Kallisti Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 (edited) At IPMS Farnborough Modelfest at the weekend I picked up a cheap Tamiya Challenger I Mk 3 kit so since my Avro Anson build has ground to a halt, I'd do something with the CrARRV conversion I've had in the stash for about 3 years! it makes a change from bloody Thunderbirds! So this is the starting point: and after all the resin has been washed in soapy water The Tamiya kit only contributes the lower hull, road wheels and tracks, the rest is discarded - which is why I've been reluctant to build this conversion up until now as I don't like the idea of throwing away most of a £30 kit! However having sourced a cheap one, I'm less concerned... So the first steps in the conversion and of course building the lower hull as Tamiya instructs, Here are all the road wheels [img[http://www.mardona.org/gallery/d/19614-2/DSC_3864.JPG[/img] I'm not going to distress them as frankly I can't be bothered Next is to attach the upper and lower hulls together... and I've just realised that means I can no longer fit the driver figure in using the neat technique they've used: which would locate the figure in the right place at the right height... bugger! I'll have to sort something out about that late - doh! Anyway the two halves came together with a bit of fiddling and filling The rear joint needed a bit of filling and it was rather gappy and the front joint also needed some work Speaking of the front, the next task it to look at the dozer blade and its mechanism... I'm going to do this as a Gulf War 1 vehicle, probably Big Geordie as I found some great photos online at Prime Portal. Edited September 21, 2015 by Kallisti 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Very interesting, I do like recovery vehicles I'll follow your build with interest. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dads203 Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 Got this one in the stash as well fella, was looking at going to be the next build but I think I'll do the Chally 2. Will be watching as to grab some tips though. :-) Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 Thanks for looking Dan & Coliln, I'm afraid my build won't be as detailed as one of yours Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 More progress... Attention returns to the dozer blade. The supports ahve been fixed to the front of the vehicle and the various structures dry fitted to check for alignments You can see a glaring gap where the left support meets the hull - this will need to be filled later. I had to cut off the piston arms from the jackets on the two hydraulic arms as they were too long, then I drilled out the jacket to allow the arms to slide in and out a little which gives me options on how I may wish to pose the blade. It hasn't been glued yet - I'll leave that until later. There still needs more detail added, eg the pipes connecting the hydralics to the hull. Another photo from the side Next is lots of small detail on the main hull, including the hatches. I've decided to close the hatches up as I'm thinking of this as a display with the vheicle stationary and doing something. This allows me not to have to worry about the driver stickign his head out of the hatch as I had forgotten to put that in before closing up the hull. I've also constructed the crane jib and here it is dry fitted in place Finally, here you can see the front with the dozer blade removed and the support for th ewinch now in place The driver and commander's hatches have been fitted with some thin steel wire used for the handles. More to come... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dads203 Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Fast work fella, nice and tidy build so far. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Engineer66 Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Interesting build, Kallisti I've fancied having a go at the Cheiftain ARV, again it only uses the lower hull and wheels, so you still bin a fair amount of stuff, but at least the donor kit is cheaper. And in case you were missing the Thunderbirds theme, it does have a 'Gerry Anderson' look about it Al 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 That's a stunning project Are you going to upgrade the tracks and sprocket carriers to the Chally 2 type? Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 No this is going to be a Gulf War 1 era vehicle. Today a package arrived with 2 new figures from Accurate Armour: from here http://www.accurate-armour.com/ShowProduct.cfm?manufacturer=0&category=9&subcategory=54&product=2123and which is supposed to be the UBRE pump operator figure http://www.accurate-armour.com/ShowProduct.cfm?manufacturer=0&category=9&subcategory=54&product=2493which I reckon I can adapt to look like he's operating the crane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 Looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
British Army Platforms Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 How is the project moving along now?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 It stalled back in 2015 and has been sitting on the shelf of doom ever since... 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
British Army Platforms Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 8 hours ago, Kallisti said: It stalled back in 2015 and has been sitting on the shelf of doom ever since... Will it ever come down 🥲? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 shrug maybe... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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