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ARVN V100 Armored Car

JamesOLeary

Master at Arms
Hello All,

My next project will be an ARVN V100 Armored Car in 1/48th scale from Verlinden which will be crewed by some converted CMK figures. This will be a new experience for me since this is a resin armor kit and it is in 1/48th scale. The kit is fairly simple in regards to parts count so hopefully it will go together relatively quick and easy. I needed to build something new for an upcoming AMPS Show in Austin, TX and I think this will be something I can get completed in time. I will be working on other projects simultaneously once I get this started, so I will just have to see how fast and how well I can get this one done.

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This will also be for the SOUTH ribbon for this build campaign.

Cheers,
James
 
The USAF had some of these when they convoyed out the "special" weapons out to the alert ramp. You'll do fine James. :popcorn
 
Well, this kit sure is different from what I normally build. I like the simplicity of it with few parts, but the way some of the parts are cast on their casting blocks is a pain in the butt.

Something that is nice is that most of the places where you need to attach grab handles or the headlight guards have indentations where they are to go. I drilled these a bit deeper so the copper wire that is included in the kit to make these will have a place to fit more securely. I remember seeing a tool in one of the model magazines that was for making handles of various sizes. I wish I had one of those for this project so they would have turned out in a more uniform manner, but I think they turned out OK. There were a few things that were not accounted for in the kit like the foot rails at the bottom of the side doors and the handle on the inside of the open driver's hatch. I added those by eyeballing where they needed to be placed.

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To crew the vehicle, I cut a couple CMK figures. They were originally helicopter pilots, but now they are Armored Car Crewmen. :) I scraped away details on the helmet to make it look more like a CVC helmet rather than a helicopter crew helmet.

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Since the vehicle is pretty much a block of resin, there is not interior detail, so the driver's compartment and the opening to the turret are just boxes. Because of this, I only needed partial figures so the razor saw was utilized to cut the figures to size.

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I figure if I paint those places black and place the painted figures into their positions, it will work out.

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I also have worked on the hatch to the turret. The casting block was located on the inside portion of the hatch. The inside portion of the real hatch would have an indention following the contour of the outer portion of the hatch. When the casting block is removed, you have to carve out that indentation. That is a pain in the butt. Next will be the axles and wheels.

Cheers,
James
 
Yeah resin kits can be tricky, I've only pulled off one or two completed. This looks great so far James. :popcorn
 
You mean of these guys. They do work well for making handles and such.

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Cheers,
Rich
 
All right, some 1/48 love! Nice choice, James- cheers! As far as those handles go, all you need is a little making tape to mark your place on a pair of needle nose pliers to line the bends up. You got this- and those figs will play the part. The headlight guards look great- rock, Sarge!
 
You mean of these guys. They do work well for making handles and such.

Grab.jpg


Cheers,
Rich

Yeah, that was the thing I was thinking of. Since I am getting into armor modeling now, I need to get one of those. I see a lot of grab handles needing to be bent in my future.

Cheers,
James
 
Here is the progress I made this past weekend. I cut the larger pieces from their casting blocks and tried to get them to match up properly. The placement of some of the casting blocks were in places where I would not have placed them if I were casting these pieces because the variances of how much resin made up the blocks made some of them impractical to use a razor saw on since the middle of the block was sunken in so much. Sanding worked some, but it seemed like getting a flat surface to match pieces up was somewhat elusive. The primary example being the axles and running gear not matching up very well with the bottom of the hull. Exact placement was not clearly shown on the instructions that were included with the kit. I used the instructions from the Hobby Boss M706 in 1/35th scale to determine the best placement as the old eyes could determine. Today, I will add the last few remaining smaller parts and then use putty where needed.

Here are the wheels. The casting block was located where the wheels will meet the axle. There are several air bubbles present on the inside portion of the tires that will need to be filled in.

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Here is the hatch to the turret. The casting block was located on the inside portion of the hatch. No big deal if you are going to make the model with the hatches closed, but if you choose to build the kit with the hatches open, you will need to carve out a portion of it.

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That is because of the shape of the outer portion of the hatch.

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The front axle extends over the sides and the place where the wheels attach is a half circle. It seems like it will be quite visible. I will just have to see how it turns out with the wheels attached.

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Even though I sanded the bottom of the hull and these two pieces, they just don't seem to fit quite right. Hopefully the putty will make this look better. The model will be attached to a base, so hopefully it won't be too bad.

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So, that is my progress so far.

Cheers,
James
 
Wow, I commend you Frank on working on this kit. Resin is a difficult medium for me as I tend to bury the Exacto blade in one digit or another. Besides, I haven't the skill to truly get things lined up when I have no indicators for it. Looks like you're doing well though.
 
Wow, I commend you Frank on working on this kit. Resin is a difficult medium for me as I tend to bury the Exacto blade in one digit or another. Besides, I haven't the skill to truly get things lined up when I have no indicators for it. Looks like you're doing well though.

Resin for figures is my preference but the armor kit is a bit difficult since I only have a few regular or more conventional armor kits under my belt. I doubt that I will build another full resin armor kit anytime soon after this one is complete.

Also, I am James, not Frank. :)

Cheers,
James
 
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