just at the stage of putting interior together , has anyone seen what goes on the racks in the bushmaster. most pictures I can find show them empty?

Thanks Sam

hi Sam. most pictures with things on the rack would breach "OPSEC" (security/ classified stuff) Someone said even when they move friendly forces and signitaries around, they have the racks canvas covered.. so must be sensitive stuff. that said you might be lucky to find some good stowage shots. Good luck with your build (how bout a few teaser photos ?)

So I managed to quickly grab the airbrush while the baby has his lunchtime nap (again) and give it a base coat for paint later on.(the model not the baby).






The colour I used is model master "Italian sand" which is almost indentical to the Mouse House brown for the 3 colour Auscam set. I went to use mine(MH set) and its empty - I forgot I used it all up! and even with overnight postage earliest I get some more would be Tuesday.. at best.. and thats too late, SO went with the backup colour. After weathering and dusting it all looks the same anyways, just would of been nice to have the green brown and black from the same Auscam set because they react the same to the solvents that will be used to carry washes, whereas now I will have brown enamel, with green /black from the Auscam set behaving different... oh well whats an extra challenge..!

Here are some reference pics I found that others might find useful.


brake lines..

note the yellow sticker on air conditioner..

nice n clean ..

not so clean..

RAAF version..


and something for the ktbashers to ponder...


Adam

Adam,

I'm definitely not trying to be a gloom and doom merchant. I'm loving the look of this kit and can't wait for mine to turn up (ordered last Wednesday still waiting for it to arrive in Brisbane). The Bushmaster holds a special place in my heart for 3 reasons: 1- It was the last vehicle I served on before I was medically discharged two weeks ago, 2- I served two years on it as a driver, commander and D&S Instructor in the Regiment that I first served in 20 years ago and was deployed OS twice in and 3- I was lucky enough to serve in them in Afghan. So some pretty good reasons I think. Just from looking at your build I'm thinking that SMA has used the prototypes (B1 and B2) and production vehicles for their references which would not surprise me as they are in Melbourne and the factory is in Bendigo.

But as I said I know nothing about the Bushmaster. I almost wish I had never mentioned the ride height on Sam's blog cause of the storm in a tea cup it caused. So much for trying to offer some knowledge.

Oh and the white strip you replaced on the roof, it's for attaching an annex/awning on a CV. Cause the inside is Role Changeable the outside is pretty much standardized with the only changes being the replacement of the front right bin for a large generator bin and the patch panel replacing the first side window on the left to convert a TC into a CV. The dash panel in front of the supervisors seat if not fitted with a PWS screen has a document holder and fittings to release the panel to gain access to some of the CB's and fuses behind it. So that's probably why it does not "look right". The racks above the master switches are for ammunition liners and not superfluous junk. That goes behind the supervisors seat which becomes cramped when a BFT is fitted cause that is where the CPU goes. The rear right racks are also for ammunition liners (they all fit the 12.7mm liners as standard) except for the large open section which is for the Med Kit, Panel Markers, 2 x 5lt Water Jerry's for the crew and other CES and pers kit. The first rack on the second bottom shelf can't be used for ammunition as the pump for the water tank is housed there. The very bottom shelf can be used for miscellaneous stuff as it slopes with the shape of the hull. But like I said I know nothing about the Bushmaster so I'm just going to keep my mouth shut from now on. Maybe one day, if the Staff here get around to it, they may put up the walk around photos that I submitted of a vehicle in my Squadron before I left for the last time.

I've learnt my lesson now. Once bitten twice shy.

Seems to be a bit of that going around... Lol..

I hope you being sarcastic.. cant tell ... need you as my beacon of Aussie PMV knowledge..

Adz

If you want the pics up, i am sure there are many more forums and web sites you ca post them on.

We all want to hear your story. it would be good for those like us who haven't (or no longer serve) to hear how you did.

So applied the 3 tone campattern. ALot of overspray , will be going back and tidying all that up after the wash and filters are applied.

This is difficult to blog as some may see these steps as finished product - the fiinal colors and hue will be quite different once the weathering is completed.





