HobbyBoss LAV-300 with 90mm Cockerill Gun (84573) 1:35

[Mike]

LAV-300 with 90mm Cockerill Gun (84573)

1:35 Hobby Boss via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

The LAV-300 was developed by Cadillac Gage as a Light Armoured Vehicle, similar to the other vehicles of the LAV range of armoured vehicles such as the LAV-25, and bears an outward similarity if you ignore the number of wheels, despite being manufactured by a different company.  Initial customers for the type were overseas, starting with Panama, followed by Kuwait, who both took a relatively small number of vehicles for their use.  It was designed from the outset to be configurable into fifteen variants that gave it flexibility of operation, with a choice of different calibre weapons ranging from machine guns or Mortars, through TOW anti-tank missile installations to the 90mm Cockerill gun in the Fire Support Vehicle (FSV).  Many of Panama’s examples were captured or destroyed by American forces in the late 80s invasion, and much of Kuwait’s complement were lost in Iraq’s invasion a year later in 1990, while the Philippines have kept their forces largely intact over the years.  The Cockerill gun is a low-pressure weapon, mounted in a low-weight two-person turret that was engineered to be a drop-in emplacement in light-weight applications such as armoured cars, and can fire a range of 90mm munitions to give support to troops and other soft skinned vehicles with direct or indirect fire.  It is proof against 7.62mm rounds, as is the rest of the hull that is made from hardened steel.

 

Production was ended in 2000, with a new company Textron taking over maintenance and support ten years later, although no new variants would be produced.  A LAV-300 Mk.II was proposed in the late 80s with improved engine and transmission amongst other upgrades, and a single vehicle was upgraded with a larger turret taken from the niche Stingray Light Tank, the only operator of which being Thailand.  This was re-designated as the LAV-600, although it was never mass-produced, losing out to the M1117 in a bid for service in the US army.  Like its sibling, it is now firmly in the rear-view mirror of wheeled AFV history.

 

 

The Kit

This is a new tooling from HobbyBoss of this relatively low-volume AFV, and it arrives in a top-opening box with a card divider separating the hull parts from the other sprues.  A painting of the LAV-300 in a tropical backdrop adorns the front of the box, and inside are five sprues plus two hull halves in sand-coloured styrene, a clear sprue, a bag of six flexible black tyres, a length of braided copper wire, two Photo-Etch (PE) frets of different sizes in thick-gauge brass, a black & white instruction booklet with a colour painting and decaling guide on glossy paper slipped inside.  Exterior detail is excellent, as we’ve come to expect from HobbyBoss, extending to the suspension under the six wheels, and the wheels themselves, including the chunky tyres, stowage, light cages, and main gun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with a small suspension part with a PE handle, of which there are two under the front of the hull, adding suspension struts with gaiters, and building three axles with drive-shafts, with another stubby amphibious-drive axle under the rear of the hull, and a transfer box near the centre of the transmission tunnel.  The LAV-300 is amphibious, and has a pair of water jets under the rear of the hull, made from two halves, plus a rendition of the internals, a PE mesh over the open intake, and a directional ‘bucket’ at the rear.  More suspension units with gaiters and other suspension parts are fitted around the underside, plus a pair of rails under the front, which later supports a bow wave deflector, with an actuator lever added later in the build when the hull halves are together.  The two front wheels are made as a mirrored pair, taking care with the direction of tread whilst adding the two hub halves around the flexible tyres, and installing an additional hub part on the inner face that is mostly hidden by the carcass of the tyre.  The rear wheels are built as a pair that are mirrored on the opposite side, using a different non-steering hub back, sliding them onto the respective ends of the axles.  The steering pair at the front have a linkage that joins them together, adding a pair of armoured PE deflectors to the amphibious drive parts, which by now have angled drive-shafts applied to transfer motive power when in water.

 

 

 

The rear doors are first parts of the upper hull to be built, adding a single panel door with latches into the drop-down main door, with glazing in the small windows, a cage around each one, handles, and a hitch on the lower edge.  Despite this being a predominantly exterior kit, there are elements of the interior included, such as the driver’s position, complete with seat, handbrake, two-part steering column, foot pedals, and a fire extinguisher to the rear.  A set of back-to-back passenger seats are made from two main components, adding support struts to the ends with the help of an accompanying scrap diagram, mounting them in the rear on two large pins.  Another crew seat is fixed behind the driver facing sideways, placing an instrument binnacle with decal and a pair of levers on the left wheel arch, completing the driver’s controls.  A periscope and two vision blocks are fixed to the front lip of the driver’s hatch, with two smaller hatches on the glacis, and a step on the left side of the lower hull, gluing the upper hull in place, followed by the two engine bay hatches on the right, adding vents, grab-handles and sub-hatches to complete them before installing them both in the space on the front of the upper hull.  Several small parts are applied to the glacis, plus four PE lugs on the left side that will support the towing cable that is made from the supplied copper wire and a pair of two-part eyes, wrapping them around the PE lugs and draping them appropriately.  A side hatch is detailed with clear parts and handles before it is installed in the cut-out, adding vision ports and glazed-over firing loupes on both sides.  More detail is fitted to the glacis, incorporating light clusters with clear lenses, wing mirrors on stalks, then moving along the side fitting more detail and clear windows, ending with a rack of two four-part jerry cans at the rear left.  The driver’s hatch is a single part, adding a rack of pioneer tools to the rear behind the turret ring, and the massive exhaust unit that snakes down the right side of the vehicle, made from three styrene parts to give it a hollow tip, and three PE heat-shields, plus a grab-handle where it emerges from the interior.  It is mounted on three lugs that correspond with holes in the side of the hull, adding a pair of rear lights and towing eyes to the rear.

 

The turret is made from top and bottom halves, first adding the two hatches to their cut-outs, latches on the inside, then mating the halves, with a styrene stowage basket that has a PE mesh top installed over the top.  Lifting lugs, latches, vision blocks and sighting mechanism are fixed to the turret top and sides, plus a pair of aerial mounts at the rear, and a searchlight with clear lens on the right of the main gun.  The gun has a solid one-part barrel, adding a slide-moulded muzzle brake to the front, and a two-part corrugated gaiter to the rear, slotting the base into a shroud, then sliding that into the mantlet, with a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun muzzle inserted to the left of the barrel.  The turret mates with the hull without glue, locking in place via a bayonet fitting, completing the build by adding two fuel filler caps to the rear sides, covering them with a protective cage, and adding more cages around the two amphibious propulsion units under the rear of the sponsons.

 

 

Markings

There are two decal options included on the sheet, depicting a pair of Philippine Marines vehicles, wearing different schemes, one digital, the other more traditional tri-tone.  HobbyBoss aren’t very forthcoming about any other details however, but the vehicle numbers and schemes might offer some clues to those that are interested.  From the box you can build one of the following:

 

 

 

The decals are up to HB’s usual standards, and should be suitable for the task, although I often worry about the density and under-printing of the yellow components.

 

 

Conclusion

This is a nice model of a niche subject that will doubtless appeal to lovers of wheeled AFVs, especially if they’re fond of big guns and low production numbers.  It has good detail, and a portion of the interior adds appeal to the model.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of