if a manufacturer does make this vehicle, I hope it's in 1/35.
I've seen some of the 1/35 builds out there, are they aren't too bad, but a couple look awful.

The 'risk' of a 1/35 kit is why I elected to build in 1/16. I've also attempted 1/35 builds before - & on sold them both.

I just hope anyone tackling the LRPV recognises the difference between the Westrac & the Tennix ring mount roll cages.

Glad you're enjoying the scratch-building - do you have any pics of your builds?

More on Monday - I'm out of town atm.

Hi Greg - you can see my current project in the dio section - 1/35 truck fabrication shop. The building and many of the tools are from scratch - maybe of more interest to you tho are the MATV and Maxx Pro "Dash" suspensions - neither are of the precision you are demonstrating, but a real challenge to build. Following builds like yours is helpful in general
Cheers
Nick

Oh - hadn't made the connection there. I've checked your build out before. Really liked things like the stencilling on the armour plate and the workshop tools. Very nicely finished. Good endurance on the build too.

Greg

Brilliant scratch building a man after my own heart ,,on my list todo in 1/35 scale.
Terry

Thanks Terry. I'm enjoying this build - looking forward to closing up the tray & starting on the cabin & chassis.

After a short out-of-towner, back at the bench.

The first item of business was to cut down the jerry cross bar anchors. Then I started the upper row of forward facing anchors that are recessed at the top of the tray:



The 50 calibre machine gun is one of the few out of the box items (Tamiya) in this build - albeit modified from the Heavy Barrel (HB) configuration to Quick Change Barrel (QCB). The original 50 cal HB had a screw-in barrel that required 'gauging' for what is termed headspace (the relationship between the bolt, barrel extension & chamber) and timing (cyclic rate of fire). The QCB meant that a barrel change was quicker and easier, with less chance if things going 'bang' - or not - when they weren't supposed to.

To make things a little confusing, there are two types of QCB 50 cal machine guns: the one by FN and the Picatinny Arsenal-developed M2A1. The FN QCB is the one used by the Australian Army, from around 1997. I'm yet to do the QCB handle on the gun.

Edit: the external difference between the FN & Picatinny gun is that the M2A1 has a L shaped key way cut through the receiver extension (the perforated sleeve) for alignment purposes, whereas the FN doesn't.



More, later.

Really enjoying this,,,
Question for you sir.
The wheels on the truck are they bigger tyres than 750/16 on 16 inch rims.
Are the tyres bigger and the rims
Cheers
Terry

Time to tidy up the back of the tray. Some additional holes were drilled, with the holes on the wider 'base' of the tray then riveted with 0.7mm drilled rivets.

The anchor points for the upper cross bars were finished off, less their rivets.

The diagonal strap that anchors the tail gate stay was added to both sides. They'll be drilled later.



The spare ammunition liner holder location was plotted and cemented. There are six bolts that attach the rack to the wall were plotted and drilled through. Some have been 'bolted' using scalehardware 0.7mm simulated hex nuts.



The relocation of the rack necessitated doublers being fitted to the tray wall via the LHS spare wheel stowage. These are yet to be added.



Probably another two session's worth of work until the LHS tray wall is sorted. The RHS is complicated by the addition of a radio.

Nice job, did you get my message mate,.
Terry

Bit of a mixed bag today.

First can off the rank was finishing 'bolting' the spare ammunition liner stowage rack to the LHS and detailing the mount bolts on the inside of the LHS spare wheel stowage well.

Bolted:



(A bit of a finger print to clean up there..). LHS spare wheel stowage bolts & doubler:



Next up was riveting the upper jerry can stowage bar anchors:



Once that was done, I turned my attention to the LHS rear of the vehicle. I used 2mm channel to simulate the rubber bumper that runs along the rear of the vehicle. Two 0.7mm rivets were added to pre-drilled 0.5mm holes. The gap in the rubber bumper is a modification to accommodate an additional antennae mount on the LHS rear of the truck:



Time for a quick fit check with the tray floor:



Looking good (IMO).

The LHS tray wall is now about 95% complete. Almost time to shift fires to the RHS and do a dwell there for a bit. Thanks for watching.

Only the one regarding the wheels - you didn't get my response?

Greg

Was asking about tyre / wheel size. I'm getting some done . Are they 7.50 /16 on 16 inch rims.
Terry

After a rush of blood to the head, I primed the LHS tray wall with Tamiya surface primer. Before wiping it down to remove dust, debris & swarf. Oops.

Anyway, a few flaws revealed themselves, but nothing fatal.



In the background of some of the pics taken to date show some fuel jerry cans. I used Tamiya's 'WWII Wehrmacht tank crewman - Afrika Corps' to furnish its 20 litre water jerry.



I've got to do a little more work to Australianise it, but most of the German markings won't be visible. As a side note, it seems that fuel was mainly stowed along the RHS, nearest the fuel fillers. As there's only one recess for a jerry on the RHS, the rest of the fuel jerrys may be more visible than I anticipated.

Thanks for looking.

Terry,

They are on a 16 inch rim, but I'll have to dig up my references from the other computer regarding the tyre itself.

