Hey guys

Im just adding to all the ASLAV threads that are running with this gun car and scratchbuilt interior. The interior is made from plastic card/rod/strip, epoxy putty and solder wiring.
Its not 100% accurate partly due to the photos not showing everything, but mostly due to my lazyness.
Its received the first coat of white but if anyone can point out glaring omissions/errors I can still change it.


All the individual assemblies ^







I made the hull wire cutter movable for the novelty value, and also so I don't knock it off when I turn the hull upside down

Up...

...and down

I also found a company called Djiti productions who made resin tie down loops so I replaced the solid Trumpeter ones. So far I've only found one place who sell these in europe which is a bit of a problem since I already emptied their stock of two pieces.

Any help, especially from the ASLAV experts would be really helpful

Next update: Brake lines and more interior paint!

Hello again,

What Audacity to atempt an interior! Awesome. The fact the the rear doors will be open or hatches so the bits inside can bee seen is brilliant, and certainly something different for the ASLAV bretheren. I wouldnt stress about accuracy to a finite level - its usually very hard to see anything and all your hard work night be for naught. Keep it up, I want to do a dio with two phase 2 type 1 gun cars in East Timor, one with the rear doors open so plough on and show me how its done!

As for the parts you need. well depends on how much you want to spend! as with everything model related. Pretty much everything you need to accurize the exterior of most versions of ASLAV can be found at Mouse House Armour. here is a link to thier catalogue:
http://www.mheaust.com.au/MHE/Catalogue.htm
The footman loops or continuous tie downs are available here (from Mouse House aka, MH) part acm35864
http://www.mheaust.com.au/ACM/Armour.htm
Some stuff is a mouse house product, other stuff is Arms Corps Models (aka ACM), but as far as I know most if not all of the products are cast by ACM, but the MH stuff is mastered by the owner.

The only glaring problem I can see so far, is the mes grills over the engine vents are the wrong type for an ASLAV. If you are using the trumpeter ASLAV -25 kit be advised of many errors and omissions, if your happy to just build out of the box its fine, but if you want a really accurate model then much work you have before you! read this review of the kit if you need convincing :

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/review/3892

Good luck with the build - I will answer the paint question when I have checked my resources what i will be using!

Adam

Hey Adam

Im not sure why I decided to build an interior, but its been an interesting challenge so far, and definitely something different. The turret hatches, hull top hatches and rear doors will all be open so quite a bit of the work can be seen.
An East Timor build would be pretty cool especially as it gives you some different dio opportunities!

I was considering the ASLAV phase 3 set but I wanted a quick-ish build before I go back to uni so this was supposed to be an out of box build (so much for that eh )

No hurry on the paints - I still have some details for the fire suppression system I forgot about.

Happy New Year btw and I'll post another update soon

EDIT: Apparently ASLAVs in the MEAO have the side vision ports on the hull removed. Is this true for all ASLAVs or only the case for Phase 3 versions?

With regards to these modifications can I represent a vehicle in Afghanistan like this one:

G'day Anirudn,
First of all, Happy New Year, and that is a nice build. I have contemplated doing the interior, but that was about as far as I got. Thinking about it!
No such thing as a quick build when it comes to the ASLAV FOV.

Now down to business. The Trumpeter kit is bit of a let down on the accuracy side and have confused the Phase's. The kit is a mix of II and III. I did the review to highlight the many accuracy problems.
So in light of the problems I produced my update kit. (here comes the plug) Arms Corps Models
The Afghan cars are basically Phase III with a few mods added to them. The episcopes on the side of the hull (and on the rear doors) are still there but have a plate welded over them.

Timor cars were Phase II and quite a bit different to the Phase III.

Cheers Jason

Hello ,

The vision ports are blanked off when they install something called a "spall liner" on the inside. A spall liner as i understand it is like a thick fire blanket with anti ballistic properties. Bsically if a round enters the cab, the fragments of shrapnel (called spall) is captured by the spall liner. The liner of course when fitted to the vehicle, covers the vision slots so they weld a blanking plate over them. One of the ways of identifying a phase 3 with spall liner installed ! When they do this, they remove most of the fitting inside to install the liners, and refit the fixtures. There are pics around of the doors open with a "curtain" of spall liner across them. Sometimes the crews remove spall liner elements and wrap their sandbags on the roof (PC version) with the liner for extra protection. sorry for rambling on.

The vehicle in your pic has some interesting elements. It has the MEAO comms update (see the sharks fin antena on the rear, and the sirens over the headlights), and another shark fin over the drivers deck tacho. the markings are unusual for me (the cross is different), I dont see any evidence of it being fitted with bar armour - so the bustle racks are in the standard cofiguration- makes it a bit easier for your build.

Good pic. Havent seen that one before. Im certainly no expert on ASLAV. I am a student of the things in model form only. So take my ramblings with a pinch of salt. If unsure about something be sure to ask !

Happy new year!

Adam

G'day Adam,
The photo is a standard ASLAV-25 Phase III in Afghanistan. The cross is IR reflective tape for night time patrols and air recognition. Also, the cars in Afghanistan don't have the strobes or sirens. And only two cars were fitted with turret bar armour from Iraq after the Overwatch Battle Group (West) 4 finished in June 2008 as replacement vehicles. The Bar was removed and turret bins placed back on.
That photo was taken sometime after July 2007. So it would be either RTF2 or3. Or even possibly MRTF-1.

Cheers Jason

Many thanks for simplifying the Phase issues, they just seem very confusing, and it doesn't help that Trumpeter are just as confused:(

Forgive this one last question, but what modifications would I have to make to the kit to represent a phase 3 car in Afghanistan?

