1/35 HMMWV with LAND-LGR4 rocket launcher

[Frank3k]

The Ukrainians are using M1152A1 HMMWVs as carriers for the LAND-LGR4 rocket launcher:


(from https://defence-blog.com/us-made-laser-guided-weapon-system-spotted-in-ukraine/)

The rockets are laser guided, accurate and simple enough to mount on smaller vehicles.
Spalah has a 1/35 LAND-LGR4 launcher:



Which I had on-hand. There are no M1152A1 available as kits in 1/35,  but I did have the ICM 1/35 M1097A2:



Good enough for government whif work!

The ICM kit is OK. Fit is fine; I just found the assembly to be less convenient/straightforward compared to other modern Humvee kits.:





I used Spalah 3D printed HMMWV tires. They weren't as good as other Spalah products (the sidewall writing is indistinct) but better than the vinyl kit tires. I also used the Kelik 3D decals for this kit for the first time. They suggest soaking the decals in warm water to release them from the sheet, but i was able to coax most of them off just with a sharp blade. Some of the decals look great:


(red lights, headlights behind the lens)

The instrument panel is great, although the sand color I used is different from the decal colors:



Some of the decals were very small and had to go over curved details and this was difficult due to the stiffness and thickness of the decals. i ended up using superglue and holding down the decals until the set into place.

This is where I am now. "topless":



with a scratchbuilt roof:



I still have to add some details -design & print decals for the launcher and vehicle,  add some of the cables and hardware that are missing and some weathering. I may add some camo to the sand color as well.  Jeff sent me some doors and a soft roof (thanks, Jeff!) I modified one of the doors to fit and make it semi-armored, but i may leave them off just to make the interior more visible.

(moved images to Flickr)

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Glad to hear that the parts were put to good use. 

The LGR is pretty much the ground version of the APKWS used in the air is it not? 

[Kerick]

Shouldn’t there be a plate of some kind for this rocket launcher to stand on? The floor of the cargo bed is just aluminum and wouldn’t hold those bolts for long. We had a plate of aluminum on the bed to support our radio gear back in the day.

[Frank3k]

Ken, the launcher is just sitting there. I have to find pictures of the Ukrainian installation, but this launcher has been mounted on civilian pickup trucks and even light vehicles so the base bolted to the bed may be enough; the launch tubes can be carried by one man.

Jeff - the missiles are APKWS - basically Hydra unguided missiles with a laser guidance module.

[Frank3k]

The LRG4 launcher is almost done. I printed some decals to match the markings on the real weapon, but they're so tiny, the text is almost invisible. Here's the real thing:





From left to right it reads "DANGER AREA" in the 90 degree arc, 10M (danger range), the FIRE and FUZE arrows pointing to the connectors underneath, the Arnold Defense logo and "FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY"



the iridescent laser lenses on the missiles aren't visible in the picture above. They're just at the tip on these pictures:

[Buzzbomb]

Nice detail tweaks

[Claymore]

 

[Jeffry Fontaine]

So what you have is pretty much a four-shot rocket pod that was designed for aircraft mounting that is inverted for use on a ground/vehicle mount.  I think I recall seeing that launcher pod attached to the AGM-114 Hellfire launch rack some years ago. 

[GTX_Admin]

Conceptually the same as this:



But with better rockets.

I have seen one of these close up a couple of years ago.

[Frank3k]

Basically the same concept, except the LRG4 rockets with laser guidance are very accurate, compared to an unguided S-8. I read tat the Ukrainians are using it to shoot down Shahed drones.

@Ken, looks like you were right. Even though the LAND-LGR4 doesn't require a particularly strong vehicle floor, the M1152 HMMWV package includes a drop in floor and sides:



Since I'm not using an M1152... the Ukranians had more rocket launchers than available M1152s, so they put them on whatever was handy.

[Frank3k]

I'm going to call this one done. I could continue adding to it, but this is a good stopping point. I'm assuming that this is a spare old HMMWV modified to be a drone hunter. I added a Ukrainian flag (for ID). It's made from a lens cleaning paper. I was hoping it would develop folds like a real cloth flag, but alas, it didn't. It's not glued to the vehicle. I added a seat for a third soldier and some random electronics boxes for the missile:



The antenna is pretty long (thanks for the antenna material, Jeff). I 3D printed the antenna mount a while ago:



The kill marks show several Shahed (Geran-2) kamikaze drones, a Forpost (IAI Searcher) recon drone and an Orlan-10 recon drone. I don't know if this system could shoot down all of these types, but apparently it has been used to shoot down Shaheds:



With a Ukrainian SOP soldier, for scale.


I was going to add the doors, but I wanted to show off the interior (there's a laptop on the passenger side)

Thanks for all the comments and following along!

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Very nice work Frank. 

Did you make the long cylindrical shape in the cargo bed or was that part of the kit? 
If you made it what did you use to create it? 

[Frank3k]

Jeff - the tube is just a section of evergreen tubing that looked like the right diameter (see the pic. with the guy sitting on it). I lightened the image to see the details of the end cap (it looks like a round cap with 6 radial ribs and some sort of lock or lever and a square frame around it) I drew it up in CAD, printed out three copies on my filament printer - two ends and I cut the center out of the third to make the middle support. Some paint and random decals finished the job. It almost took as long to type this description than to design and print it.

[Buzzbomb]

Works for me.

[GTX_Admin]

 

[apophenia]

Very nice! Those home made decals made be all but unreadable but they really add a convincing detail to the launcher 

... I was going to add the doors, but I wanted to show off the interior (there's a laptop on the passenger side) ...

Good call leaving the doors off. As you say, that lets us see those interior details. But there are probably good tactical reasons for the crew in the cab to be able to dismount as quickly as possible to get that launcher into action.