Hey Sean, I noticed that you had also painted your centre hubs black. Are you going to be hunting down stowage for the rear section? It looks naked to me
I am currently hunting them but no luck so far, it appears that the majority of modern stowage kits are set for 1/35 which is a shame. Also, that pylon on the rear nearside corner, is it the base for a whip aerial? I have stretched some sprue for it but i can't actually see the aerial or even the base for that matter on that part of the vehicle in my pictures...
Also for those who may not be aware: The Landrover Snatch in this series is currently in use with the British Army in Northern Ireland and also with the Northern Irish Police bit in a heavily modded/armoured guise...if any of you fancy having a go at that haha

Yeah, a lot of the ref pics I saw had black hubs...it needs something to break up the monotony of the desert colour.

As for the rear aerial I build it to the plans but couldn't find any actual ref photos of the rear....most pics I saw had additional aerials on the platform over the storage compartment.

And as for storage: this is the biggest failing of these kits. I had seen reference to an AM company releasing some moder IK gear in 1/48 specifically for the Jackal & Coyote but can't find it now....someone will do them soon I'm sure though.

Yeah the uniform desert is a bit flat, I can't remember off the top of my head what colours the various vents and steps were supposed to be but I left them black for the same reason.
On the ref. pictures there isn't even the stub, which struck me as odd that a 'precision' kit would have something which doesn't appear often (or at all) on the real model. Maybe this is a field modification? The addition of an extra whip aerial and then transferring them to the 'roof'... The aerials also seem to migrate all over the Landrover Pictures that Jeremy posted.
I think there will be a large market for anyone who creates the corresponding stowage sets, i will definitely buy some, and hopefully some tarps for the Landies, as they look awesome when they are heavily-loaded.
Planned progress tonight will be the painting of the seats and installation of the rear cargo options.

Here's the link. You might check out the blackdog US modern sets too.






http://www.gaso-line.eu/news/gas48112_jackal_coyote_armement_airfix.htm

Hey Greg, that is awesome! Shame they have already sold out, but I will get some when they come back in. I won't be going fo the tires, just the stowage.
Here are the pics of the stowage carriers:
Open

Closed


These were quite fiddly to install, having to hold the sections in place while applying the 'bookend' while pressing it into the hole provided WHILE trying not to get glue on the moveable sections. as long as you take your time it should be all good.

http://www.phpshopxml.com/quakit.shop/CID/5c96c553140f09b9efcfe94372f43bba/function/itemPageDisplay/shopItemCode/SNI48006

Your build looks great anyways. Also check out the figure sections as there's some nice Afghan figures

You might want to paint the tools before you go any furter in construction...speaking from experience again

I have, under the advice of a friend, cut the webbing from the front section and replaced it with my first ever attempt at home-made straps!


(Tyre need neatening up here i know)
I have also painted the tools (thanks Sean) and then spruced up the front a bit in preparation for all the cages and sand channel that will be put on. Now on the flip-side of that...

Fully-decalled dashboard.
C

Hi guys,
Chris got me hooked and i've ordered 3 of the kits.One being the figure set.My one concern as his was there were no seated figures.I just did a search for 1/48 seated figures and on Hobbylink they show an Airfix set of a vehicle crew.They don't show it as a pre-order,but say the release date is unknown.Chris,it's probably the start of crews for them,but if not it shouldn't take much work to turn them into a helicopter crew. I couldn't copy the box.This was the best I could do.Product Number: ARX03702

Tom

Hi Tom,
Yeah they vehicle crews have been 'showing' for a long time, but no date has been provided. The Herrick stuff has an individual section on the Airfix website (speaking of which they have put up the new picture of the Warrior MCV in the range and it looks awesome). I have already bought a pair of pilots, more updates when they arrive. When the seated crew becomes available i will convert a pair of them into door-gunners.
I am glad I was a bad influence on you! What were the other kits you bought?
C

Hi Chris,

The others were the Supacat HMT400 Jackal and the 2 landrovers.Got the 3 on Luckymodel,they do have 2 of the lynx on there,it still cost me $70,but that's 3 instead of 1 from here.Their selection is pretty limited,none of the combined figures and paint.
Waiting for your updates.

Tom

Ah that's cool mate, Good luck with those when they arrive! I imagine that supplies will start to trickle through, but it will take a while because of the distance.
C

Steve Zaloga has mentioned on track48 that the figure sets have some separate gear like rucksacks you could add to the vehicles. I will pick up the warrior when it comes out. Way too cool.

Yeah mate, that Warrior is an absolute Beast! And it will have anti-RPG caging...very nice
All hand on deck today as the Pilots arrived!
They are PJ Productions French chopper pilots, but some touch ups, in the form of some visors/helmet...eyes(?) and they will be dandy (also there is only one mould, so the duplicate will have to be altered so it doesn't look funny).

