Here’s a WIP in which I build this unconventional machine:
It’s a PACV - Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle. In Vietnamese Quai Vat - meaning Monster!
It’s going to be build out of a kit by Gecko.
I’m starting with the interior that looks very nice and is detailed well. In fact it has so many details, that I’m wondering where did they get their references from - I sure couldn’t find all the details on the 'net.
I started building the diverse seats:
Parts are very detailed, but also fragile. Cleaning up the sprue attachment points and mold seam lines takes a lot of care so as not to break anything.
As out of the box the kit shows the hovercraft with the skirt inflated, this means that the engine is running. Thus it would be awkward not to have anybody onboard - so I have to take care of the crew. I started with legs:
The ones above come from Dragon’s “Helicopter Crew” set. As you can see the surgery is already done, but everything has to dry really well before the filing starts.
One thing I’d like to ask is what interior colour would you bet on on this one?
The kit instructions say “navy grey”, but from what I’ve seen it should be the same colour as for the outsides (Forest Green). I’d appreciate your input here!
Hello Frenchy! So good to be able to count on you!
I’ve seen those pictures before…
OK, so in the museum the interior is grey. So how about those green patches? Are they over or under the grey paint? Because we know the sole surivor from Vietnam went to the Coast Guard where I guess they repainted the interior grey. But I’d say there was green paint underneath that.
One more data point - a still from a Youtube clip from Vietnam:
Thanks a lot for the photos! Yes, it’s important not to mix up the Army and Navy hovercraft. I lean more and more toward green interior.
In the meantime I’m working on the crew. I have built the radarman’s station and for the radarman I used legs from the Dragon Helicopter Crew set:
I took the torso and the head from the tank crew set, also by Dragon. Head got a neck extension:
After some sanding it fits like that:
I’m thinking about that pistol holster harness.. I think I’ll remove it. I also want to make a headset and I plan to use the “helicopter” hands for both this guy and the “driver”.
