Ok heres what looked like happened. The sprue/riser CT has a small antenna base where CT5 should be - so i assumed it was some sort of alternative base for whatever reason. When the instructions called for a longer antenna base I just used the longest one on the sprue ( I didnt see clearly the part, and didnt look at the parts list to see what CT5 was) I just knew it wasn't the short one of the two left on the riser.

So anyways, heres what I had left, Floating around in the tray is alot of parts that were broken from the sprues and there was a part that always looked odd to me like it belonged somewhere but never saw where (until now) Lucky I didnt throw it or make use of it somewhere else...

obviously that floating part is the broken off top of the IVNS that should be at the left rear. so this bit joins here :


will repair this part and place where it belongs ASAP

The part I remove ( the HF mount) will be stowed away with my other growing left over parts pile. As Jason points out it is'nt used in MEAO. I should of figured something was wrong earlier of course. I never did mount anything in that bracket in front of the utility box - got that bit tight at least !

Thanks to all who pointed this out, including John Ashby who spotted this first, but Jason who pointed out I was still not getting it right.

That attanetion to detail is very much appreciated - shows that modellers in Australia really care about the accuracy of the vehicles we try to represent!

Adam

Hi all,

Started my next build log over here https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/169413&page=1#1421843

My type 1 phase 3 for the same dio as this vehicle.

When all three are finished I will paint them together to make sure of consistency with weathering. (also hopefully Jasons paint plans will be ready by then !)

of course will keep udating this blog as issues and corrections come to the fore.

Adam

So in the dying minuites before travelling interstate for A competition I decide that because I actually have difficulty finding enough pictures of ASLAV fitters in IRAQ without RWS fitted, I am going to mount my seal solutions mount with RWS.

I was putting my reference pages together and of the 12 photos I was using of the fitters vehicle for the judging notes/ references, ALL of the Iraq vehicles had an RWS fitted, it wasnt the same vehicle 12 times either I assure you. None were afghan pics. Most were from private collections from AMTG or OBGW tours. southern Iraq.

I have a spare seal solution mount.. and have raided my AFV club stryker kit for the RWS mount sprue.

Hopefuly I can retrofit without too much of an issue. I know the mag 58 will have to come off and I think I read somewhere the cupola is modified.. either way nothing is impossible!

Watch this space

Im either going fail miserably or pull it off...

Adam

Adam, firstly let me say well done with this build, it's looking great and i can't wait to see it painted and 100% finished. I'm saving my coin to get one of these and the newly released ASLAV-R's also however my main goal is to use them as accurate points of reference for reproduction in 1:25 scale (i'm building a Mack HRV and 20t trailer for a RAEME theme)...

now, at the risk of sounding like a prick, here's are a few thing's that i've noticed.
1: The CC's Gun Ring is too high, yes the 1:1 versions are set up reasonably high, but this one just looks a bit too high, also, the arm that sits out from the gun ring should sit at the same level as the ring itself, this one looks like it may have been cast slightly lower than it should be (appears to sit just below the level of the ring)
2: As has been pointed out previously, the 'flag holders' that you mentioned are for the three work lights that the TIII's carry (stored inside the vehicle just above the left rear door)
3: ALL ASLAV TIII's (that's Fitters and Recovery varients) have a squat appearance, this is, they sit lower in the rear end than the front, it's nothing uncommon for the rear to be as much as 8-10cm lower than the front. This is due to the weight over the rear axles and the amount of crap stored in them.
4: Once again, i think it's a casting/manufacturing issue, but those pioneering tools are way too big (seriously over scaled).

I am a RAEME, ASLAV crew commander, here is a side shot of my R taken earlier this year clearly showing the pioneering tools in their rack,

I have taken the liberty to enhance your photo so I could see the tools more clearly I hope you don't mind?

Bill

not at all mate. sorry it wasn't clearer in the first place but hey, at least you can see the sides of the car in this photo, most of the others show it covered in mud (literally covered, i was getting hit in the back of the head with mud flicking up from the right hand rear wheel whilst standing in the crewies hole)

Howdy Ryan and thankyou very much for your comments

No such thing as a prick when it comes to offering advice of a technical nature... is there a nice way to tell someone somethings amiss?

I understand your observations, and it is with clumsy fingers I assembled the commanders cupola - and unknown to most , I broke it off twice from mishandling it during the final stages of construction, and it started to look ratty.

However in the end I made a significant decision to remove the mag 58 and return the cupola to natural state, and mount an .50 RWS with Seal Solutions spider mount. This eliminates the cupola crisis.

I am sorry to see there are actually no pictures of it mounted - I cant believe I dont have any - I know I promised I would post them, but if I did I lost em somewhere along the way.

As for the flag holders I know now from your and certainly from other subscribers that they hold the spotties - the reason I thought flags was I have a picture here somewhere with short handled red range type flags utilising the brackets.

The tool racks are most certainly a challenge, I know that the manufacturer is aware of those concerns and I think he might be trying to address it - however he is very busy and to be honest I'd rather see new releases than correcting something like the tool rack - most serious modellers will make an effort to thin them down somewhat anyways. The cyclone tools have a unique shape and are hard to substitute for.

As with all ASLAVS, configuration is a nightmare. for every person who declares that it was only ever done a certain way , sure as *&%$ someone else comes along with another version. Hoever no matter the configuration - the nuts and bolts stay the same - dimensions and angles dont change so its good to get feedback on technical observations.

It has been a few months since I visited this blog, and I think I was adding updates to another build log that was relevant to this one ..

have you checked out these two I done ?

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/169413&ord=&page=3

(look closely at the 3 vehicles together and the pinwash stage and you will see the broken pins to the cupola ring..)

And the diorama of course.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/170525&ord=&page=14

amazingly I havent taken pics of the finished diorama yet ! I was working on it in the hotel room in melbourne after driving from adelaide - the only "final " pictures are ones people took at the comp. Since I got back the model has sat in the carport under wraps.. ( Im not allowed to touch models for a while now, if you get my meaning)..

Bill - you dont skip a beat - thanks for the enhanced pic

Adamskiiiii