I finally got around to taking some pictures of the Tamiya AAVP-7A1 I finished recently. I used the Hobby Fan EAAK conversion, the Hobby Boss indy-link tracks, and some PE tie-downs from a Voyager set. The resin EAAK was a pain to work with, with a lot of warpage and shrinkage throughout. I ended up scratching the large handholds from wire and PE bolts because the resin ones were unusable. I also scratch-built the vision ports for all three station because the kit had solid ports that were the wrong shape (vertical and inset instead of sloped and flush). The stowage is mostly Hobby Fan stuff, with a few other items from the spares box thrown in.
The markings are for an OIF 1 vehicle from the initial invasion. I copied them from a picture, created stencils with Tamiya tape, and sprayed them on to replicate the crude look of the original. This was my first time spraying camo freehand–I think it came out well. It was also my fist time using an extensive resin conversion, which could have gone better (you’ll see some of the EAAK panels are not correctly aligned).
Excellent work! It is a significant amount of work as well. I used the same conversion back in 2006 for the son of a friend who served in Iraq. I did his track/unit number etc. and he loved it.
I also had the Hobby Fan full interior as well. Then, of course within a year or 2 Hobbyboss released their kit with everything in plastic…never fails…
Haha! I know exactly what you mean. I also bought the Tamiya kit and Hobby Fan conversion a few years before HB released its version. Now I have four of the HB kits (all different versions) in my stash to build.
Do you have any pics of the one you built? Did you paint it in NATO camo, or overall sand?
Great work. What I think could be improved is the QC of some of the resin companies. Maybe I lack knowledge of resin production, however the parts that are shipped should be in good order and meet the consumers expectations.
QC varies … A LOT …
I once got large resin pieces for a AVLB bridge from I-Corps (home cast by someone)
One of the bridge sides had a big lump of resin, big as the outmost segment of your little finger.
The explanation came two or three bridge sides further down in the box, this side piece had a similar shaped lump of rtv-rubber stuck in the same place.
My guess is that his mold broke. The piece with rtv-rubber was the second to last and the one with the resin lump was the very last …
