1/35 LAV-AD, 8 Wheeled Duck Hunter

[stikpusher]

Over at So Cal AMPS we are doing an online GB of Air Defense vehicles, so this is my choice for an entry. It's Italeri's 1/35 kit, ad I'll be replacing the kit wheels with a set of resin ones from TAC Scale Dynamics.


Yesterday at AZ AMPS I started construction and completed Step 1 and got most of the way thru Step 2...


Stay tuned for more in a few days...

[Tojo72]

I like the LAV 25,mean looking vehicle.

[keavdog]

Mean looking vehicle. I see what looks like a Vulcan. What missiles does it fire? Stingers?

[kyledehart5]

Very cool. Jumping in to watch.

[stikpusher]

Yeah, it’s one of the meanest looking members of the LAV family Tony. I’m with you on liking the LAVs

John, the gun is a 25mm five barreled version of the Vulcan, and the pods hold four Stingers each.

Kyle, I hope that you enjoy watching this project.

[keavdog]

Enemy helicopter's nightmare!

[Medicman71]

This is gonna be good!

[Steve Zuleski]

That'll work, cool!

[dupes]

I'm a big fan of anti-air assets. Count me in!

[stikpusher]

Thanks guys!

[handiabled]

I'll be along for the ride on this one Carlos

[stikpusher]

Good to hear that Brent! Enjoy the ride 😉

[deafpanzer]

Now thats pretty cool... something that I rarely or haven't seen before!!!

[stikpusher]

Glad to hear that you like it Andy. These are pretty rare, with only 17 being built and only a short service life of a few years.

[stikpusher]

Earlier in this week I finished up the suspension on this beast, and glued the rear plate & upper hull into place. I did leave off the swimming props and rudders until later in the build.

[Leon]

Nice progress on this Carlos! I really like the look of these vehicles.

[kyledehart5]

That’s a good start. Again, This is a really cool vehicle

[stikpusher]

Thanks guys! The LAV family does have a mean look about them… even the “non shooter” support types such as Command & Control, Logistics,, and Recovery all look no nonsense mean.

[stikpusher]

Well I guess I forgot to update this build after our last build session at AMPS a couple of weeks before... and I have been working at this a bit when I can get some bench time, which I finally have had over the past week...



I have most of the turret sub assemblies built and based paint done onto the turret interior...



and I've added most of the small detail items onto the hull front & rear... I still have the tail light brush guards to add on here...



and I added the pioneer tools from my spares which Italeri neglected to include in this kit... I still need to scratch up some brackets for the tools



a few weeks back I picked up some Mig Ammo non slip paste, so I started adding that to the top surfaces. I still need to do another coat to get the proper texture



and lastly a test fit of all items built so far. I won't be using these tires, except one as a spare stowed on the hull side. I have some nice resin AM tires to use for the rest, but they didn't include a spare...

thats all for now...

[armornutii]

   Makes me wonder what took us so long to go with wheeled vehicles instead of tracks. Guess it had alot to do with the terrain we figured we'd be fighting in.
    Liking the build so far Stik. Whatchya gonna paint it Mr. Carlos?

[stikpusher]

Apr 25, 2024 20:01:36 GMT -5 armornutii said:

   Makes me wonder what took us so long to go with wheeled vehicles instead of tracks. Guess it had alot to do with the terrain we figured we'd be fighting in.
    Liking the build so far Stik. Whatchya gonna paint it Mr. Carlos?

This thing will be solid overall CARC Green. These never received the tri color scheme or a sand scheme during their service lives. 

As far as wheeled vs. tracked, in the early to mid 80’s the Army wanted to buy LAVs for the heavy firepower of the 9th Motorized Division, but they ran out of funds with all the other acquisition programs of that time… so the 9th was stuck with jeeps, FAVs, and later HMMWVs. It wasn’t until the Strykers came along that they got into that game. 

[handiabled]

Great looking progress! It will be interesting to hear what you think of the Mig anti slip once you get it on. Seems everyone has their own favorite way to achieve the effect. I'm note taking from many armor builds here as it's not my strong point at all

[stikpusher]

Apr 26, 2024 8:50:51 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Great looking progress! It will be interesting to hear what you think of the Mig anti slip once you get it on. Seems everyone has their own favorite way to achieve the effect. I'm note taking from many armor builds here as it's not my strong point at all

Thanks Brent. This is my first time using the Ammo stuff. And I’m learning as I go. So far only the drivers hatch has the second coat, and I do like the way that it looks so far on that item. We shall see on the top deck areas…. 🫰🏼

[Tojo72]

Nice progress,looks great

[Real G]

The wheels vs tracks debate is all about speed vs mobility.  Wheeled vehicles can travel much faster on roads than their tracked counterparts.  Tracked vehicles are also hard on roads, so the best way to move them long distances is by trailer.  They do come into their own on rough terrain though, as wheeled vehicles have a higher ground pressure and are more susceptible to getting bogged down.  The army probably found out that Strykers with 105mm cannon were not the most stable platform to fire the gun from.  But the debate goes on to this day.  The marines are fielding a new amphibious wheeled combat vehicle to replace their LAVs - but no model kit announced as of yet.

Stik, did the Desert Storm Marine LAVs have non-slip on their tops?  I have a Trumpeter LAV-25 and want to model it during that period.

[stikpusher]

Neal, as far as I can tell from looking at photos, LAVs did not have the non slip applied to the top surfaces at the time of Desert Storm. But it’s hard to find anything definitive. Unless we have a former crew member of that era on here to say for certain one way or another.

[deafpanzer]

Glad to see that you are still working on it! And I think I want to watch that movie again for the 20th time… your fault!

[kyledehart5]

Nice progress!! That’s looking awesome! I really like how these look.

[stikpusher]

Thanks Andy... it's getting there slow but sure.

Kyle, this variant does have a different look compared to the other LAV variants due to the turret design. A much bulkier turret than the LAV-25 or LAV-AT.

[stikpusher]

A bit of progress on this one during my days off...

I applied a second coat of the non slip paste to all areas previously coated


here are a couple of close ups to show how it looks once dried


then since I was going to be airbrushing on some CARC/NATO Green on the turret interior areas, I also hit some of the decking areas with the excess to get a good idea of how it looks under a coat of paint....

Outer surfaces of the hatches before & after paint





and the rear top deck area... I really like how it looks once painted...


lastly I got some areas of the turret interior painted in the CARC/NATO Green that would be highly visible through the turret windows. the upper center portion I've seen in some video footage, but the lower portions are just an educated guess.


more to come by the end of the week...