Greg

After a little analysis, I realised I could join the tray floor & front wall with the LHS tray wall. I was worried about the conduit connects on the floor in the forward left corner & paint under the spare ammunition liner stowage rack, but a test fit revealed I'd have enough room to work after joining.

The floor & wall were clamped together, checked for square, adjusted then glued.



There's a little work to be done on the underside of the tray floor at the join, but nothing too taxing.



Now that the two parts are joined, work will be focused on the front cabin wall (the front surface of the tray front wall), finishing the RHS tray wall and building the tray floor battery box.

The stability I was seeking with the gluing of the floor & wall was achieved at the front of the tray die to the front wall & spare wheel stowage, but not so much at the back.

In order to rectify the instability, I attached the lower structural member at the tray. For this I used Evergreen 3.2 x 6.4 mm rectangular tubing cut to length. Test fitting revealed that the cut away for the under flooring of plain styrene sheet was 0.75 mm too much. That left too much of an overhang of the chequer plate styrene flooring (the brown).

So, a strip of 0.75 x 0.75 mm strip filled the gap and the rectangular tubing was glued on, left to get tacky and clamped when firming up.



Care was taken to ensure that the tubing was square in all axes and that it was attached along the length of the floor and the rear outer skin of the tray. A quick test fit with the tailgate revealed all was tracking as intended.

Before finishing off the RHS (procrastinate, much?), I decided to square off the upper part of the front of the LHS tray that forms part of the back wall of the driver's & commander's cabin.

The otherwise flat wall is complicated by the intrusion of the spare wheel stowage and the hoop of reinforcing. I cut a square of styrene to shape and fettled & chamfered it until it fit. Checked square & glued it:



The junction of the floor & tray wall wasn't as neat as I intended, so I used a chisel (a moment of silence for Mission Models) to square the join before adding a length of 0.75 x 2 mm stock. The join of the rear tray structural member was reinforced by a length of 1.5 mm angle stock.

Once that was all sorted, I fabricated the tray floor stowage bin. This bin started life as another stowage locker. As the truck evolved and more equipment was added, it was realised that the original 12 volt system wasn't going to cut the mustard. A decision to add additional batteries & convert the vehicle to a 24 volt electrical system was made. This was complicated by the limited space for the additional batteries & the like. The aforementioned floor stowage bin was commandeered for the purpose.



What is surprising is how far it protrudes downward, below the floor line:



Only rough for now. I'll clean it up when it's all firmed up. Small confession: the structural members on the underside of the floor should intersect with the structural members in the wheel wells. The ones in the wheel wells are correct - but the mismatch will be hidden by a layer of appliqué....that covers the correct bit. Bugger.

Not much time to build this morning - a day trip interstate took care of that.

So, a couple of overall progress shots of the assembled tray with the tailgate fitted. The RHS is dry fitted, but as the lower tray structural member is too long by 1.25mm, the fit at the rear is a little off. Plenty of time to fix it before fixing it.

LHS elevated view:



RHS front three-quarter elevated view:



RHS rear three-quarter view:



The whole assembly looks a little out of proportion right now as it's missing some height at the rear and the whole front cabin & bonnet (is that the hood in the US?).

Nice to see everything is on track, but like any defence project, a little behind schedule....

Taking shape nicely... Keep it up.

Mario

Thanks Mario - it's a long road.

Greg

and a few million over budget?

good work just the same. I've had to put my building on hold as i'm unemployed at the moment, so it's all going slow.

Hi Greg - this is really shaping up nicely. I've got to say, the level of detail and precision you're achieving is really remarkable (read: wow!!!) I haven't followed a build of a truck (vs other armor) at this scale before - good stuff

Already looking forward to your next post

Cheers
Nick

That sucks about work, Matt. Good luck with the job hunt. I wish I had the few million to spare to be over budget... It's not a 'project of concern' yet.




Thanks Nick, glad you're impressed. I'm concerned that my painting may not be up to snuff and would welcome any tips you may have.


I decided to add the placard holders to the tailgate next. These 9.5 x 8.5 mm rectangles were cut from 0.15mm styrene. In real life, these holders have depressions pushed into them to give some stand off from the mounting surface to reduce the chance of corrosion from water build up.

To simulate the standoff, .048" holes were punched in the placard holders, with .058" discs glued over the holes.





These were then glued to the outside of the tailgate. Once glued, thin lengths of 0.15 styrene with a chamfered edge were glued along the sides & bottom to simulate the bent over metal.



The centre of the depressions was then drilled & 0.7 mm T2M drilled rivets added. Looks a bit how's your father but so does the real thing...



I'll clean it up when it's all dry.

After a couple of trips for work, it's another mixed bag today.

The tray floor battery box is accessed by two outward-opening doors, each with an inset piano hinge, installed via 8 rivets a side. Time of the T2M 0.7mm drilled hinges again (I should buy shares). I have about a 15% wastage rate on the rivets - they are tiny & I'm ham-fisted. In this case, this is an expensive resource.



Next on the agenda is the sound-deadening medium added to the jerry can stowage wells. To simulate this, I used Tamiya diorama texture paint 'pavement effect light gray (sic)' dabbed on with a cut down 20 cent brush:



Nice to be back at it, may try to make some big steps this weekend.