Finally a new project on the bench... a GMV (Ground Mobility Vehicle) or a Humvee adapted for US Special Forces: heavier suspension, Super Swamper wheels, more powerful engine, open bed for improved storage/access, winch, extra comms gear, etc. My plan is to build something like this:



The early GMVs were M1025 based vehicles, so I opted for Tamiya kit, a real beauty in 1/35 scale. I bought SF Humvee conversion from Black Dog, as it has loads of gear stowed on cargo bed, which I thought was cool.



I also got GMV conversion from Legend Productions, and my plan is to combine the two for my build.



I will be adding number of small bits and pieces to the vehicle as well... Pro Art communication sets, Live Resin weapons, some extra stowage, etc.

And all this just because I liked SF figures from Evolution so much that I wanted to give them a proper setting.



So much for opening the topic. I have been busy with the build and I will show some progress in my next post soon.

Mario

I have both the Black dog and Legends conversions they are not bad at all..... I am however going to swap the weapons for Live Resin only because they are a little crisper in detail nice one mate look forward to seeing the build

Quite some work on the big Black Dog resin chunk going into the cargo bay:







Several attempts to heat the part in the owen to straighten it failed and I decided to perform a major surgery. I didn't like some of the parts anyway and welcomed the oportunity to redo them. Here's how I did the cut:





Although it seems like I didn't do much, cutting the part was a lot of work. I also had to spend a lot of extra jerry cans and ammo boxes, but the whole setup is now completely straight.





I added Legend pieces to the cargo bay, used some Masterclub bolts:





and have a great fit of the Black Dog part:





There is still some putty work to be done, but I'm happy with the work so far.

Mario

Mario I've recently purchased the Legend conversion kit and Tamiya kit as well. Just waiting to finish my current project. I'll be following your build. Thanks for the pictures and info!

Hi Mario - glad to see you're posting this. I've wondered about each of the kits you're working with! And, I really like those trucks! Keep posting!

Cheers
Nick

Great start again Bro. My eyes on this built.

Ditto, will be watching this one with interest!

Pity about the black dog stuff.

Anyone said kitbash? You got my attention!

Beautiful work so far.

Cheers,

Christophe

There are some really cool pieces in the Black Dog conversion. However, Legend is superior and more accurate of the two and most of the parts for this build will definitely by from Legend...

Thanks for following guys! I have been really looking forward to starting this project...

Mario

Some progress... I had to cut some more of the Black Dog piece as it doesn't fit well with the gunner's platform. I also had to improvize some sort of a ammo can holder as the Black Dog piece doesn't touch the Humvee floor. Hopefully now I'm finished with the cutting and fitting, and can turn to putty work to fill the gaps I made in the process.

I did some more work on the cabin, installing several pieces of the Legend set. I'm not done dry fitting Legend seats, these also have to be cut in places to get the optimal fit.

Altogether it doesn't seem like much. It is a slow process.









Mario

Mario, great model on it's way

This huge stowage block looks nice, after painting it'll be an eye-catcher... But I don't think it's the best idea for GMV. I've never seen so loaded Humvee. There is no place for third crewman, there is no way to use a rear machine gun. And in ODA units there were different way to trtansport all such gear - M1078 Warpigs used as 'motherships'. Of course it's only my point of view, and the model is Yours Don't keep us waiting for updates too long

I have the same issues with the Black Dog conversion kit and have steadily ground and cut much of it away and I am still not happy with it so it is now sitting in a box marked 'maybe another day'.

Your right, the Legend product (conversion) has a much better fit so that may persuade me to pick it back up at some point.

I know Black Dog has to try (I hope) their items before putting them out in the market place, so why doesn't it just slip in place, with a little adjustment?

Nice work so far, keep the updates coming.

Keith.

Great update. Looks like a good amount of work has to go into using the Black Dog kit. Its coming out great!

Hi Mario,

This build looks great, its going to look amazing when finshed. Never mind SF, with that much gear in the back it could be Santa's GMV! Shame about BlackDog, after seeing their TAR-21 TAVOR guns i thought some looked a little bent or wonky looking so didnt buy them. Evolutions SF figures look awesome, how do you rate them? I might end up getting some if Live Resin dont make some.

Cheers, Bob

Thanks for the comments guys.

Kuba, I know you are a master for Humvees and have a lot of info on different variants. This is a photo from your photobucket account, sorry for hijacking it, but it shows a super-loaded vehicle:



I also think Black Dog overdid the cargo load, but I'm doing all the extra work with Black Dog piece just because it looks cool and I like vehicles with lots of stowage...

Bob, I actually did a full review of the Evolution figures for Armorama: link

Mario

I know this or that about Humvees, but a master? No, I don't think so. But thanks
This vehicle at photo above looks like fully loaded, but remember, that it's only a one view. We cannot see the interior, and I'm pretty sure, that this guy standing in the weapons ring has it's own seat empty at the back There is no gun visible at the back, so yes - the rear part of this Humvee could be super-loaded. Your point of view:


is ok for me The paint job on this stowage will be a gereat fun for You

Great work, Mario! The Black Dog accessory set really adds a realistic feel and also lots of "eye candy" to your GMV. Despite the fit problems, it looks good and seems worth the effort.

Thank you for the link, great review! For hand sculpted figures they are amazing! The close up pictures on the Historicus Forma review show the tiny details well too. The cool vignette made them almost look real. They are going to look awesome with this GMV.

Cheers, Bob

Hello Mario!

Great to see you building this vehicle, and using both the Legend and Blackdog sets so they can be compared.

Very nice work so far, will definitely be following this one :-)

Thank you all.

One question for those following this build... are you receiving any kind of notification when the new post in this topic is made?

Mario

Me - not. But I didn't 'subscribe' this thread.

I did subscribe.... no notifications

I am subscribed and am getting new posts notifications.

I'll have to see why the notifications are not coming through to some of you. Thanks for the responses guys.

Mario

Bro. I am also following this topic but no notifications till now.