how much material to remove and once removed the tooth detail is completely wiped out. There had to be a better way to add a disc to this part. This resin to be removed is not actually shown in the instructions. Again, you will need to carefully study photos of the real thing and built up models. There is a little flash on the openings of all of the small parts. In some cases this flash is thin and is easy to remove with a toothbrush.

Overall Detail: The detail on the kits are fantastic. It places the kits on par with the best on the market. The parts are smooth and blemish free. All detail is very sharp. Most details have a scale appearance. I say most, because I think the turret walls are far too thick. There are a few small details that are simplified. Most of these details are handled much like it would be on a plastic kit. I think that Legend could have added undercuts to some of this detail to improve its appearance.

The Parts for LF3D008:



This photo shows the launcher and sight parts which are common to LF3D007, LF3D008 and LF3D009:



This photo shows the two launch tubes which come with both sets LF3D008 and LF3D009.



The Parts for LF3D009:







That’s it for installment 6! Now comes the hard part... cleaning the pour plugs off of all of the parts. I will show the cleaned parts and the assembly of the tripods for set LF3D008 in the next installment.

Excellent review Eric. Thank you for the great photos! All photos can be seen

Thanks amoz02t. I started to use Flickr and have had great luck so far. I never did get the hang of using Google Photos. That's what I was using when I had all of the problems.

Regards,

Eric

Installment 7:

The Tripods: This is a relatively simple set. The only entirely new parts are those for the two tripods. There are enough parts to build two complete tripods. The way the parts are cast you must build one with the legs deployed and one with the legs folded. The tripods are beautifully cast with all of the detail well represented. Some areas that should be opened are represented by recesses. This is perfectly acceptable in this case. If painted properly they will look amazing. I did however, being me, open up all of these areas. Legend went to great lengths to ensure that all of the parts are fully cast and have no warpage. There are many pour plug attachment points on every piece. The leg braces have six attachment points each! That is a lot of clean up for a part that is only about 1/2“ long. Hollowing out all of the parts also took some time, but like I said, that isn’t necessary. The upper and lower halves of the tripods do not really have a positive way to align them so careful study of photos is a necessity. Alignment pins are shown in the instructions, but like I’ve said before, any alignment device is hidden under large pour attachment points. The legs attach next. Extreme care must be taken here with both tripods to ensure you get the legs to set properly. I attached one leg and one brace at a time to ensure that I got the angle right. Then I added the second brace to each leg. The assembly of all of the leg braces is a little fiddly. They are very small and have small contact areas. Half of the braces need to have tightening handles added out of the included .3mm wire. A #79 hole must first be drilled to put the wire into. Be patient here. Even as careful as I was, the legs on the folded tripod are still not all aligned properly.

Photos of the cleaned parts showing areas I opened:



The cleaned parts for the folded tripod and the built deployed tripod:



Since the tripods are the only new pieces here, I didn’t build another sight, battery or FCS. I used the ones that I built earlier. I did add the wire that runs from the FCS to the sight assembly. The kit comes with one strand of black insulated wire. The wire that runs between the FCS and the sight, called the coil wire, is considerably thicker on the real thing than all of the other wiring. I used a short length of wire from a CAT 5 telecom cable for this. I also added another required wire to the sight that I left off earlier. I am really glad that Legend has shown, for the most part, how to wire up the assemblies. It really does add to the finished product.

In the following photo I shop the sight with the added wire. The copper portion that can be seen will be hidden inside either a tripod or fixed mount in a turret:



This photo shows all of the parts together. The battery and FCS are from earlier in the blog. I added a 90deg connector to the battery that came with the battery assembly that I bought from Peter Samofalov on Shapeways. It seems to be more correct based on photos. You can also see the second launch tube which come with this set that has a radio frequency missile instead of a wire guided missile. This missile also comes with an insulating blanket on motor section:



Here is the complete set! It really does look amazing once it’s all set up like this. If you want to update Tamiya’s M1046 to a vehicle carrying this upgraded TOW missile system, all you have to add is the pictured set from Peter and Shapeways. It prints out every bit as good as the parts that come with the kit. The vehicle mounted battery charger is required for a vehicle mounting. Even if you want to depict a deployed system, the battery that comes with the set would be a plus. Many photos I’ve seen of deployed systems show another battery setting on the ground nearby:







And that’s it for this installment. Next up will be the cleaned parts for the MRAP TOW turret.

This is an impressive continuation of the topic, thank you Eric!

