Thought I'd post some pics of this one as there don't seem to be a lot of these about. Always thought these machines were really cool since having an Airfix 1/72 one with a wee jeep to go inside. It is certainly a fine model but does command some respect, the couple of reviews I have found have been helpful. It is very important to get everything precisely aligned and straight and I have had to straighten out a couple of the larger pieces with hot water and careful pressure. Fitting the cargo floor when assembling the cab and hull side pontons is key and I had a few hassles with this and will have to do a bit of remedial filling on the rear right (see pic). The detail is superb, you can tell the engine is off because the ameter gauge is at rest! Decided to do the pics before the roof goes on and hides it all.

Your not trying to tell me this is all in the kit!

Yes, straight out the box apart from a couple of cables.

Nice

Seriously That's only 1/72? fantastic!

Wish I was that good! No this is the AFV club 1/35 model

Hi Paul,

Looks like a cracking kit, nice work.

Al

Great job so far Paul ..I got this kit on the shelf so I;ll be following along closely

Rick

Nice build so far Paul. Have this to build also ... but not the AFV kit ... planning on doing it the hard way .. Italeri, Eduard, Verlinden, etc. Saved these piucs for placement help later. Hopefully it looks as good.

Thanks for your reply's. Well thats the roof on, will leave hatches open so at least some of the interior can still be seen, I'm a sucker for interiors.
Horns of the Buffallo

Like I said it's critical to get alignment right or you end up making a lot of extra work for yourself. The front and roof will now need a bit of work to to pass QA. This is not a reflection on the quality of the kit rather my limited skills.

Frank, on reading some stuff before starting this one, it seems the Italerie version of the LTV4 was designed off of a French post war vehicle serving in Indochina and there are apparently some differences, perhaps you're already aware of this.

Here's another wee update; the rear ramp. I have a Tamiya jeep still to be built as cargo for this and couldn't decide whether to have the ramp up or down, kind of vaguely liked the idea of the jeep being driven up inside as one of the many photos I've seen. Or maybe buttoned up ready to go? Looking over the instructions it became clear AFV Club have designed the ramp to be moveable, so I gave it a shot and...... lo and behold I got it to work.

The cable/thread runs from one of the rear pontons to a tiny pulley block, through the inside of the ramp to a second pulley and up to the other ponton. the pulley blocks are made of two pieces with the cable running between the two half's. This was tricky.

For the ramp to be able to hinge properly the cable/thread has to be able to run through the inside of the ramp and round the two pulley's, on the full size vehicle these pulley blocks would pivot depending on the position of the ramp.

Once the cable was done it was time to do the hinges. One of the reviews I had read stated this was the most difficult part of the whole thing so I was fearing the worst. However it went ok, I glued on the two very outside hinges and left it to set with the model vertical so as not to put any strain on, then carefully wormed the remaining six hinges into position without any problems. I have put powdered graphite onto all the moving parts and ran it over the thread and think this helps to keep it free running. Think that's all the difficult area's done with and it should now all be fun....... till the nerve wracking painting, but that'll be another story.

Lots of fiddly wee bits on this model, have lost a couple to the "monster that lies beneath", will no doubt find them when doing the final touches. Have had to make up a grab rail and lashing ring from wire. Here are the MG mounts each made up from six parts! Now going to stare at the far away hills to let my eyes readjust.

Almost done, still to do the weathering bit, going to leave that till I start and finish the jeep. The LVT4 is really a tremendous model but not an easy one with many very delicate tiny pieces, the MG's and carriages sorely taxed my dodgy old eyes and dexterity, more than once I had to walk away and kick something! Here are some pics with the basic paint done and tracks on, these are fragile and care must be taken when cementing the four sections, I was a bit liberal on one join and the track started to dissolve and I've had to patch up the joint with Evergreen. Not sure whether the hatch interiors would be white or not, couldn't find a decent contemporary picture, thought the white was more attractive, breaks up the monotony of the OD.

Looking terrific as is the subject.

Hi Paul !

Fantastic, I loved the interior. And I love amphibians to!

Cheers !

Marco

Paul, impressive build! I don't think I've ever seen any of the AFV club LVT being built.

Cheers!
Stefan

Great detail straight out of the box! Looks beautiful, I cannot wait to see it with the cargo in place. Very nice work sir.

Paul,

You did a fine job with this kit. I built the late version and found that it;s important to get things lined up right as you said. If anyone is interested in another report on this kit I have a build article at http://usarmymodels.com/MANUFACTURERS/AFVClub/afvclub35198/afvclub35198.html.

Tim

Thanks very much for all the reply's, it's really encouraging. As I said there is still work to do so it's not finished yet.
Tim, as usual before starting a model I have a good poke about the net to find references both for the kit and the actual subject. I tried the link you posted and found it didn't work however I think I have been looking at your work for weeks on this page;
linkname .
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
There is also a review of the kit here;
linkname
(hope these work, first time posting link)
Thanks to everyone who have blazed the trail, it makes for better and more enjoyable modeling. I'll post more pics when I have got some of the cargo done.
cheers Paul.

Hi Paul,

Excellent work, love the interior. I have the old Italeri kits, but was waiting on decent affordable track with the thought of doing a couple of British versions for the Rhine Crossing. Might try and shift them on and go down the AFV Club route.

Cheers and look forward to the finished article.

Al

Here are a couple of pics of the Jeep, as usual I start to notice things on the photos that need corrected such as the windscreen is too clean etc etc. Still not sure how to pose this on the LVT, have a vague idea of it being broken down and unable to get off with a figure bending over the engine, we'll see.......




Wish I could do this with my car!

Mac, Resicast has a set with shields and Polston gun that fantastic. There's a pic around of one of these beasts in Italy with a 2 pounder mounted on a platform where the .50s would normally be. Lots of cool things to do with the LVT-4.

Looks like the 77th Division ,who,by the way,used their LVTs in what I believe is the longest overwater motor march. It was at Ormac in the Phillipines .

I could be off, but then I'm old ;-)