1/72 BGM109-G 'Gryphon' Ground Launched Cruise Missile Transporter-Erector-Launcher

[stuartp]

Not my first post but it is my first completed build, and to this confirmed if only occasional aero-modeller's chagrin, it's not even an aeroplane ! It's also not quite finished, but I've been here ten years (I think) and not posted a build yet so I thought I'd better get on with it. 

 

This is Modelcollect's GLCM with MAN M1014 tractor. Stationed in the UK from 1982, at RAF Greenham Common and later RAF Molesworth, each TEL carried 4 missiles, each carrying a nuclear warhead. 96 warheads were deployed at Greenham Common and a further 64 at Molesworth. They were withdrawn in 1991 following the signing of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty, having either massively raised the MAD stakes by giving NATO a first strike capability or forced the Soviets back to the negotiating table, depending on your point of view. The W84 warheads were stored and the missiles and TELs destroyed in accordance with the treaty terms, 8 de-activated missiles and a couple of TELs survive in museums including Duxford.

 

This nominally represents a vehicle from 11th Tactical Missile Squadron / 501st Tactical Missile Wing at RAF Greenham Common, but as the vehicles carried no unit or tactical marking that I could see (certainly none big enough that I could actually paint), it could represent anything from Berkshire to Sicily ! However, most of the prototype photos for the build came from browsing the 501st TMW's Facebook Group to whom I offer my sincere thanks, so they get the honours 🙂. 

 

 

There is no 'in progress' thread but it was a straightforward build from the kit. The only issues I found were:

 

- the spare wheel carried on the load deck is supplied for the MAN tractor but should in fact be for the trailer. The tarpaulin ratchet strapped down is masking the fact that my styrene replacement isn't quite round enough for closer inspection !

- the missile carriage arrangements in the TEL are hugely simplified. Of course after I'd buttoned up one side I found a load of pictures of missile canisters being loaded so I decided to replicate that with the result that one side doesn't quite match the other !

- the painting instructions are beautifully presented as full colour drawings of all elevations but no plan , but it didn't matter because they are nonsense. 501st TMW Facebook pics and Google to the rescue ! I won't be falling over myself to paint MERDC camouflage again in a hurry.

 

 

Problems of my own making largely revolved around the fact that the TEL is designed to be built in the lowered (transport) position or the raised firing position, I decided to hinge it so it could be posed either way. That was easy. Making the butterfly doors at the rear poseable was a little harder, and making the TEL side doors poseable was extremely fiddly !

 

 

It is loaded with inert training rounds for two reasons. Firstly, it may well end up on a 'hide - shoot - move' exercise diorama and, although the MOD neither confirms nor denies anything of this nature, I have found no evidence that they trained off base with live nukes and a bit of circumstantial evidence that they didn't. I haven't asked anyone who was there at the time and would be very happy to be corrected on this, but some of the 'GLCM Rangers having fun in the mud on Salisbury Plain' photos on Facebook and elsewhere suggest that the trailers used on exercise were completely empty on occasions and there are a lot of yellow muzzle guards visible on the M16s suggesting a less than lethal guard capability. Secondly, the only photo I have found of a live canister shows it to be painted a fairly dull and boring overall grey with no sign of the yellow/red stripes you would expect to find on a live WE177 or similar, while the blue and gloss white inert rounds look quite smart and make a nice contrast with the camo. They both need "INERT TRAINER" lettering applied along the sides, that's the bit I've yet to finish but it will have to wait until I find some 2mm decals or a working printer.  

 

The figures are from the Hasegawa USAF Groundrew set and a modified Airfix RAF driver, the driver and his mate need baseball caps so some head transplanting may take place when I find some suitable. The SP cop needs an M16 too. 

 

 

"BGM109 - Rocking Moscow hit after hit !"

 

Thanks for looking 🙂 

Edited September 17, 2020 by stuartp

[StuartH]

Nice work on a very interesting vehicle. Well done👍

[danbuoy]

This is a kit I am very interested in, so glad to see one that has been built. Nice job on the camo, and the doors! Would like to add one to my USAF in UK theme, and was curious about which unit the model depicted, but it seems, like you say, that they were all fairly generic, which is good. This would look great with one of the PJ Productions M1009 Chevrolet Blazers. I've got a load of photos of various USAF vehicles, including quite a few showing GLCM convoys from both Greenham Common and Molesworth. An interesting idea for a diorama would be one of these TELs, with a couple of other vehicles and some protesters throwing paint etc at them, or lying down in the road!