So a quick head surgery on one of them a lick of paint. These chaps will receive their training and installation tomorrow evening!

C

Update on the Lynx, several pics here as i decided to take stage by stage pics of the pilots. So here we go:
Legs:

Bodies:

Arms!!

(Apologies for the poor quality here, I may have forgotten how light works?

Putting the side of the fuselage on. This is where things start to get hairy on this kit. The two side panels DO NOT MEET no matter how much you push, shove or rearrange the cabin. This really annoyed me as I thought it would be better once I had glued one side on.

I tried sanding one side of the cabin, but I did not want to impair the cabins fit elsewhere. So far this is my only real problem with an otherwise faultless set of kits. Looks like I may have to get the filler out after all
Edit: I would like to point out that while the two sides may not fit on the top they do have the correct amount of space for the underside to be glued in place. Also there appear to be several parts for at least 3 different Lynx (There are three noses).
C

And there is more bad news ! It appears that the control panel that sits above the pilots heads needs to be inset slightly in the windshield so the lug at the front of the (currently) non-joining section fits in and holds it in place. as a result of this I will need to remove the lug and make sure the windshield is in the right place. Siiiigh. Serves me right for modelling after 11pm.

It appears that the problem with the fitting of the side panels around the cabin module is a common one that takes a lot of work and everyone has with this kit. If you get your on AH7 I suppose different people will rectify in their own ways. The windshield as my own fault, so no gripes to the Airfix gods for that.
However the turbine and rotor base assembly (there is probably some official terminology for that somewhere)comes across as peculiar. The way the kit builds is different to the way the instructions say it should. As you can see from these pictures I had to install steps 25,26 and 27 the way they should be.

Then it got complicated. As you can now see I had to remove these steps to slide in the components in step 30. THEN I was able to install steps 28 and 29 as these actually get in the way of 30 if you see what I mean.

The Instructions steps should be followed as: 25,26,27,30,28 and then 29. It is easier when done like this and it should be known that fitting step 30 is very difficult while these sections are attached to the fuselage. Just be aware of these and do some dry fitting and all will be fine.


C

Big steps made today! Majority of the fuselage stuck together:

And now with the majority of the painting and glazing done.


Not far to go, door gunners and their armaments, the skids, neatening up, decals and weathering!
C

Looking good Chris,
Nice job with the pilots.My kits should arrive in the next day or 2.I've put myself on the Airfix site to notify the release of the vehicle and maintenance figures.I look forward to your updates.

Tom

Thanks Tom,
Glad to hear that your kits will be arriving soon, I hope you have fun with them. I think I will make a start on the Landies at some point soon as both the Lynx and the Coyote have got to the stage where I need crew figures. I have just been browsing the WWW and there is a Chinese hobby website taking PRE-ORDERS for the vehicle crew set...and the pre orders start on the 5th July (oh man, that is a long wait, and now you can see why i caps-locked the pre-order bit)
C

Hi Chris,
thought you'd be interested in this picture. It shows the front and rear aerial mounts with no actual aerials and a "funny" one on the platform in the middle. It also has a UK, US & Aussie guys on board.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/US_military_truck_in_Afghanistan%

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MWMIK

Hey Sean thanks for the picture its a big help! Especially when it comes to load outs and crewmen.
Some updates now. I have realised that it will be the 5th July before the crewmen come out so I decided to finish up the Lynx. The doors are not sealed in place and the guns will be added when the crew is released, it might even get to the stage where the guns are placed and the doors are closed...who knows?



The decals were...odd. The glue seemed a bit iffy and the decals did not take to the plastic very well, so watch out for them when you do yours chaps, of course it might just be my sheet.
The Coyote is coming along nicely, some new additions such as smoke launchers here.


Cheers
C

Hey Chris,

Got my order on Sat.and like a kid in a candy store,had to get right at them.Found the figures very good,but like most scales getting the arms to hold the weapon a little bit of a challenge.Painting wasn't as rough as I thought it would be.I used a toothpick for camo and a very fine art store marker chin straps.Sunglasses on them made things easier.Next I moved on to the Snatch.Not a good subject to bring on with friends in a pub if you mention I spent most of my weekend working on a Snatch Rover. .Very impressed with the fit and detail to these kits,from the clear interior light to the already sagged tires.Some small problems with fit.Decals for the window mesh,be careful to get them to fit exact.Mine are a little off.Pushing getting tired.Not good,come back tomorrow.A few bad pics here if I can get the new Photobucket to work.I'll never understand why people want to fix what's not broken ???

Tom

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k567/parrot20/airfix002_zpsf769b0f3.jpg http://put.url.here/image.file" BORDER="0">

Hey, great looking builds here!

Of the Airfix vehicle kits, which ones are British Special Forces? I know the Supacat is, but what about the Land Rover?

Photobucket is PO me off.

Tom

http://put.url.here/image.file" BORDER="0">