I'm starting a build log to showcase an amazing model from Live Resin... their new Polaris MV850 ATV in 1/35 scale.

The photos and comments in this topic aim to show how to assemble (and possibly paint) the model. Hopefully this blog will result in a complete build review on Armorama soon.

Here are the first photos. The box:





The box is packed full. The kit contains 60 parts secured in two zip lock bags. Pieces are delivered in grey resin with the lenses cast in transparent resin (clear and red). The cast is perfect.

Here is the part layout:



The instructions are available on Live Resin website:





So far so good...

Mario

Looks like a quick build apart from cutting all the resin blocks off. Bringing it to life will be in the painting and more so adding a well painted figure on top. Looking forward to your build.

The level of details is very impressive:





Sharp and wonderfully delivered in scale. The cast is perfect, the resin of higherst quality. That's the standard we learned to expect from Live Resin.

Here are some of the main pieces cleaned and ready for assembly:



Cleanup is pretty easy and straightforward. Take your time and don't rush it, as casting blocks could snap and damage the part you are cleaning.

Mario

Two main pieces glued together:





Two locating pins help in aligning the pieces correctly. As you can see, there are some gaps visible between the pieces, but super intelligent engineering from Live Resin made sure almost none of these are visible on the finished model. I did some putty work on the places indicated by arrows... this will be the only visible spot after the model is assembled.



I did some test fitting of the seat to find the optimal alignment, then glued it on, as well as the piece in the back. No problems there...





Step 1 finished.

Mario

Great start and such clean resin!

Looking good. And a great crisp mould from live resin.

Looking forward to seeing this

Steps 2,3 & 4 are about adding fenders and footpads. I chose not to follow the instructions to the letter here, adding front fenders first, than the footpads and finally the rear fenders. Everything fits really well and I didn't have any problems here...

One side finished:





Footpad detail:



Mario

Great work and excellent photos Mario. Thanks for this posting! Hope you will use this with the figure standing on the foot rests with the ATV placed on some sort of a steep incline for the dramatic effect? Any preview of the final display idea you could share?

Stuart, yes I have the standing figure and will be adding it to the ATV. Steep incline? That's a good idea. I'm actually planning to do two ATVs, but let's finish this one first...

OK, here are both sides finished:





The pieces installed on rear fenders can be seen on the photos as well. I suppose these are some kind of small stowage boxes.

Step 5 continues with front bumper. After dry fitting the piece and testing the fit of the cargo deck, I decided it would probably be a better idea to get the two pieces together to a perfect fit before adding them to the vehicle. First, chech out the resin of the front cargo deck:



Perfect!

And here are the two pieces glued together:



Mario

Sounds good Mario. As you say one thing at a time. I only ask about plans to know if one needs to alter the suspension/springs/tilt or what ever 1at this early stage? I agree steering the front wheels for a first attempt is a lot to chew. Just wonder what your thoughts are on how big a deal that would be for later works you are planning? Really enjoy seeing your builds! Much success ahead

Looking excellent!

This is in my wishlist, but will probably go for the standing bearded driver

Thanks guys.

Venko, yes that's the figure I have for this project as well.

Stuart, the suspension can probably be altered, one just has to play a bit with the pieces to get the desired look. I don't think it is too much work. Front wheels can be steered without the need for modifying parts, Live Resin thought of this and engineered the front suspension very intelligently... I'll show this in next steps.

Mario

Here is the front cargo deck fitted.









I'm not sure if gluing these two pieces made the front deck assembly easier or not... I had to trim some resin to make the part fit properly on the front bumpers, but I do like the end result.

Mario

Awesome, Mario...

Got a couple of these ready to rock and roll.......

Step 6 is about wheels and suspension. Front suspension piece has 7 anchoring points, but adding the piece isn't a problem... each protrusion fits well to its corresponding indentation.



Rear suspension pieces are less complex. I would suggest dry fitting these pieces in order to get the optimal geometry.





The bottom plate is added as well. After placing the piece there should be a slight gap between the vehicle floor and the plate.

The wheels are ready.



Notice the front wheel hubs which can be "steered" left or right.





The tires don't have a sag, so I sanded a bottom part of the wheel to give it a more realistic appearance, especially for a loaded vehicle. I also drilled a hole in each wheel which will enable pinning the wheel to the groundwork later on.



The wheels will be installed to the vehicle after painting.

Mario

I faced some issues adding the rear cargo deck. I guess the pieces installed earlier had some tilt, which resulted in less than optimal placement of the rear deck... I had to trim a bit to align the piece well. Testing, sanding, fitting... it wasn't a problem, though. Here's how it looks now.











Mario

Looks great Mario! Thank you for sharing. Watching closely here.

Very impressive build. Does the resin have any marks from the 3D printing proccess or is it smooth?

The level of detail on all the parts is outstanding!!!

No printing marks that I can see... the surface is clean. I will look more closely after applying a coat of primer, but I haven't had any printing lines visible on any Live Resin set that I painted so far.

Mario

Here are the next steps...

Dry fitting and testing the optimal placement of the front brushguard took some time. I had to trim a bit of resin from the bottom to achieve perfect alignment of the piece. Not much of a problem though. I added the winch and the bars which connect footrest to front and rear bumpers as well as a rollbar on the front cargo deck which all fit perfectly.

Here's how the model looks now.













I'm really having fun with this one.

Mario

Check out these pieces. The two steering handles, with details which are clearly visible under magnification... extreme care is needed with these, as they can easily snap. Both handles fit perfectly to the main piece, providing an optimal alignment if installed properly. No need for glue here.





And here are the tiny anchors which are placed on the front and rear cargo deck. These will be installed when I decide on what stowage to use.



Mario

And here it is, finally done.

There are still some things that I didn't install... Anchoring clips will be added when I decide on the stowage setup and clear parts (headlights and rear light) are waiting after the painting is done.

The wheels are not glued, just secured to the vehicle for taking the photos. The good thing about wheels is that the front ones can be steered, moving them left or right as the modeler chooses. Also, the wheels can be installed to show the weight of the vehicle with full stowage and weapons really well.















Altogether, this was a very enjoyable build. Not for beginners I suppose, but most modelers with experience in working with resin can assemble the model with no serious issues.

I'm very pleased with Live Resin's ATV and wouldn't mind getting another for my collection. With all the different stowage sets and crew figures available, a larger diorama with a fleet of ATVs is a possibility.

Mario

Thanks for presenting this in such a great way Mario. The kit looks fantastic, I need to get me one (or two, or three... :-) ).

Looking forward to seeing you paint this one. Very, very nice job so far!

Wow, that looks great! The details on that are just amazing and I'm glad that the fit is also excellent.

You had wonderful luck that nothing got broken, snapped, or lost as you built this. And best of all, this is perhaps one of the most up-to-date US Special Forces vehicle models ever made.

How long and wide is it anyway?

Thanks for the build blog!

A beautiful little kit and great job. Looking forward to seeing the paint job