After a few campaigns and having done some reviews I wanted to do something simpler and for the fun of it. I have seen a few people here start building this beast in the past but for whatever reason they never seen to finish!

I actually started my build on the 5th of this month so that I am fairly well along. It is my intention to submit this build as a build review so it is well documented with images. I won't include everything here (saving that for the build review) but this should give an idea of what this kit is all about.

Here's some requisite starting pictures prior to beginning construction.











While the kit lists 102 part numbers, some parts have as many as six similar pieces on the sprue. I estimate the total parts at around 170 or so. The first part of the instructions was to build the two sets of the water propulsion system. The penny in the picture should give an idea of the size we are dealing with.



I completed these pieces the first day and attached them to the lower hull.



After having built the Revell Luchs I mistakenly anticipated that this suspension would be a breeze as it had only six axles as opposed to the eight on the Luchs. I was about to experience a shock but first I felt that a minor embellishment to the build would be worth while. As there is a clear windshield one can see into the interior. After looking into it with the hull pieces dry fitted together this proved correct. Therefore, I decided to scratch together at least a rudimentary interior from plastic sheet and odds and ends.





While parts of the interior were drying I started to assemble the rear most axle. It was at this point that I saw that this suspension would be even worse than the Luchs with all the separate tiny pieces. Most of it must be assembled off the vehicle and then you have to get a half dozen pieces to line up in different locations at almost the same time.





I was in for a greater shock when I started to assemble the front axles. Revell gives you the option of assembling them with the wheels in a turned position so the ends of the axles must remain moveable until final assembly onto their mounting arms.







As an example of the complexity of this middle axle, the axle itself is made up of 12 parts, the steering linkage is another 7 and there are four support arms (springs and shock absorbers).

The entire process to this point has taken the free time over almost two weeks. I hope that the rest of the build will go smoother. Questions and comments welcome.

Cheers,
Jan

@tread_geek – Jan,

So you’ve been moonlighting behind our backs for the last two weeks with this project? Looks like you have a hand full with the suspension. Do you anticipate any issue with having all six wheels touching the ground at the same time when you finish with putting this part of the build together? Good idea with the interior.

Jan, you may want to try a background color that won’t wash out the details on the sprue shoots or have the lighting reflect back at the camera. I don’t have a solution in this respect but I normally use a sheet of textured poster board to help with the lighting reflection. I don’t think you have another of the same kit laying around to retake the sprue shoots do you?

-Eddy

This will be interesting for sure.

Very neat job so far!
I had some problems with multi-wheeled vehicles from revell,with they're suspensions as Eddy said;it's hard to get them all on the ground.
But if you make an diorama or vignette it's easy to glue it down and camouflage it.

What scheme option does revell offer? Only this NATO camouflage or maybe some other too?

Again,as Eddy said you might want to try something other in background,i like to use very light blue surface,but one of my friend's suggested to use dark surfaces for dark models.

Cant wait to see another update on this one.

Kind regards,Sven.

Eddy and Sven, thanks for looking and taking the time to comment. Since you basically commented on the same two issues, I'll try to answer them together.

With multi-wheeled vehicles it is always a challenge to get all the wheels touching the ground. This even seems to be a problem with only four wheels. Since returning to the hobby I have built three eight wheeled vehicles and I am happy to report that all wheels touch the surface. This is very much a matter of taking one's time and using a slow setting tacky tube glue. That type of glue gives you some time to adjust things.

With the eight wheeled kits I have used the method of attaching the front and rear most wheels first. That I hope would give me a good base to work from. With the inner wheels I have the option of shaving down the axle or enlarging the mounting hole prior to gluing so that they all rest even with the others. That was my plan with this kit but due to the complex nature of the suspension it wouldn't work. The mountings for the main springs, which are the major attachment component for the axles, was extremely sloppy in this kit. They mount using a small peg on the hull that is to mate with a slot in the top of the shock absorber. The fit of this joint is extremely loose. I actually used a mini square and level in this process. The one thing good that I experienced was that the axle to shock fit was just perfect and not too tight or too loose.

As for the pictures, they were taken during some major house renovations and my regular "photo studio" was unavailable. They are actually the best group of three sets that I took. I normally use a lighter blue background for these sprue shots. Interestingly, this is my fourth Revell model with this colour plastic and they always seems to not photograph very well no matter what I have tried. Very puzzling!

