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In-Box Review
135
Canadian Grizzly AVGP
Trumpeter Canadian AVGP Grizzly (Late) Review
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by: Kevin Brant [ SGTRAM ]

introduction
The Canadian Grizzly was a member of the Armored Vehicle General Purpose (AVGP) fleet purchased by the Canadian Armed Forces and entering service in 1976. The AVGP fleet consisted of the Cougar, a recon and tank trainer, the Husky, an Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV), and the Grizzly. The Grizzly was designed as an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC), which could carry a section of troops with a 3-man crew. It was armed with a 7.62 MG and a .50 BMG. While the Grizzly had been originally bought for domestic use and training purposes, it was pressed into service in Somalia and Bosnia-Croatia, with one even captured by the Croatian Armed Forces.

The Grizzly has mostly been replaced by the LAV III, with a small number still in use by Reserve units for training. A few of the vehicles have been disarmed and given to Police units to use as Emergency Response Vehicles. Most within the Canadian Army are currently being retrofitted as Command Posts and ARVs.

The Model
This is the third model in the Canadian AVGP family from Trumpeter, following the Cougar and Grizzly (Early). (Now we can only hope for the Husky next!) The model relies on the same basic chassis and hull as the two earlier releases.

The kit is extremely well molded in light grey, with excellent detail. There is no flash, and from first inspection, there are no ejector marks that will need to be filled - this would the same as the Cougar kit I have already built. The molded lower hull is identical to the first two releases, while the upper hull would the same as the Early Grizzly (I have not seen or built it, but they are the same vehicle). The detail is well represented, including the view ports, but it would have been nice to see clear plastic inserts to represent the glass.

Having built the suspension and axle assembly on the Cougar, I can say it is well done, and goes together very well. The kit contains soft "rubber like" wheels. While they look good, it makes it difficult to represent the realistic look due to the weight of the vehicle.

All the fine detail is very well molded, to include the lift points, tie downs, grab handles and door latches. All hatches and doors, including the rear and roof top doors, are separate moldings so they can be modeled in open and closed position, but unfortunately there is no interior detail. (We can hope for an aftermarket kit.)

The turret is assembled by two sides and top and bottom, and looks like it will go together very well. The plastic molded barrels look good, and will just need the mold seams cleaned up. And they have the ends hollowed out. Smoke dischargers and a gun-mounted light are represented.

The instructions are well laid out, as they were with the Trumpeter Cougar kit I built. The instruction booklet is 12 pages with 16 steps. It also includes a sprue part layout.

instructions
Instructions are broken down as follows:

Step 1 - Wheels and tire assembly, and transfer cases.

Step 2 - Construction and installation of transfer cases, drive shafts, and axle mounts

Step 3 - Construction and installation of suspension and fuel tanks

Step 4 - Front transfer case shield and wheel installation

Step 5 - Headlight and windshield construction

Steps 6 & 7 - Upper hull detail

Steps 8 & 9 - Construction and installation of rear

Step 10 - Mating of upper and lower hulls

Step 11 - Construction of guns

Steps 12 & 13 - Turret assembly

Step 14 & 15 - Spare tire mount and installation, optional parts for leaving spare tire off

Step 16 - Installation of turret.

markings
A colored sheet is included with the Light Green(NATO Green) paint scheme and markings for SFOR, Bosnia UN Mission. Paint color references include Mr. Hobby, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya, and Humbrol. Not all paint brands are matched for required colors. Decal sheet is crisp with great colors, all within register. License plates are printed on colored reference sheet.

As for modeled accuracy for the SFOR mission, after looking as some reference pictures the model could be considered correct. A few things I did notice is most Grizzlies serving in SFOR/KFOR had an extra antenna mounted on the right side between the passenger view ports. Also a lot of pictures showed the lack of the driver’s wind screen and most vehicles carried the standard Green/Olive Green/Black camouflage.

conclusion
Overall, the Grizzly (Late) is a great looking kit, and I can't wait till I can start the build. But I may wait a bit, just to see if some aftermarket detail will be released. I know that Eduard released a PE set for the Cougar, and some of those parts would fit the Grizzly. I am really hoping for an interior, as I am not much of a scratch builder.

I would like to add I did serve in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve Force a few years back, well maybe a little more than a few, with the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa. And I had a few meeting with a Grizzly. One moonless clouded evening, while on a compass exercise on the Mattawa Plains in CFB Petewawa, my buddy and I were moving down a road to our next way point, when we thought we heard something. Well that something kept getting closer, at a very rapid rate. We turn, and soon recognized the "cats eye" headlight of a Grizzly roaring towards us. We quickly jumped off the road into the dust as that Grizzly went roaring past us. A bit of a close call, and a little ticked off that we were not told that the Grizzlies were out for night driver training!
SUMMARY
Highs: Great moldings, well detailed. Excellent continuation of the Canadian AVGP series.
Lows:
Verdict: Excellent kit, highly recommended
Percentage Rating
90%
  Scale: 1:35
  Mfg. ID: 01502
  PUBLISHED: Jul 15, 2012
  NATIONALITY: Canada
NETWORK-WIDE AVERAGE RATINGS
  THIS REVIEWER: 88.35%
  MAKER/PUBLISHER: 84.47%

About Kevin Brant (SgtRam)
FROM: ONTARIO, CANADA

I am an IT Consultant and father, with a passion for plastic models. I mostly prefer 1/35 Armor and 1/48 Aircraft. My main interests are anything Canadian, as well as WW2 German and British Armor and Aircraft. I have been building models since I was a young kid, got away from it for awhile, but r...

Copyright ©2021 text by Kevin Brant [ SGTRAM ]. All rights reserved.



