Tiger AMX-10RCR 1/35

[Liam Harrison]

Hey there model folk

 

Alright, time for my third attempt to get back into scale modelling in a real way rather than just lurking on forums and looking at everybody else's work...😭

 

So following my opened-but-barely-touched Revell Phantom II F4-C and Hasegawa RF-86F30 Sabre, I've gotten myself a kit of one of my favourite esoteric French pieces of armour..

 

 

So, one of my major stumbling blocks is... I haven't got an airbrush or compressor. Yet. I aim to rectify that in the next month or two, and the issue I've been having with my flying things is that basically you have to paint the cockpit and such before you can continue with the main assembly. As such, I don't get far into the build, and I flame out due to lack of motivation.

 

No such problem with armour!! I'm aiming to have the gear end of November (I'm going to Hong Kong with the Missus between now and then, so all funds are going to that), so assuming I don't get tear-gassed in a pro-democracy protest while I'm over there, hopefully I'll have the build all wrapped up and ready for painting by the time I've got my hands on a blowbrush.

 

So, onto the piccies I guess! I've always been a big fan of the look of the AMX-10, I dunno what it is. I have a bit of a thing for weird French armour, I considered the Tiger ERC-90 as well before settling on the AMX-10. I've always had the main picture from the Wikipedia article in my head when I imagine the thing;

 

 

So I want to try to recreate it as best I can (probably not that well). This photo is from wargames I believe as it has a firing simulator attached to the barrel (which, incredibly, has been modelled in 1/35 scale, although I won't be including it on mine). I like how haphazard the stowage is in particular, like, that beige strap that seems to be anchored at the front turret armour, then wraps around the porthole, then back around the bags? Shabby as hell, I love it. So, I'm going to do my level best to duplicate it.

 

I've stuck the hull halves together - the fit is quite nice, though a few gaps down the side that I may need to fill in later - and started on the running gear. The axles/suspension bits are actually kinda neat, it's a shame they'll be hidden once the wheels are on.

 

 

 

 

 

The wheels are quite nice and detailed. I saw from a couple of kit reviews that some of the boxings have an ugly seam line directly down the middle of the tread, but luckily nothing on these ones;

 

 

That's about where I'm at now. I'm not wanting to go too crazy trying to replicate the advanced modelling stuff I see a lot of folks around here doing, but I'm gonna do a couple of bits - like replacing these ugly handles on the kit with some nicer ones, either using staples or some styrene.

 

 

Also, with the vents, has anybody got any experience with using a knife to carve out the gaps between the vanes, to give a bit more realism? Or is it easier to just remove the entire thing and recreate it in styrene?

 

Thanks all for looking! Hopefully this one goes better than my last attempts

[Dads203]

Looks a nice kit, personally I would leave the grills as they are, with an dark oil wash the detail will pop right out 

[Yeoman1942]

I have built one of these and they look great when finished. I left the grills alone as when you put the etch and a wash on them they look really good

[Silenoz]

Interested, do have the Nexter variant to be, hopefully, soon on my to do list...