For my growing collection of white UN vehicles I need a proper 155mm AMX30 Au-F1 TA ... so let's start with this one.

From 2006 to 2011 french AMX30 AU-F1 TA were deployed to lebanon supporting the UNIFIL/FINUL mission. When HobbyBoss released their new AMX30 Au-F1 Kit No. 83834 I thought I could do a nice OOB build to get this model done.
After some research I found out that the Hobbyboss Kit is quite not accurate enough to represent a vehicle deployed to lebanon (the "TA" version of the AMX30 Au-F1 was used there).

Especially the lower hull has some important differences, because the hull from the AMX30 B2 was used for the TA-version. So I decided to use the lower hull from the Meng AMX30 B2 Kit. This one has the correct front layout and the correct layout of jerrycans and infanteryp-hone on the backside. Thus I have to do some other modifications to the hull which I will mention in the build blog. In this french forum you find a lot of in depht information to build a correct model of the diffrent AU-F1 versions http://france135.positifforum.com/t1055-amx-30-auf1-french-self-propelled-gun-meng-1-35-ref-ts-004-plastique-injecte-et-photodecoupe-revue-en-4-partie-1ere-partie

To point out some differences (details I can't use on the TA-version marked with red X) ... on the left side the HobbyBoss hull and on the right side the meng hull:


(Images source: voyagermodel.com) On the HobbyBoss front hull: wrong hatches, wrong armoured headlights, wrong fire extinguisher postions, wrong hull shape, missing step for the driver etc.


(Images source: voyagermodel.com) On the HobbyBoss hull: wrong jerrycan positions, wrong infantery phone position, missing lights, wrong shape of the cover above the exhaust silencer etc.

Now you can see why the Meng hull is my favorite choice-

For my build I will also use a turned metal barrel from RBModel (No. 35B129), AMX 30 whitemetal tracks from Friul (ATL-144), AMX30 B2 PESet from Voyager (PE 35730) and crew figures from Blast Models.

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So I started with the Meng hull.
Take care to use the right sprocket for the duck-style-type track (Firul ATL-144)! You need part A47 and A50. They are on the spure but not mentioned in the instructions.



I had also the AMX-30B2 workable plastic tracks from HobbyBoss available, but I went for the Friul metal tracks.





Both fitting good around the Meng sprocket.

HobbyBoss track:


Friul track:




The HobbyBoss tracks are "clickable" but very fragile ... the Friul tracks are a lot more stable and robust for my weathering treatment ;-).



Copsticks from an asia fast food restaurant can help you assembling the tricky duck-bill end connectors of the amx30 tracks. I made a litte jig and the alignment, drilling and glueing was a lot easier.



Be careful not to cut into the duck bill ends when cutting of the wire ;-)



Securing with a drop of CA glue.



After assembling the tracks I glued all the roadwheels and cut some pieces from the rubber to achieve a more worn look.




The Meng chassis and suspension is nice detailed and also fitted with some kind of working torsion bar suspension. Easy to fit in any diorama groundwork.



But I was a little bit concerned about the stability .....





... so I glued a strip of evergreen over the torsion bars for safety reason ;-)



I used the Hobbyboss part for the bilge pume box and added some cover on the underside.
Take a look at the underside of the hull ... stunning oops-video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW7XAljm8lk


Bild Quelle: www.photobucket.com User: zurich2rd Album Au F1 40RA



After quite some hours the tracks and undercarriage is finished and the track tension looks quite ok.




Next step is to kitbash the Meng AMX30 B2 hull and the Hobbyboss AMX30 Au-F1 turret.
I cut off the swivel from the Meng AMX30B2 turret and glued it into the turret underside of the Hobbyboss turret.



yep ... now it fits ;-)



The AMX30 Au-F1 TA version is fitted with an additional elevation ring, thus the turret underside doesn't scratch over the AMX30B2 engine deck.
To achieve this in my model I glued evergreen strips in circular shape.






Yep, looks good ... no scratching on the engine deck ...





Here you can see the elevation ring on the original TA version in the background:


(c) Image in the background from Julie Ludmann from www.model-miniature.com


In the next update we will tackle some more details on the hull.
Happy modelling
Walter

Great start Walter. I will follow this with interest.

