Skinny_Mike Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Hello everyone in armor land! On a recent business trip I came across the Trumpeter kit of the Canadian AVGP Cougar. It was pretty unique and I like modern wheeled vehicles so without knowing anything about the subject I picked it up. It turns out that Cougar was developed for the Canadian Army as a training vehicle used by armor crews on the training grounds to keep from putting wear and tear on the limited supply of tanks. A good idea, for an army with the limited resources like the Canadians, but not the sexiest of vehicles. In later years the Cougar was used as a direct fire support vehicle with UN peacekeeping forces, the story gets a little better there I suppose. Once I opened the kit I found a kit with a small number of parts compared to the modern armor kits. This gave me an idea. As many of you may have seen in my aircraft builds, I tend to be a very slow builder. And it seems like I buy kits much faster than I build them, which means the stock pile is just getting bigger! Since this is a fairly small vehicle and the kit has a few parts, I am going to try to complete the build in 1 week. That’s right – just 7 days! Just to see if I can. Each post will be a new day’s progress. This kit also gives me the benefit of allowing me to try some techniques before I build my ASLAV and USMC LAV. The plan was to be an OOB build, but I broke down and got some resin wheels, but we’ll get there. So here we go! DAY 1 I have to apologize here, I didn’t get many pictures, of course I didn’t make that much progress either! I also need to confess that Day 1 of this build occurred three weeks ago, but it all got stalled out when I was sent out of town for work again! But the spirit of the 1 week is still there. The first thing I wanted to do was to replicate the anti-slip texture that is missing from the hull roof. I have seen a couple of techniques and decided to try to use the Rustoleum Terracotta Paint. Basically this paint has a bunch of grains in it and dries rough. It comes out of a rattle can so I needed to mask anything I didn’t want coated. So I assembled the hull top and bottom, just to give myself a little more to model to hold on to and then I masked all the areas where parts are added to the hull top or where there isn’t generally texture. I used an educated guess because I really don’t have much reference material on this vehicle. Then I sprayed on the paint and then removed all the tape. Turned out pretty well I think. Well there you go. Day 1 in the bag. Next up – lower hull and suspension! See you all soon Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 Good job thus far. Those were fun vehicles to drive on multi lane highways!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skinny_Mike Posted June 27, 2013 Author Share Posted June 27, 2013 Day 2 Next step was to work the suspension. First off I wanted to use aftermarket wheels. I got a set of Real Model resin wheels for the ASLAV/Coyote/Bison. The info I had on this set seemed to indicate it came with a spare tire as well, but it didn’t. The Cougar uses the same wheels and tires. I was going to use an extra set of Blast LAV-25 wheels I had just sitting around, but the USMC uses a totally different wheel then everyone else so I got these. It does have eight wheels, 4 fronts and 4 rears. The difference being the axles. These are designed for the 8 wheeled kits and won’t work with the axles on the cougar. I cut the wheels off the casting block and then modified them for the Cougar’s axles using some plastic tubing and drilled the hubs out to accept the axles. Pretty simple fix. I will confess that I accidentally drilled right through the first one I did! Apparently needed to adjust the drill press a little better! Here they are modified. Now that I had the wheels I could work on the suspension. The key is to make sure that all 6 wheels touch the ground when its all set up, that’s why I worked the wheels at this stage. Rear suspension and the drive train installed… And the wheels dry fitted to check alignment. Front axles are dry fitted at this point. My plan is to turn the front wheels so I need to rework the suspension assembly for the front. That is tomorrow’s project! Making progress, thanks for looking. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skinny_Mike Posted June 28, 2013 Author Share Posted June 28, 2013 DAY 3 Hi everyone! Today’s project was the front suspension/drive train. I wanted to turn the front wheels so I cut off the pegs for lining up the front spindles (for lack of a better term) and set them in at roughly a 45° angle, measuring and arranging a few times while the glue dried to make sure that the front axles were parallel. Once this was set, I needed to install the steering linkages. I knew these would need to be modified. So I cut off the tie-rod and installed the ends with the linkage that runs out to the wheels. Once that was completed, I found that the center rod could not be reinstalled due to the angle of all the pieces. After some though I decided to replace one of the linkages to the wheels with a longer piece of plastic rod and then installed the center linkage also using some plastic rod. In the end, I know that its not really perfect, but the appearance of the parts is there and I don’t think it will be real obvious on the finished model. The remainder of the front suspension and the drive axles were also installed. After the front suspension was completed, I added the rear of the hull and the stowage boxes to each side at the rear of the hull. The original Cougar was amphibious just like the LAV-25 and the ASLAV, but the late upgrade removed the propellers mounted on the rear of the hull, and added the storage boxes in their place. The two halves of the storage boxes didn’t have the best fit, especially at the front corner. I filled the seam with some CA glue and then sanded them smooth. The kit has blank out plates to add where the propeller drive shaft came out of the hull, I assume just like the real thing, but I found these to be too thick and interfered with the fit of the storage boxes so I sanded them down until I could get a good alignment. I think it turned out really well in the end. I know it seems like a small update, but I spent a lot of time trying to make the front axle look right. Thanks for following! More to come! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skinny_Mike Posted June 29, 2013 Author Share Posted June 29, 2013 Thanks for following along everyone. I took yesterday off from this build, I know I'm on a short build schedule, but the misses didn't have to work late so we spent the evening chilling on the couch trying to make some headway on the DVR! But I'm on it again today! Should have an update tomorrow! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dylan Posted July 2, 2013 Share Posted July 2, 2013 great stuff Mike. I like your no slip treatment Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skinny_Mike Posted July 10, 2013 Author Share Posted July 10, 2013 DAY……well I kinda lost count… Hi guys! I’m back. Obviously I didn’t make my 1 week goal. Unfortunately, as it often does, real life got in the way. But the good news is I have had a little time to keep things moving and I have completed the hull. So to start off, Day 5 actually did happen. I finished the rear of the hull on Day 5 but I didn’t get time to post it. The lenses for the tail lights were left out and so were the light guards. They will be added after I paint the hull. There was really no drama here. Everything went on. Had a small gap where the rear hull and the bottom hull came together which I filled with some CA glue. After a little break I moved onto the remainder of the hull. Again, very little drama here. The parts generally all seem to fit ok and need a minimum amount of clean up. One word of caution. The headlights need a little attention when trying to line them up and the mirrors also need a little care getting them in line as well, but nothing too over the top. The only real issue I’ve found so far was with the jerry cans. There is a very weird step in one half of the can that needed to be taken care of, which was easy to do with a little bit of putty. The mounting holes for the jerry can holders are also way to big and are visible when everything is mounted. Easily dealt with using a little Mr. Surfacer 500. The turret is underway. I have a question that I’m hoping someone can help me out with. I am going to have a single figure in the vehicle, the commander I’m thinking. Which side of the turret does he sit on and so which turret hatch would he be standing in, the left or the right? I may have missed my deadline, but I’m still moving along. Thanks for watching! Mike :cheers:/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skinny_Mike Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 Hi everyone! Quick update for today. Making some progress on the turret. I know I’m probably starting to seem a little boring here, but there were no real issues with the turret. Everything went together ok. The turned aluminum barrel came with the kit. The antennas did require a little bit of work however. The antenna mounts come with about a 1/2 inch “antenna†molded to the antenna mount. I cut that off, drilled a 0.5 mm hole in the mount and inserted a 2 and a half inch piece of half mm brass rod into the hole. Then I added some CA glue all around the joint and smoothed it out and tapered it to match the original contours. They seem a little thick, but look ok. Lastly I painted the tires. I used Vallejo Dark Rubber for the tires. The hubs will get painted with the rest of the vehicle. There you have it. I hope to finish up assembly in the next day or so. Then on to the painting. :woot.gif:/> I have an additional question. Anyone have advice for recreating the mirrored surface of the mirror? I’m not sure what would look best. Thanks for the help! Thanks for checking it all out! Mike :cheers:/> Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skinny_Mike Posted July 29, 2013 Author Share Posted July 29, 2013 I have finished up the assembly of the Cougar! Well, ok almost. :wacko: I had quite a few problems with the turret basket. First off there was a lot of flash on the parts. It took a little time to get them cleaned up. Once that was completed, I assembled the bottom and side/back plastic parts and then I added the photo etch mesh for the floor of the basket. This went ok. My problem was with the piece of photo etch that wraps around the sides of the basket. It was really just difficult to get that piece bent and fitted properly. I went slow, re-did it a few times and eventually got something I’m happy with. I’m positive that some of the more skilled modelers out there would have not had a problem with this, but I don’t work with photo etch like this too often. Just need more practice. The last step was to add the antennas. But of course, since this is one of my builds, I broke off one of the antennas and had to repair it. Its in the process of the CA glue drying and it will be fixed up and installed tomorrow. I also added an anti-slip coating to the turret top. For this I used a different product then the hull. I tried the Games Workshop Citadel Texture Paint. In this case Astrogranite. I had read about using this product, so I thought I would give it a try. It’s a very thick paint with some chunky bits in it. I dabbed it on around the top of the turret. Overall I think the texture may have not been spread around enough so I don’t think I got a very even texture. This product may be better suited to the really rough random texture that M1 Abrams tanks seem to have. Here are some photos. We’ll see how it does under a coat of paint. I also followed some great advice and dry brushed the tires with Vallejo Light Rubber. They really turned out well. I noticed a few parts that need some clean up, and then I should be in the paint barn tomorrow! Thanks for watching. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skinny_Mike Posted August 20, 2013 Author Share Posted August 20, 2013 Hi everyone! Thanks so much for following along. I didn’t realize so much time had passed since my last post! Geez! Here’s the next installment in my saga (ok not really, this build is going pretty well!) First up, some shots of the fully assembled kit. And primered. I used Tamiya Gray Primer straight from the rattle can on the turret and Mr. Surfacer 1200 from the rattle can on the hull. Why two primers you may ask? I ran out of the Tamiya primer. Next up was the Green. I used Tamiya NATO Green (XF-67) and I used my new Iwata HP-C Plus airbrush. First time using this airbrush and all I can say is WOW – what difference. I mixed the Green with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner in a ratio of 10 drops of paint to 20 drops of thinner. (I use an eye dropper to measure it all out.) And I sprayed at 10 psi. Here are the results. I am really happy with the results. And I found I had really good control with these ratios when I practiced on a scrap kit. What difference good equipment can make! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skinny_Mike Posted August 20, 2013 Author Share Posted August 20, 2013 Part 2! Now it was on to the experimenting. The goal of this build is now to work on my finishes and try some new techniques. After the paint was dried I mixed up a lighter shade of the base green as follows, 5 drops green (XF-67) + 5 drops white (XF-2) followed by 20 drops of thinner. This color I lightly sprayed in the centers of the panels to give some color variation. This was my first time trying this technique and the first time I honestly had confidence in my ability with an airbrush to pull it off. I’m not sure the photos do the finish justice, but I am very happy with the result. Just the right amount of subtle fading of the paint! I think the last photo shows it off very well. Next step will be to lay down a coat of future then work in a filter and some washes along with the decals. Not sure if they were visible or not in the background, but I ran into a little bit of an issue painting the wheel hubs. When I masked the first one as a trial I pulled the paint off the tire when removing the mask. Not really sure why. Paint must not have cured very well or something. Anyway, resorted to brush painting the wheel hubs green. Nothing like going old school! Well Future will go on tomorrow, and then I am off to wine country on a much needed vacation! Thanks you all for the continued support! This is really turning out to be a fun little build for me! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 One week time is a little off but the model is looking great. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
maurizio Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 VERY VERY NICE!!!!!! congrats!!!! Maurizio Quote Link to post Share on other sites
maurizio Posted August 26, 2013 Share Posted August 26, 2013 I forget to advice you to add some drops of Yellow, cream, beige or Yellow-sand instead the White for a much more "warm" green. Sometimes the green with White turn on to a not very nice sort of grey.... Maurizio Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skinny_Mike Posted November 4, 2013 Author Share Posted November 4, 2013 Wow I just noticed how log its been since my last post! Good news though. Got this bad boy finished up. Only thing left was all the little details. For the mirrors I added bare metal foil to replicate the mirrored surface. The foil was burnished in place and then trimmed. I think the next time I do this type of thing, I’ll do all the finishing of the mirrors separately and add them at the final stages. Next up, the hull periscopes. These I painted with Vallejo Periscope Color from the Panzer Aces Line. Its kind of a weird blueish color. Once dry I filled in the opening with some Micro Crystal Clear to replicate the glass. The periscopes on the drivers hatch were coated with future. I also painted the inside of the headlights and tail lights with chrome silver. The other details were also picked out. Water cans finished in Lifecolor Flat Black. The tools were painted in Alclad Steel and Vallejo Panzer Aces New Wood. And finally the wheels were attached. I used 5 minute epoxy to secure them to the hull. It gives plenty of time to align the wheels so everything is straight and lined up, and a nice strong bond when it cures. I waited about 24 hours after attaching the wheels, then I ran the kit over a piece of coarse sand paper to get knock the high spots off all the wheels and get all six tires firmly on the ground. Lastly was the light covers. The taillight lenses were painted Tamiya clear red and installed and the clear lenses installed in the headlights. As you may recall, I had to cut out two mounting slots in the rear of the hull for the taillight guards. After finishing the taillights I tried to install the guards using the mounting slot, and they didn’t fit! Not even close. Geez. I though about filling in sanding and re-finishing, but the hole on the right side is dangerously close to the Canadian flag decal. There was no way I was going to fix this with out damaging the decal, and I don’t have any extras. I was also in a bit of a hurry as I needed to finish this for a contest in a day. So I decided to trim off the mounting tabs from the guards and install the parts, hoping for the best. The good news is that they aren’t super visible unless you’re looking right for them. But I learned my lesson! Always fit check before you paint! Next step – The turret. All the details were picked out here to, Periscopes are periscope color with a future coat. Antennas and the smoke dispenser covers are flat black and the ammo cans are Tamiya Olive Green. Pretty straight forward. And the turret on the hull… I have since added the tow shackles to and still have the license plates to go, but I’m calling this one done. I’ll add those parts and post some beauty shots later on. Over all this was a fun little build. I tried out some new techniques, which I am pleased with and kick started my armor building again! Time to pull that Tiger I off the shelf of doom and get cracking! Thanks for watching! See you next time! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Needs some dirt!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
maurizio Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Any drybrushing and dirty job on this model? C'on .... only 30 minutes more.... maurizio Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Skinny_Mike Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 Needs some dirt!!! Any drybrushing and dirty job on this model? C'on .... only 30 minutes more.... maurizio Ha ha - i admit It is a bit too clean. But this one served its purpose. Next one will get some dirt for sure! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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