Hi Matt - - good to hear from you - its been a while...I was wondering what you've been up to - yes...I'm building stuff...


Hi Bill, thanks for the comment. As much as the PE drives me crazy, in a weird way the challenge is sort of fun!

Ok, no fancy outdoor pics today, but I'm calling the M1083 about done. I added more cargo and worked through the weathering. I took some normal indoor photos, please take a look:





















and, sorry to say, of course I forgot to add the two most distinctive markings on the truck..good job me, so, I added them:





So, this one is more or less done - but, not completely, it's getting a trailer too - the report I read specifically notes the 5 ton truck had a trailer, so I'm building one of those too.

Thanks for checking it out

Nick

OK,that is one huge pile of awesome there dude.
J

Jerry - yes, it's a build! It's heavy (heavier than a typical build that is) and difficult to lift without breaking things off! If I'm not careful, some of the "awesomeness" will wind up on the floor, lost forever in the carpet!

thanks!

Nick

That is why I like to model paratroopers. Travel light,freeze at night.
J

Beautiful build! The amount of details is stunning.

Looking forward to see more.

Hi Jesper - thanks for the positive words. This has a way to go still, so hopefully it all looks like it "belongs" together. If time allows, I'm going to get going on the trailer in the next few days. I accidentally purchased two sets of the voyager parts for the truck (two separate orders?!? Evidently forgot about the first set...) so, I'm hoping the parts from the trailer and voyager can be used together. Ideally the level of detail on the trailer is close to the truck. Thanks again for checking in -

Cheers

Nick

It looks really nice. One thing I see though. The fuel cans on the right side in the bed look to only have 2-bar handles. all US fuel cans have 3-bar handles.

Hi Gino - thanks. You know, I wondered about that....they'll be fixed. I'll shoot a hole in the spout side and add some .015" wire. I wonder why they came that way? There were no extra parts to add? In general, the Blackdog kit is just OK. Many of the parts are a bit like those containers - either not quite right, or poorly cast.

Anyway, I'll fix them - thanks!


Nick

Awesomeness and a trailer ... can't wait to see it! The fuel can handle issue might slow you down just a wee bit ...
then again ... probably not!

Cheers!

—mike

Slow me down? Mike, come on! well, yes, it did slow me a bit, but I did take the problem on, and fix it:







And there you have it! drill a hole in each can, insert and bend wire, refine the bend, cut, and paint. A bit tedious, but not impossible...no, not perfect, but now that they're painted, they look pretty good.

Next - the trailer. This was not as easy to build as I guessed it would be. I decided early on that it needs to look the part - at least as complex as the truck dragging it along. From then on, fiddly cuts, brake lines, some scratch built elements, some fragile photo etch, and now it's ready for paint. Please take a look:







Now, on to paint, detail, weather!

Thanks for having a look

Nick

That sure is a very involved trailer all right!
J

See! ... didn't slow the man down one bit!

Looks awesome!!!

—mike

I sure hope this one is going to end up as an Armorama Feature!!

Wow, Nick!

This model looks awesome. It looks like I could just jump in and go with all the gear, ammo, food, and fuel I would need for a while. You've done an awesome job with all of the small details and you have done all of this in a relatively short period of time.

Great work. Can't wait to see the completed project.

Cheers,
James

Hi guys - thanks for the comments 😀

Jerry, you'd laugh, this trailer turned out to be A LOT of work!! Not a bad kit at all, instead my self imposed level of complexity!! - awkward, slow going contruction!

Hey Mike - yeah, about those handles....! Maybe if you couldn't "really" see them I'd let them slip - but, Gino (maybe others too?) spotted it a mile away....so, they had to be fixed! I need to be sure and do the same for those on the trailer!

Hi Bill, thanks for the support! Who knows? This is going to take a while to wrap up! Lets see if can avoid getting lazy through the whole build!! If so, you bet!

Hi James, thanks! And for dropping by. This has been sort of an odd build - in that, the "cycle" (phases?) of the build have been going back and forth between somewhat chunky tasks, and tedious complex tasks! After each, the model gets increasingly difficult to handle without causing damage!! Thankfully the truck is done. I think my next opportunity for damage will come when I attach the trailer, along with air and power lines! Perfect

I'm working on the trailer this weekend, you know, paint, weather, gear.

