I was going to pick something
else to build, but Felix the cat (who insists on visiting the model closet daily):
spent more than a few seconds sniffing at the
Revell 1/40 Corporal Missile with Transporter. So I decided that it was going to be the next build. I also saw the old
NATO MLRS Multiple Launch Rocket System which has been parted out and was a sad sight sitting in its very large box.
The ancient Revell kit dates from 1955 and has moving parts. For a kit this old, the level and quality of the details is pretty good, with only some flash (but on all the parts...).
The first thing I did was to pronounce it 1/35 scale (some boxings have listed it as 1/35 - it's definitely 1/40). I didn't like the molded in mesh on the sides of the engine compartment, so I replaced them with plastic sheet.
I'm using the MRLS crew cabin instead of the funky cabanas on the original kit. The MRLS crew cabin is a bit wider than the transporter - and already started - so the fist step was to unglue everything (I used some of the fast acting Tamiya glue). I then cut the roof and the front (with the windows) in half and shorted them by a few mm. The sides (with the doors) were shortened slightly. The rest of the cabin is made with plastic sheet and a diamond grid floor:
There's a PE mesh inside the engine/battery compartment that does a good job of hiding the void within.
This is where I was earlier today:
It's been a fun project so far - lots of plastic surgery, but the basic kit fits well and everything is falling together as planned. I'm not sure what I'll use for a payload. The crew cabin blocks the space for the original Corporal missile's nose, so I can modify the Corporal to fit. I also have the Takom DF-17 Chinese hypersonic missile - which I plan to modify into a US (or NATO) ballistic hypersonic missile anyway. Another option is to use the
ICM KUNG shelter, or use it as a reference to make a westernized version.
I was also thinking of some sort of support vehicle, like this
CALTEX oil field service truck build over at Modellversium that caught my eye.