1/35 Canadian Husky 6X6 AVGP (Improved Version).

[Don]

Hello all,

My 1/35 Vietnam M48A3 Patton diorama has been bogging me down and I need to just build something out of the box as a quick and easy project. I have always loved wheeled light armored vehicles...Piranhas, Strykers, Canadian Cougars, Lynx, Grizzlies, Coyotes...and when Trumpeter released their Canadian Husky early and late/improved versions I grabbed one of each.

Notice the sticker "AVGP" (Armored Vehicle General Purpose)covering the original "APC" label Trumpeter had wrongly put on the box top (it still says "APC") on the box sides. There were 27 Husky's built. Each Husky was crewed by two maintenance troops. Their purpose was to act as a light armored servicing vehicle to Canadian light and heavy armor units. The Husky was equipped with a HIAB Crane that could pull engines and do any heavy lifting required to undertake maintenance on vehicles in the field. The rear area normally used as a troop carrying compartment on LAV's was actually a shop, with tools, welding equipment and everything needed to make quick repairs while in action.

Marking for two late Husky's:

Husky 88E6 with the code 34E on it actually had the 34E written using ducktape.

I am leaning towards the first marking option, 88Z. The windscreen in front of the drivers compartment won't be installed as my Husky will be built as though its operating off road in bushy rough terrain. As I understand it, the wind shield was only used for transiting on improved roads and highways and removed while on actual operations in the field. Also, the machine gun will not be installed, just the mount. Reference pictures show most Canadian Husky's with only the mount installed and not the actual gun.

Work done so far:

Most of the lower suspension and power train is completed. It went together pretty well, but there was some fiddly areas that required care and good references (something in short supply on many Canadian AVGP's...so if anyone has any walk arounds or know of good sources I would be interested). I would recommend leaving off parts A27, A28, A40, and A41 until after you install the two rear axles and shocks (parts A6, A8, and A9...times two for each part). Ask me how I know. I still have some smaller parts to add to the lower hull, as well as some brass wire here and there. Then its off to the upper hull where I may add the anti-slip coating to the upper portions of the hull where the crew would be walking around. But I am trying to keep this as OOB as possible.

Thanks for looking and stay tuned. Comments welcome.

Regards,

Don.

Edited December 11, 2014 by Don

[Don]

Btw...if anyone has any information on which Canadian Army units the two Husky's represented in the markings options are from I would greatly appreciate it. So far...I have pictures of the actual 88E6 (34E) but I have no clue as to the unit(s) of either Husky.

Regards,

Don.

[Don]

A little progress on the upper hull. The following two photos show the upper and lower hulls dry fitted together, not glued:

Great fit on the right side (facing forward) of this kit as seen above. But...

In the photo above, notice the gap where the rear upper hull meets the rear lower hull...OUCH! Now, its just a dry fit but it will require some sanding and alterations to get that gap closed as tight as possible.

Rear shot. Access doors and rear of the hull are glued to the lower hull:

Again, notice the gap on the upper left.

Front view. Fit here is GREAT!

Upper view:

So far this has been a really decent kit. Aside from the issue noted above, the fit has been good. Detail is awesome. One major gripe though is where Trumpeter locates the parts on the sprues. Where they are attached to the sprues is directly on the most visible area of the part (i.e. top view). This means that every single part regardless of size (from the smallest grab handle to the largest hatch) needs to be careful clipped from the sprue then cleaned up, being careful not to damage details that will be seen. With 250+ parts...it gets old fast. TAMIYA most often locates/attaches the parts to their sprues so that the visible portions of the parts are not connected to the sprue. This makes for easier cleanup and quicker assembly.

Still, kudos to Trumpeter for giving modelers these LAV/AVGP kits as no other company has ventured into this subject matter with as many choices and options.

Work continues. Upper and lower hulls will be attached tonight and any seam cleanup will be taken care of.

Thanks for looking. Comments, thoughts, opinions welcome.

Regards,

Don.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Don

[Don]

Hull upper and lower sections have been attached:

That gap where the upper and lower hull halves met (see post above) took a great deal of sanding and a little grinding...yes...grinding...to get it to meet close enough that I could fill it with putty. It needs a little more attention to smooth it. Nothing the average modeler couldn't attend to. Just time consuming.

The other side fit like a charm as seen below:

In the two photos above you can see the external stowage bins added to the rear of the Husky, just below the upper hull. The Canadian AVGP's were originally designed and equipped to "swim" across rivers, swamps, narrow lakes etc. However, due to the fact that the AVGP's rarely went "swimming" and the cost required to maintain the gear in working order, the mechanisms were removed and stowage added in its place. The bins needed some minor attention with filler and fine sandpaper.