Next are three big phases - the GMVs, the figures, and eventually the dio -
So, a long way to go

Thanks for the comments guys
Cheers
Nick

Hello

Finally an update - I have been working on this, but work etc has been pretty hectic, so it's taken some time to update. First, the trailer is more or less done - please see below - it's temporarily attached to the truck, but ultimately will be "formally" attached with air lines etc - that's to fragile for now though.

Please have a look:













And there you have it - so far so good. I'm glad the two more or less look like they belong together - that is weathering etc -

So, with that done, up come some GMVs. Turns out our friends at BNA Model World were having a sale on Academy M1025s....not expensive at all, so I ordered a few of them. The goal is to have them getting resupplied by the truck. Another goal is to do mostly scratch work for the conversions, and not order lots of stuff - each truck will require plenty already.

A realization is that while I want these to look good, I'm not of the impression that they will be as full on as the remarkable work Mario is doing right now - heck, there will be three of them! In any event, I'm hoping they look better than "good" when I'm done!

Please have a look, and guess what will be going on with this truck:








So, you can see a long way to go still - and, yes, I'm tackling several tasks at once - who knows why - but, that's the story -

thanks for checking it out!

cheers
NIck

That is really awesome work right there dude! Love the cargo and that tarp hangin on the back is super. Scratchbuilt?
J

looking good!

Fantastic work!

Hi Jerry - thanks - I'm glad you noticed, and like that tarp! It's not scratchbuilt - I lucked out with the straps lining up the way they do on the tailgate. It was a resin casting, with a really chunky base. I carved the heck out of it to get the sagged look. I cut through the areas between the straps in a curve to emphasize the look of the sag. Now, back with styrene on the GMV - but, will be out for the weekend, so this will need to wait a few days.

Hi Marcos, thanks for the comment! This build will take a while!

Hi Jesper, thanks for sticking with me on this build!! As you no doubt know, some of this can be pretty slow going, but, it's getting there. I guess the trick will be to keep the level of work where it's set, and not get lazy!

Ok, thanks for having a look and enjoy the weekend!
Nick

Hi Nick, The GRV and trailer combo looks awesome ... and all that luggage!

Just curious ... is the turning radius between the truck/trailer hindered at all by the double-stacked spares on the rear of the truck?

Keep up the fantastic work!

—mike

Hi Mike - or should I say eagle eye! You know, I wondered about that too! The tongue on the trailer is pretty long - the distance between to two stacked tires and the trailer is about 30" - after reading your post, I checked! My guess is that you could turn (even over rough terrain) pretty easily - what you could not do as easily is either a sharp u turn, or sharp mauevers in general! I suppose if you did either in a hurry, which seems reasonable, that trailer/spare tire combo would get the crunch!

Have a good weekend and thanks for dropping by!
Nick

Hi guys -- only a quick update today, and sorry to say, with out the door, on the way to work photos - also, have no idea why many of the pics from the post have disappeared, but, my guess is I'm not unique, and somebody is checking it out -

Anyway, more work on the Academy GMV WIP - this is an interesting little build - the (very inexpensive) kit has three sprues - and goes together in no time at all; essentially the opposite of the more elaborate Bronco kits...there clearly is a difference between the two!! So, to make up for this, I'm adding some scratch and some aftermarket parts - so far, so good - please take a look:













OK - so, yes, there's something wrong with the gallery -- but, I want to post anyway - sorry then about the mini-pics - I'm posting anyway - have a look!

thanks

NIck

No problem about the pic Nick.

BTW, your truck+trailer looks perfect. Now I'm thinking about buy the LMTV (armor cab) and a trailer, just to try to build something close to what you did.

Cheers!

Marco

Hi Marco, thanks, and glad you like the truck! I have to say, I think it looks better than I had hoped! I think you'll have fun with the build! Your work is so nice, I'm sure it will turn out great!

As for the pics, well, you do what you can! The build is coming along pretty well. About two years ago I purchased a variety of Robert Skipper's images - I've used them on a variety of builds including this. What you can't see in the pics is some nice detail on the turret hatch. Nothing over the top, but enough to enhance the relatively modest parts in the kit.

Here's hoping for better luck on the next post with technology!
Cheers
Nick