Here is my build log of the AFV club 1/35 M35A1 Quad gun truck.
Im in-between a couple projects so I thought why not start this.
Its a really nice kit but as you will see parts can be improved.
I started the build with the quad .50.
( Sorry for the changes of tones in the pictures they were all taken in the span of 4 hours.)
My first improvement was slicing the solid molded rear sights to something a bit more accurate.
The I drilled out the flash hiders for the barrels.
The rear without changes…
Done.
The whole turret complete.
Tomorrow I hope to start the armored cab and bed.
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Looking great so far Ezra! Drilling out the barrels and flash hiders can be a pain, but in the end it really adds to the model. I’ll be following with interest!
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I have one in the stash as well so I shall be following this with interest.
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Thanks guys!
This morning progress.
Built up the cab and the bed. I really like this kit but one think I really don’t like is the gazillion ejector pin marks over the whole model. There are 17 in the bed alone!
Those problems aside I really am enjoying this build.
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Case in point look at the armored door shields.
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Built this for a client a couple of years back. Builds up nicely in the end but it is a bit of work as you say. If I remember correctly the decals were a bit fragile so you might want to take care when you get to them. Good luck.
I haven’t built this specific kit but I have found that AFV club kits do have a lot of injector marks. About the only saving grace is that a lot of them tend to get covered up by other stuff. At least those marks look to be in easily filled spots and not say on the inner receiver of the M2 Brownings (I am looking at you AFV Club 1/4 ton jeep 
)
Coming along nicely. One thing to note, AFV Club got the gun mount wrong. They were actually M55 quad .50 cal mounts (M45 on M20 trailers) that where wheeled up into the bed. The pedestal was not welded/bolted to the floor like in the WWII M16 halftrack.
Jim “Gunny” Lewis shows how to build it properly at his website; Guntruck Studios.
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Looking great so far. How would you say AFV Club kit quality is overall?
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Thanks for that info Gino. I’ll try to see if I can buy a 1/35 Quad .50 then use the base from it… or if that doesn’t work scratch build a whole new bed and convert a regular gun truck like Ace of Spades.
Thanks Dennis! Over all I would say the quality is a bit better then Tamiya but with more ejector pin marks. 
we had one for thirty six hours, and Gino is right once I thought about it. Ours was on an M54, and the carriage just laid there in the back. We had our tilted to the side as the barrels didn’t depress enough. All we used were wood planks from 155 ammo pallets. Have no idea about an M35 with a quad fifty, but seems like a lot of weight back there, so you might not have to wedge the carriage like we did. Even the guns I was around that were land based didn’t have that trailer affair anywhere with in sight. The carriage sat on the ground. They often used very large ammo boxes that were taller. Were they OEM; I imply don’t know. I stayed away from them as they were a big party of interest to the neighbors.
Our brand new truck caught a 122 rocket right ontop the front end of the hood at two in the morning. We removed the quad fifty and placed it ontop a concrete bunker
gary
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The M35 carrying an M55 quad .50 was a common setup for early guntrucks in Vietnam. “Nancy” was an actual M35 guntruck as well.
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I have a question @HeavyArty Gino, were there ever gun trucks with the armored box around the bed that were M35’s?
Yes, lots of them. They were common as 1st gen gun trucks in Vietnam.
The 2nd gen gun trucks progressed to M54s with the box and w/quad .50s.
The final, 3rd gen gun truck versions were M54s w/M113 hulls on the back.
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Thanks Gino!
I may use the quad .50 for something else and just scratch build the whole box and everything as I like the look of them better. There went my idea of this being a quick simple project…
You can notice one of the ramps strapped along the side :
H.P.
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Ive decided I will be building this M35a1 gun truck.
Mostly because there is only one pic I can find so people cant prove me wrong that the inside is scratched wrong…
I will also be building it with a semi different load of of weapons… Im thinking a Twin .50 would look nice…
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Unfortunately, that is an M54 5-ton guntruck. Notice the fuel tank on the left side and the longer, drop-side bed. M54s also have a large air cleaner on the right front fender and a storage box on the right side below the bed.
M35A1 has the spare tire on the left side and a fuel tank on the right side, and the bed doesn’t have the raised part at the front.
Dang, ok then I’ll look for another to do. Im currently building the box out of Evergreen right now.
