Great stuf Gino.  And what a special project - you must be very proud.

Hello Gino!

That's a cool project, I'll be watching! I'd say you can't complain on lack of references on this one, right? If you have any questions about details you've got someone you can ask... That's the way accurate models are built!

Good luck with your builds and have a nice day

Paweł

Thanks gents.  I am very proud of her.  I have hit her up for some referance pic and have had a few questions.  I like how they are coming along so far.

Ohhh so cool Gino! Love what you've done and will be watching this. Big congrads to your daughter, something to really be proud of! 

Btw: Those interior shots? I'm assuming they are declassified??? I mean, we're not going to jail for looking at them and you for getting them 3D printed are we??? 

Thanks Gamera.  You should be safe, they were lifted off the net, but if guys in suits and sunglasses show up at your door, I don't know you.  

HeavyArty

Thanks Gamera.  You should be safe, they were lifted off the net, but if guys in suits and sunglasses show up at your door, I don't know you.  

 

Lol, thanks buddy!!!! 

Always a joy to watch your builds. You must have one of those Pods in the yard for housing all the spare parts you must have. Two kits just to steal the beds off the sprues!

Thanks Glenn.  It is coming along.  

GlennH

Two kits just to steal the beds off the sprues!

My spares box isn't that big.  I actually ordered the 2 sprues for the bed off eBay.

Work continues on the ECS. I have been working on the shelter interior. Below is how it looks, and a drawing of the components. My daughter updated me on how the current one looks. The Xed out (red boxed) areas are no longer there.

So far I have the equipment cabinets built and partially installed into the shelter. I built the cabinets from casts I made of the electronics cabinet on the PATRIOT launcher. It came w/two, one left over from the PAC 2 version. I cast them and glued them together side by side, added a fourth box on top to make them tall enough, and boxed them in w/sheet styrene. I did the same for the operator consoles at the front. They are not exact, but look close enough to me.

I also made a screen and cast 4 of them, along with a couple keyboards and mouses (mice?) from a desktop computer I had from an old Mig Home and Office set.

Lastly, I took a couple high back seats, added arms to them from resin pieces, and pedestal bases from styrene rod and sheet.

Here they are base-coated w/seafoam green.

The seats in black leather/vinyl.

Next up is detail painting of all the electronic panels and adding the computers up front.

Well, the electronics racks look very impressive and I bet it takes a lot of expertise to tell where exactly they are not correct...

Then the seats look very comfy!

Good luck with your build and thanks for sharing!

Paweł

Thanks Pawel.  I think it will look close enough as well.

I as usual have no idea if it's accurate or not but it all looks fantastic to me Gino! 

Thanks Gamera.  Totally accurate, no.  Close enough, for sure.

I have completed construction and painting of the shelter interior. I detailed the electronic racks with some aluminum paint and red, black, and yellow buttons. I also added some various placard decals for interest. I made the computer screen images by copying an image of a shelter interior that showed the screens, pasted them into PowerPoint, resized, and printed them on computer decal paper.

Here it is so far.

I will add a couple bags, MRE boxes, and maybe a helmet for personal gear to make it look lived it next. Then it will be complete inside.

I should get the cab parts from @MikeyBugs tomorrow. I can’t wait to see how it comes out.

HeavyArty

I made the computer screen images by copying an image of a shelter interior that showed the screens, pasted them into PowerPoint, resized, and printed them on computer decal paper.

An admirable attention to detail.

I would have been sore tempted to use this for graphics on one of the screens

Whichprobably much shows my age, and my irreverence :)

Thanks Capn.  I guess it is the modern, real life version of Missile Command.

I love it,that stuff is really cool,love the action.

Thanks Tojo.

As I said above, I received the 3D printed LTAS cab from @MikeyBugs earlier last week. The cab is awesome. It goes together well and only needed a light sanding in a few areas to achieve a smooth finish.

I am waiting on a couple more printed parts to finish it up.

Here is the truck mocked up and almost ready for paint. I completed the outside of the shelter with a couple stowage bins on both sides , the extendable antenna on the right side, and some resin cast steps and cover plates/access points. I also added the heater and a wire coil holder on the front under the A/C units. I added grab handles to the bed sides, a work platform, and chains to hold the tailgate. The new-style bumper is from the Legend M1078 update set.

More to come once I get the final 3D printed parts.

Impressive work, Gino!

I really like the missle launchers, they are just fun to look at and will look great in the LT's office.

And your interior detail work in progress is awesome, too.

The detail on that cab is incredible.  And the bent-up grille is perfect, too.

That's going to look so good in paint.

Thanks gents.  It is coming along.  I really like the 3D printed cab.  It looks great.

Yeah that cab looks so good and great work there on the interior! 

Thanks Gamera.  I like how it is all coming along.

That looks like a pile o' work Gino! But the extra work speaks for itself! 

Thanks Gamera.  It is a ton of work, but will look good in the end.

I was asked on another site to provide some feedback on the 3D printed LTAS cab.

So here it is. The cab is very nice. It comes in about 10 major parts and a few other smaller ones. All the LTAS specific parts are there. You still add a few parts from the kit; steering column and wheel, gas and brake pedals, mirrors, windshield wipers, etc… I had no issues so far with it going together. The printing is exquisite and looks great. Like I said, it only needed sanding in a couple areas to smooth it all out. I highly recommend it.

The fenders and front steps come as separate pieces. They are already installed here.

These are the detailed wire rope steps that I will attach later so they are not broken off. They have a small bolt underneath and look really nice.

The cab itself. The interior has soundproofing details and supports for the gun ring. I added the PE sun visors from the FMTV kit. The grill part is a separate piece.

A very detailed dash board.

Doors detailed in and out. It also includes small parts for the door handles and prop rods, etc.

The seats are very nice and have fine fabric details and open pipe base supports.

Lastly, there are 3D printed window glass. These are the weakest part of the set. They are very thick and not very clear. I plan on using them as templates to cut new windows from clear sheet styrene.

Now back to the truck build…

HeavyArty

These are the weakest part of the set.

Yeah, my "clear" resin prints are only transluscent at best. 

Just too many things working against the resin.  Presence of impurities, microbubbles while casting, differential "setting" of the resin, a whole litany of things to "go wrong."

Now, that does not mean a person can't get some outstanding prints out of the clear resin.  But, you need your ducks in a row--it's not just pour-n-print.

But, for light fixtures, especially when planning for LED use, the clear works just fine.  It's just not suitable for glazing, yet, at scales larger than, say 1/150 or so.

Now, making moulds for vacuum or droop forming--there's an untapped market.

My 2¢ spend it as you will.

Wow, that looks great! Gonna look fantastic with some paint applied. 

Interesting about the clear parts, I'd never thought about it but as the 3D lays down the plastic in layers I guess it would have to have the striations running though it. 

Thanks gents.  The cab does look great.  I was able to get some paint on the interior and started detailing it. More pics soon.