Here is my next Canadian armor project that I will be starting up. I will be making some improvements to trumpeter new AVGP Cougar which I had my doubts about getting, fearing that there would be parts used from their older Lav-25 kit. Too my surprise this is an all new kit from what I can tell and the details are nice, but every kit could use some enhancements. For this kit I will be using:

Trumpeter AVGP Cougar as the base kit
Jaguar early British scorpion conversion ( only a few parts from this kit will be used)
Eduard photo etch parts for FV101 scorpion
Decals from Archer’s UNITAF Somalia markings ( decals suck in the kit)
Figures and bits from the spare parts bin



I plan to make this a mid 90’s none deployed vehicle either going through driver’s training or some where on gunnery practice. I’m still doing some research before I begin the build, which leads me to asking a few questions for some of you canuck tankers.

First up, I have notice the rear hull included in the kit matches up with the one in this photo.



But everyone that I have seen built up shows a round storage like item on one of the doors I’m guessing is a tank phone. Is this something that all cougars would have had in the 90’s?



I have a set of the wider Michelin tires that I can slap on this kit, but from what I can tell, they are only used on the newer upgrades with the wire basket on the back of the turret instead of the coffin bin…………is this correct? I do not feel like making the wire basket, but at the same time I like the look of the wider tires.

I have a few photos of cougars in Bosnia with spare tire racks on the front hull, can this be used on those in Canada and is it only meant for those with wider tires?

Chris,
I can comment directly on your second picture as I belonged to the regiment at the time it was taken. In fact I know the crew in the picture, the vehicle belongs to "B" sqn, Ist troop, 8th Canadian Hussars circa 1983-84. It was before the rudder/prop guards where added and the outside turret stowage was changed. The round box on the rear door is a "tank phone" and is the same one used on the Leopard 1's in Germany at the time. I cant give you an exact date on when they added the prop guards and changed the coffin bin but it was definitely not until after the late 80's. I hope this helps:
http://www.armouredacorn.com
Ths SFOR pictures I cant help you with because I was in Germany at the time but I can tell you the tires are different then the early variants.
Keep us posted I will be watching with interest.

RCDtanker

Thanks RCDtanker

I'm hoping someone has more info on the SFOR picture, I can't tell what turret basket is on it. I thought I read some where that both the early and late tires could be used on the old coffin bins, but only thet late tires could be used for the wire basket. Either I can at least start the lower hull and leave the tires off until more info pops up.

By the way this is going to be a generic cougar and Somalia markings were the only ones I have at this time. I'm trying to stay away from overall white.

Chris

Chris

Not meaning to sound out of the loop, but is this version of the cougar used in afghanistan

No I believe these were retired from front line service sometime around 2000-2002 and went to reserve units until they receive cayotes. I could be wrong about the dates, but I do know these weren't used in Astan

I take it you're not aware of the Azimut updates?

http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/newkitnews/azimut.html

http://www.phpshopxml.com/azimut.shop/CID/9b1cb6315d32cd670530eb33bbafc32d/function/itemPageDisplay/shopItemCode/AZI35388


http://www.phpshopxml.com/azimut.shop/CID/9b1cb6315d32cd670530eb33bbafc32d/function/itemPageDisplay/shopItemCode/AZI35389


Cheers,


Christophe

trumpeter new model is looking good,at my country,thisTrumpeter AVGP Cougar now is not available in the model store ,however good luck with your works !

Thanks Christophe and Nguyen

I already knew about the Azimut update, I already have wheels I can use and the rest that comes in the kit I can make myself. Just wish the basket for the turret did not have stuff in it, that way I can add what I want to it. I can try to make one myself, somewhere on here there was a jig made for bending wiring into the proper shape.

Cougar Tweaks list:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/169232/thread/1301280359/Trumpeter+Cougar+Tweak+List

No, the Cougars in Afghanistan and Iraq are the wheeled MRAP series.

The tank phone box is the same but the handle is actually different....pretty minor change.

The prop guards were added in about 1984/1985.

The coffin bin was changed to the wire bin in about 1995.

The SFOR Cougar in the pic you posted would have the wire turret bin....and would be covered in the LAST package....ceramic armour tiles and Kevlar covers.

Early in SFOR the Cougars could be seen with the wire bin and the original tires.