Some problems:
Blanked out episcopes
Rear antenna mounts and mounts for DUKE antennae
Engine deck mesh
Left side basket modifications
MAG 58 pintle mount

Please add anything I've missed out


I'd prefer not to have to buy other items, just because I've already put the kit together and would rather use the MH stuff for fully accurate build so I could do it justice

Once again I really appreciate you guys helping me out here, and I'll post photos of the interior with some paint on tomorrow morning

As promised here's the interior with some paint. All it received was a base coat, white coat and the fire extinguishers and some wires have been painted. I need to add some more items to the turret and fire suppression system but these have been left out to paint separately.










All comments appreciated

Hi there,

Looking great - I know an interior can be a real effort especially if unfamilliar with it - I did an Abrams turret basket once -and vowed never again !

As for mods for Afghan car, I cannot comment. The work you have done is very inspirational.

Adamskii

To be honest mate, if you want to make that car in the photo above all you will need to buy is
ACM35854 1/35 ASLAV engine deck mesh $8.50
ACM35858 1/35 ASLAV MEAO Communication Update 2003+ $25.00
ACM35834 1/35 Generic ASLAV markings $17.00
MA117 1/35 ASLAV / LAV / Stryker Platt mount with MAG58 $16.00
And you would have an OK build.

But if and when you want to go the full hog,
ACM35801 1/35 ASLAV turret crew (2 half figures) $25.00
ACM35852 1/35 Phase III ASLAV 25 update for Trumpeter ASLAV 25 (Australia 2004+ / Afghanistan 2006+ $76 (being updated)
ACM35859 1/35 XML bulged / weighted tyres for ASLAV $26.00
ACM35860 1/35 XML Spare $4.50
ACM35858 1/35 ASLAV MEAO Communication Update 2003+ $25.00 (being updated)
ACM35834 1/35 Generic ASLAV markings $17.00

Cheers Jason

Thanks Adam, I'm glad you're enjoying the build.

Also cheers for simplifying the process Jason, the difference between Phases and kits confused me for a bit. Also I have to admit I've been won over by ACM's great products. (check your email )

Progress continues on the interior with a lot of wiring and cables being added. Sadly the photos don't show the cable detail very well. They're actually made up of thin gauge brass wire and thicker solder and plastic rod. The cable groups are tied with masking tape to represent wire ties/couplings.








Does anyone know of any Aussie infantry figures? The ACM offerings look great but they're half figures which doesn't really work with all the hatches open.

All comments appreciated

Hey guys

This will be my last update for a while since I'm heading back to uni today, but I reckon the majority of the interior is done apart from the ammo feeds, and stowage. But that will have to wait.

A bit of progress on the turret (repainted radios + instruments in OD)


The hull has received more cabling, a repainted instrument panel, and the plastic + tape covers on the rear hydraulics box. This was made out of clear plastic from the sprue bags and tamiya tape.


The upper hull has received some wiring, the instrument shelf, labels on the extinguishers, but the central vent needs to be removed and redone


But the big update is the Anti-slip coating. Finally I found this in the UK:


After a quick test on my Chally 2 turret, it was applied to the ASLAV hull.


I think it came out pretty well. The hatches, engine deck, turret ring and sides were masked off before spraying the hull. The coating remained soft for about 30-45 mins afterwards which allowed me to remove it with a small chisel and a scalpel. What do you think?



Thanks for looking, and for all you help guys. I'll still be in contact here, but wont be making any progress for a while.

This is somethimg else that will set yours apart from the others, a nice touch with the anti slip. The words that come to mind are aggresive texture, but with the final coats on it will be a pleasure to weather - that texture will really stand out nicely!

Adamskii

Cheers Adam

I think the photos make the texture look rougher than it actually is. It seems to be made up of different coloured grit which adds to the illusion of roughness. Its actually quite a fine finish - similar to sand paper.
You're right though, it will definitely look better under a coat of primer then paint and should allow for some cool weathering effects.

Been a while since my last update, what with university and all, but I'm back. Since last time, the hull interior has been finished, weathered with mig pigments, the two hull halves have been joined and the whole things been primed, sanded and primed.

I also replaced the kit hubs with the awesome Real Models bulged wheels. Removing the kit hubs involved attacking them with pliers and a Dremel. I also changed the angle of the wheels to be more accurate.

Anyway, photos...







The last photo shows a few attachments for the vehicle.The hatches and rear doors have been primed and painted. I'm using the MAG58 from the AFV styker equipment set as its finer and comes with a scope, similar to the ones seen in photos. Im also planning on having the tow bar attached to the left hand side.

All comments appreciated!

Anirudh

Thanks for the update!

Just make sure you put the flat spots of the tires on the bottom

Good work work, keep it up.


cheers

Hiya, great to see you back with an update. looks great.

I have to ask this but what is up with those front wheels? they seem very high up? is the vehicle going to be shown climbing an obstacle or something to cause such compression in the only the front two structs? I really only try to offer constructive advice and comments but this looks a bit "awkward" at the moment - probably because I dont understand what you are trying to depict.

Anyways, good to see an update - look forward to more!

Adam

Cheer Guys.

Yeah I made sure to put the flat parts at the bottoms before I attached the wheels.

I can see how the raised wheel seem a bit weird, Adam. Actually all the wheels have been modified, just not to the same extent. The rear 4 have been compressed slightly and the 2nd from the front have been compressed and turned, though not to the same extent as the front ones.

The plan is to have the ASLAV parked up on a verge or sand dune, with the wheels compressed as they are going over the obstacle. I'll be doing some work on the base soon which'll hopefully clear up the confusion. Not that I can find the photo I based this on at the moment, typical!

Anyway, I'll have another update soon!

hi there ,
nice build there im looking forward to seeing some paint , well done with the wheels i think it give more realism ,thanks for sharing this build ,