Front view:

Like most armor models, the myriad of grab handles, latches, hatches, tie-downs, guards for lights etc etc is ever present. The head lights were a multi-piece assemblies and quite detailed. The clear lens pieces have been left off until after painting.

Rear view showing the closed gap on the left rear where the upper and lower hull halves met (again see post above):

There are still many many more pieces to attach to the upper hull, including photo-etch and some fine wire. Oh and did I mention that if you follow the instructions as laid out by Trumpeter you would completely build the lower hull (including wheels) and the upper hull (with all those fragile pieces) and THEN assemble the upper and lower hull sections... :blink:...Like most modelers, I deviated from the plans in this regard.

Work continues. Comments welcome.

Regards,

Don.

[Don]

More external bits and pieces added:

Mainly some PE has been added, the gun mount placed in the stowed position, some tools specific to the Husky added to the left side rear upper hull, more tie downs, grab handles, smoke grenade dischargers, stowage racks, etc etc:

In the next picture you can see the exhaust shroud has been added (I think its slightly off in shape myself, but not enough to warrant reshaping it):

Another oddity I am noticing with this kit is that parts mysteriously appear attached to the model from one step to the next in the plans, despite Trumpeter never mentioning it. Not a huge problem or worth giving the kit a thumbs down. But you need to pay close attention.

I should be at the priming stage by the weekend. However, I need to find the correct color for Canadian late version Husky's. The Trumpeter plans call for TAMIYA XF-20. But XF-20 is a Medium Grey! I think they messed that up and TAMIYA XF-67 NATO Green is more the color. But I am not 100% solid in that either. If anyone has any suggestions I am all ears.

Building continues.

Regards,

Don :cheers:/>

Edited December 15, 2014 by Don

[phantom]

Wish I could remember what I used for my Grizzly, Your tow truck is coming along great!

[Don]

Wish I could remember what I used for my Grizzly, Your tow truck is coming along great!

Much appreciated thanks. I am really enjoying this build despite some of its bugaboos. The color is kind of vexing me. Just when I think I have it figured out, I see yet another TAMIYA color that looks close :wacko: . But I am leaning towards XF-58 OD or XF-67 NATO green. This time next week I hope to be airbrushing the main color so I will decide sooner then later.

[sharkmouth]

I just pulled out a Husky (the early one with the propellers) for a Sci-Fi build!

Do you have this walkaround of 34E?

http://www.primeportal.net/recovery/mark_minnis/husky/

Regards,

[Don]

I just pulled out a Husky (the early one with the propellers) for a Sci-Fi build!

Do you have this walkaround of 34E?

http://www.primeportal.net/recovery/mark_minnis/husky/

Regards,

Yes indeed. That is the best walkaround that I could find on the Internet. I have it pulled up and ready whenever I sit down at the work bench. A MUST for building this kit.

Regards.

[Don]

With regards the color of late (improved) Canadian Husky's I FINALLY figured it out! It's TAMIYA XF-13 JA Green straight from the bottle. To fade it, add a couple drops of TAMIYA Dark Yellow (XF-60) and lightly over spray. I got this mixture from another website and it looks pretty close. Adding some dust, mud, and exhaust streaks should make everything look the part.

Should have some picture updates later today/early tomorrow.

Regards.

[Don]

My Husky is starting to look the part. Getting all geared up:

The photo above illustrates just how much "stuff" these vehicles had strapped to them. Far more then many LAV's and standard Canadian AVGP's.

The cable cutter in front of the drivers hatch was modified from the kit so that it could be mounted in the raised position. If you place it OOB it will angle too far forward just enough to be noticeable. The side mirrors required three hands to get positioned correctly. But once in place and properly attached are quite sturdy and stout (well done Trumpeter!). To be honest, once everything is attached to the model, the bits and pieces are not at all as fragile as they may look. Again, kudos to Trumpeter. Having said that, if this were not going to be a single color AVGP but one of the 3 tone Canadian AVGP's/early Husky's, the modeler would need to give some thought as to just how far they want to take the build before beginning the camouflage painting.

Sorry for the above picture. I didn't realize how fuzzy it was. One area that is a concern is the spare tire racks on both upper sides of the hull, between the smoke grenade dischargers and rear stowage racks. Right now they seem to angle too far inwards so that the spare tires will angle inwards towards the center of the vehicle. They should sit perpendicular to the ground. I hope I am wrong as fixing this will be a REAL BEAR!!

Even with all that you see attached, there is still more!! Added to that is the HIAB crane that I am planning to start construction of today (a mini model unto itself).