As for colour schemes, you only get two options. If you build the engineer variant the scheme is typical NATO three colour. The other option is an ambulance version that is all white and has German and UN markings.

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I continued with the suspension and got the front axle components together and mounted. A real major pain was the last three pieces of the steering linkage that represents the part from on the hull just under the driver to each of the linkages of the front two axles. The only way I could see to do this and end up with it looking correct was to attach them using tweezers and tube gel cement. For each of the pieces I believe that it took three or four dry runs before I found a comfortable way to get the pieces into position.





After once again checking with a steel ruler the all the axle ends were in alignment I secured them in position with solvent glue. Following the instructions I mated the two hull pieces. While I couldn't get a great picture of the interior you can make out parts of it through the front windshield area. I also started adding the hull detail pieces.







Next up was "building" the six wheels. Each is three pieces plus an attachment ring that if done properly should allow the wheels to rotate (making them easier to paint once attached). There is a certain amount of "play" in the mounted wheels which I anticipated would make having them all rest on the ground easier to manage. Once painted I'll secure them in their permanent position with solvent glue.





A great thing about this kit is that all the tools and external storage are separate pieces. Everything is really nicely and finely detailed but it was a slow process removing some parts from the sprue as the attachment points were quite large and the plastic is quite brittle. This process took the better part of an entire afternoon.







Note that the windshield is attached and is covered with masking tape in preparation for painting.

Cheers,
Jan

Hi Jan,

This is an excellent model, I am surprised by the level of detail on this one. I am used in building WW2 themes from Revell and I have never seen details to such an extend.

You are doing a fine work up to now, looking forward to seeing more.

P.A.

@tread_geek – Jan,

Thanks for the reply about the sprue photos and complete explanation for your method on having all of the wheels come out sitting even and level on the surface. I like the way that Revell has produced the wheels so that you don’t come out with the usual seam running along the center of the treads making clean up a choir and often times without much if any tread detail.

There sure are a lot of small suspension parts to contend with on this kit but the end result is very realistic. I also like that Revell gives you the option of leaving either or both of the front doors open. I think what you did with the scratch made interior is nice and perhaps someone in one of the aftermarket manufactures seeing this could come out with a resin interior?

-Eddy

@PanzerAlexander - Thanks for your comments and yes, the detail on some of the Revell modern subjects is truly exceptional. If you check out my profile page you can get a link to the Revell Luchs build feature that I did a while back. The suspensions are extremely similar, at least to a casual observation. Again with that one, all the tools and external storage are separate pieces. These two kits are the only ones that I know of with this complex a suspension. It almost makes one want to display it in a tipped over state.

@Braille - I always appreciate your observations, Eddy. I might have considered making a version with the front doors open but they have absolutely no detail on the interior surfaces. That in itself would have been quite a job to bring them up to an acceptable level. There are plenty of good pictures of the interior on the 'Net but mine is only meant to be a rough imitation as I doubt that one will see too much through the windshield.

One fellow that sometimes posts here started one and he had a PE set that was basically the entire front cabin. IIRC it even had new multipart front doors. My desire for a fast and easy build proved quite incorrect after I started the suspension.

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At this point everything except the warning light on the roof is attached. I have sprayed the entire vehicle with Tamiya NATO green and started painting the tires with a preliminary coat of a dark grey.







I started the camo yesterday and will be doing the regular NATO three colour. Unfortunately this is proving to be a real exercise in frustration. All the little bits and pieces that make the detail so nice are impossible to mask and in some cases work around. The body is far busier than the Luchs and the pieces are all so much closer together. I'll try to see if I can maybe try it freehand with the airbrush later. Up to this point I have been trying to used a build-up of dilute colours by brush to simulate the sprayed patterns.

I wasn't going to show the first attempts but it might prove useful to someone.





Cheers,
Jan

Hi Jan,

I am not familiar with NATO color shemes but I like what I see. You cant have this hard edged camo with the airbrush, you could only use it to blend it all together.

P.A.

Alexander, you are an absolute genius!!!! I was just thinking as to whether there was some way to tone down and blend the colours and then you confirm what I was just slightly thinking about with this comment. Your thought got me to try it a few minutes ago. Rather than load each or two of the same colours I chose the NATO green to spray around the black and the brown areas. For a slight contrast I lightened it ever so slightly with Desert Yellow. There is now a bit of subtle variation in the greens that adds to the overall effect.

