Ok the interior, part deux..

A few issues encountered here. So will try explain what I have done / found

Firstly fitting the deck plate into the hull.. it didnt fit. There are two parts that protrude up from the hull suspension steps that are supposed to mate with two slots in the deck, but the deck slots are waay to small.. need to trim the slots (circled in red)

A better fit with the slots enlargened. what worried me is if the floor should be flat here and not have these lumps?... (but why would there be slots if thats the case?) Also you can see why I pre painted here..

speaking of pre painting.. I test fitted the photo etch sides, and saw a massive raw plastic gap..the instructions give no clue to what colour this should be so I assume white... back to the airbrush...

the un named part that needs to be painted traced in red..

to be on the safe side I decided to paint the whole tub white except for the nominated black parts... (masked off)

the tub repainted white.. (and some other parts)

also started cleaning up some overspray.. and installing the cabinets.

So the first kit instructions actual typo error I have discovered - They have mislabbeled part PE-23 as part PE-13, which is a seat belt, no big deal as I doubt anyone will try install a seatbelt where a rectangular metal plate should go!.

However be careful in the same step- as the two plates (23 and 24) are different widths.

there are two photo etch plates that go under the driver and co drivers feet. one is wider than the other so they can only fit on one side each - they are not interchangeable. So it is important to get this right or if you put the small one on first in the spot the instructions say , you will have to lift it up later to fix it.

Here is a picture of the plates in place, and the actual part numbers off the photo etch sprue.

here is the photo etch sprue (sorry its painted black, and the parts are missing but the silhouette is there)


Part PE-23 is wider and will only fit on the port side, and part PE-24 is narrow and will fit both sides, but should be on the drivers side (starport). Just be careful to fit them in the right place or as I said will have to dig one up.

the photo etch plates at the rear also have a fit issue for me. I found they are about 2 mm too long, and had to trim both of them with a pair of scissors.. the red circle shows how much it over laps, but I trimmed other end as it sits flush.

scissors cutting - was nice and easy to cut so its soft PE...

a nice fit of the sheets..

So I did a test fit of cab onto hull.. and up popped another issue. I hope this one is supposed to be like this, but I doubt it.. The Air conditioning duct seems to protrube into the cupola hole. I doubt very much that its designed like that in real.. but could be wrong, maybe the cupola fittngs will reduce the hole size , but its something I am concerned about . Oh and yes I do have the bracket the correct way around (that holds the duct) .

The underside of the cab and the mating Air conditioner duct

Now getting the dashboard to line up. Tough to do this as the dash does not have any positive mounting points.. It can be mounted forwards or backwards on the chassis tub about 5 mm so getting it right calls for lot's of test fitting.

heres a pic of dash slid rearward. Can see asmall lip protrubing from under it.

And where I reckon it should be, that is flush with the front edge of the floor it sits on. (I have some tamiya tape there), no protrubing lip as in the pic above.


Now next issue - and this has caused me to pull up for the night. The dash controls. There is option for two dashboards in PE on the instructions. the difference is one has all the dials in place the other has holes where the dials should be. But I had to go look for what colour the dials and gauges are. I prefer to use the hollow guages but there is no dials/guages on the decal sheet. Unusual. SO have to paint them in, and of course the dash mounting point is pre painted green so need to repaint the underside of mounting point white or black or whetever the guage back grounds should be.

Here is a picture I found of the actual dash colours and layout.


With that work in mind, I will do the seats and dash tomorrow. And tidy up a few other details, If there are simple things like cables, plumbing, and small features to be fixed, then will do that aswell. Once the interior is constructed.. will also have to weather it as it will get sealed up very soon! Then the seats have peculiar decals, followed by all the seat belts..

PS part A1 is missing the vent wings left and right leaving a massive hole in the air conditioner that sits in the center console. Sams blog has a great pic of it.

Adam

I just wanted to mention I did get an e-mail from SMA a couple days ago that the kits were available to order. Probably working through the list.

Jim

You are not wrong. The duct comes close, but it doesn't seem to intrude.