Olivier

Good to have you here Olivier, I hope you won't be dissapointed with this build ;-)
Your website is a great ressource for my build.

Cheers
Walter

Here comes part two of the build.
On fotos from the real thing you notice accessories bags on both hull sides. They are not in any of the kits included so I made them from green stuff, tamiya tape and some pe-fasteners from black dog.



Anti skid pattern on hull and hatches were sprayed with Duplicolor Terracotta Spray right from the rattle can. The structured color matches the grit size fairy well and is quite robust.



Until now I was very impressed with the quality and detail of the Meng AMX30B2 hull. But I was disappointed when I put the top and lower half of the hull together. A huge gap remained there and has to taken care. I filled it with home made dissolved plastic putty (put some pieces from sprue into some tamiya extra thin cement and let dissolve). This putty dries very fast, has no shrinking and gets sanded very smooth.



Meng made a bad design with both mudpanels on the front. Here a seam appears and has to be filled and sanded ....





Another area shows gaps after glueing together ... this time filled with Magic Sculpt and textured to shape as a weld seam.



But Meng gives us nice Tools to choice from ... with or without mount fittings molded on. It is worth to examinate every sprue because this detail isn't mentioned in the instructions. That means nice supply for your spare box ;-)



Missing locks on the Meng hull were taken from the HobbyBoss hull (part B3).



Mud Flaps on the Meng hulls rear aren't quite correct, so I used parts G26 and G25, PE from the Hobbyboss kit an some 0.5mm Plastic Sheet.



Both kits have wrong shape of the cover (step plate)above the exhaust silencer. Fotos from real AMX30 Au-F1 TA versions show this step plate formed lika a ridged roof. I used some metal foil, cut it into the correct size and bend it in shape. The grating underneath is from the Voyager PE Set. Some details were added with evergreen strips and small rivets punched out with a punch and die set.

Missing wiring for the infantery phone box was added using thin lead wire from Plusmodel.



The pe-mount for the fire extinguisher stays empty, as seen on some reference pictures. All these parts on the hulls rear will stay seperated until final painting stage. The PE engine grille is from Meng AMX30B2 kit






Lets take our attention to the hull front.
Meng has no wiring for the headlights included. Thats good, so you don't need to sand away any wrong cables ;-)
For the wiring I like to use lead wire in different diameters from Plusmodel. They bend very easy and stay in position without springing back.



Small holes were drilled into the lights, horn etc. then the cables are glued into the holes and after that the parts are glued into position.



Headlights reflector are painted silver. The clear parts are glued wit Contacta Clear from Revell ... this glue is very milky at the beginning but it dries total clear.



Both fire extinguisher had ugly seams and sanding was required. The nozzles were cut off and pointed outwards as seen on some reference images.



Drivers periscopes aren't molded transparent so I painted them first with a layer of Citadel Mithril Silver and then with a layer of translucent mixture of Model Color 936 Green and Panzer Aces 309 Periscope Blue. Finally it was overcoated with a thin layer of Hobby Color Smoke Grey to reduce the green shine of my mixture.
After painting the periscopes are protected with Tamiya Tape.





A nice detail can be found on the drivers side of the front hull ... a step ... which helps the driver to enter the vehicle! That shows us ... tankers came from cavalry ;-)
Meng doesn't mention this in their instructions but you can find the parts on the PE fret (PE 8, 9, 10).


(Copyright Screenshot in background: Olivier Carneau @ http://olivier.carneau.free.fr/photoengins/france/famille_amx30/auf1_ta/index.htm)

I slightly improved the funny pe step with an old 1/72 tow cable, some hexagonal rivets ()made with the RP Toolz Punch & Die) and some patience (not onthe image ;-).



Finally hatches and tow cable are temp. fitted and the hull front for the AMX30 Au-F1 TA is complete.




Happy modelling and have fun.
Walter

That's a fast build Walter !!!
Concerning the bracket on the rear, it is no for an extinguisher but a NBC decontamination bottle. So no need to put one on your Au-F1 in Lebanon.