While that paint dries, I can touch it much as it needs 24 hours to set hard to survive the wash process (or it will craze). So I built the two MG's. I happened to have some Mouse house mag58's lying around in the spares box which will do nicely. The kit ones are ok , but this model might one day be put to use alongside other full spec ASLAVS so need continuity of scale.




the main cupola mg was easy fit..





So that pretty much it for tonight. The hard slog begins tomorrow night. As soon as I get home from work I want to apply the wash. after about 3 or 4 hours I can start touching up the cam and recoating. So that takes out tomorrow. The next day will be the first dry brushes, and fingers cross decals and glass, with final dust coats that night or possibly the next.

I have a 1/48humvee need to put some finishing touches on for this weekends competition, and also need to lift the lid on my ASLAVdiorama and make sure the dust hasnt settled or any insects got into it or whatever else could go wrong..l declas lift or something.. ?

Adam

It's looking really nice, Adam.. I'm saving all this as reference for when I feel courageous enough to attempt building it.. as I'm not as skilled as you are

The colors look good.. Did you use the Tamiya colors suggested in the instructions?

Hisham

Hello Hisham my friend, Thankyou for the kind comments. I did not use the Tamiya colours suggested. I used Model master enamel Italian sand for the pinky brown colour ( as suggested in the instructions - because my Mouse House pinky brown has run out ) , and then used the Mouse House AUSCAM 3 colour paint set for the green and Black (as suggested in the instructions).

My camera work is terrible. I dont have time or space to set up a proper stand with key lights , flood lights etc etc.. light would help my pics alot as they appear very dark yet I have 3 x fluros above my head flooding me with light as I work ... Also I am not great with cameras and take the pictures freehand without a stand so that why they a bit out of focus sometimes. ALnd lastly speaking of focus, I have a habit of knocking the setting off Auto and onto a preset and the photos end up looking bad - cant go back and do them again though!.. I guess thats the price I pay for speed build - lots of pics but poor quality. SO sorry about that if anyone was wondering.

Anyways finished up before turned around and found my POLY S decal solution! Been missing this for months so had to quickly give it a shot so what better than the spare wheel cover...

WARNING - Poly S decal softener is the most aggressive stuff I have ever encountered. It literally liquifys the decal and then as it cures it dries out, but while wet the decal is no longer a film but a slurry! so its brilliant for compund surfaces.. absolutely brilliant but be carefull if you rub it while wet you will rub the decal off like it was a whiteboard. I wish I had this when I did the decals for the seats....


I prepared the wheel earlier today by painting the tyre part black..

paint on some poly s

apply the decal as normal (soaked in water etc). idid the back first in case I stuffed it..

let the poly s do its stuff - look how it sucks the decal down onto the surface..

the decal wraps itself around the wheel..

repeat the steps for the front.. carefully..

look how well it wraps the decal - no manipulation by me required...

the ring decal applied - same method..

and there it is!... wet but done - now just let it dry !


ALong the way I use the little paint brush to apply more solution to any areas that are being stubborn..

Adam

Looking good Adam, apart from the Platt mounts ammo box being on the wrong side of the gun.

Cheers Jason

Welcome aboard Jason.

I am tempted to leave the ammo trays on the wrong side as a testiment to my late night sleep depraved in a rush mess up.

Will address it as always. Good pick up Jason, much appreciated ( and thank the lord you not a model comp judge anywhere I go ! ) lol...

Adamskee

The camo is great! Decals on reserve wheel is the most impressive work!

Hi folks well something amazing has happened.

I almost finished it tonight ... Cant believe how fast i managed to do this. of course tomorrow I have to go back and fix up a few things, and still some other things to be addressed.. but here we go..

Firstly i gave the vehicle a wash of transparent black oil colour paint mixed with raw umber and a whopping dose of mineral turpentine to thin it out... Sure as eggs the wash screwed half the paintwork up.. There are no pics of this because :

A - I was more interested in fixing the problem,..
B- Its embarasing ! lol

But seriously, the model master brown almost wiped off with the wash as it was applied - I knew that was going to be a problem for mixing paints ! the mouse house stuff was much stronger and didnt misbehave nearly as much.