Thanks Peter! I am going to keep it going long as I have TOW related topics to work on. I might push my M1167 to the front of the heap as I go. The M1167 will be its own blog but this will be for all of the accessories.

Regards,

Eric

Installment 8:

Hello all! I spent most of the last two days cleaning all of the pour stubs off of the parts for the MRAP turret and the secondary weapon for set LF3D009. Upon a cursory inspection it is clear that even though the two real turrets (HMMWV and MRAP) share a common lineage, almost no parts between the two kits are the same. The MRAP turret sits on an adapter that causes it to sit higher than the HMMWV turret. The turret walls, while still being too thick, now attach to the turret base in a much more positive manner. The walls here have actual mating surfaces where the walls on the HMMWV turret just floated next to the base. The tabs that were used to align some of the walls on the HMMWV turret are still here, but aren’t needed because of those large mating surfaces that were engineered into this kit. This turret is motorized and has the parts required to depict the motor and the controls. While connectors are included on the runners, there is no guidance given on how to wire the turret controls. I took a copy of Panda’s second M-ATV model off of my shelf to see if the turret could be used with it. This turret will not fit the opening in the roof of this kit without a lot of modification. I have never seen a photo of an M-ATV with this turret, but I have seen photos and a video of them in use in Afghanistan on MaxxPro Dash DXMs. I don’t have a kit of a MaxxPro on hand to check the fit on though. I am anxiously awaiting both the Bronco M1224 MaxxPro and the Panda M1235 MaxxPro Dash DXM. The secondary weapon is an M240 on a H24-6 mount. The mount, ammo cradle, and carrying handle for the M240 are the only parts that are in common with the HMMWV set. The M240, bipod, sight, and light are different. There is no swing arm with this set but the M240 mount has a T & E like those usually seen on heavier weapons like the M2 or Mk.19. Unlike past sets in this line there are a couple of extra parts. I assume this is due to their fragile nature. My set included two bipods and two sets of ammo belts. The handle from the H24-6 mount from both Legend and from Peter’s store on Shapeways must come from the same CAD file. They are the same with the exception of the handle which is attached on the SPM mount but must be made out of wire on the Legend part. The part that comes with Live-Resin’s various M240 sets also looks like it came from the same CAD file.

The following photos are of the cleaned parts for the MRAP turret. The thicker ring, at the top of the photo is meant to go on the inside of the roof of the vehicle and the other goes on the top of the roof, under the turret’s base. The second photo shows the base of the turret again, with all of the turret walls arrayed around it where they will go during final assembly. The third photo is of the smaller parts that make up all of the detail including the motor:







The following photo is of the cleaned parts for the secondary weapon.



That’s it for installment 8! It is a little thin, but installment 9 will show these two assemblies built. I am sure that the turret is going to go together so much easier than the M1167 turret in the HMMWV turret set.

Excellent review Eric. Is it possible to show a photo of the ring interface or mis-match with the roof per your note? Great work here!

Installment 9:

Alright… so installment 9 was supposed to be the start of the turret and secondary weapon build, but I’ve decided to add some comparison photos of parts from the M1167 turret and the MRAP turret. The first two photos are of the parts for the two turrets, MRAP on the left and M1167 on the right. First the tops and then the bottoms.





It is clear how much thicker the base for the MRAP turret is. You can also see that the MRAP turret has a beveled mating surface between the top and the bottom while the M1167 turret has straight sides. These next photos show the inside of the Panda M-ATV roof with its nicely done toothed turret ring detail. The detail is nice but the ring looks too shallow. The toothed ring is also slightly too small around. The ring must be trimmed back and the interior detail must be scrapped away. Next is the ring from the HMMWV turret which fits well into the available area. The MRAP turret ring is far too big to use in the Panda model and blocks many of the attachment points for the seat belts on the roof. I guess you might be able to use the M1167 ring with the MRAP turret.







The final two photos show the turret bases on the top of the cab of the Panda M-ATV. The roof of an M-ATV is small compared to the roof of other MRAPs like the MaxxPro and Cougar series vehicles.





That’s it for Installment 9. I guess I’ll try to get some building done of the turret and M240. Thanks for looking!

