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Gator - Part three of the trilogy


Gremlin56

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The final build in a series of three examples of upgraded US armour in use today. This is the AAVP-7A1 with EAAK as used by the Marines, but Gator is a lot easier to remember and Gator it will be for the rest of the build.

This is the Hobby-Boss offering with (nearly) full interior detail. I'll be using a set of Mini-Art marine figures and I have ordered another set of the beautiful tracks I used on the Bradley. This build will be in anything but the US desert sand colour :D

 

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6/12 update.

Started off by fitting the suspension and propulsion system. The propulsion system seems to be more detailed than on the Tamiya kit from long ago if I remember correctly. The doors to cover the screws are moveable

and everything fits together neatly. Most of the interior details are on removable panels making painting easy and covering up the ejector pin marks:

 

 

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:D

 

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Good start!

 

AFAIK this version of the gator was in NATO tricolor. I've been gone so long I only remember the first of the -7's being dark green.

Some were painted in overall sand color, but I don't think that lasted long.  I have frequently seen the EAAK painted sand though. When it was first mounted it came from the manufacturer in sand. It was later painted over to match the camo of the hull. I think the EAAK was rotated from gator to gator early on before they had enough sets.

 

%20050415-M-Marine%20and%20AAV%20providing%20security%20for%20cordon%20and%20knock%20mission%20-%20Kubaysah,%20Iraq.jpg

 

If depicted in any setting except stateside training these big girls get beat to hell and back. This is the one time you will see rust and chipped paint on a US Marine vehicle. Without a proper spray down, salt water eats away at the hull fittings. 

 

G

 

 

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15 hours ago, longshanks said:

Another BUFF !!

 

Looking good, Are those water jets on the back or just shrouded props with clam shell doors for reversing?

 

:popcorn:

 

Kev

 

Not really sure on that Kev, to me they look like shrouded props with the doors used for steering and reversing and not like water jets.

Couldn't find much information here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_Amphibious_Vehicle

 

BUFF = Big Ugly Fat F****R? Thought that was the moniker for B-52's..................B)

 

 

P.S. water jets they are with doors for steering and reversing.

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10 minutes ago, AgentG said:

Good start!

 

AFAIK this version of the gator was in NATO tricolor. I've been gone so long I only remember the first of the -7's being dark green.

Some were painted in overall sand color, but I don't think that lasted long.  I have frequently seen the EAAK painted sand though. When it was first mounted it came from the manufacturer in sand. It was later painted over to match the camo of the hull. I think the EAAK was rotated from gator to gator early on before they had enough sets.

 

%20050415-M-Marine%20and%20AAV%20providing%20security%20for%20cordon%20and%20knock%20mission%20-%20Kubaysah,%20Iraq.jpg

 

If depicted in any setting except stateside training these big girls get beat to hell and back. This is the one time you will see rust and chipped paint on a US Marine vehicle. Without a proper spray down, salt water eats away at the hull fittings. 

 

G

 

 

 

Hi G, another great photo :D The information on chipping and general wear and tear is great, gives me a bit more room to "mess it up" a bit. Looks like there is some oil staining from the exhaust too in the photo.

Think I'll stick with the 3 colour NATO scheme if only because after two desert builds a different scheme will be welcome.

Tough looking things though aren't they?

cheers

Julian

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Just now, Soeren said:

You get the box open and are already half done  ;)

 

Ah, like that! Well, a bit more than half to go ;) I like to spend a lot of time in the weekend on builds to clear my mind after a week at work. Hard rock music at full blast and an enjoyable build to accompany the music helps me relax and get back to harmony.

Cheers

Julian

 

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What I always found impressive is to stand there and watch these drive up onto the beach from the water. They look for all the world like prehistoric predators taking to land for the first time. 

 

G

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To give you an idea of what I did in the Marine Corps, here's a shot of the well deck on the USS San Antonio, LPD 17.  I was aboard the USS Trenton, LPD-14, which is nearly identical. They didn't change that much with the new class of LPD used now.  Look way up in the upper left corner of the photo. See the guy with the lt blue hard hat?  That would have been me back in the day aboard the Trenton. I was the "embarkation officer". I made sure everything was loaded properly based on how it would be unloaded when we reached our destination. The actual mechanics of launching these was not my job. I just made sure they launched when I said so, based on the master plan. 

 

Think about this, as a 23 year old Captain of Marines, none of the men, equipment or materiel on that ship moved until I said it could. The actual thought of all that responsibility resting on my shoulders never occurred to me until years later. 

 

 

Related image

 

G

Edited by AgentG
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And yet another excellent photo full of details G. I built the 1/350th USS Wasp a few years ago so the stern dock is strangely familiar :D No room for slip ups in placing and moving things in front of the dock either.

Tales to tell the grandchildren later ;) I saw that the Trenton has since been sold to India, that always hurts a bit deep down inside (I remember the Typhoon coming in to IJmuiden in different colours, I felt really outraged about that). The Gators in this photo look very well maintained, new or just had a new paint job?

 

9/12 update.

Floor fitted and the port side plate has been fitted:

 

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:D

 

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That looks great, the interior finish just looks so crisp and neat.

 

A question, do you leave those internal colours just as they were painted or do you go over the colour layer with some kind of matt, gloss or other clear finish. I ask this as I suspect I've got a nasty habit , caught from aircraft, of covering everything in some kind of sealing coat and I'm not sure it's healthy and tends to make things go soft if that makes sense.

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2 hours ago, Kev The Modeller said:

I've been looking to add this kit to my stash.  I shall follow this build with interest mate.  Looking good so far :yes:

 

It's a rather nice kit certainly keeping in mind the reasonably low price. Fit is very good so far as well :D

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1 hour ago, Devcon 1 said:

That looks great, the interior finish just looks so crisp and neat.

 

A question, do you leave those internal colours just as they were painted or do you go over the colour layer with some kind of matt, gloss or other clear finish. I ask this as I suspect I've got a nasty habit , caught from aircraft, of covering everything in some kind of sealing coat and I'm not sure it's healthy and tends to make things go soft if that makes sense.

 

That is quite a large :worms: to open Devcon,

I have left the colours as they are except for the grey floor plate which I gave a coat of Vallejo satin varnish to give it  rubbery look. Adding a coat of varnish can make things "cloudy" or soft as you call it.

My standard mat varnish is Vallejo acrylic but I use it sparingly because it does make the model less sharp if you use several light coats. On the other hand a coat of varnish can be used to pull a coat of paint together, hope that makes sense.

;)

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Pah, amazing as always and a true pleasure to read through your blogs. You are definitely nothing of a modelling demimonde! 3 days in and the hull is almost halfway done... lol.

Prost,

/Stefan

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