Claymore's AH AFVs: Take 2

[Claymore]

Fine looking plastic surgery.     Do like what you are doing.  Interested to see how build takes form.

 

This is very interesting. What kit are you starting with?

A couple of cheep-ish Italeri M110s.  Just easier to work with two kits rather than have to reproduce all the necessary extra bits and pieces - there’s going to be enough scratch building as it is! 

[Claymore]

Blue Scarab / Firelight Update:

Well, this project is turning into the build of the year/decade/century, and this is still the easy bit!!   

The hull (front and rear) is done - minus the tracks of course. Now the fun begins...

[raafif]

 

[Old Wombat]

Always admire your dedication to getting these builds looking right. Truly excellent work, as usual!

[Claymore]

Always admire your dedication to getting these builds looking right. Truly excellent work, as usual!

Thank you - most kind!  Dedication is a close run call with mania! 

[Kerick]

I’m not sure what this is turning into but the ride along is fun! Really great work here!

[apophenia]

I’m not sure what this is turning into but the ride along is fun! Really great work here!

Indeed. Great fun to watch ... and I kind of like not knowing exactly where it is going 

[Buzzbomb]

Oh I think I have a fair idea where this is going.

Let’s just say that once I had a hankering to build a vehicle with a gadget named Cymbeline on it. Different usage but similar at a basic level of what it does.
That was a fairly large scratch build.

Of course I could could be totally off the track. It is the size of the “turret ring” that gives me the hunch.

[Claymore]

Oh I think I have a fair idea where this is going.

Let’s just say that once I had a hankering to build a vehicle with a gadget named Cymbeline on it. Different usage but similar at a basic level of what it does.
That was a fairly large scratch build.

Of course I could could be totally off the track. It is the size of the “turret ring” that gives me the hunch.

  Could well be - give that man a gold star!   

The natural partner to my earlier Bloodhound TEL, what I am attempting to build is the weapon system’s target acquisition and illumination radar(s) / engagement control vehicle (not quite sure of the exact descriptor yet!  )

[Ramba]

Terrific job scratchbuilding! That Bloodhound looks great!

[Claymore]

Terrific job scratchbuilding! That Bloodhound looks great!

Thanks mate - amazing what can be done with a pile of knitting needles! 

[Ramba]

Thanks mate - amazing what can be done with a pile of knitting needles! 

That's even more impressive. Great skills!

[Claymore]

Blue Scarab / Firelight (Bloodhound Engagement Control Vehicle) Update:

As Buzzbomb correctly surmised, what I am currently building is the Engagement Control Vehicle (ECV) to accompany my Bloodhound TEL - hence the very similar extended M110 hull. The Blue Scarab (fictional) and the Firelight (RW) were clues regarding the radars that the vehicle will carry. The Type 87 Firelight suite of radars was the actual system used to illuminate and track targets for the RW Bloodhound missile whilst the Type 81 Blue Scarab (rainbow code name) is to be a fictional, but realistic, target acquisition radar - the RW Bloodhound system relied on other remote UK Air Defence Ground Environment (UKADGE) radars to provide this service.

So as for WIP pics, what I have so far is the Type 81 - one radar down, four more to go!!

[Frank3k]

That radar looks amazing! How did you make the dish?

[Old Wombat]

Dish & framework looks styrene (so glue it together & tape/rubber-band it around a curved surface while it dries), the transceiver & the main body of the radar unit look 3D printed, & the electronics boxes look like re-purposed AFV parts.

Nice work!

[Claymore]

That radar looks amazing! How did you make the dish?

Dish & framework looks styrene (so glue it together & tape/rubber-band it around a curved surface while it dries), the transceiver & the main body of the radar unit look 3D printed, & the electronics boxes look like re-purposed AFV parts.

Nice work!

Thanks.

Much trial and error involved but the tubular body is indeed 3D printed (from my own simple design), as is the radar frame and feed horns (both from very different scaled files).  The front face is styrene and was very carefully CA glued and taped in place with the whole thing taped around a whisky bottle packaging carton to hopefully set in the desired shape.  Feed horns and wave guide attached and styrene supporting frame manufactured. Bits and bobs from the spares box attached to look suitably wiggly amp-ish!

With it being my own design, I had a degree of latitude that, unfortunately, I won’t have with the Type 87 Firelight radar group.  Quite a bit of time has been taken up drawing up scale plans from various (dubious quality) photos which I will then build from.

[GTX_Admin]

Looking good

[Buzzbomb]

Very nicely done, it is a great piece of work and fully appreciate how much work is in it. Been down this path during my Straight Flush Radar vehicle build. The Mortar locating Cymbeline Radar that I did  was a smaller scale level of complexity compared to this work and the Straight Flush radar array.

[Claymore]

Bloodhound Engagement Control Vehicle Update:

A good weekend’s work (well, really just Sunday) after much procrastination. Having scratch built most of the Type 86 Firelight’s components, I have fannied around for ages trying to figure out how the hell they all fit together.  I’d drawn up some scale illustrations but really only front and rear views as plan views are, as far as I can see, non-existant.  The major issue with the Type 86 is that the main continuous wave radar dish sits at an oblique angle to the beam axis (with the feed off centre to compensate) - this odd arrangement ensures that there is no unwanted interference between the transmitter and receiver dishes. Unfortunately, I could find no info on the size of the offending oblique angle.

Anyhoo, the only solution was to start building and to deal with each problemette as I got to it.  Fortunately as the individual parts started to coalesce into a solid whole everything started to make sense - more or less.  Still a long way to go, so no pics at the mo but very pleased with the way things are going. 

[Old Wombat]

I need photo's but otherwise ... 

[Claymore]

  Soon, I promise! 

[Buzzbomb]

Sound like your getting through it though. Problemette is now added to my lexicon 

A bit of a rah rah, its worth it so keep going encouragement. A pic of the Straight Flush I build years back at the almost finished stage

[Claymore]

  Gosh, a mighty fine looking build!   

[Claymore]

Bloodhound Engagement Control Vehicle Update:

Well, bar a little bit of cleaning up/filling here and there, the build phase is complete, and the painting (and adding the tracks) can commence.  The Type 86 Firelight radar build has been something else and, on several occasions, almost broke me - no two components are level or square to each other and the framework is tenuous at best!  Thankfully, a particularly large glass of Bunnahabhain whisky and a tube of Gorilla Super Glue saw me through the worst of it!!

Latest WIP pics...

[Old Wombat]

Whiskey & glue usually do get one through most things.

For what it's worth, I think the build looks brilliant.