Higuys.
I have no idea were this went in the last hour I put this in.
Anyway ,this is the Italeri gun truck.Good kit.but the insructions are horrible.Parts are called out on the wrong sprues and parts are not numbered correctly.

Tom

Sorry I didn't mention it's the HEMETT.
Painted the base on the interior.Cut the hole for the roof gun,should have been an option I think on the kit.Also with the truck bed,cutting should have been an other option for the open panel with extra parts.
Tom

Nice start, I have one of these, are the instructions really that bad?

It's looking good so far though....

Hi guys,

I've made 4 four these Italeri trucks ( M-977, M-977 EPP II, M-983 and M-1120 LHS )
The last 3 ones are scrath, but the instuctions for all are very clear to me !!
Never had any problems with them.

Gé Hovens

Nice work so far!

I want to get one too after I finish the BM-21 Grad.





Jeff

Hey Paul,
The instuctions themselves are not bad,it's the labeling of parts that's the problem.Again,wrong sprues and wrong lettering.ie:say 43E called out on a step when that part has already been used.Luckily with the kit it's not hard to find the part you really need.Just a minor pain in the butt.Nothing to worry about.I'm keeping track of them and I can PM them to you when I'm finished if you like,save some of your time.All the suspension goes together quite well which is nice because that's my least liked part of a build.Going to give a base coat and work on the cab tonight.Update tomorrow.

Tom

Hi guys.
Back with an update.This is turning out to be much more involved than I thought.It's going together quite well.Wasted to much time trying to get the truck bed to fit.
My stupid mistake.Did't realize the rails could be cut on both sides.Here's were you have to follow the instructions.I was looking at the box art and it's open on the feul tank side.Little did I know I made it on the other side.One thing I would suggest is glueing the rails it's sits on to the bed itself first.It's very hard to see the fit if you do it before. .
The cabin is very basic.No radio or detail.Gino?Maybe you can help on this.Found nothing on searches for the interior.
Also the cabin gun opening on the roof.They have the option of it open or closed,but one looks like a tarp.Should this go to the side??Or is just a tarp covering ?

Tom .

Sorry there were more.Photobucket is starting to be a pain.

Looks like it is coming along nicely. One correction though. The cab interior is not seafaom green though, it is a dark green.

God those kit wheels are horrible......

Hi all,
Back again.Coming along nicely.Added some stuff to the cab and screen to the grill.Decals applied.Won't bore you with a lot of details.Turkey coming soon.For those of you that celebrate Easter a happy one to you.
Tom

Tom, the build looks great nice work.

Hi Guys and thanks Roy.
So after a week,I'm very near the end of the build.Some small paint touches to do.Have to finish the weapons, add the rear view mirrors and drop down leaf of the bed.I kept breaking it off when picking it up to move.That's the reason I've learned in my case to always leave the rear view mirrors to last.Also haven't added the drivers door for the same reason.Still had fit problems and poor instructions.G.Houle,over at the extreme truck campaign wraps the build up quite well.
I will probably add some shelving to the bed area.
By the way Gino.Thanks for the photo,but I was too far into the cab to change the color.

Tom

I am considering this build done.
Still have jerry cans and some other accessories to add.Some small amounts of paint still to do.I'm going to pass on the supplied backpacks.They seem to be terribly oversized even for a Marine to carry.Added a shelf in the corner and 2 dropdown seats.Need to find some suitable figures to add and do the weathering.Also fix those terrible sink holes in the mirrors.

Tom

It looks pretty good when done... I was thinking about what one could fill the back area with in terms of load.. or did the crew prefer to keep it clear so they can move around freely?

One question.. why did you paint the 50 cals silver? I always thought they're supposed to be black

Hisham

Hi Hisham,good to hear from you.
I'm going to add some more stowage,but I was thinking the same as you,that they probably kept things fairly uncluttered to move around freely.I'll keep most of it to the sides of the bed.
Your right about the guns.I use Tamiya gun metal ,which lately seems to be hit and miss.Usually dries very dark,but lately turns out more of a silver.Tried to tone it down with some black wash and pencil lead,but it does still looks silver.Thanks for pointing it out.I was wondering if anyone would think it looked odd.I'll redo in black and add the pencil highlights.Pretty easy fix.

Tom

Hi all,
Can't seem to get away from this.
Repainted the guns,don't understand why Tamiya gun metal turns out so silver?Hasn't in the past and I mixed it very well.Added stowage and some figures.The figures are a real mix of Dragon,Tamiya,Trumpeter , resin heads and parts from my body parts box.Small amount of weathering.Have to put it on the shelf and get back to it later.Time to take a break.Sorry about the bad pics.This photo box doesn't seem to be working for me.Weathers getting much better and can take some outside soon.

Tom .

Guns look better now.. and I always feel that a model looks ten times better with figures

Something you can use better than gunmetal paint.. is painting the gun flat black, then using either gunmetal powder (like MIG's) or some lead pencil shavings and putting it on the tips of your fingers and then lightly "smearing" the gin with it.. it gives it that worn out look around the edges.. plus a slight metallic sheen

Hisham