A few more questions, is the GPK the kit includes used or do i need to upgrade to the O-GPK. The controls for the Talon robots are inside a Pelican case(i think thats what the hard cases are called) and where are ammo and other miscellaneous things stored in the vehicle
thanks for the help, Alex

Time period, location, and nationality of the truck you're doing?

Most likely an American Truck, in Afghanistan around 2010-2011

O-GPK is necessary, ammo stowage would depend on the internal layout of the trucks, every Cougar I saw had a different internal layout, I'm not sure if the JERRV's are the same. The location of the DUKE varies, some have a folding shelf, others do not, it just really varies. With the smaller number of JERRV's in service it might be more standardized.

I don't know if the layout of the JERRV is standardized or not, but it ought to be.
In SF we packed our rucks with mission critical items all in the same place according to SOP so a teammate could locate them quickly if neccesary. I've noticed a trend lately in other threads where it's easy to say anything goes, and perhaps to some extent it does. At the same time, there are other reasons for SOPs. You'll see X wings on SF HMMWVs in different locations, but if you were able to go back in time, you'd probably find that at any given time, most had the X-wing in the same location during the same timeframe. I'm no commo guru, but I can imagine as new equipment gets added, (with their requisite power cords) it can change the interference created with their placement.
I have to think that even Big Army attempts to standardize things somewhat. I imagine if I had transferred from one unit to another that used a JERRV, (and as Steve pointed out, there aren't that many) I'd be more comfortable knowing certain things were always in certain places, especially in a SHTF scenario, where you don't have the luxury to dwell on such things.
At any rate, Alex- here is one photo I did not send you because it's somewhat boring, but notice the SOP taped to the wall. More than likely that's the way the HMFIC wanted it, but I like to think perhaps there's some standardization to the load plan across the board. If you blow up the image, it is surprising to see how much detail you can glean from it. Most of the extra stowage is contained in that big metal box on the right. (in the other photos you have) I've seen the interiors of a few JERRVs, and all of them had the box in the same location.

Standardization is an absolute necessity of course, however we cannot control the internal design of the trucks we fall in on. For example, on 2 of our trucks, the radios faced inward, where as on another two they faced to the rear of the truck. Some had a shelf that folded down, others did not. The one thing we did ensure was that our SOP's for the external stowage and for things like TALON litters etc.. were all the same. I could go to any truck and find the important stuff without thinking twice. As you said, that's why we have SOP's.

I have to agree with Robert, when it comes to Cougars, the exterior bins were always the same with few exceptions. My platoon SGT always had a coffee maker in his truck and that was in the rear TC side lower bin. Sadly in the game of RPG-7 vs CoffeMate coffee maker, the coffee maker lost.

Got this from an EOD buddy of mine, this is from the Arghandab Valley earlier this year. It is an Army EOD team, most of his tour was dismounted so he doesn't really have much of any interior pictures but I'll keep an eye out.



Note some things common with Cougars, the Talon litter/aid bag on the rear of the hull, the back board wedged between the fender and the stowage boxes. This is on the rear hull of his truck as well:

thanks guys, what about pellican cases. Are they used by eod and does anyone know who makes them

[The Cromwell kit has to be modified to create the Canadian Cougar EROC version...different bin arrangement on the left side, different machine gun turret, different antenna mounts, and a few other details that need to be removed or added.[/quote]

Jason do you have any reference material for the Canadian version as thats what im planning on building mine as. Im having a hard time finding anything to reference it here in the UK.

Regards, Nick.

Jason do you have any reference material for the Canadian version as thats what im planning on building mine as. Im having a hard time finding anything to reference it here in the UK.

Regards, Nick.[/quote]

Pick up the Real Model book....Canadian EROC Buffalo, Cougar & RG-31. Rick Saucier took excellent images of the first version of the Canadian EROC Cougar in Afghanistan.

They have been modified and upgraded since that time and you will now see a different configuration with hull bins, hull windows, and a new machine gun turret.

Does anyone have measurements for the shelve that is used on the interior to stow C4 and other gear

This is by no means meant to be taken as actual measurements, but I eyeballed mine (it sits on that long bench) and this is what my dimensions are:

1.132 x .535 x .440. I looks proportionally correct.

Wow, sometimes the old Mk I eyeball still works. This is the shelf I built at least two years ago, compared with the resin one in the Legend Maxx Pro:



Hope it helps you out.