A Cougar deployed to Somalia will still be painted white but with call signs....no UN markings.

This may help you as well....

http://www.network54.com/Forum/169232/message/1298867034/Trumpeter+Cougar

well thanks for that link Jason, I've just spent 2 hours on there
Christopher I cant wait to see this one done

If you know how to post pictures I can send some that I'm sure will help, I cant find anywhere on the site that explains it.

RCDtanker

John,

I am sure we have some common armoured contacts from over the years.

Check your messages...

hey chris and all just got this kit and was going to build oob i just wanted to know if any other countrys used the cougar and are they any pic's thanks
dave

Canada was the only user of the Cougar. The USMC trialed both the Cougar and Grizzly prior to selecting the LAV 25. The U.S. 9th Infantry Division also trialed the Grizzly.

The Serbs "captured"..i.e....stole...a couple of Canadian Grizzlys in Bosnia in the mid 1990s.

In 2008 Uruguay bought a bunch of ex-Canadian Cougars without the turret and converted them to APCs.

About 100 Grizzlys and five Huskys were provided to the African Union in 2005. Uruguay bought these vehicles...minus a couple that were destroyed....in 2009.

For pics...Google "Cougar" or "AVGP"....and check Prime Portal and Tony's pics too.

http://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k130/ldshrecceboy/AVGP/

thanks
dave

Thanks everyone for posting links and helping out with my research

Well I have finally begun construction of the cougar today after much debating and researching. I’m planning to do a mid production version, that way I can keep the early wheel, coffin bin, tank phone, prop guards, wire cutters for the turret, and what ever other feature I need to add for this build.

Here is the start of the build, I turned my attention to the rear hull first as this is a focal point of the vehicle. First thing I did was to make the missing tank phone, I plan to have infantry at the back requesting fire support from the crew. This was made from plastic tubing, rod, strips, and good old scratch building. I’ve added door stops on either side of both doors, some cougars have these feature, some don’t. I felt the kit tail lights were a bit chunky and needed to be replaced. New tail lights were made from plastic tubing and lights taken from an old M88 kit hollowed out for clear resin lens. Also some reflectors were added from the photo etch set for the scorpion. Tow hooks also came from the M88 kit. All the hardware for the shovel was sanded off and replaced with parts from the scorpion set. I made door latches for holding the doors open, but I’m not too happy with the way these turned out and may remake them.





Once the rear hull was complete I turned to the lower hull. This is all pretty much straight forward with just a few problems with some of the drive lines. These parts are very flimsy and broke tow of them and lost a third one. I may try to build a new line that is missing, but not even sure if it can be seen once the wheel are in place. The front wheels were also turned just a bit and the stirring linkage need to be lengthen some.



By the way David here are those Serb cougars

Nice start Chris,

Doesn't the kit have the rear door latches?...2 x part B19?

The pics you posted are Grizzlys that were stolen by the Serbs. There were no Cougars taken.

Thanks Jason

I meant to say grizzly and not cougar, that was a typo on my part.

Yes the kit comes with the door latches, but I did not the way they looked, lacked any real detail.

it isn't a COUGAR! it's a GRIZZLY!

Here is some progress updates. Hull and running gear are now complete, I’ve rebuilt some of the missing and broken drive lines and added a new stirring linkage to the front wheels. I’ve also made some changes to the rear door latches since the first ones I made did not look right too me. From here I blanked in the location holes for the jerry can rack since I’m planning to added better ones later. Everything from here were pretty much straight forward with just one area giving me a problem. All the tools were left off and photo etch straps were put in place. The side view mirrors were removed from the black out marker lights and new mounts were added to the two side beacon lights. I also made the missing driver’s hatch locking device on top of the hull and the crew heater vent was turned around to the correct direction. Still need to add the wing nut to the heater vent. The one area that gave me trouble was the rear most intake vent for the engine. I tried to shorten it some according to most of the pictures I had see and in the process I damaged some of the details. I ended up making an all new vent, it was that or buy a new upper hull. I’ve begun to work on the turret and replaced some of the kit parts with those from Jaguar. The barrel for the C5 was taken from an old 1919 that I had laying.














Does anybody know when the C1 FN FAL was removed from service? Would have been still used during the early to mid 90’s in Canada? I’m planning to do a dio with crew and infantry going through training with the possibility being deployed to Bosnia.