Installment 10:

Hello all, I am sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this thread. I took a couple of weeks to go visit relatives who live outside of Atlanta, Georgia, in a small city named Suwanee. It was the best Christmas I’ve ever had. Then I had Drill weekend at work, so I haven’t had any time off. Okay, so enough of that. This will be a short one as all I’ve really done since I got home is accidentally knock the side walls off of the MRAP turret while sanding the join between them and the turret base. I had to reattach them and I am going to let the glue cure for a few days. After Peter Samofalov created his two sets that finish off some of the smaller fixtures both inside and outside of the M1167 I asked him if he could do a set with the fire extinguishers for both the M1151 and M1167. He released just that on Shapeways a few days later. The set has eight of the automatic in-cabin fire suppression extinguishers and as a bonus also has eight of the small extinguisher that goes next to the driver’s seat on the floor. This gives you enough fire extinguishers to use on four M1151 or M1167 trucks. The four extra small extinguishers can be used in any HMMWV. Not a single kit has the small extinguisher included that goes near the driver’s seat. After I cleaned up the entire set, I cut free two of the extinguishers and added their nozzles. I didn’t add the large hex cover at the time because I wasn’t sure where it went. Now I know because I looked at the renderings at Shapeways and they are clearly shown in a photo of the real thing and in the renderings.

The rendering of the contents of set 35_SPm041_FireExtinguisher_s1x35:



The printed parts:



The primed parts. Here you can see some faint print lines that will be easy to remove. You can also see that these are far better detailed than the single shapeless blob that Academy gives you in the M1151 kit. The nozzle on the hose is just amazing. You need two of these for the Academy kit. They only give you one and show it in the cargo area, but not one in the cabin:



Here is a photo of the lithium-ion battery cast in resin from the Legend sets and a printed one from Shapeways that illustrates how many of the parts in the Legend sets are directly descended from the parts Peter designed for his Shapeways store. There are some faint print lines that can easily be removed with a light sanding.



And that’s it for installment 10. Again I am sorry for not having more ready. Vacation was a necessity!

Does anyone have close up photos of the labels on any of the fire extinguishers that go in any HMMWV? I'd like clear photos so I have them when I get ready to paint.

Regards,

Eric

Robert, what collection are these from? I’ll message you so I can buy it.

Regards,

Eric

Eric, excellent work with models - I see the jewelry skills with improved parts, very realistic models after processing!
Fire extinguishers are printed very cleanly, it seems Shapeways are working on improving the printing quality. Thank you for the photos!

Installment 11:

Well here is a real installment, finally. I was able to finish the turret build for the most part. I also got the secondary weapon built.

The MRAP Turret: The detail on this turret is, like the HMMWV turret, amazing to say the least. It is sharp and well defined. It can, like the HMMWV turret, be built in a transport or firing configuration. The rear two segments of the turret wall are secured in the up position for transport, and folded flat for firing. Pay attention here as different parts are used for the latches depending on which configuration you choose. One thing that would have been nice on both of the TOW turrets would be the option of showing them with the front two armor segments that protect the FCS removed. One feature of the real turret is that a heavy weapon such as an M2 or Mk. 19 can be used if these segments are removed. I only know this because I ran across this photo while doing a Google search of a convoy of M1167s where the lead vehicle turret has a Mk. 19 mounted. I imagine this was taken at Ft Irwin during an exercise. I have no idea who owns the photo, sorry!



Assembly of the Turret: The engineering on this kit is superior to the HMMWV turret. The mating surfaces are large, well defined and flat. Even through the turrets look similar, they share very few parts. This makes assembly of this turret much easier. I partially wired up the turret as you can see in the following photos. The joystick that is provided for traversing the powered turret is perfectly formed. The placement of the joystick is vague at best. In the renderings in the instructions it is shown oriented one way, and in photos in the instructions it is shown oriented differently. If I recall correctly the real joystick has a magnetic base and can be moved around. I didn’t finish the wiring because there is no guidance on how the underside is wired at all. It is really a testament to the fit of this kit once you realize that the base for the FCS, the rear turret wall and the hatch are all just set in place without glue. In the first photo you can see one of the parts of unknown use that I didn’t attach because I am waiting to find some more references about it.











Assembly of the M240: The M240 only shares a few parts with the M240 in the HMMWV turret. The mount, ammo tray/can and handle are the same but everything else is new. There is no swing arm included in this kit. The mount is more of a fixed affair. Assembly is straightforward and has no pitfalls. The detail is mazing as usual.





And… that’s it for this installment. I know the anticipation was killing all of you! I am waiting on the Panda MaxxPro Dash DXM so that I can photograph the completed turret on the roof of it. For Installment 12 I’ll photograph it all together. I am also waiting on some new 3d printed items from Peter Samofalov that he created at my suggestion to finish off an M1167 that hasn’t been included in any kit so far.

Excellent work by the assembly of the MRAP TOW turret, thank you Eric!
Here are some interesting photos that can be useful - a turret support ring inside the MRAP, a secondary weapon mount M240.

