For anyone who hasn’t built it yet. I wrote this last July but never posted it here:
I had a little extra time. FIrst off - these are great kits. Impeccable engineering, not covered with knock out pin marks, and they have put thought into the sprue attachment points, especially on rounded parts. Instead of the attachment on a rounded surface, which always sucks trying to file down correctly, the attachment point is on the flat face of the part, making it much easier. Enough about the kit - here’s the no fluff build review:
There are no hiccups all the way through step 25. Everything goes together flawlessly.
On step 26, the directions show installing parts J38 and J39. Here I would omit J39 for now and add J38 in its proper location on each frame rail, the leaf spring mount with the pin. And here’s why:
Steps 27 and 28 are reversed. No big deal. You’re not going to build them that way anyway. And if you did, you’d notice the leaf springs are not parallel to the frame, so you just switch them. But there’s a better way, in my opinion. Skip those steps and go to step 29. Install the front end of the leaf springs as shown, then skip briefly to 31 and install parts E3 and H20. These are the outer front leaf spring mounts. (don’t you love how they have you skip around all the sprues for every subassembly?) Make sure the spring can move up and down. Let that set for a bit.
Now go back to steps 27 and 28 - but don’t try to assemble the parts in mid-air like that. Instead, put part J15 and J16 on that rear mount from earlier, (J38) all while attaching them to the srpings. (J54) In spite of the instructions, it’s okay to get cement on them. That note was for doing it their (harder) way. Once everthing is lined up, install the other rear spring mount pieces. (J39) Trust me, after two of these, that is the much easier way.
Now you proceed as per the instruction all the way to step 40. Do not assembly in that order! Bend the PE first and install it. Then add the air tanks. If you add the air tanks first and let them set, I can almost guarantee their relief valves will not line up with the notches in the PE part - there’s a bit of play in them. If you add them afterwards - no problem. Once you’ve finished the battery box assembly I would set it aside and add it near the end. I kept snagging the PE piece,
That takes us to step 49. Do not follow the sequence. Add both parts J36 to H11 and H12 before installing them. If you install H11 and H12 first, I can promise you headache.
On to step 60. I did not add J6 to the end of the guide rod. (J1) Instead I assemble J8 and J9 first, made sure they set, and slid that assembly onto the guide rod. And then I added J6. Probably nothing wrong with the instructions here, but you know Murphy. If you can get cement on the rod, it’ll find a way to get there. My way insures it doesn’t happen. Do other side the same.
Step 62 - part N20 is a little ambiguous. I have a photo from my walk around that shows exacly where it goes. But then I noticed on step 76 it shows you a different view at the bottom. (HIMARS 18)
Step 68 - that little hook - part N33. Yeah, that’s odd, but that’s where it goes. See photo for more detail you can put there. (HIMARS 13)
Step 70 - parts M23 and M1. Those are the rail protectors. They’re shown in two positions. While traveling of firing, those will be in the down position. The only time they’re up is when the winch assembly is sliding forward. They are spring loaded and ride up on the winch automatically into the open position. So unless you’re showing a reload in operation, keep them down.
Lastly, the Javelin missile - a nice little addition. No part number is given, but by the end you’ll find out it’s the clear part V8.
That’s all I got. Nothing major, but following those steps will save you some headaches.