Source.

great pic, and appropriate timing. The rack behind the bulkhead on the right side of the picture, the one with the case open, is misrepresented in the kit. it doesnt have the upright that would be at the front end, only the left upright, and there is a serious gap. I will put pics up later with arrows etc... glad to see that pic as it solved that question!

Adam

Dear Adam
In my photobucket account Seb43, i got a folder with a Bushie with 250 pics with interior shot and dimension references.

Bushmaster with dimension

Cheers
Seb

Cheers Seb, some nice shots in there , although it is proving to me that the interior colour scheme provided in the kit instructions is different to what I am seeing in the reference pictures. I am trying to build mine as close as possible to what the manufacturers intended. Including colour schemes, so will leave it for someone else to make issue of the obvious vaiances between these vehicles. Some things however, are quite obvious. for example several phot etch plates in the vehicle are instructed to paint white, while the reference pics show them all green, the dash in the kit is green while reference shows black- the passenger side dashboard is completely different design being longer and different angle (check out the decal wrapping under the dash versus the real thing), and the center console is white in the kit but the reference pics show it to be mostly black under the fire extinguisher. the lesson double check your references!

ANyways,, Interior continued.

Started putting seats together. Its hard to determine the angle of the seat as once again no positive join, and something wierd going on with the connection part anyways.. but not sure if its flash or just weird design.

need to decal them first before assembly, and definitely before trying to the seatbelts..


test fit

front seats.. also in this pic you can see that one of the racks is missing an upright. its just not in the kit and reference pics show it has two uprights in front.

the starport side seats under construction..

being test fitted and with seat belts..

my dashboard by the way. I have since found out that whatever that picture is I used its incorrect- the dials should be all black.. but I am stuck with it now!

fire extinguisher - decal not yet in place over it..

speaking of decals the kit instruction do not detail where to put any of the internal decals other than the seat covers. There are several large yellow warning stickers scattered around the vehicle interior and if you dont out them in now then you certainly wont get them on later when its glued shut..
here are some pics showing the ones I could find from reference pics - this is time wasted as it could of been on the instructions.


there is another one with a triangle that goes on the side of the airconditioning unit, facing rearward, but I dont have a clear picture ( sorry about the terrible pictures, but I had the camera set to "portrait" instead of "auto" and the focus etc is all out of whack)

The next thing I done was dusted the whole inetrior down with tamiya buff - just a light coat, but it dulls down the stark contrast black and white, and also lets me think about moving onto the exterior steps again. As the inside is pretty much finished! Maybe I could put some maps on the dash , or carton coke in the back with rat packs etc.. but I think I will let it be..

the dusted finished interior..(expet for the corrections your folks point out for me)





there you go. This is the type of klit that will sit on some peoples benches a loong time before being finished. It is challenging and has some difficult parts, and some major corrections to be had if you want to do it right.

that said - the kit would be very incomplete without an interior - and the provided parts are certaiinly sufficient for what you can see detail wise, of course could duper detail it but probably wouldnt see most of it! The only things I would add are the radios for the racks, gun mounts, soime more roof and wall details, 84mm rack, and probably the intercom system boxes that are prominently scattered about the vehicle.

Anyways enough for tonight as I am quite ill and need some solid sleep!

PS I dontthink the kit machine guns are useable. I might be overnighting them form from some aftermarket place or might have to rummage through the spare ASLAV kits for mag 58's etc.. but more on that later ..

Adios. Adam

I've finally gotten my email, so I'll be buying a couple of these.

It looks good so far, the issues you have are easily remedied, obviously its not the old Tamiya shake and bake, but for a first time producer, it looks fantastic!

Lets hope someone (MHE, Arms Corps?) comes out with a crew and pax..

Hi there nice work I cant wait for mine to arrive
The interior is very nice one thing you could add is in the footwells of the passenger and driver staion is the floor worn to bare metal especialy where your feet rub, on the trans cover is a black squere of non slip type material if you want to go there and the interior on a whole becomes very dusty I sincerely dont want to nitpick but just thought I would share some inside Knowledge I cant supply any photographs due to opsec but wil try and answer any queries that you or any one else may have.
Cheers cuny12.

