Hi guys

I've decided to start a new project and quite an extensive scratch conversion at that.

Below is the Ford F-350 SRV (Special Recon Vehicle),
It is used by the Irish Defence Forces ARW (Army Ranger Wing), the Special Forces unit of the Irish Army.











The F-350's, fitted by Ricardo were first purchased by the ARW in 2004.
In 2008 a sizable contingent of ARW were deployed to Eastern Chad ahead of the main EUFOR (EU Force).
The largest ever EU military operation, a bridging operation named EUFOR Tchad/RCA was based in eastern Chad and the north-east of the Central African Republic and was eventually handed over to the UN in 2009 (MINURCAT).

A number of Ford F-350 SRV vehicles were dispatched with the Irish ARW months ahead of the EU Force. The Special Forces immediatly recce'd the region over the next few weeks in horendous conditions, gathering intelligence and interacting with the locals.
The ARW stayed on in Chad for some months after the larger EU Force settled in & the Ford F-350's were later handed over to the 97th Infantry Battalion equiped with Mowag Piranha III's for use on Long Range Patrols. The vehicles returned to Ireland in 2010 along with the entire Irish Contingent, the dangerous mission a success with no fatalities.

I'm going to convert the 1/35 Vajra Miniature Ford F-350 Super Duty Pick-Up into the shorter Irish ARW variant.

That's quite a challange you've set yourself Roy. I'll be following with interest....

Good Luck,
Sean

Thanks Sean! I'm up for the challenge, I've been putting it off for over a year now

Ok to start with the first thing you will notice is the length of the Vajra F-350, its a long wheel base version. the problem is that the SRV is a short wheel one.



To solve this problem I'm not going to get all technical about the exact measurements. All I need to do is remove the cab section. The addition of the long cab is where the extra length is.

To do this I marked out where I needed to cut, both on the cab & on the underside.



I marked out on the front wings where I was going to cut away the cab section. I marked this in black pen. I also corrected the door shape as the doors on the Vajra kit are a slighly incorrect shape conflicting with the SRV's Wing edges.



When I was happy with all the sections marked that I was going to remove it was time to start sawing



Firstly the Base. When I was finished cutting I was left with three sections. I could remove the middle section. With the front end section & the rear end section left, when put together they were the correct length I was looking for.



Next it was the Cab Section to get the saw. As the SRV is an open type design I cut the enclosed cab away & was left with two seperate sections, the front section & the rear bed.

I dry fitted the new base, and added the front & rear section of the main bidy to see how everyhting fit. The wing edges where I cut the cab away are very rough right now so they will need alot of sanding and filling later on but i thinks its good so far!

Well Roy, once again you've "perked" my interest. Keep us informed with the build and good luck mate!

Roy,

Fantastic, I liked the idea of the project ... I appreciate adapted vehicles.

Congratulations on your idea.

Fantastic choice of subject and vehicle Roy. What you've done so for looks spot-on. I'll be following this with much interest.

Cheers.

Fortune Favours the Bold...

Excellent start Roy, keep up the momentum, with regard to armament are you goin with a 50cal or grenade launcher, I take it there's a GPMG for the passenger side?

Diorama or stand alone?

Ill be watchin this for daily updates!!

Go for it man


al

Pat;
Thanks man, I'm familiar with this vehicle but have been studying my reference material closely for the past 2 hours, I've a long long way to go, particulary with the finer details!

Sergio & Karl;
Thanks guys, hope I can keep you interested along this journey!

Alan;
Howya chief! Funny you ask about the weapons. I've just been studying the 40mm H&K grenade machine gun & I'm wondering could I pull a scratched one off!
ARW had both these & 12.7mm in Chad so I'm very tempted indeed!

Yes defo a gimpy mounted on the passenger side!
Likely to go with a small stand alone with base but will be adding a crew figure or two for fun!

Hope to update tomorrow!

Good job so far. And, promises to be an interesting build. I'll be watching intently.

That's freakin' great! Super subject and excellent start!

Matt. Shane, thanks guys!!

Today I marked out the new cab floor, sawed it down to size & fitted it.


