I thought I had a WIP thread on here, but I cant seem to find it. Anyways I started this kit last summer, orignally intending straight OOB, but as I have progressed, more and more things were changed/added/replaced. This is the old 1970s vintage 251/1C kit. I started by swapping teh kit tracks for some AFV Club indy links. The look pretty good but did not fit quite right on the sprocket or the guide teeth in between the roadwheels.
Then after asking a question here about tie downs points on these vehicles, I learned there was a handrail along the upper inner edge of the troop compartment. Well I could not just add that once I found reference photos, I also had to add the stowage bins/seat backs along the lower portion of the troop compartment as well.
Afterwards this kit was shunted aside due to other builds having completion date goals. But last weekend I pulled it out and resumed construction. I added the fenders...
And I replaced the width indicators with some brass ones from Aber- those parts always break on my German AFVs during movement and handling for cleaning... but not on this puppy...
And I replaced the kit machine guns (which were pretty bad) with new ones from a Tamiya weapons set. I also sanded down the MG shield to a much more resonable scale thickness. I had to scratchbuild new pintles to mount them on the kit, but the pics of the MGs themselves came out bad....
I went back and reshot the MGs. First a couple views of the scratchbuilt pintles. I filed them from sprue until the the reciver fit in the slot, the cut it off. I used brass rod on one and stretched sprue on the other for mounting pins.
Then in place on the SPW
And close ups of each MG mounted. Both are removable for painting.
F is for FIRE, That burns down the whole town!
U is for URANIUM... BOMBS!
N is for NO SURVIVORS...
- Plankton
LSM