Thanks Cuny for the pointers. I considered doing the footwells but its quite invisible when the cab is assembled. The black non slip on the transcover is new info, and I already know that there are reference pic that show additional checklerplate painted black on the trans cover that not in the kit aswell (as I pointed out previously under the fire extinguisher). As for the dust I kept it quite "subtle" as I am doing a RAAF version, and not Afghan, so am gambling on less dust (also its static model not diorama so weathering will be more subtle and not include "battle damage").

Always appreciate help from people who drove and serviced these vehicles. Always appreciated! Opsec I understand, but at the same time, annoys me! lol.
God help me If i chose to be specific about the antennae mounts on am afghan car!

Cheers muchly - please keep nit picks coming! I would rather be told straight that something is wrong ( and therefore its on record and be challenged or used by others) than to wander about thinking I done a good job when its garbage. Ignorance is not bliss..

Adz

Very nice interior Adam. But I don't understand why you put the driver station on the wrong side of the vehicle

Good idea from SMA to provide the seat covers as decals. They just could have provided them in at least 2 different patterns so they are not exactly all the same.

Sorry to read the dials should be black. Maybe you could tone down the white with some wash.

Keep on posting
Olivier

dont know how many people missed this -

but if you know my previous work and my commitment to Australian diorams you will understand how this is the best birthday news I could of ever got!!!..

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/news/9960

Black dog have release an Australian Tank Crew in Afghanistan! not that we had tanks but armour is armour.. now ASLAV and Bushie dioramas have better potential just need some ground pounders and I'll be eurphoric!

Adam

Actually I do not understand why the driver gets less room for his feet - its narrower on his side?

might tone down the dials - but i like the contrast.

I think its an ok interior and I done a reasonable job, If I wanted to do it poroper then add another 10 hours at least to the interior , plus scratchbuild work etc..

Seat cover decals are intrigueing. didnt fit too well and needed lots of decal softener to stay in place

Adam

Hi Adam.

This is the anti slip on the T-Case.



Cheers, John

Thanks for the heads up on the figures from Black Dog too Adam. Missed that one somehow.

They look really good and the MCBAS is well done. The only thing I would change would be the heads. We never wear our CVC's when off the vehicle unless we've had to, God forbid, bale-out. But they'll still look great next to a Bushie or ASLAV. Plus with just a little bit of reworking you could make Peeds out of them as the uniform and MCBAS is the same cut. Unless they're Mentors then you'll have better luck using some US figures for the Eagle Marine BA.

Cheers, John

Hey guys,
been following this one a bit. Adam, as always, impressive. My 2 Cav lads followed your build of the dio whilst we were overseas.

Have just bought one of these kits and have been wathcing the build process. In regards to the seats, its seems strange that no detail appears for the weapon brackets located between each seat or the lack of the green 'shade cloth' style stowage baskets under the seats. We used these to stow rats, ammo and all medical supplies.

having had a few PMVs in the unit I was in whilst in TK, I'm planning on doing one up with ECM, BFT and a PWS on top. I'm already working on the ASLAV I commanded with ECM and will try and do this as a dio in TK city where we pretty much lived.

Might even try and include an MATV as we had these attached to us as well...

Hi Tony, I noticed the weapon docks missing aswell, and also that green canvas underslung thing.. but seriously, I doubt you could see any of it once sealed up - even with all the window etc , its tight veiwing.

Glad to hear you like the ASLAV dio,, its a real kick to hear you guys were following it over there! Your OC at Palmerston has requested the diorama be displayed there. I am all but agreed, just waiting on the Adj or whomever it was that made contact to get back to me. So You might get the chance to see it first hand !

Your dio plan is something I hope we see lots of, we now almost everything to build some solid story based TK dios. A SASR 6 wheeler would be nice though. Need any modelling assistance there are plenty guys here that will gladly offer it - start a blog and post away!

If you want to do this kit.. (Bushy) then I hope this blog helps. ANd the next bit is impoortant as it was challenging tonight. very very challenging.

So I guess there are 4 phases to this build. 1 - undercarriage, 2 - interior, 3-exterior , and 4- paint and weathering.

This would be step 3 - exterior. I have glued the cabin on and masked it out. Filled the monstrous seam, and detailed the outside..