Olivier

Looking good. I built this using Meng´s Au-F1 and AMX-30B2 kits. I wouldn´t be surprised if Meng releases Au-F1 TA version in the future.

very nice kit. I built an AUF1 from Meng recently but not with your level of details: congrats.

waiting for the next steps

Great build so far, really impressive. It's a bit of a shame that you have to do such modifications to have proper details to such recent kits; I thought that meng kits were flawless, or near perfect.. Lots of useful tips and tricks that I can learn by following your work, thanks for sharing !

Cheers !

Walter- I am so glad to see you working on another UN project- your work in the past has been awe inspiring from the scratch-building to the paint and weathering. Plus you always come up with some handy tips- like dissolving sprue to create putty- brilliant!
I have to commend you on the work so far- it is meticulous, as are the explanations of it. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this!

@Olivier ... Thank a lot for clarifying the use of the empty bracket. Didn't realize that this was for a NBC decontermination bottle!

@Veli-Matti ... I saw your build on Scalemates ... it turned out really great! I hope to achieve a similar result.

@VAB 75007 ... Thank you mate, next update will follow soon.

@Tom ... Sice I do modelling I haven´t yet seen a perfect kit, but thats ok for my because I`m the type of modeller who suffers from some kind of AMS and I like to add little details to every kit ;-) Great to read you find the tips useful for your own builds.

@Karl ... Thank you for your kind comment. The tip with dissolved sprue is not my own invention, it is fairly oldshool. But from time to time it helps to bring up some old know how, so they don`t get lost within all the fancy new products we can buy nowadays ;-)

Thank you all for stopping bye.
Cheers
Walter

I will follow your build Walter, great work!

I have a kitbash project for an AUF1 in Ex-Yougo but i thinks with all the kits i owns it will be for long a paper project.

great work Walter.

Impressive details.

So you are using both Meng and Hobbyboss kits to build one AUF1.

@stepane ... great to see you here Stephane, I hope you get inspired to build your kitbash version of the AMX30 AUF1.

@alex ... yes you are right. I use both kits ;-) I first bought the Hobbyboss kit. But when I found out what was wrong with the hull I opted to buy the Meng AMX30B2 kit for its correct hull.

Now we change the manufacturer and we complete the Hobbyboss kit No. 83834 AU-F1 SPH turret. This turret is in overall shape correct and also correct in many details (not all) for the TA-version.

Fitting is ... well, not the best ... some gaps on the underside appear and on the turret sides are some obvious sinkmarks.





Again, these sinkmarks are filled with the homemade polystyrol filler ...



... and sanded smooth.



The Hobbyboss turret shows four Tie Down Cleats (Footmanloops) for securing the baggage .. thats wrong, the original shows eight Tie Down Cleats. They are cut away and replaced with brass rod. Also the two footmanloops on the left ammo hatch.





The kits barrel is two part polystyrol, also the muzzle. Not bad but the metal barrel from RB-Model looks better. But it is thinner and did not fit well into the intake ...





... correcting this is simple ... just wrap the barrel with Tamiya Tape until it fits smoothly into the intake.



Now it fits perfect.



Some details on the cannon shield are added and a hole for the speed-indicator-cable is drilled.



On some images from the unifil/finul mission in lebanon we see AMX30 Au-F1s fitted with tarpaulins above the gun and stowage grille. To add this makes the white turret a little bit more interesting.

The turret is protected with wrapping film (from the kitchen), to prevent the 2-part-epoxy sticking to to the model. I used Magic Sculp for modelling the tarpaulin. After hardening it can be taken off the model and makes painted a lot easier.



The Magic Sculp is rolled into thin layer. Babypowder prevents from sticking on the glass surface.



It can be cut with a sharp hobby knife.



The putty is carefully rolled into the correct form, creases can be formed with a moistened brush (with IPA). Using rubber gloves prevent from making fingerprints.



Some more stowage on the back of the turret. After hardening it can be taken off the foil with no problems.



The underside is not completely flat and looks now like it has some weight ... nice.

Another nice little detail seen on some mission images ... some kind of speed-indicator/speedometer is mounted on the AMX's cannon. I don´t know the correct english term (in german I would say "v0-Messgerät" ;-) I used 0.3mm Evergreem sheet an 0.8mm brass tube to replicate this. Steel angles help to align all parts correct.