I also constructed the underside of the vehicle.
Shortening the length of the Ford resulted in a few Pipes & Bars on the underside having to be shortened too but it was no problem.


Lastly I glued the front & rear body sections onto the base & chasis


lots of work ahead of me now!

Roy,
Good work,great subject.
You are doing a great job of raising the profile of Irish armour subjects on this forum
Paddy

I'm watching too. Excellent subject and great start on the conversion!
(Quick question: That's plastic, not resin, right?)
Thanks for showing us. I'll be checking this one a lot.
-Sean.

I will too follow this one closely.

Great idea, unusual subject (both the vehicle and the setting) but above all...
...What a gut to chop up such an expensive resin kit!!
I would not have been able even to dream of doing it so you have all my respect and 100% interest and you seem more than capable.

Audentes fortuna iuvat my ancestors use to say.

Keep it up!

Nice project!


cheers

Hi Roy,
you have guts to try such a surgery on this quite expensive bit of resin !
The start is amazing, I'll follow this one with great interest.

Nice to see the pic with Abeche "airport" hangar.

SF Vehicle on the title and I am onboard.
I will not dare to start playing around with a resin kit. this is insanity

I hope to see more of your work Roy
Keep up the good work
Cheer
Seb

Howya Roy,
Thats a great start ,looking forward to seeing this take shape.
I see now why you've no time to chat on the phone!
Best
Aaron

Today I started on the front Radiator, Grill & Bumper.

You can clearly see in the photo below the bumper on the Irish F-350, its quite smaller than the one offered in the model kit.



Below is the bumper with the kit, you can see its a little larger, due to an extension at the bottom half of the cast which is likely the more common bumper on commercial vehicles.



To remedy this all I had to do was remove the lower part of the original kit bumper. I just followed the natural line of the lower bumper & cut carefully with a razor saw. Below is the finished result.
I rounded the lower edges by sanding. (The sanding block to the right of the picture is just a long lego piece with double sided sticky tape, on top of this is fine grade sandpaper. Very handy & easy)



I dry fitted the radiator which is hidden by the external grill seen here in the photo, I also added the new bumper & the headlamp set. Nothing is glued here, just provisionally attached using blue-tac, I want to paint some of these parts seperatly later!

Paddy; good to see ya here bud! I always try my best

Sean: thanks too, the kit is actually resin, buts this stuff is quite easy to work with compared to most resin's!

Nicola: Grazie amico mio. I had purchased this kit originally with the intension of chopping it up so its no big deal really. Thanks for tuning in!

Rick: cheers Man!

Olivier: Glad your enjoying this! Yes I like that photo too, I've a few cool pics of the Ford being loaded onto a French Airforce Transall, I'll be posting more later in the build!

Seb: Thanks for your kind words, "Insanity & model builer", these two words are not the strangest combinations in regard to this hobby

Aaron: good to see you here mate, dont worry, I'm just ignoring your calls!! ..just kidding bro

Great work Roy I will be watching this one.

great work roy love the unusual subject especially as its irish thumbs up i will be following this build

Hello all,

Saw this work in the flesh yesterday evening, photos don't do it justice, great work!

I would encourage all here to try something Irish related and start a build blog, its a subject that needs more coverage

This build is gona be a nice finish!!

Thanks for the cuppa Roy!

al.

Shane, Scott; Thanks for the kudos guys, good to see you both here!

Al; Pleasure is all mine bud & thanks for the encouragement!!

..I got some more work done this morning.
I dry fitted the the interior using Blue-Tac.
The seat are a little small looking, more like 1/43th than 1/35th mmmm..
I might have to to some work to these later!





Lovely detailed dash board but Irish F-350's mostly travelled with the Anti Dust cover on, especially in chad, here's a photo of what I'm talking about



I'll have to constuct a canvas cover later in the build, in the meantime I'm going to try get the bases for the kit finished before I start all the scratching

Earlier I added the Rear roor, the resin cast of the surrounding hull is very badly molded with huge holes and sick marks that will have to be filled later





I'm coming near to the end in what needs to be done with the kit itself, I've a few other little bits to add but over the next coming days the scratchbuilding & detail is going to have to start! ..this should be fun!

howya,

check your e-mail mate

al.