And can anyone suggest - does the Special Forces (Rangers for example) use TOW system?
Mastiff MRAP Interior by Martin Jones, on Flickr
TOW missile range demo by U.S. Army Europe, on Flickr
141209-A-MU345-026 by USASOC News Service, on Flickr

Peter, thank you so much for those photos. The one of the M240 mount is going to be very useful.

Regards,

Eric

Installment 12:

I was able to finish assembly of everything and have now combined them together for a final few photos. The photos contain a sneak peek of Panda’s new MaxxPro Dash DXM kit. I used the body shell from it for the photos. The turret didn’t sit flush so I used the turret kit supplied adapter for the RG-31 to set it on. Once I start on the MaxxPro I will modify the roof so that the turret sits flush like it should. I have already taken photos of the MaxxPro and will send them in as a first look feature. This MRAP turret is an extremely busy model. I can’t wait to get some paint on it so that I can show it off in all of its multicolored glory! It really is a nice kit and is a beauty to behold. I am going to swap out the M240 in the build for a configuration with a shield as I’ve seen in a photo. Once I get it done I’ll add photos here. The collaboration between Peter and Legend has borne some amazing fruit. I can’t wait to get my hands on that new MCTAGS turret! Here are the final few photos of the build:









That’s it for installment 12! The next one will hopefully cover some paint on this turret and the new M240. I am going to add stuff here that relates to TOW missile equipment and vehicles. I think I’ll cover the MaxxPro build here too.

Great stuff Eric! Thank you for the excellent work and photos. The review is much appreciated!

Wow! The assembled model sure looks busy... I like it. Keep us posted on the progress, I can't wait to see the painted turret.

Mario

Installment 13:

Well… I haven’t worked on the MRAP turret or its shield but I wanted to add some photos of some new products that can be used for an M1167 build. I asked Peter Samofalov if he would be able to make available some parts for an M1167 and M1151 that Academy left off of their M1151 model. He came through in a big way. He has released two sets on Shapeways that are full of parts that can be used to add a ton of detail. I also want to show a couple of photos of an issue I brought up earlier with Legend’s new turrets. This next photo shows the turret ring that mounts to the underside of the roof that came with Legend’s LF3D007 TOW Turret Set. I pointed out in my review that the teeth on the ring were impossible to salvage once the disc of excess material is removed. In the photo you can see two rings that Peter has available on Shapeways. In the photo you can see that with a bit of work to remove some faint print lines the teeth on these rings, being 3D printed, are far superior to the rings offered in the Legend sets. The new MCTAGS turret uses this same setup and will still have teeth that will be impossible to save.



This next photo shows the detail of the empty TOW missile tubes that Peter released a while back. I will still have to do a light sanding with some 600 grit paper.



These next few photos are of the raw 3D printed parts of the two big sets Peter added to Shapeways. The first two photos show a set that has parts needed to add a ton of missing detail to the Academy M1151. The set number is 35_SPm042. It comes with a complete new dash assembly, roof mounts, an external armored frame for the windshield, wiper arms, two different wiper motors, the windshield emergency egress handles and sun visors. The next photo shows set 35_SPm027. includes parts needed to add missing detail to an M1167. It includes enough parts to do two vehicles. It includes the mount for a Tripod on the tailgate, a mount for the main sight for the inside and a mount for the Blue Force Tracker antenna on the rear slope of the roof. The photos are of the raw parts and the fine detail is hard to see.







That’s it for 13!

wow great stuff ,you are doing a very nice job on the builds and the pics are great ,well done .

Installment 14:

So here is another addition to this blog. I have purchased Peter Samofalov’s TOW missile crates that he created and has offered on Shapeways. The set is 1/35 SPM-35-027-TOW-08 Wooden crates for TOW missile containers. The print of this item is the cleanest I have seen yet in this material. It may be because the items are made of nothing but flat planes. The detail on the crates is perfect. Peter, as usual, missed nothing. Each crate is made up of eight pieces, two for the crate and six for the foam blocks. The set is very expensive though. Because it is flat planes I suppose you could use the recently renamed Smooth Fine Detail Plastic but I chose the Smoothest fine Detail Plastic. As I work on my M1167 blog I will be adding photos of these crates here once I get them cleaned up and primed.







This is a photo Peter uploaded on Shapeways. The source is unknown to me but is used to show the detail on a real crate.



That’s it for now. Look for more photos on my new M1167 build. I am also going to add some photos as an addendum to my recent Black Dog HMMWV Engine set. Thanks for looking everyone!