Hey guys whats up? I have a few questions about what I can you to scratchbuild a guntruck. The first question is what do I use for the side armor plates, for a double wall armor, and how thick is the armor on most of the guntrucks? Second, how can I make a mount for a 50cal. machine gun? Third are there any triods out there that I could use for a dual 50cal. in the back like "Eve Of Destruction?" Last few, how do you make the seats on the inside of the truck, where can I get extra tires, and how can I make sandbags to fill the gap between the armor plates? and any tips on how to make this a litte easier would really help,


Thanks,
Mike

Mike - use Evergreen sheet styrene. .010" or .015" is appropriate, but if you're not used to cutting and working sheet styrene, pick where you're comfortable. .020" is a little thick, but you can use the same trick Tamiya did with their Wespe SPG kit. Bevel the upper edges of the sheet styrene to create a thinner impression. The same thicknesses are used throught the gun truck - exterior and interior walls.




The quickest and easiest method is to raid a model kit to get these parts. Tamiya's PBR.31 Mk.II River Patrol Boat has an acceptable tripod-dual 50cal setup that you can use. There isn't a more expedient option than that. If not, you'll resort to scratchbuilding your own.




Mike - the seats on individual gun trucks varied wildly. These are not 'factory-built' rigs. You can use M113 APC seats, spare M151 MUTT seats, and even folding chairs like from a Tamiya M577 or Command Detail set. If you're modeling a particular truck, then you should consult photos of it - if available. If you're modeling a 'fantasy' vehicle - then you're best choice following historical practice is best.




Resin 5-ton tires are available from Real Model. They cost under $20 bucks and are nice, however, the hubs are cast in the tires, so you'll be cutting away some bolt detail. If you're modeling a Deuce, then you can scavenge another AFV Club kit (ghastly thought as this is really expensive) or look for resin replacements. I don't recall off the top of my head if there's a full-set of Deuce tires currently available in resin that you can buy for less than the cost of scavenging another kit. Another cavet with this is that "Maintenance Contact" vehicles (gun trucks with the spare tires in the back) were more often than not of the M54 5-ton variety. The Deuces were already overloaded. Not to say there couldn't be a Deuce functioning in the "Maintenance Contact" role, however. If you're modeling a Deuce, then a couple of spare tires is historically supported in photos, and you could just make a couple of resin castings from your set before you mount them on the model.




You could attempt Bob Collingnon's method from the lastest couple of FSM Magazine, you could attempt the old (and scary if you live in an area with Fire Ants) Chiclet chewing gum method, or you could make them yourself out of Milliput or other favorite brand of putty. The void between spaced armor plate walls on the second generation gun trucks was also filled with Rations, ammo cans, spare tires, tool kits, and other assorted crew related 'goodies'. Don't limit yourself to filling up a void like that with just sandbags - this was prime storage space too, that just doubled as extra protection.

Gunnie

I have some M35 AFV tires lying around. If they can be of any use, I'll send the front wheels and a back, so you can make resin copies. Just PM me. You'll need a few weeks of patience, since I'll be on holiday as from tomorrow.
If it is an M35 conversion you make, I'd strongly advise you to start with an AFV model altogether. Many good parts in there: wheels, chassis, cabin, etc... :-)
You'll still have plenty of scratchbuilding fun converiting it to a gun truck.
I scratchbuilt M35's on several scales. Most parts are not too complicated to scratchbuild, but having a "kit" version at hand will certainly make your life a lot easier !
Have fun !
Jan

Duh maybe I'm just dumb, but why not go with either one of the Kirin conversions, if you can find them;, or the new AFV kit? Maybe we have a masochistic cum creative streak? In anyevent, you have good advice here. There is also a site dedicated to gun trucks and a couple of concord et al references on the subject as well.


My 2 euro cents worth
Jack

Capt'n Jack - going with the AFV Club "Nancy" or the Kirin, Hobby Fan, Legend Productions, or Model Valley resin conversion sets aren't bad - except for the fact that Tread is modeling a specific vehicle - of which none of these sets covers.

AFV Club's "Nancy" is the closest of the bunch to the actual vehicle - save the mount for the Quad 50cal weapon. It is correctable. And, a damn good buy for build a straight M35A1 Deuce cargo truck - of which all the parts are present in the box to do so.

Hobby Fan's latest releases are way overpriced for what you get - but the decal options are wonderful, as several related trucks are included in a single kit. You just have to model the correct armor plating and weapon configuration. Photographic references are a MUST as the kit does not carry parts to model all these vehicles. However nice a handful of resin parts might be - $60+ dollars a pop for a set of decals is stretching it considerably.

Kirin's sets are quite difficult, if not impossible, to get anymore. The most attractive of the bunch - a second generation double-walled Deuce is the hardest to find. If I did, I wouldn't build it, but use the parts as templates for a scratchbuilding effort. The Quad 50cal Truck is a little easier to find - but has the same problem as the AFV Club "Nancy" release in mounting the Quad 50cal. For the same expense, it's better to go with the AFV Club model.

Legend Productions' gun truck conversion is nice too - with a lot of extra goodies in the way of period crew equipment and gear. It is based on the "Maintenance Contact" vehicle design. These were commonly 5-ton trucks - and the Legend Productions set is meant for the AFV Club Deuce. Can't say there weren't Deuces configured in this role, just that they are very rare and don't appear in many photographs.

The same applies to the rare Model Valley conversion set - though it is easier to work into a configuration commonly seen on early Deuces.

Hope this sheds more light on the better conversion sets out there.

Gunnie

GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The site address is [url]http://www.GunTruck.com] put bold text here

HTH

Capn' Jack

.........is Gunnie Da Man!, or what? :-) :-) :-)

Ummmm Capn' Jack - that is my personal website :-) - thanks for the plug!!! Jim is kind enough to let me hang out here with you guys!!!

Gunnie

.....LOL........O.K. , now you made me laugh out loud Gunnie, instead of Kenc'!!!
Was hoping you'd check the thread.....

Tread.

You got me there gunny/colonel sir. We can all use aplug now and again. Keep on truckin, Gun Truckin that is

Cap :-)

Thanks guys for all the information. I've been in Chicago for the past 7days so that is why i havent replied until now. I all ready have the Kirin conversion and it is almost done, along with Nancy, and the guntruck from Model Valley which is the same as the new one from Legend. I just want to build a few others that i have seen in magazines and such. I'll try them all and see what happens,

thanks again,
Mike