Comments

Hmm it seems there are some major inaccuracies based on Jason's info, so perhaps it might be an idea to update the review and state at the end of the review that the kit has some accuracy issues.[/quote] As I mentioned I based my review on the quality of the kit, not the EXACT accuracies of the actual vehicle. I don't feel there is any need to go back and edit my review, I stand on my review of what looks like an enjoyable kit to build. Having built the Cougar, it was enjoyable. I am not concerned if the angle of the widget is off by 0.1 degree, and I won't give a kit a negative review because of it. I build models for the enjoyment of building, so what if there are some MINOR discrepencies? To me it resembles a Grizzly, and resemebles if very well. I have talked to some younger modelers and they are being scared of bacause, when they get critism, it is because of comment about complete accuracy from some old timers. Maybe to get people, especially younger generations, some people can accept it is a hobby, not a photocopier. Allow people to build and model and enjoy it, even if the thing-a-majing is 0.05" too short. Sorry that is just my take on it.
JUL 16, 2012 - 10:58 PM
Hmm it seems there are some major inaccuracies based on Jason's info, so perhaps it might be an idea to update the review and state at the end of the review that the kit has some accuracy issues.[/quote] As I mentioned I based my review on the quality of the kit, not the EXACT accuracies of the actual vehicle. I don't feel there is any need to go back and edit my review, I stand on my review of what looks like an enjoyable kit to build. Having built the Cougar, it was enjoyable. I am not concerned if the angle of the widget is off by 0.1 degree, and I won't give a kit a negative review because of it. I build models for the enjoyment of building, so what if there are some MINOR discrepencies? To me it resembles a Grizzly, and resemebles if very well. I have talked to some younger modelers and they are being scared of bacause, when they get critism, it is because of comment about complete accuracy from some old timers. Maybe to get people, especially younger generations, some people can accept it is a hobby, not a photocopier. Allow people to build and model and enjoy it, even if the thing-a-majing is 0.05" too short. Sorry that is just my take on it.[/quote] Thing is, people, like me, are influenced by a review and hence there should be detailed info there - like the writer has done a bit of homework. I'm all for "no brainer" builds where you ignore all inaccuracies just for the fun of building, but if you review something, you are setting yourself up as an expert on the subject, unless you have the disclaimer "this is just a build/inbox review and I have no idea about the accuracy of the dimensions of the kit". I am no rivet counter, but if I hadn't seen previous reviews of the earlier kit, I would have raced out an bought one on your 90 per cent rating, and ended up very disappointed. This is not a personal attack of the reviewer - modelling is supposed to be about fun, which is why I never enter comps.
JUL 17, 2012 - 12:15 AM
When I write a review, I look at the history of the vehicle, and I look at images of the vehicle. I do not get my microscope out and count rivets or marks in the steel rolling process. The model looks very much like the images I found, and if you read the review I made comments on the paint schemes and antenna configuration that did not match the research I had done. It is up to the review reader, and potential model builder to take from the review what they would like. I personally don't like the reviews that go into the detail of counting rivets, as I would like to know how enjoyable the kit is to build. The internet is full of reviews, it up to anyone to do their own research to determine if the kit will fit their specific requirements. Again I stand by all my reviews, past, present, and future.
JUL 17, 2012 - 01:20 AM
Looks like a duck, talks and walks like a duck....must be a duck. Fact of the matter, 99.9% of the modelers out there wouldn't be able to pick out the so called inaccuracies in any of of the 2 Grizzly kits or the Cougar. Build it...have fun doing it, that is what this hobby is all about, and at the end of the day...you will have a decent looking kit to adorn your shelves.
JUL 17, 2012 - 02:55 PM
"As for modeled accuracy for the SFOR mission, after looking as some reference pictures the model could be considered correct. A few things I did notice is most Grizzlies serving in SFOR/KFOR had an extra antenna mounted on the right side between the passenger view ports. Also a lot of pictures showed the lack of the driver’s wind screen and most vehicles carried the standard Green/Olive Green/Black camouflage." While I understand your approach I don't think you can advertise this vehicle for service in these missions, it is missing the add on armour that all late versions with the large tires had. I think that you should address this in the review rather than mislead people. There are some big errors in the kit and I like others might build it like it is but really it is not accurate. Tell it like it is, and how you intend to enjoy it.
JUL 24, 2012 - 04:33 AM
Would the average modeller know it was missing? NO! Would the average modeller like to know it is a decent kit to build? YES! End of story. If you don't like the review, don't read it. And if you have nothing positive to say, then move on. We are not all perfectly knowledged in every screw and bolt on every vehicle. But we enjoy building models till some one comes along and declares themself the king perfectionist and tries to take the fun out of it. Thanks for your comments. Glad you enjoyed the review.
JUL 24, 2012 - 05:33 AM
I think there are two parts to a review. How well the kit builds, you know parts fit, flash, molding lines ect. And then the question of accuracy should be addressed. This would satisfy both the rivet counters and OOB builders. Cheers
JUL 27, 2012 - 10:14 AM
As a guy who worked on these beasts drove and commanded, and have noticed the errors with both kits compared to the real deal, think the review was a good one as a out of the box review. For those of us who have served and know the little things about the Beasts, are also here to help out the builders that want the accurate built one. There are enough "TECH's" on the forum to ask around and , we would be happy to help anyone out. Anthony
JUL 27, 2012 - 05:18 PM
Thanks Anthony, for those who only saw the outside of these "Beasts" as they did humanitarian support here in Manitoba during flooding season, I say that is great that the kit is offered, and that as builders it is ours to improve them while doing so!
DEC 29, 2016 - 09:07 AM
   
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