Do you have the dimensions for the large stowage bin that is used to store C4 and such on the right side of the vehicle. Thanks

1.656 x .521 x .821 (Not counting the lip extension on the top of each end.)

Rob In the picture directly above are the sides of that container an open mesh or is that just the design of the sides?

It's an open diamond mesh. There's a shelf inside as well.

Perfect...thanks! Looks great by the way

Hello gentleman. I think I may be able to contribute.

First an introduction. As you can see this is my first post and I haven't filled out a profile. I just signed up about five minutes ago after seeing this thread. I'm an US Army EOD Technician deployed to Afghanistan. I also deployed to Iraq in '09.

My interest in modeling was renewed in the past few days after a friend showed me his war hammer 40k miniatures. The level of detail in the paint job made me want to build and paint something. I don't have time, opponents, or money for war hammer, so I figured I would make a military model. I haven't made one since high school due to high OPTEMPO. The first question was what vehicle to model. Well of course my baby parked fifty feet away.

I found this thread after searching for a JERRV kit. It's looking like I may be SOL. I don't feel comfortable buying from Cromwell. If I were in the states I may risk it but the risk of late shipping and possibly poor customer support (and these are the least worrying stories out there) isn't worth the hassle. Getting things shipped here in a timely manner is already a crap shoot. If any one can point me out to a Cromwell kit being resold by a third party I would be grateful, or just another JERRV/Cougar kit I may have missed.

If I can't build the model I would love to help this community build one that's as accurate as can be. I'm going to describe the JERRVs I've seen, but it's almost 2 AM here so I'm going to keep this short. Feel free to ask as many questions as you can. One reason for the model is a cure for boredom, so any communication with human beings, even on the interweb, would be a nice respite from the cabin fever three feet of snow creates. I'll answer questions the best I can, but I have to keep OPSEC in mind. Hopefully tomorrow I can get some pictures up of my past and present trucks.

I know I'm long winded but bear with me. From what I've seen of JERRVs it's good to keep in mind that damn near anything goes. The vehicles have constantly recieved upgrades and a grab bag of new systems that weren't part of the design process. Add on systems placement in the truck is usually dependent on the EOD Team that owns the truck and the FSR installing the equipment. Most JERRVs have a random shelves taken out, put in, new storage bins, random welded on plates, etc. I'll get to the norms I've seen with modifications in a moment.
Typically in EOD you won't see a huge amount of standardization between trucks. Usually there are couple of trucks on a FOB unless the FOB is one of the bigger hubs. Most standardization occurs between trucks at the same location if that. EOD isn't the big Army. There isn't a cookie-cutter solution to truck load outs. Load out is generally up to the team so each truck is unique. Every truck at our FOB is different, but I am familiar with other teams trucks enough to run out of them well.

OK now some norms and my old truck configuration. In every JERRV I've seen the driver side "rolly door" shelf in the back has been taken out. Steel plate or diamond plates is installed on top of the small cabinet that was under the shelf. This is the platform for the robots. Around half of the trucks I've encountered have the seat next to the radio taken out and the robot platform extended to the radio rack. If that seat is in the vehicle it basically nonfunctional for carrying a human. It will have a non-polygonal piece of equipment in it seat belted in. Usually a bomb suit or HAL kit. In the right shelf of my old truck were explosives, ammo, tape and batteries. in the cabinet under the robots were robot batteries, initiators for the explosive, smoke grenade and random odds and end. this is fairly typical of most trucks. The fold down table is taken out in most cases. Most teams hang PC speakers with zip ties to the diamond mesh in between the cab and crew compartment. I haven't seen a JERRV with spare tire in years. I believe the winch that held the tire up would randomly fell or some safety issue like that. Also it's impractical because none of us are going to change a huge tire in the middle of a mission. You either drive on or get a tow from another truck. I've seen improvised armor attached to the spare tire mount, or a bomb suit case to store extra supplies.
That's it for now. I'll post some more info and pics tomorrow hopefully. I'll also clean up that last bit. I can't write/type when I'm tired.

Thanks for the post Spenser, welcome to the site!

I just got my Buffalo in the mail Friday and would love to also have a Cougar as well. Maybe someday...




cheers

Spenser - Welcome aboard and thank you for the insights! Mostly thank you for your service. Will be following this closely. Stay safe