It took only three attempts to get it right ;-)


(c)Image in the background: http://www.defense.gouv.fr

Some more turret details are added.
Mount for the speedometer.



Hinge band on the stowage box was replaced and on the smoke greande discharger I added some pe-chains from Aber.





The two aerial bases are replaced by brass ones from the Voyager. Periscopes in commanders cupola are painted black.



The searchlight is cut and reglued in a folded down position.



Another details of the Hobbyboss which are completely wrong are the gun mounting (Lafette) and the inside of the two hatches. I found out that the parts from the MENG AMX30 AU-F1 TS-004 kit are very accurate and correct, but I didn´t want to crack my MENG kit for this details ... so I contacted MENG Customer service and they send me the complete sprue "K" from the Meng AMX30 AU-F1 Kit. It costs me 9 USD and shipping took 3 weeks from china to europe.
Thank you MENG ... that is great customer service!!



Hoobyboss parts are in sand color (wrong) ... MENG parts in green (correct), you can clearly see the difference.



The gun mounting for the cal.50 looks much better now!



Finally some UN-spraying masks are cut by myself with my Shiloutte Portrait cutter (I love this tool!). I used ORAMASK 810 foil for this.





Now most of the details are done and next steps will be painting and weathering

Thanks for watching and have fun!
Walter

Walter,
the muzzle speed-meter is called MIRADOP in French which means MIni RAdar DOPpler.

Thanks for the tip about the M2 ring mount. I too have the HB kit and will consider contacting Meng as well.

Olivier

Olivier, thank you for the information on the MIRADOP!

Contacting Meng was really easy. The E-Mail for ordering the sprue is: [email protected]
They provide you with all the information to get the sprue.

Cheers
Walter

I started spraying primer to the model parts. In the past I was extremely disappointed with all the new primers popping up everywhere. I tried quite a few of them and had badly peeling after sanding on the one, no good gripping on the other, coming of to bare plastic when removing masking tape and so on. So I returned to my trusty Tamiya Surfcae Primer Fine Spray. This alwasy woreked well with no matter ... also this time absolutely no problem.



My base color for UN white is Tamiya XF-2 white, tinted with some buff color. I never use pure white.





Accessories and bags are painted in different green tones.



Alclad and sponge chipping effects on the barrel cleaning sticks.



Tension belts are made from 1mm Micron Masking tape and painted wit Tam. XF-58. I used a small jig for painting.



In the first phase of deployment the undercarriage and the lower hull was not painted white .. it remained black. Later there were some modifications in paintings and markings and you can also see Au-F1s with white roadwheels.

I painted mine with Nato Black ... as my reference pictures show them black.



Self cutted painting masks and spraying the UN letters with Tamiya Nato Black neat from the bottle. Spraying neat helps prevent from color crawling under the masking foil.



My model will be painted as vehice with licence plate number UNIFIL 650. UN Markings can be found on the left fender, turret left and right side and on the turret back on the right side.



After the white base coat everything is sealed with a semi gloss coat acrylic paint (Hobby Color H 20 and 30 mixed).



Then all the masking tapes from lights and periscopes are removed. I want all these dusted and not crispy clear.



After the base coat some details are painted with different acrylic white tones. Highlighting with pure white does not work very well. It looks much better painting contrasts with darker colored details from wearing on the vehicle ... at least for me.





Next step is a wash with MIG Neutral Wash and SIN Filter P406 all over the model. Thess convenience products are really handy, but you have to shake them fairy often thus they seperate very quickly. But what I really dislike with all this stuff from MIG, AK and AMMO. They STINK to heaven. I don´t have a dedicated man cave and have to do modelling and painting in the flat. When I'm in the weathering stage the wife and the children are really disappointed and angry about my hobby!



After the filter I apply a pin / panelwash with darker tones (diluted Track Wash from AK).



Now first dust effects and streakings are painted with the same diluted Track Wash.





Then comes the chipping stage. I always like to do overall random chipping with the sponge technique and acrylic colors. At the moment it is exremely hot in our region so painting with acrylic colors can be a problem. They dry immediately.
Therefore I used a simple wet pallette ... this helps to keep the acrylic colors moistened.