This is the masking effort


these two blocks have no positive lock on the location and as with many parts of this kit its guesswork where they go. Once glued in place they will effect how the bumper sits and therefore the whole shape of the front end.. and the best bit - one of mine came unstuck and now floats around in the engine bay, unnacessible... so use lots of glue once you figure out where they go!

The big gap behind the winch location.

the seam around where the hull and cab meet around the wheel arches.

using squadron white putty.. like spak filler!


cleaning it up once dry..



I want to pause here. If just want a shelf model and will never enter it in a comp, then most of that gap could be forgotten about (except the winch one). If you want this to be a competition kit , then you need to really watch this and pay attention - any screw ups in build to now will make that gap oversize (mines not the best ) and now pay the price of having to fill it so the judges wont deduct lots of points for misalignment and bad fit of parts. This could be one of the determining factors of this kit ever getting a gong..

OK the next bit is really hard to describe. Its just glueing bits to the outside (if you can figure wherte they go - some have no specific location points). One thing I have not done is glue any of the handles on - they are so poorly cast they will sure break when cut and be very diffiuclt to sand the cut lines off .. I will retrofit the handles with wire tomorrow. ANyways here are the pics of it getting the exterior details added..




virtually finished ...


So whats left of stage 3..

the spare wheel (a decal challenge..) ; the machine guns and mounts; some kind of antenna assembly; all those little handles! ; and the windows need to be masked and painted - yes the glass has a black band around it to be painted.. plus one or two other bits. Once thats done its paint time!, Thats what I look forward to mostly..

Good night folks.

PS Jashby - cant fix that transcover as it all glued shut now - but that is just one of a growing lits of easy fix's for this kit! Nothing so far has been too hard, but its constant medium to small issues on almost every step that slowing me up..

Adam

Hmmmm. Easy fixes? I haven't gotten mine yet but just looking at yours I can see some easy and some not so easy. For example the Transmission cover under the fire extinguisher and the T-case cover look like they are the wrong shape and size as well as the T-case dipstick is missing. Are these molded into the floor? Next the small step under the cupola that runs off the Transmission cover across to the left is not represented. The bolts on the the seat head rests aren't flush or "countersunk". Then there is the front foot wells. They appear to stick out from the hull and what is with the rivets? Lastly before I get shot down, the lifting eyes on either side of the bonnet are the wrong style. They should be more flat like the rear ones. So like I said some easy fixes and some not so. It has the shape and looks like a Bushmaster so we should be thankful I suppose.

But I wasn't going to say anything as I know your trying to do this as an OOB build with as little correcting as possible just so we can see how this kit falls together and the pitfalls, of which you are doing a wonderful job of. Plus I really don't know much about the Bushmaster.

Cheers,
John

IM trying to do OOB, but its goes against my nature.

I need to say this - I want this kit to be a success, I want it to sell well and see lots of built models and dioramas, I want the aftermarket companies to go to town on it with photo etch and resin update, decal options and MASKS. I want this because its how we as model builders can express our appreciation to SMA for making this wish a reality. Otherwise we would be enviously watching Boggie build his Bushy from scratch. Also if it is a "success" how ever that is measured, SMA may follow up with two moder armour releases. I will throw my eagle eyed guess out there to say the two "coming soon/secret" panels on the side of the Bushy box are - the Flat bed bushy , and either the dual cab bushy or another version like ambo/command/fitters.. etc ANd we all would like some options yeah ? so I want to encourage with my critique, and make sure all my comments are factual or constructive. As this is one of the first build logs, ALong with Sams, if we pick the crap out of it we may turn off some people - look at how the ride height issue got such attention - and it turned out to not even be an issue! Along the way losing some valuable people who's experience would of been most welcome (QOTD123 please read your inbox)

However, We cant pretend the kit is something it is not if there are problems. Especially if we want to have some credibility in our critique.

And as you highlighted , and as I have been pointing out, there are most definitely issues and problems but what kit doesnt? look at the amount of effort required to "correct" the Trumpy ASLAV? I wouild say this kit is on par in effort - but not to correct inaccuracies as such, just effort to build from very basic kit. What would an impartial kit reviewer say - terry Ashley for example over at PMMS does great reviews, and things like bad moulding, flash, mould slip, sprue lugs, punch holes, innacuracy and construction design, plus instructions and decals all get a very solid look in, and I dont think this kit will get much positive s in those areas. At the end of the build I will summarise a few of the issues. And As I am not technically familiar with the real vehicle, will constrain where possible my comments to the model.