Thanks!
Jan

You are a prolific modeller and the kit seem excellent. Great job.

Regards. Pedro.

Wow! That's a amazing update for such small amount of time..

I really like it,the underside looks very nice and detailed,it's always the tricky part but it's worth it in the end...

The paint seem very nice and smooth,everything is just outstanding,can't wait for you to start weathering it.

Pictures seem to be much better now,it gives the model more attention and shows more detail.

So,what can i say than;cant wait to see another update.


Cheers,Sven.

Thanks for the comments and encouragement guys. It truly is an impressive kit but being so has its costs in both time and ingenuity.

Okay, so I did a tiny bit of touch-ups and cosmetic enhancements (light initial weathering and the lightened green to tone down the camo) and then applied Future to the areas to receive decals. Today I started on the decals and have all of them except for the absolutely miniscule tire pressure markings on. It still needs the warning light for the roof but that will be the last touch before final finishing. It is so small and delicate that I am sure that I would have broken it off several times by now if it was in place. As it is, I had to use a set of those "Helping Hands" to assist in decal placement. With all the little pieces poking out here and there you can't really hold it comfortably. Here's where it stands as of this writing.







I'll get the rest of the decals on and then coat them with more Future mixed with Tamiya X-21 Flat Base. Hope to begin the painting of the tools and storage after the decals are all taken care of.

Cheers,
Jan

Hi Jan

dont know how I've missed this one, but felt rewarded for having read it

very nice work on the camo, its looking a treat

its such a neat looking vehicle I'm almost tempted to have a go at something modern....one day

cheers
Neil

Hi Jan,
Hard camo and good job...

Neil and Erhan, thanks for dropping by and having a look and commenting. Neil, it is quite a vehicle and might be an interesting change of pace for you. After that massive train undertaking this beast would be a walk in the park!

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Slow but steady progress with the Fuchs. Most of all the little details have been painted and where necessary, touch=ups made to the surrounding area. During this stage everything is done with a 10/0 brush and the use of diluted "glazes" of paint. By glazes I mean that the paint is thinned so as to not be totally opaque but not as thin as a wash. It generally takes two and occasionally three passes to get them opaque enough. This technique was shown/taught to me by my SWMBO who is the artist in residence. This worked with both Tamiya and Model Master acrylics. I also started some preliminary weathering washes on the wheels and lower hull and suspension. I don't want to overdue this as most pictures show these vehicles as pretty well kept.







I still need to finish the tarps and the headlights and then the weathering can continue. Certain areas are still a bit glossy from the Future so they need to be sprayed with more matt medium.

Cheers,
Jan

Jan,

I should have expected it, your already at it again. And I see you can't not leave things as they come out of the box! I have one of these and I was thinking about building up the nerve to tackle it. After see that suspension I think that I'll find something simpler for my next build. I just love how the painting is turning out, any hints or tips how you're preparing the paint for brushing? Can't wait to see the finishing touches.

Regards,
AJ

@AJB - Thanks for looking in and the comments. The paint work was an experiment with a new medium that I tied after the initial painting with diluted acrylics.. I was introduced to a product by Delta Ceramcoat called "Glaze Base." It is an acrylic gel like substance with numerous abilities to create various things like a transparent wash or stain. I put one drop on a palette, add about five drops of paint and an equal amount of thinner/retarder and mix thoroughly. This "glaze" makes the acrylics act like oil colours in that it has an extended drying time and brushes on extremely smooth and even.

The mixture is partially transparent so some of the underlying colour hue shows through. The more layers you add, the more opaque the colour becomes. The flow and thinness of each layer do not show a build-up and you add more coats to areas that you wish to be more opaque. For fairly solid colour it takes about five coatings. The bottle also recommends using varying shades of the colour during the build-up. It comes in a 2 OZ(59 ml) bottle for $1.79 and I found it at the local Michael's Arts and Crafts store. As a side note, I found several people on the Internet that use it while airbrushing. It keeps the paint "wetter" and allows for a build-up of colour intensity.

As far as the review goes, it was sent in about a week ago and is still with the editors. I am holding off posting further pictures here as there are some in the review.

Cheers,
Jan

Thanks Jan.

This product is a new for me and a new way. I will follow with interest the weathering process.

Regards. Pedro.