Trumpeter LAV-25

[Dennis McQuillen]

This will be my first build here so why not make it one in a group build. I picked up a 1/35 Trumpeter LAV-25 at a local show a couple of months ago and decided to build it here. I will paint it in the 3 tone NATO scheme. Got the kit started today and here are some pics of my progress.

Here is the box top. A little out of focus (hopefully not a sign of things to come)



Here is the bare hull bottom


here is the hull bottom with the first two steps of the instructions finished. I find with these types of suspensions that you finish large portions before the glue sets. Nothing worse than realizing the instructions were a little vague and now you can't get the part loose.





It looks like half of the kit parts go into the suspension and it is a shame most of it will never be seen.

All of the other builds are looking amazing and I look forward to participating.

Dennis

 

[Quaralane]

Suspension is looking good

 

[NecronautDrummer]

I find with these types of suspensions that you finish large portions before the glue sets. Nothing worse than realizing the instructions were a little vague and now you can't get the part loose.

I feel your pain. Glued the Brake guards on my Cougar on upside down, and had to scratch the detail back on properly. No way they were coming off by the time I caught the mistake.

I see that your kit has articulated propeller shafts for the marine drive. Mine's got the shafts molded into the hull. Looks awful, but like you said, nobody's gonna see it.

Looking forward to your progress!

 

[TRM]

Looking good Dennis!!! Off and running!! Looking forward to more!!

 

[Eastrock]

Looking Sharp dennis!!

 

[Chris S]

Nice kit ,and a good start . Oh ..and welcome to the site

Chris.

 

[Dennis McQuillen]

Thanks everyone!

I finished up the suspension last night. No real problems there. Blurry again, next one not so bad.




I put the rear plate on and had some real fit issues. With a little carving and, hot cement and a little pressure, I got it to go on but it isn't very pretty, but hey, it's an armored vehicle not a supersonic stealth jet right? Nothing I can't live with.

I dry fitted the upper hull and with a little more carving on the rear plate it fits nearly perfect.


Dennis

 

[schweinhund227]

. Awesome start my friend! Keep up the good work!

If you don't mind sharing the exact nature of the rear plate FIT issue! It could help others? That might have the kit or thinking about getting one!

Lager buddy!

Norm.

 

[HWR MKII]

Your propellor mounts are upside down. Those nubs gleud onto the hull at the rear should point upward not down.

 

[Quaralane]

Looks to be coming along nicely

 

[Dennis McQuillen]

Your propellor mounts are upside down. Those nubs gleud onto the hull at the rear should point upward not down.

Thank you very much for pointing that out. With only minor difficulty they were removed and placed the correct way.

. Awesome start my friend! Keep up the good work!

If you don't mind sharing the exact nature of the rear plate FIT issue! It could help others? That might have the kit or thinking about getting one!

Lager buddy!

Norm.

With the left side plate lined up there was a very noticeable step on the right side.



I glued some Evergreen strip styrene and sanded it down to the right level. I put some Tamiya putty on to fill any small gaps and sanded everything smooth.


On the left side the picture came out way too blurry but there the plate did not fit totally flush against the hull and there was a gap along in places. The gaps were too large for putty so I stretched some sprue out and glued it in and smooched it in place.


I sanded everything smooth and I see from the picture that I still have a little more work to do.


Thanks for looking,
Dennis

 

[NecronautDrummer]

That's exactly what I'm working on right now with Trumpeter's Cougar kit. I went with applying Tamiya putty, sanding & some Mr Surfacer. Unfortunately, I built up the entire top hull before I glued the hull halves together & found this same fit issue, so bits are falling off as I fix it. Live & learn.

HWR MKII, what kind of towing points are in the kit for below the rear hatches? Do you have towing pintle loops or the knuckle style towing points?

 

[Dennis McQuillen]

I have decided to add as many major parts before adding the fiddly bits to avoid breaking them off. I feel your pain and wish to avoid it.

So I started with the hatches and I noticed a there was a problem. The hatches did not fit as well as I was hoping and there were spots where the hacth touched the hull and others where there was a "large gap" that would look cavernous if I left it and painted it up. It just did not look consistent. Well a picture is worth a thousand words as they say.


So I used the back of a blade to scrape out the areas where the fit was to close and brought out the putty. I used Tamiya putty and thinned it with some nail polish remover and used a tool to push it into the gap all the way around. I then took a Q-tip and soaked it in nail polish remover and started rubbing the putty off. The trick is to try to get as much off as possible. I really rubbed hard almost like I was trying to get it out of the gap, which just pushed it in farther. When finished you should have a nice uniform depth gap around the hatch. The surface will look a little rough because the putty eats into the plastic a little while working. A little sanding and some primer and you will never notice.



Thanks for looking,
Dennis

 

[ShutterAce]

Excellent tip Dennis!

 

[Captain Caveman III]

Love the weld lines!

 

[Dennis McQuillen]

Love the weld lines!

Those came molded on so I can't take credit for them ;D

Here is another little trick that I do to add some detail. Sometimes you don't have photo-etch available or just don't want to fool with it. You can just take the back of a #11 knife blade and scrape detail into the part. Here I have scraped away at the vents on the top of the hull. As they were, they looked solid and unrealistic. With a little scraping you can make them look like vent slats. Be careful that you do not scrape all the way through the part or it will start to break. I know this from experience. You can see how the original part looked on the left and with about 10 minutes worth of work on the right.



Dennis

 

[Quaralane]

Nice little tip, Dennis.
The results speak for themselves

 

[Myke]

Looking brilliant! Gonna have to pick up that kit.
Great work.

 

[spud]

the grill looks great. neat idea

 

[ScaleModelMadman]

Looks cool.