8 Wheelers from 1965 - to Present

Just started mine Olivier. I am doing mine for the Trumpeter group Build. I agree fit was an option Trumpeter did not take up on these parts.

I had to drill out the spring assemblies so they would slide over the lug on the base part and had to open out the slot for the little triangular piece that has the bottom pin for the bottom of the shock absorber or it flared outward. There was a fair bit of play in the location on the large ‘swing arm’ too. I see the top of your shock absorbers doesn’t go right into the slot too.

The hull top to bottom, and the fit of the front and rear hull sections is quite the opposite though - a very good fit.

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Just started my LAV-R, my LAV-AD for Trumpeter campaign is on hold cause I am missing some sprues it appears.

@white4doc, if your around Doc and have any pointers besides the Eduard set and Def wheels I plan to use let me know.

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I was thinking exactly the same when I saw the picture. The dust is almost bright orange. It almost has that Vietnam feeling to it.

@petbat I decided to modify the way to assemble the suspension.
I first modified the two suspension units I had already glued so the top of the shock absorbers make contact with the hull.
For the next units I decided not to attach the shock absorber to the swing arm and glue the arm straight to the hull. The triangular part which links the shock absorber is modified by removing the positioning tab and the axis for the shock absorber end. The shock absorber is glued tot the hull first and then to the suspension unit. Finally I covered the bottom of the shock absorber with the modified triangular part.
This way is easier and allows a far better fit.




Olivier

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I think the bottom hull is complete. Next the top and pe. :+1:

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Nice fixes Olivier, it’s just a shame they have to be done. And good start Ryan with yours. Everything always seems to go easier for me once the fiddly running gear is out the way :+1:

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I didn’t think it was too bad. Hindsight I would not have glued the springs in so they could float while attaching the other bits. Might try that on the AD kit, which I think I will have to get a new kit to do. :cry: My Trumpeter build will now be the UA Gaz-66 that James printed the grill for.

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What was missing from the AD kit ?

Sprue A, all the bottom carriage bits I just built on the R kit. Not sure if it was missing when I bought the kit or some place else. I have the regular kit and some Italeri boxings in the garage and hopefully it’s mixed in that box of stuff for some long forgotten reason.

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Nice undercarriage Ryan. However shouldn’t the jacks be horizontal in the travel mode? Or maybe you’ll represent your LAV-R in the recovery mode.

Olivier

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Probably so, they are loose fitted for now and not glued in. If in recovery mode, they would need to be extended to touch the any terrain.

@Bison126
If it is the LAV-R version that Trumpeter has made a model of then the jacks are stored at an upwards angle (rotated more than 90 degrees from the vertical in-use position)

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You’re right Robin. Horizontal was a wrong choice of word.
Ryan, from your answer I guess Trumpeter do not give the option of jacks in recovery mode. It’s a pity.

Olivier

No, but a not hard to make it so. Trim off plate and add tubing to needed length. Reattach plate.

They don’t give you the cabling that Robin shows in the photo either. Hmm.

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That’s why I love the latest Zvezda models. They contain cables and tubing. There also are options for travel or working modes. This way there are no mobile parts but this is not an issue for me. I’m old enough not to play with my models any more. :grin:

Olivier

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I am not. :joy:

I was thinking of having this guy in the hatch.

The idea of recovery does sound interesting. Hmm.

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Sorry about making you aware of the missing stuff.
Reference materials only cause problems …

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It’s all good. In theory it’s not hard to add. I am sure there is plenty more to add to the top.

There usually is …
Model design is about making choices about what to include and what not.
In my opinion prominent hydraulic lines should be included, some thin electrical cabling could be ignored though …

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Brother,

Doc is “In”. What sprues are you missing? I might be able to help you out.

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