Any comments of technical design type nature about accuracy are most welcome - because someone else using this blog to accurise their kit might find such info useful. bring it on baby! I have spotted some unusual things - and not talking about missing detail - that can be scratched or added, but rather the reference pics just not looking like the model - the passenger dash for example I know somethings not right there..

Anyways, plodding along. This kit will definitely be a crowd pleaser at the show.. Alot of Australians like the Bushy - it's forever in the newspaper, almost every couple of days something about it and it gets positive reviews. So there is a natural infinity for it. That enthusiasm for the kit however might trap some novices into trying to build one to find they dont have the basic skills to handle the issues they face that are certainly challenging to the more esperienced. I predict alot of half buit kits never being finished, or alot of kits with blacked out windows..

Changing something like a T cover for example is aftermarket bread and butter - simple block mould cheap and easy to produce. the customer just needing a razor saw to remove the offending component.. those fixes will come , I am sure of it, but we need them pointed out.

Terry Ashley's review (if he does one), Same with Jason Miller (if he does one) if they are as thorough as their previous reviews will be well worth reading. Jasons ASLAV review is just phenomenal in its technical critique, and I must of read it a dozen times by now.

Adam.

Hi there coming along nicely
The only obvious thing that comes to mind on the passenger side is a document shelf which if this makes sense when you look from the outside of the windscreen you can see that it opens at the top hope that makes sense I realy agree with you on your opinion on this vehicle Im greatfull that there is finaly a kit of a PMV there are things that Im very sure the after market makers will come out with.
cheers cuny12

Real quick update - managed to do this while the baby took his lunchtime nap..

maksed the window sprue, had to apply masking tape to the windows, and use a scalpel to trim the mask to fit the frame.. careful does it .,..lol

maks is the applied to the back of the windows in case of overspray or mist, and the other items such as lights etc are masked out aswell..Then paint it black!

then remove the masks carefully and..


We have windows with black frames! ...

Looking at the reference pics there is a khaki coloured trim aswell.. but that for another day.. (if ever)

Adam

Good evening all,

Stage 3 almost finished - exterior and building. Its at the point where I can start painting tomorrow. Forgive spelling if worse than normal - its late and I am tired.

So as last proper update said - replace all grab handles with wire. SO need to deepend the mating hole first to bed the wire - holes drilled out..


1mm solder used on front handles,

0.5mm copper wire used on deck

tools used.. just cutters and some wire !

air defence hatches handles..

same hatches from other side - bad punch mark to be filled and sanded..
PS dont make same mistake as me - the smaller hole is not a punch hole, its the mating point for the handle - so dont fill it like I did!

hatches mounted..

replaced that rail on top - no idea what it is other than a tie down point I guess.. I replaced as the other one dried on a tilt and I couldnt remove it without damaging it.

cupole gets two little rods of styrene for detail (the sprue bits got lost), and also note I broke off a wire cutter..

tyre positioned but not glued as its a great fit as is..


So here we have it, almost finished. I did replace the A arm towing frame. I didnt like the kit one, found one in the spares box. Also replaced the frame that hold it in place. you can see the replaced wire cutter too in this pic.

I built the mirror frames from wire aswell - the kit ones are quite fragile, and the seam was impossible to sand without damaging the kit.. mirrors will be added after paint.

now the rest just a walk around until I can paint. The wheels are just tacked on so there is a tiny bit of slop in their angles and dangles..

interior of rear door - will mask door off before painting.


ride height certainly not an issue..



So going to bed now. Will start paint tomorrow - am very pleased to be at this stage now.

Adam

Wow nice job and a quick build, thnaks for the update.


cheers

I have been enjoying this. It looks like a Bushmaster, how does it compare (height wise) beside the ASLAV now that the ride height seems to be a non issue?
I look forward to the next installment.
Regards
Bill

Suprisingly me too

Building was pretty hard but looking great so far....