Looking for a modern APC interior kit. Something like a Stryker or the French VBCI - a “longer” APC.
Thanks
Michael
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The only Stryker AM one I know of is the so/so one from Black Dog. It is really expensive and not that great.
Would an M113 interior work? They can be found on eBay as just the Tamiya interior sprue or Academy sprues (the better option) pretty cheaply.
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If you want a Stryker with an an interior, why not just purchase the Trumpeter M1129 Mortar Carrier? It’s got a full interior including the driver’s compartment. It’s the only Stryker kit that does, and it’s dirt cheap on AliExpress right now.
You can also add a driver’s compartment to any AFV Club or Trumpeter kit, as well as an engine. These are very fine kits, although for some reason I’ve only ever seen one built, and that was from Hans-Hermann right here on ths forum. A shame as it’s quite detailed.
$43.00 after shipping. That’s hard to beat.
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I’m not a fan of Black Dog, but I have to say, for the amount of resin and PE it has in it, it’s actually on par with similar kits such as Legend. What makes it not that great? The accuracy or the quality of the castings?
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On the one I had; the casting was pretty poor with soft details and quite a bit of flash. I sold it a while ago.
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Interesting. Mine matched my walkaround quite well. The details were crisp. My complaint was (and remains) air bubbles and occasional warping. Often with Black Dog accuracy is hit or miss, (the panels on the M109 floor are inaccurately laid out) but this one was fine. I’m not sure why yours had flash. There is no flash on any resin kits I’ve had, except squash casting, which AEF Designs used quite a bit. With Black Dog, Legend, Hobby Fan, and the other big players, they’re all poured into molds and the casting plug is the only thing you have to deal with. There’s no void for flash to go. That’s one of the reasons AEF sucked so badly. Unfortunately for Black Dog they do not squash cast, but also do not appear to pressurize their casts, resulting in the occasional air bubble, but all of their parts have plugs.
One caveat to the above - you can get “flash” on certain types of pieces, like between the handles on a fuel can. But it is a result of placing bare metal foil between the components on the master so that the RTV can settle on either side. I’ve done pieces like this. Then you can pull the part out without tearing the mold or breaking the piece. It leaves a whisper thin layer of resin where the foil was on the master. You can literally blow it off the piece. I wouldn’t even call it flash. Interesting that yours suffered from that. There were no parts even requiring in my set. I bought my kit in 2011. Maybe they were squash casting prior to that when you got yours?
By the way, they could easily build a pressure caster from a paint sprayer like I did, for about $80.
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I realized you never specified which country. I’m lumping APC’s and IFV’s together. The Trumpeter BMP-3 has a very nice interior complete with ammo carousel. I have it - my only issue was the missing turret bars, which weren’t necessary but I wanted that version.
They also do the BTR-70 with a fair interior - remember you don’t see everything anyway.
It’s a pretty inexpensive kit. WITH shipping about $40 on AliExpress.
Or MiniArt’s new BTR 4-E with interior. Lots of possibilities with Soviet/Russian equipment, without having to go the aftermarket route.
Ever tried your hand at scratchbuilding? Plenty of references (not necssarily my own 2000 photo walkaround) to build nearly any of the other versions. The only problem is Prime-Portal is becoming increasing tedious to use - having to click back off of each photo before you can go on to the next one. And loading times can be a bit slow. At any rate, there are some good ones on there.
Keeping in mind you can’t realistically see everything without opening every single hatch, you can just do certain areas:
Sometimes you don’t have to create a whole new part. You can modify an existing one, as I did to this old MLRS seat:
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I have figured out that the Heller VBCI would be the perfect doner since I need the interior for another 8 wheeled APC
I might even be able to get a replacement spruce from Heller
I am going to check Blast as they have interior upgrades/parts
Since the seats are suspended instead of a bench, I might be able to use car/truck seat
Michael
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