Anyways once I let the mess dry, cried a little and wondered what I was going too, I resprayed the cam this time using the absolute last remnants of my mouse house AUSCAM brown (thats 4 vehicles that cans done.. nice work..) and the other two colours from MH, and then gave a very light dust coat to blend them together. The cam pattern on a Bushmaster is quite complicated compares to a ASLAV, with pockets of colour not just lines. Also take note the edge of the cam according to references is quite apparent, Mine is rather fuzzy but I can live with it.





Next gave it some drybrushing - basically just some tamiya buff enamel without any white.. works well on AUSCAM.







So next added some of the missing details.. such as the headlight and indicator assemblies, and decals. The windows were installed using white glue (PVA) in case you didnt know NEVER use superglue on windows - it frosts up and stuffs them completely. The headlamp assembly is interesting as it has a covering glass panel over them. I hadnt noticed this in any refernce pics before but willpay more attention in the future..

Before I installed the glass, i wanted totint the rear passenger windows as the bullet proof glass often looks to have a green or blue or yellow hue due to the thickness of the glass.. so I mixed up some green yellow blue translucent tamiya enamel and gave it a very thin clear coat to make a tint.


but here is what it looks like now with RAAF markings










So the wheel are just tacked on, they will get weathered and dusted tomorrow, along with the undercarriage. I will slightly muddy it up a but underneath - good way to camougflage some of the bad joins.

Also will fix the guns tomorrow and mork out what sort of antenna will be mounted. Hopefully the same masts and mouns as the ASLAV.. Then It will be easy.

Then very last a duper fine dustcoat overspray and maybe some mig pigments .. maybe...

Adam

That's very nice looking kit. Great work Adam.

You've done a great job, Adam, on an obviously difficult kit to build.

I've got a couple of questions : The cammo colours look almost too toned down.. is that just the lighting? Also, do you think it would be better to paint the cammo on the spare tire cover and mud guards so that they match the colours on the rest of the vehicle.. or are they not supposed to be matching?

Hisham

Build looks very good,
Just a few points on the interior from my own eperience in U55A....The radio stack is something I wont go into, there was stuff in there that when it was installed we were not able to be near the vehicle.....i had my stack covered with a shemagh, the racks forward of the radio stack had ammo liners for the main gun up top, the nrear shelves had ammo for the Minimi, MRE,boxes of bottled water, cleaning gear such as a botle of windex and roll of chux, and oil, fourbie and cleaning kits for the weapons, I had a 7.62 ammo liner in there as well with shell dressing and a first aid kit....all this stuff was strapped in to the shelves. the decals on the seats are meant to represent cusions, SOP at the time for us was that cusions were to be removed in country where there was an IED threat. Cusions were only to be used in Australia, or on exercise.
The cam covers on the spare wheel and mud flaps were the same colours as the vehicle, though they were printed on fabric/tarp material so seemed a little brighter, the decals replicate this, though these got very dusty and dirty!!! The climate control system hanging from the ceiling would get scratched a fair bit as people got in and out of the vehicle by their helmets. The paint on the the vehicle was quite hardy, not much chipping, but it got very muddy and dirty....only washed the vehicle twice over there!!! I used to access the commanders position by climbing up onto the bonnet, and ropping down into it. There was also a black strap on the inside of the rear door, I used masking tape to replicate this, also I had an A4 plstic sleeve gaffa taped on three sides on the inside of the door just above the callsign, this had paperwork inside. The pigs head markings were applied in country using a cardboard stencil and spray paint, i went around the edges on mine with black texta to neaten it up!!! Ditching tools on the outside of the vehicle were cleaned eguarly with linseed and oil. These vehicles got very muddy inside when it rained, we normnaly used a bash broom and a jerry of water to get the bulk of it out. My vwhicle had scratches down one side of the vehicle when we tried to drive through the narrow front gate of an Iraqi army barracks and misjudged the width! Aerials were the same as on ASLAV. we rigged up a system with hootchie cord so we could lower the aerials when driving outside the wire, this stopped them getting tangled up with low hanging power ines and other wires. SOP was to always have the wire cutters in the up position when outside the wire......We always flew the Australian flag on all Vehicles to clearly ID ourselves as Aussies, my little Royal Australian Corps of Transport pennant, that I had made up flew just under it. The rear step is removeable, and we used to take it off when towing trailers as it got in the way...the aussie flag markings on the front and rear of the bushy are unofficial, i believe they are stickers from a souvenir shop in australia, sent over by one of the mums of the first mob, again to clearly ID them as aussie. we always had the mud flap covers on........All the info on stowage is publicly out there, I saw a bushy on display on the weekend and the soldier explaining did mention the ammo storage and cusions.......everything else I have mentioned about my own vehicle is not classified

