Thought id start a blog on an ASLAV Gun Car im working on. This is one of two im doing at the same time, one with BAR armour and one without.

Im using the Mouse House Conversion for the Trumpeter LAV-25, as well as the Lion Roar Photo etch set. The kit wheels are in the pics, but i will get some MLM resin ones. I also have the Mouse House MAG58 Flex mount, and the rear door spare tyre carrier. I also have Aussie water jerrys, F88's and packs in the post.

Both are getting full interiors, i will post some better pics of that once i get it looking a bit less like a total mess. Im trying to make the interior as interesting as possible, as i intend to display it at times with the turret removed, so i decided to make the cover of the battery compartment removeable. All the hatches have workable hinges. For now I just had it tacked together while doing some measurements for the BAR Armour mounts and thought id share some pics.





Also, im just getting back into the hobby after a long time and wanted to pick your brains. Any ideas how i can make a mantlet cover bag and still be able to move the gun? And since its getting a full turret complete with a scratched M242, any ideas how can i make a flexible feed chute?

Your comments are very apprieciated.

Cheers
Ray

You can try using fabrics and hardening them with PVA glue or white glue as some call it... Btw is that interior scratchbuilt?

Yeah the interior is totally scratch from styrene sheet. As are the bustle bins on the turret and the large bin on the hull.

I thought about fabric, but im guessing that PVA would set so hard it would not be movable?

Ray,

Really nice start on your Phase III Type 1.

You should try experimenting with rubberized surgical gloves for the mantlet cover.....very durable, can be cut into the correct pattern, easy to glue with CA glue, take a base coat of paint and a top coat very well, great for weathering, will look realistic, and will stay flexible and pliable.

Hmm great suggestion on that rubber glove method... I tried using the kit's own plastic wrap and then damned thing melted on my tank!

Some more on the scratched interior. Still lots to go obviosly, and i dont get much time to work on it.



Any Aussies know where i can get some Tread Plate sheets?

Where'd you get your reference for the interior?

Hi

Always good to see something other then your normal LAVs.

I'll be following this to be sure.

Tom

Geez, nothing beats first hand experience!

Ive made some more progress on the interior. Its about 80% built. Still have to add the rest of the Fire Suppression System and the Airconditioning piping. As well as all the tiny details.



The turret is about 70% built. I had a shot at adding all the tiny buttons and switches on the radios etc but im new to scratching so ive decided to do all that detail with decals.

Very nice work....thanks for the update. The hull interior and the turret basket look really well done.

WOW>

Well Ray

This will be a great build congrats
Seb

Interior building finished, took some pics just prior to painting.

Nice, very nice Ray.
Looking forward to the finished job.

Cheers Jason

Outstanding! What did you use for the feed chutes?

Well I love it
How did you do the ammo feeds ????

Cheers
seb

Great photo's Ray, looking good. You've done some serious work on that, like your ammo belt and interior work. Nicely done! Thanks for sharing your photos! Will be looking at your finish!

Cheers -
Tim

Great stuff Ray

Thanks for the comments.

Feed chutes were done with thin aluminium (a beer can), cut into strips and bent in a rectangle shape on a jig i made up. Then all attached with 2 thin strips of tape which wraps around each side, heated under light so the tape melts to the piece behind it in the gap between the aluminium. (hope that makes sense).

Id like each link to be thinner but they kept disintegrating in my hands so i have to put up with them being out of scale. They are also supposed to twist around so they can attach to the side of the gun, but they kept breaking so ill have to put up with that too. Once the turret lid is on you wont be able to see that anyway.

I had about six sets of chutes before i gave up and settled on these ones!!

Great Ray
Congrats nice piece of work
cheers
Seb

Got the first of the paint done. Base color and some detail, and Im just about to gloss coat, decals then weathering. Anybody got any recomendations on what color i should wash the white interior with?

Hull

Rear

Turret basket.

This is why its so long between updates... everything twice.


Also recieved the Mouse House hubs for the trumpeter tyres. They produce awesome aslav wheels for less than half the price of resin ones. And they have just release a set that will make spare tyres as well.


And I got some fabric 1:35 scale flags from Accurate Model Parts (AMP). Just emailed wink the sizes of the actual flags and he did the rest. They look brilliant, but ive never used them before so i guess ill see how they turn out when its finished.


This build is on hold for a while until Mouse House release their ASLAV-25 Phase 3 kit. I recieved the ASLAV-PC kit in the mail, and was so impressed with the new tooling ive decided to bin the ones ive got now and use the new one when its released (hopefully in a few weeks). This means ill have to hack the engine deck out of the hull i have at the moment, which in turn means i cant go much further than i am now. But in the mean time, i have the PC kit to keep me busy.

Wow, very impressive scratchbuilding, Ray. For the washes, you may want to use a gray or, if you want a dusty, sandy interior, a sand-colored pin wash.

What are you going to bin Ray? Not some of that marvellous scratchbuilding?

The new MH releases are the business aren't they?