Building continues. Updates to follow in a couple days. Comments welcome.

Regards,

Don.

Edited December 16, 2014 by Don

[Don]

The old adage...check your references often and don't rely on the modeling manufacturers to get everything correct reared its head last night. Nothing major, but as has been my habit for many moons now, when I get to the priming stage I give the model a walk around. I check each side, front, back, top and bottom and compare it to photos to make sure I didn't miss anything and that everything looks in order for priming. Well, I notice that I added part B10 as per Trumpeters instructions and I shouldn't have. This is the piece that spans the upper front grill as seen in this photo (my Xacto blade is pointing at it):

This was only found on the Cougar and not installed on the Husky. *SIGH*...if I paid more attention during initial building to my references then I would have seen that Trumpeter was wrong. Oh well, a couple light swipes with my Xacto blade on each end and a light twist and it popped off. A few light passes with a sanding stick and that problem was solved:

The grills themselves are slightly over scale and thick. I knew that ahead of time but I am not that picky about my models to cut them out and replace them with thin styrene or cobbled together PE slats.

Then on the rear of the vehicle I noticed that Trumpeter had me install two grab handles (parts B17), one above each rear door. There should only be one above the top of the right rear door (as you face the front of the vehicle). Here is the offending handle (at the point of my Xacto blade):

Two nips with my sprue nippers, quick pass with the Xacto, a few passes with a sanding stick and all is cured:

Now, in Trumpeters defense, these Husky's underwent numerous additions and subtractions over their life spans so that its possible that no two Husky's were completely identical. Still, no Husky had the Cougar style part (B10) over the upper front grill and odds are Trumpeter was...or should... have been aware of that.

Work on the HIAB crane is underway:

The crane actually operates! The boom raises and lowers where its attached to the Husky's upper hull deck, the forward portion of the boom extends in and out, and the hook swivels. This kit is CRYING for an aftermarket interior and BEGGING to be the centerpiece of a diorama.

Building continues. I am still on point for primer this weekend.

Comments welcome.

Regards,

Don.

[sharkmouth]

watching... thanks for the building tips!

Regards,

[Don]

watching... thanks for the building tips!

Regards,

You are very welcome. Glad to have you following along.

Regards,

Don.

[Don]

All wheels firmly on the ground!

One concern when modeling wheeled vehicles is making sure all the wheels make contact with the ground. Nothing looks worse or ruins a wheeled model more then having a wheel not being level. The more wheels that are involved, the more the chances are one or more may hover over the ground rather then be firmly planted. Thankfully, all is well on my Husky:

The six wheels are just dry fit to the axles for now. Prior to priming I wanted to make sure my Husky would sit properly. If it did not sit properly on its six wheels then it would have given me a chance to perhaps correct the problem prior to painting:

A note about the rubber wheels Trumpeter provided. To be honest, I am quite concerned with them. They are very soft and the hubs fit very loosely. So loose that merely moving the model about can cause one or more of the wheels to flop...yes flop...off of their hub. To my knowledge you can't glue them to the hubs lest your adhesive eat the soft rubber. Painting them will be very difficult because they are so soft I imagine paint will crack and/or flake off? So my strategy for detailing them will be "scuffing" the tread and sidewalls with fine sandpaper (like the car guys do) making sure not to ruin the molded details. Then follow that up with a dust application of Mig Pigments and light wash.

The HIAB crane is really a jewel. Looks great, actually works (within reason obviously), and goes together with ease. Only a little filler along the boom top. It still needs about 6 to 8 hydraulic hoses attached later today and tomorrow.

Well, that's it folks. The next pictures will show my Husky in its base color of overall green (Monday I hope). From there I will add decals, post shading, fading, dry brushing, and dirt (not necessarily in that order). My goal is to be done by Christmas Eve day, but with the Holidays fast approaching after Christmas is probably more realistic. Stay tuned.

Building continues. Priming and painting. Comments welcome.

Thanks for taking the time to view my build.

Regards,

Don.

[2qwik4u]

Looking good so far! Having just got into Armour models, I'm watching with interest.

Would a PVA or an Elmer's type glue help out with the tires?

-Dave

[2qwik4u]

BTW, I like your avatar logo. Have you seen the movie?

-Dave

[Don]

Looking good so far! Having just got into Armour models, I'm watching with interest.

Would a PVA or an Elmer's type glue help out with the tires?