[stuartp]

Thanks both for the compliments, and thank you for the steer towards a Blazer ! I'm a bit out of touch on kit sources these days, I found this while looking for something else ! Yes, it either needs paint sploshes or Wiltshire mud or both plastered on it but for now it can stay 'just washed'. I really enjoyed building this, I might just buy one of the M1013 tractors (with the crane on, the bits are on the M1014 sprue) and paint it on MERDC 'summer verdant' as an alternative, there seems to have been some mixing and matching. 'Returning to base' could be an interesting look, there are some pics on FB of them coming back through the gates with the driver's windscreen out - not smashed by protesters but kicked out by the crew after it was covered in paint.

 

The TEL at Duxford has a very small "ECHO" marking on the rear bumper, and I found one pic with a small dayglo red "A" (presumably Alpha Flight) under the driver's windscreen but other than that, not even licence plates !

[danbuoy]

Well, I have just purchased this kit, as one came up at a reasonable price (not likely to find it cheaper anywhere anyway!!). Whilst I was deliberating over purchasing it, I was doing a bit of research on it (as you do), and that included downloading the instructions off Scalemates. It was then that I realised that this kit includes a small amount of photo etch, something which I have never used before. Rather than let this put me off, I decided to go for it, but I was wondering how you had found the photo etch on this kit, and also, on the kit in general, whether there is anything to be particularly aware of whilst building it. I do also like the idea of being able to raise and lower the launcher, rather than have it fixed in one position. This is not a very common kit, and therefore reviews of it are thin on the ground. There are a couple linked to the Scalemates page, in German, but it was possible to translate them. Your build is the only one I have seen on Britmodeller. Hope you don't mind the questions!

[stuartp]

Hi Danbouy, 

 

If you build it straight out of the box without complicating it by making bits move which weren't designed to, it's a very straightforward kit. There is virtually no flash and everything fits just so. It was in fact an absolute pleasure to build. It's well engineered, I still haven't actually glued the cab on yet, it just sits on the cab floor which in turn is just resting on the chassis, it all fits with no gaps and stays put. 

 

The photo etch is mostly for the perforated steel platforms behind the cab, it sits on a moulded frame and it fits perfectly with no bending, folding or fettling required. I fixed it with a bit of thin cyano. If you spray paint it there should be no issues, I brush painted with Vallejo and had to be careful not to bung up the very fine perforations with too thick paint. 

 

Apart from the wrong spare wheel the only difficulty not of my own making was getting the back of the cab to sit properly on the chassis, I can't remember exactly what the issue was but it was fixed with a bit of trimming. I replaced the stalks for the rear light clusters with brass angle, I've either made them slightly too long or fitted them too far back as they foul the trailer if I pose it with the trailer turned slightly. I didn't check if the kit parts had the same issue

 

The only disappointment in the kit was the painting instructions, the scheme shown bears no resemblance to anything I could find on a real one ! There appear to have been at least two schemes for the trailers and I'm not convinced I haven't got one on one side and another on the other ! Both sides match photos, but not photos of the same launcher. 

 

The hinge for elevating the launcher is simply a piece of wire poked through holes drilled in the existing plastic lugs. The hydraulic ram needs a bit of fettling to fit if you make it poseable. 

 

I belive the same manufacturer's Pershing II transporter (on my wish list) has a few more issues in that the missile cannot be assembled and raised with the tractor still attached as the box artwork and instructions would have you believe, but the GLCM is bang on as far as I can tell. 

 

I still haven't bought the blazer !

Edited June 23, 2021 by stuartp

[danbuoy]

Thanks very much for that. I am looking forward to building it, although not sure how soon I will get round to it. I've wanted a model of one of these for a while, but its not the easiest of models to find, so I thought I'd better get it when I had the chance. What paints did you use for the MERDC scheme, and did you brush paint the whole thing? I have a load of photos of these, and other GLCM convoy vehicles from both Greenham Common and Molesworth, which I can hopefully use for when it gets to painting time, as I was aware that the painting instructions are useless (plus I believe you get some equally useless Bundeswehr decals with it?)

 

I want to get one of the Blazer models too, plus the pickup version that PJ Productions also do. Again, they are not very common, but from what I have read, they are excellent kits, and certainly look good in the photos I have seen.

[stuartp]

MERDC - now you're asking ! I had the colour call outs written down on the back of the instructions but they were thrown out in an office clear-out a couple of weeks ago !

 

I think I used Vallejo US Dark Green 70893/095, and Flat Brown 70983/143, brush painted over a basecoat of Humbrol 30 Dark Green (because I had half a spray can going spare).  Humbrol equivalents would be 117 or 163, and 29. The pale beige highlights were either Medium Grey 70987/111 or Buff 70976/120. The former I think. And black, let down with a bit of grey. 

Edited June 24, 2021 by stuartp

[danbuoy]

Thanks. Think that is how I will do it, airbrush/spray a base coat, and then brush paint over the top. Never done MERDC camo before. This could well be the first and last time!!