¹⁄35

Scratchbuilt M1134 Stryker ATGM Variant

Introduction

The Anti-Tank - guided missile vehicle or the ATGM as it is called is the primary weapon used by the SBCT Anti-Armor Companies. The M1134 Stryker is based on the M1126ICV, the first of the variants. This variant is equipped with an elevated TOW missile system mount and capable of destroying armor at a long distance with an effective range of about 3750m.

I decided to build this variant because it was ’different’. It can be considered to be my motto or theme, if you have been up to date with my builds, as most of you modelers might have already known. Doing things not readily available in kit form is my forte, so to speak. It gives me the unique pleasure of being the only ’Joe’ in town. Being that the builds I do are not available I am forced to scratch build the parts that will be an addition to the model.

Planning

Planning is something I try to do as accurately as I possibly can. I am never lucky to get any plans or drawings when it comes to choosing my subjects that I wish to model. So I use a system that is my own. I call it ‘Deductive Measuring’. The phrase is similar to ‘Deductive Reasoning’, which I used as a method of getting my point across. Since I do not have any drawings or plans I use photographs to judge placement of the parts of the vehicle. It is pretty simple, If you look at a picture and see that a grab handle is slightly closer to the right top corner of the hull, then you simply place your model of the grab handle in the same area as in the photograph. Judging the exact placement in millimeters is next to impossible, If you are not a rivet counter as most modelers are not, then this should not be an issue. I place components as accurately as i possibly can. My method of modeling may not be acceptable to most By-the-book modelers, but then again, everyone is different and methods and procedures will differ, which is absolutely a good thing. I don’t like to get hung up on standard issues. Anything that is simple and to the point, I will embrace with an open arm.

My collection of pictures came from the http://primeportal.net/home.htm website and info from knowledgeable modelers. They are a good source of reference on many vehicles. Other pictures were taken from across the net while searching for reference material.

I used the AFV Club M1126 ICV Stryker kit as the basis for the ATGM variant. I felt it was a much better kit than what the Trumpeter kit offered. A big plus was the detail which was much sharper and cleaner than the Trumpeter kit. After obtaining all the pictures and details needed for the project it was time to start the build. I plan on writing this article a little differently from the norm. Simply because long writes up are tedious and too word intensive, at least to me as a modeler. Also, it does not hurt to approach things from a different perspective.