-Dave

Thanks for the nice comment. Very much appreciated. To be honest, I am not sure on the glue myself. I was thinking about carpenters glue? I know it has a tight bond with many materials but not sure about how well it would adhere to plastic and these super soft tires. I know another modeler who built Trumpeters Grizzly (another AVGP similar to the Husky but with a turret instead of a HIAB) and he tried using a turpentine wash on his tires and after a while they began looking melted!!! Aftermarket resin is an option. But I have another Husky (early version), two Cougars, two Grizzlies, two LAV III's, a LAV-25, and a handful of Stryker's in different versions. All total I would need close to 100 resin tires... :blink:!!! So, I will do some light experiments to see what I can do with these Trumpeter tires. I am sure I will come up with something or another modeler will have a solution. Its just a head scratcher right now.

Regards,

Don.

[Don]

BTW, I like your avatar logo. Have you seen the movie?

-Dave

Thanks! I grew up with Space Lego and loved it. One of my favorite toys. I am lucky to still have all my Lego and my 6 year old Son is now enjoying them (and I admit to playing with them...him...still.. :lol: ). Yes, I took my Son to the movie and we own the DVD. We love it. Looking forward to the 2nd Lego movie.

Regards,

Don.

[sharkmouth]

Sorry for this late answer. With these vinyl tires, you should freeze them first (takes a couple of days) which will make trimming off flash and other seam work easier. Paint the wheels and let them FULLY cure (about a week) before mounting the tires as the dissimilar materials will cause damage (gooey mess of the styrene in contact with the vinyl). This is the reason why Trumpeter made them slightly larger so that they fit after paint.

Thanks to some bad experiences with vinyl touching polystyrene (Italeri products), I make it a point to replace the wheels (or tires if available) with resin aftermarket. Several companies make AVGP road wheels (one example is Maple Leaf Models - MLM) but they are designed for Italeri's product. Personally, mine will have wheels from DEF Models' LAV-25 set (with a pair left over). Other companies also have LAV series road wheels designed for the Trumpeter kit (both thin and wide tires with the latter appropriate for the AVGP).

I hope this helps.

Regards,

[Don]

Sorry for this late answer. With these vinyl tires, you should freeze them first (takes a couple of days) which will make trimming off flash and other seam work easier. Paint the wheels and let them FULLY cure (about a week) before mounting the tires as the dissimilar materials will cause damage (gooey mess of the styrene in contact with the vinyl). This is the reason why Trumpeter made them slightly larger so that they fit after paint...

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Thanks for the tip!

Just to be clear:

1. Freeze the tires to clean them up.

2. Paint thawed tires desired color and let said paint (TAMIYA in my case) fully dry. I would guess one would also weather the tires prior to installing the hubs and let the weathering dry completely as well?

3. Install wheel hubs (already painted in the overall vehicle color).

-fit should be more snug after the painting of the soft tires...?

4. Mount tire assemblies onto the vehicle as per usual.

Correct?

The bigger question is why did Trumpeter bother with these soft rubber/vinyl tires to begin with in their AVGP's and LAVS's? Why not do like the car kits do and go solid and more rigid rubber tires? Or, why not two piece plastic? I know there may be seam cleanup that way but I would take that over the hassle of these tires. Heck, add a few extra dollars to the price of the kit(s) and give me resin. Oh well, who knows I guess.

Thanks for the advice. I will definitely try it.

Regards,

Don.

P.S. my tires are now on ice... :D

[sharkmouth]

Wheels are painted and cured... I merely weather my tires, no paint as they don't tend to stick

Regards,

[murad]

Very interesting subject Don, wondering how the finish will look like already!

[Don]

Very interesting subject Don, wondering how the finish will look like already!

Thank you for the nice comment. I should have something to post by Monday. I primed it Friday night but I like to let it (primer) cure 24+ hours before I spray the initial color. She primed up well, no fixes required . The hydraulic lines on the HIAB nearly drove me bonkers though...

Stay tuned.

Regards,

Don.

[Don]

O.k. as promised here are some pictures of the initial painting stage:

The model was primed with Rustoleum grey primer, followed by TAMIYA XF-13 sprayed without altering the color. I then followed that up with TAMIYA XF-13 faded with TAMIYA XF-60 sprayed in the center of doors, hatches, and large hull areas working my way outwards (if that makes sense). It still needs one more slightly faded coat to tie everything in. These Husky's had an odd look to them color wise. Depending on light and the viewers angle they could be a dark green or a lighter green. In some instances the hulls actually had different shades of green sprayed on them due to maintenance or plain old weathering. I still have a lot of work to do. The model needs to be dry brushed, a gloss coat for decals and washing, pastels and pigments, and all sorts of items need to be picked out with different colors (hydraulic lines on the boom, HIAB hook needs to be painted a steel color, towing harness, head lights need to be painted and their clear lens installed, tail lights, mirrors...).

Work continues.

Regards,

Don