Just to clarify on the body armor...SOP for us was anyone exposed outside of the vehicle, ie top gunner or operators in the rear hatches had to have the shoulder and neck guards on,plus helmet or CVC.....those traveling in the vehicle had to have chest armour and helmet, ballistic goggles for all.....

Interesting point Knackers. Could you add a couple of pictures for those not acquainted with Aussie warriors?
TIA
Olivier

Once I work out how to post pics I will post a few

Thanks in advance.
Posting pics is not that difficult.
The most convenient way is perhaps to upload your pics in the gallery here. click on the photos tab on top of the forum page then login and use the upload options. You can create specific albums if you need to sort the pics in a way or another.

When the pics are in your gallery, you will see links to copy and paste in the forums posts or you can simply right click on the picture and copy paste the image url.
But before pasting the url you have to click on the [img] button at the bottom of your post (the right most one). Insert the url between the brackets and you're done.
Hope this helps.
Olivier

You must not forget one very important detail seein gyou are building the RAAF version.. It must be extremely clean..

Ha ha! i was just thinking that!

Really good work adam. I've got 3 on the way and cant wait to get stuck into them. One i'm thinking of converting into the single or double cab ute.

I will only post pics with the permission of the originator of this blog though

Please post any pics relevant to the Bushmaster, any Bushmaster PMV, in this blog if you like. I think that between Sam, Myself and Knackers, we 3 perhaps have a good basis of experience in either the military, modelling or super detail/ kit correction to provide anyone wanting to build a Bushy lots of reference and food for thought, especially as we have our own spin on the kits and perspectives on how it should be built! So let the photos flow!

As for the RAAF one being clean , I have a giggling persuasion to show the blue orchids clean to the extreme.. BUT until I get an airbrush capable of those super tight lines between the colours, I am stuck with desert faded dust.. SO mine will represent ADG's patrolling mainland Australian Airbase somewhere up north in dry season, perhaps on one of the US / Aus army war game exercises.. But I do understand how pristine theirs seem to be. I caanot wait for RAAF Endinburgh to have another open day (every 3 or 4 years) as I live in the flightpath and its a few minuites drive for me.. So I too can add some good reference pics to the blend already out there - specific to modellers ( such as where every factory fitted data plate is seen, and yellow sticker)

As for posting pics in a blog entry... I took aages to learn this, its not simple at the beginning and I really dislike the Kit maker network gallery system that this site uses. I will give a link to all the advice I was offered when I first started -- ( the forum was about ASLAV patrol order, but on the first page I had to learn to post pics... heres what people said to me to do)

Scroll down about 10 posts and you can see i get lots of red crosses until I get some good advice from Grimmo..

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/166730#1400577

I got a photobucket account (free) and upload my pictures to there. What I didnt understand is that the pictures you post in replies are not uploaded to the page, but rather links to location it can be found online stored somewhere else.. that penny took a while to drop for me. once it did then posting in forums became easier.

So I reccomend gettinga photobucket account, and uploading all the pics top there. ( I have several hundred pics in mine already!) First though I resize all my pics to be under 200kb because when I transfer 20 pics in a single step of a build log, it would take a long time if they were the natural 1.2 meg size! then once loaded to photobucket, you hover over the picture, and the url link appears and you click on it and the in the forum post you "paste" that link and it automatically has the www stuff attched and the syntax correct.

Good luck !

IM off shortly to try finish this beast....

Adam