She is really looking good, Pawel. Good job.

Hello everybody!

Cap'n - and how do you like the build?

Gamera, TigerII - thanks a lot for your kind words, they mean a lot to me!

And I have everything nice and smooth now:

As you can see I added some lugs on the rear - where the fuel can holder and pioneer tool rack would bolt to, but USAF didn't seem to use them - I guess on the airbase they would only add weight here. I have also added some missing welds on the sides. And now I can start working on the suspension.

So first I had to work on the springs. OOB they look like this:

And here are my tweaks:

Now I have to build new shock absorbers and their mounts, and also the bolts attaching the axles to the springs. FUN!

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

That's some amazing work there Pawel!  I love the custom 3-D printed parts and the other extra detailing you are putting into the model.  And the Commando is such a neat looking vehicle, yes a lot like the BRDM.

Hey, where the heck is everybody these days?  Forum traffic is as slow as logging in!

Pawel: Continuing really nice work there- those springs are a big improvement! 

Real G: I'm still here but 2/3rds of the time I can't log on to the site. I post a little but I've gotten kinda fed up at this point. 

Hello!

Real G - Yeah, the BRDM is a similar machine, but the Warsaw Pact used it for everything, and the R in the name is for "Razvedka" (Recon), so that's a role that the M706 wasn't meant for - not that the BRDM has any equipment that couldn't be installed on the M706.

I'm glad you like my work, thanks a lot!

Gamera - thanks a lot, I'm so glad you're still here!

But it's true, it's tiresome how bad the forum works now. When you compare it to a forum that actually works, the difference is shocking.

I'm here mainly out of sentiment for the old times, and here's another update:

I have the rear suspension done:

The resin wheels are from a company called MMK, the axle is my 3D print with a hole through for a reinforcement made out of brass wire to keep the axle from bending under load when it gets hot, and the shock absorbers are scratchbuilt.

And here's how the subassembly fits into the chassis:

Now more fun to come - the front suspension and the steering system!

Thanks for looking and have a nice day!

Paweł

Pawel

But it's true, it's tiresome how bad the forum works now. When you compare it to a forum that actually works, the difference is shocking.

And the appearance of those other fora is also a tad shocking, very text-based and "vintage 90s.

So, Kalmbach gets credit for a good-looking forum, just not one that seems to reun very well.  Yet.

Wow that looks nice Pawel! I hope you're putting a mirror under your model or something like that so people can see all your extra work? 

I tend to spash mud and dirt all over the undersides of my armour so I don't spend much work on detailing there... 

And funny, the site was a pain last weekend when I assume the IT guys get some time off. But it's ran fine all this weekend. 

Cap'n - that's right, but how about the model I'm building? :-)

Gamera - I keep my models in a cabinet with glass shelves and then I can take a look at the undersides. I also take them out every now and then :-)

And currently I'm havin' fun with the front suspension. I've assembled most of it:

The axle is my 3D design, reworked kit springs and scratchbuilt shock absorbers.

I've also scratchbuilt the power steering cylinder and I also have the drag link built, but it is not on the photo yet. The wheels will be shown "steered" to one side for a cooler look.

I hope to show you the photos of ready built underside soon. Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel

but how about the model I'm building? :-)

Well, when I can see it--this is the first time since about Thursday last week--it's outstanding as always.

Mind, I don't have a lot of time arund the V-100s, so every new thing is just that, brand new to me.

Looks good!!! 

LOL, you have a point! Never thought about putting the model on a glass shelf! 

Hello everybody!

Cap'n - thanks a lot for your kind words!

Gamera - I always say Ilike my models to be accurate from the underside, too! Usually it's not so easy or even possible to crawl under different machines, so it's important to me to be able to show it on the model, they are good for that!

And I have my chassis almost done. I added the last parts of the steering system, including a sheet metal cover for the power steering cylinder:

Having that, I was able to put the machine on its wheels - only temporarily now:

The rims on the front wheels were a little cracked, so I repaired them with copper wire. Looking up the chassis would look like that:

I plan to add some shading and weathering later, for now I'm building the details on the top. I got a hint from "the real thing guys" that I need a better grille over the exhaust on the "duck bill". I'm trying to draw something up in 3D.

Thanks for looking and have a nice day!

Paweł

She's lookin' good Pawel! Big, squat, and tough looking! 

Pawel

Thanks for looking and have a nice day!

Looks good.

Mind, this appears to be the only thread with any activity here.  The 504 Errors are still rife, and even with only about six people per weeks commenting.

Hello everybody!

Gamera - thanks a lot, it's got style ain't it?

Cap'n - yes, I'm painfully aware of that... And thanks!

And it was pointed out to me, that I need a new grill over the “duck bill” in the rear. So I drew up a new one and recently it was 3D printed for me:

After fitting it here’s how it looks like:

On the same picture you can see the radiomans top hatch, also known as the “rear gunners hatch” which is way off in the kit. The cover is too big and the opening is too small - something like that deserves a kind of trophy, doesn’t it? I’m using MMK’s door kit, but the radiomans hatch from the kit has wrong shape, so I decided to convert the kit part here. I also had to move and enlarge the opening in the kit roof and I lined the edgeswith 0,5mm copper wire.
One more photo:

Here you can also see the rear light brackets made from styrene sheet.
On the next photo are the side lower door stops that I made of copper wire. The kit parts have wrong dimensions anyway:

Out of wire I have also fabricated the front light guards:

As you can see, I like wire a lot

Thanks for reading and for your comments, have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel

Thanks for reading and for your comments, have a nice day

Sharp as a razor, as always.

Eyeballing recent comments It looks like I'm about the 7th person to comment on the entire FSM site in as many days.  Sigh.

Hello Cap'n!

Thanks a lot for your comment. I sent you an e-mail too, did you get it?

With so little being posted I feel a little like a star of the show here...

And recently I've been working on all those doors - and there are many of them! I have ordered a MMK set that has only V-100 doors - they are a separate set for a reason! And it's a nice little set and not so expensive. Here's a link to the MMK page:

www.mmk.cz/en/models/category/detailni-a-konverzni-sady

And here's how my doors turned out:

Now I want to paint them on the inside and temporarily install them closed to paint the camouflage on the vehicle. Then I'll permanently install them as open.

Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł