Achzarit APC (--- Finland ---)

[raafif]

Now that the weather isn’t so cold I can go back into my hobby room – this won’t be a problem in the future as I’m spending $mint upgrading the house with double-glazing, floor & ceiling insulation etc etc etc.

My latest project, seeing that the mid-East conflict has rekindled my mojo, is my old AEF IDF Achzarit APC vehicle – these resin kits aren’t as bad as everyone else seems to say.  I did start this when I bought seveal AEF resin conversions in the 1990’s but the very large one-piece upper hull intimidated me too much so I let it be for then.  I have now properly fitted the resin lower-nose, rear gearbox & the plastic Esci T-55 lower hull & parts.  Some putty is needed due to my clumsy sawing of the resin pouring plugs.  The front slope area & side boxes are solid resin.

Hopefully I will finish this model in a few weeks as I also have an old Tamiya Merkava and five other resin AEF kits to finish -- a Mag’a’ch 7b, Mk.IID & MK.3c Merkavas, a Nagmachon & a Nakpadon – all are well moulded with only one needing a simple fix already done.

NOTE:- I bet those blasted plastic kit manufacturers will release a Nakpadon in the next week as that’s the only IDF tank or apc they haven’t done in recent years.

I may finish this now-obsolete vehicle in someone else's livery ?  Suggetions ....

[Old Wombat]

NOT Ukrainian; mine's going to be Ukrainian.

What about Armenian or Georgian ..... or Kazakh?

Or Moldovan?

[Story]

Follow me on this  - as I read this, plural APCs (and probably Achzarit considering the unit) w/ female squads would be a unique build.

An all-female combat unit of just 13 soldiers from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) took on and killed nearly 100 Hamas gunmen when they fought off a terror attack on an army base and helped liberate a kibbutz, it has emerged.

Lieutenant Colonel Or Ben Yehuda and her 12 women soldiers of the Caracal Battalion led the frontline fightback from armoured personnel carriers after racing to a military post on the Egyptian border that was being attacked during the Hamas onslaught.

With rockets raining down all around her, she learned that the terrorists had broken through Israel's border fence with the Gaza Strip and were heading for the Jewish settlements of Shlomit and Bnei Netzer on October 7.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12669623/israeli-lionesses-kill-hamas-gunmen.html

Crew   3 + 7 passengers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDF_Achzarit

The 33rd "Caracal" Battalion (Hebrew: גדוד קרקל) is an infantry combat battalion of the Israel Defense Forces, one of the three fully combat units (alongside the 'Lions of Jordan Battalion' and the 'Cheetah Battalion') in the Israeli military's Paran Brigade that are composed of both male and female soldiers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracal_Battalion

https://blackdog-model.com/f35159-1-35-israeli-women-soldiers-set-n-2-1/

[GTX_Admin]

I have long thought of doing a Soviet one all done up in green/white on parade - feel free to borrow that idea:

[Kerick]

Follow me on this  - as I read this, plural APCs (and probably Achzarit considering the unit) w/ female squads would be a unique build.

An all-female combat unit of just 13 soldiers from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) took on and killed nearly 100 Hamas gunmen when they fought off a terror attack on an army base and helped liberate a kibbutz, it has emerged.

Lieutenant Colonel Or Ben Yehuda and her 12 women soldiers of the Caracal Battalion led the frontline fightback from armoured personnel carriers after racing to a military post on the Egyptian border that was being attacked during the Hamas onslaught.

With rockets raining down all around her, she learned that the terrorists had broken through Israel's border fence with the Gaza Strip and were heading for the Jewish settlements of Shlomit and Bnei Netzer on October 7.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12669623/israeli-lionesses-kill-hamas-gunmen.html

Crew   3 + 7 passengers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IDF_Achzarit

The 33rd "Caracal" Battalion (Hebrew: גדוד קרקל) is an infantry combat battalion of the Israel Defense Forces, one of the three fully combat units (alongside the 'Lions of Jordan Battalion' and the 'Cheetah Battalion') in the Israeli military's Paran Brigade that are composed of both male and female soldiers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracal_Battalion

https://blackdog-model.com/f35159-1-35-israeli-women-soldiers-set-n-2-1/

Motivation plus training equals results!!!!!
It’s that simple.

[raafif]

Filled all the under-side gaps with plasti-card & bog, fitted the wheels & idlers.  Broke off two wheels as they weren’t square, drilled / pinned them & glued back on.  The resin final-drives make the plastic hull longer so the plastic kit tracks aren’t long enough.  Settled on Merkava tracks but had to narrow the T-55 drive sprockets.  Had to break one off, drill / pin & remount it as it was too close to the underside to fit the track.

Trimmed & fitted the rear entry hatch & elevating lid, smoke dischargers at front & stowage bustle at rear.  Fitted a suitable exhaust trunking.  Started on cleaning up the five roof hatches & the three remote vision / gun stations.  Have to wait for a few days for more paint to arrive.

[Kerick]

I’ve got a plastic kit of this beast I need to get to. Please carry on here!!

[raafif]

Well, I stuffed up the other sprocket too, the teeth didn’t align well so the track wouldn’t fit neatly.  Had to snap it off, cut the sprocket into two, trim & re-glue.  To make sure the teeth now aligned I used the track as a jig.

Will have to drill & pin it to the hull …. after measuring the clearance properly this time

[raafif]

Sprocket debacle fixed & most of the under-carriage done - one side finished, now to do the other.  Then onto the roof.

The kit came with three 7.62mm guns in overhead mounts & I thought they were too small a caliber so will replace the front one with a 14.5 mm turret from a captured Russian BTR-60.  I’ll fit the rear-most roof gun, but as it’s an APC, I’ll replace the middle one with something other than a gun.

I’m thinking of it as a Finnish vehicle in the 2028 Russo-Finnish War -- after the Russian win in Ukraine due to the West’s budget cuts.  The Achzarit is an obsolete vehicle that Israel doesn’t need so they do minor upgrades & sell them off. 

I have many different shades of green paint so it'll be hard to choose just three.
Next year I must finish my resin S-tank to go with it ....

[Kerick]

Looking great! I always thought the S tank should have been repurposed as an anti tank missile vehicle.

[Frank3k]

I really like the BTR turret. It reminds me of the M577 APC from "Aliens"

[raafif]

Close to finishing the construction bit.  Have a 3-colour cam scheme in mind.

You can see how much bigger & survivable the Achzarit is compared to the M-113 !

[raafif]

Just a random thought while waiting for paint to dry ...

must ... NOT ... start ... another ... model !
I have four on the go at present & several others started in the stash.

This spare turret & a big pen tube were lying beside my hobby table .... What can I do with that ?
Thinking this turret is only the core to build a larger one like the Sgt York but a bit longer.

Gun bore measures out to 210mm.

[Old Wombat]

Not bad but, with that small turret & the short barrel, even with 2-piece (or 3-piece) ammo, it would be a low velocity weapon, probably a howitzer.

[robunos]

Could be a combination gun / missile launcher, MBT-70 style, or a sci-fi weapon, laser, particle gun, gauss cannon . . .


cheers,
Robin.

[GTX_Admin]

Could be a combination gun / missile launcher, MBT-70 style, or a sci-fi weapon, laser, particle gun, gauss cannon . . .


cheers,
Robin.

 

[Buzzbomb]

Very much like where you are taking this.
Like you, some of these older Resin conversions where sometimes not as bad as they are made out to be, especially when they were the only game in town.
Certainly plonking on a one piece hull versus a 20 step, 750 piece kit build for the same result with a kit is sometimes much better. Done a few Accurate Armour kits that are now full on injection, so I can do a head to head comparison.

The entire 2028 Russo-Finnish idea is certainly great fodder for ideas.

[raafif]

Very much like where you are taking this.
Like you, some of these older Resin conversions where sometimes not as bad as they are made out to be, especially when they were the only game in town.
Certainly plonking on a one piece hull versus a 20 step, 750 piece kit build for the same result with a kit is sometimes much better.

The entire 2028 Russo-Finnish idea is certainly great fodder for ideas.

Thanks Buzz.  Yes, I do hate gluing 25 parts when two will have done as well.  And those resins (especially AEF) are better than most say ... but they can have some issues.  Just found that the Achzarit right fender is 2mm wider than the left so my pre-cut rubber flaps only fit one side - fiddling necessary.

Done a few Accurate Armour kits that are now full on injection, so I can do a head to head comparison.

Doesn't that just steam you ?   I bought eight resin kits 30 yrs ago & another 5 yrs ago but have only finished two - all are now available in plastic at half or less the price.

[raafif]

Lots added – head-lights, electronics pole, RWCS gun, crew mounting-stirrups & grab-handles.
I need to buy more band-aids, I’m leaking a bit of blood !  Stabbed myself several times on the electronics pole on this model - must try to be more careful.


Not sure about side stowage due to the thick forest.  Have to touch up some paint as I had to chip it to glue plastic bits to the resin.  The chipped paint I’ve already touched up looks good so may have to do more.

Cam scheme will be semi-winter, so not “too much” snow.  Just trying to get up the courage to do it as my small experiment with it so far points up some difficulties with the watery acrylic paint.
Haven’t quite decided on crew figures (WW2 Germans in winter garb may do ?).

[Buzzbomb]

That is looking very right for what the vehicle is set up for.

I have to say though, those sensor arrays are positively deadly by the looks of them. Very sharp, did you use pins ?

[raafif]

NOT Ukrainian; mine's going to be Ukrainian.

What about Armenian or Georgian ..... or Kazakh?

Or Moldovan?

Working on another Merkava I held the skirts up to my Achzarit to see what it was like --- even more Russian-looking !!

[Kerick]

If NATO and the west bails on Ukraine that would embolden several nations to cause major problems. I think Israel might want those vehicles back at some point! You could say Finland copied the idea and converted some left over tanks from their own stock or captured stuff. Could be some whiff potential to do a similar conversion with other tanks. Just my geopolitical $0.02 worth.

Your pics are looking great! Just waiting to see the paint results!

[raafif]

Phase one of the cam ....

[Buzzbomb]

 

[Old Wombat]

 

[Claymore]

Lookin’ good! 

[Frank3k]

the camo is looking good!

[raafif]

I was going to paint some trees on the side of the vehicle to blend into the forest but don't have a suitable green - either too dark against the base colour or far too bright.

So settled for just national markings.  Apart from some tidying up, I'm calling this done.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Nice work overall.  The BTR/BRDM turret definitely looks like it was made for the purpose of arming your Achzarit.  The guy in winter camouflage really stands out on the vehicle. 

[perttime]

Looks cool!
One tiny niggle though: real world Finnish armour uses small roundels, on the sides, for national markings. The front and back have a serial/registration code.

[apophenia]

... real world Finnish armour uses small roundels, on the sides ...

Maybe those roundels were overpainted by Ukraine-style recognition markings after the 'orcs' crossed the North Karelian frontier?

[GTX_Admin]

 

[Buzzbomb]

really like how this came out.

Terrific work

[Gingie]

I really like this one. I might have to borrow the front turret idea for my RCAC "Nagmachon" inspired Centurion HIAV

[perttime]

... real world Finnish armour uses small roundels, on the sides ...

Maybe those roundels were overpainted by Ukraine-style recognition markings after the 'orcs' crossed the North Karelian frontier?

That is possible. The roundels are small and not that easy to see.
... but I think other locations would be more likely than North Karelia.

[Claymore]

Beautiful work! 

[Old Wombat]

Nice job!

The camo looks slightly more Autumn or Spring than mid-Winter, to me, but, being Australian, I'm not really familiar with the concept of snow & its different characteristics (except through photo's & a couple of trips to the Snowy Mountains in Winter as a pre-teen/early-teen).

Re: the Winter camo BDUs - I note that very few modern Winter camo's are pure white, many of them having various patterns in creams, greys & (sometimes) browns.

[perttime]

...
Re: the Winter camo BDUs - I note that very few modern Winter camo's are pure white, many of them having various patterns in creams, greys & (sometimes) browns.

You are not all that likely to be in a place that is pure white.

[Frank3k]

I like the result - great camo pattern and the BTR turret really belongs there.

[Old Wombat]

...
Re: the Winter camo BDUs - I note that very few modern Winter camo's are pure white, many of them having various patterns in creams, greys & (sometimes) browns.

You are not all that likely to be in a place that is pure white.

Precisely!

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Something is missing from the vehicle.  Where are the skiis and poles for the dismounts? 

[Claymore]

Something is missing from the vehicle.  Where are the skiis and poles for the dismounts? 

Yup, a bit like this…

[raafif]

Thanks to you guys badgering me, I’ve done a bit more ...
Painted the front number-plate, the IDF one was welded on (to ID the vehicle if it burnt) & the Finns decided to keep using those numbers.

Painted the other crewman & a soldier in twig cam.

Made two skis & mounted them on the top of the exit hatch along with a box to hold the poles.
Don’t need more as the troops are brought to the fighting-line by the vehicle, have de-bussed & slogged off on their snow-shoes ...

[Old Wombat]

Looks that little bit better, though, doesn't it!

[GTX_Admin]

 

[perttime]

The snow camo looks pretty close to the current Finnish M05 snow camo.

You don't really want to fight on skis, in most situations. They can be great for covering some distance silently, and faster than walking. They become a hindrance when you need to keep dashing between places of cover or concealment.

[Claymore]

Thanks to you guys badgering me, I’ve done a bit more ...
Painted the front number-plate, the IDF one was welded on (to ID the vehicle if it burnt) & the Finns decided to keep using those numbers.

Painted the other crewman & a soldier in twig cam.

Made two skis & mounted them on the top of the exit hatch along with a box to hold the poles.
Don’t need more as the troops are brought to the fighting-line by the vehicle, have de-bussed & slogged off on their snow-shoes ...

Nice, very nice!