Here you see my equipment for chipping. As a reference I used the 3 tone NATO color scheme for the correct chipping colors. Also a good reference picture helps a lot with this task ... special huge thanks to Olivier Carneau for his great website and the images http://olivier.carneau.free.fr !





The simple wet palette ... an old plastic box, a thin kitchen sponge (Wettex) moistened with water and a sheet of baking paper from the kitchen. The color stays fresh for hours.



Larger chips and scrapes are painted with a good small brush.



My problem with chipping .... it makes so much fun that it is hard to stop just in time ;-)

But the real AU-F1s show a lot of dust, wear and tear in the unifil mission.





Thanks for watching and happy modelling.
Walter

Looks really good Walter. Good tip for keeping the paint wet under hot weather !

Olivier

Incredible work Walter. The methods you use to bring a white UN vehicle to life are second to none. I think you are conveying the look of the real thing brilliantly. Bravo!

I must say I was really hooked, but you lost me at the chipping...

Great work on the tarp, and very interesting step by step, thanks.





Cheers,

Christophe

Thank you gents!

@Olivier ... hope the tip helps painting during summertime. For me it works great.

@Karl ... Aporeciate your comment Karl and I'm glad you like it.

@Christophe ... sorry for losing you at the chipping stage. Maybe I can catch you again with further painting steps ;-)

Working on the undercarriage and tracks.
I used different pigments to create mud/dust effects. They are applied dry and then fixed with some drops of enamel thinner / white spirit.
I wanted to achieve some reddish dust effects as I have seen sometimes in lebanon during my deployment there. The reddish color over white is not that easy because it can easy skip into a "pinkish" tone ;-)





Some wet effects on the lower hull are painted with enamel earth tones.





Then plenty of details - which were painted and weathered separately - were glued to the model.





The UNIFIL licence plate was printed on 160g paper, cut out, sealed with matt varnish and then chipped and weathered.



Accessories bags and towing cable are glued to the hull side.



Tools and towing cable on the hull front.



After that all the model was dusted with a heavily thinned red lebanon dust mix (Tamiya Hull Red and Tamiya Buff). I sprayed it on with the airbrush.



Also the turret ist dusted.



After dusting with airbrush I painted oil and grease stains on some roadwheels, jerrycans, fuel caps and exhaust. Also some wet effects were painted. Therefore I used ready product from MIG and Humbrol enamel clear.





I stumbled upon some old Calibre35 boot prints in my tools box and thought I give it a go with this model again.
I used the same pigment mix as for the tracks and lower hull. But this time I thinned the pigments with water. So I could remove the prints easily if I would not be happy with the effect.

But it looked nice to me, so I carefully printed the bootprints on the areas on the vehicle where the crew walks around.





Especially where the crew enters the vehicle a lot of footprints and mud effect can be seen on some reference images.





Finally I created some wearing effects to bare metal by carefully rubbing on a soft lead pencil.



At the very end the crew is painted with acrylic colors from Vallejo and Andrea color range.

I had some figure sets from Blast Models available. Because french artillerymen wear green overalls (seen on reference pictures from lebanon) I opted for the AMX30 Crew BL35196. Some gear is missing but I didn`t want to model this with putty. Heads were substituted by heads from BL 35080 and BL35079 because they have the correct type of hood.



The patches (UN and french flag) are decals. But they had to be treatened with Micro Set/Sol to lay smooth on tho the uniform.



The crew entered the vehicle, raised the blue UN flag and I glued the model on to it's finale base.

Here are some images from the finished model on its base:





















This interesting model was really fun to build. But due to the incomplete versions of all AMX30 Au-F1 kits available it was quite challenging to identify and replicate all correct details for the AMX30 AU-F1 TA-version.

I hope this build was interesting to watch and thank you all for stopping bye and your kind comments.

Happy modelling
Walter

Simply superb. I have the Hobby Boss kit plus their tracks, but I would not dare paint my AUF white.

Thanks for sharing your techniques too

Cheers, Nikos

Nice result with the weathering Walter. I think that the MIRADOP cable would not be plugged in the mantlet if the radar itself were not fitted in its bracket.

Olivier