Saw a program on the Military Channel last year about the Stryker and I had to build one. Used my Christmas money from last year and bought the AFV Club M1130 Stryker 1/35 kit:
It has finally made its way to the top of the pile and I opened it up and spread it out:
It has a bazillion parts. some PE (which I have never worked with before) and now I am thinking what the [censored] have I got myself into.
On a side note, I like the teasers they print on the inside of the box:
Pushing your skills is what makes it fun. I’m starting my first Dragon premium kit, not only that, I’m taking a late Panther A and making it an early Panther A, The parts are on the sprues for it just no directions. If you don’t have a photo etch tool grab your self some old fashioned razor blades [the kind you scrape windows with]
Take a deep breath and say…I can do this. I’m working on the M1128 MGS Stryker so I know what you are looking at. Take it on step at a time…one spru at a time
i know what you mean i have the m-1126 on the bench now too and i am wanting to use some of my christmas money for the centurion and the mgs that just came out. but its a great time to be a moderen armor builder
The jury is still out for me and PE. I can see how it can add detail not possible for plastic, but if becomes too much of a headache to work with… Anyway, so far so good, but those were big pieces. There are some awfuly tiny pieces I still have to deal with.
Redleg12 posted some more pics of his MGS Stryker, so I knew I was falling behind.
I’m wrapping up the top (through step 18 of 34):
I am not following my usual SOP of jumping around in the instructions, but going step by step. (Heck, I’m used to a model that has fewer parts than this one does on one step.) I am going to leave off the winch cable until after painting, and then try to get it snugged up tight.
I am very impressed with the quality of this kit. Everything is fitting together very well.
My recommendation to you about building this kit…take a pencil and cross off the part numbers in the instructions as you attach them. It makes it a lot easier to figure out where you’re at. Circle part numbers that you may have intentionally left off and get back to them later…just remember to cross them off as you go.
It has a bazillion parts. some PE (which I have never worked with before) and now I am thinking what the have I got myself into.
The only thing a high part number means is that there is more part.[;)] Doesn’t say anything to whether you can do it or not. And from the looks of it apparently you can. So now oyu know for the next 1,000 part kit that you will buy. Oh yes, you will buy one[:D]
OK…here is my directions method. I have two highlighters, one yellow and one blue. If I complete an entire step, I put a line through the step number. If I complete a step but leave a part out for painting purposes, I highlight the part in yellow but still cross the step number in blue. Later when I put the part on the model, I cross the yellow mark now with a blue mark. When I’m all blue…I’m all done. It’s the anal engineer in me.
Your work is coming along nicely. Take your time. With all the parts…it’s that much more enjoyment in one kit.
Major assembly is complete. Next step is go over it very carefully looking for things to clean up and then on to painting. This will be my second airbrush paint job, so I hope to do a better job than last time.
I have the top and bottom together but not glued. I will paint them separately.
The rear panel is glued to the bottom. The lower right PE bolt head is not part of the standard build. I got a little carried away removing the molded bolt heads as directed and took off one too many. Fortunately, the PE sheet had plenty of extras.
Okay, time for a little rant. Here we have the base of the HF antenna with a little part to glue on. It looks like a turn knob of some kind. The way it was attached to the sprue, I practically had to carve half of it out of the plastic. Why couldn’t it just have been molded in place?
It’s been four months since my last update, and no I haven’t been dilligently modeling the whole time.
Big jump: I completed the airbrushing (two coats) and I am okay with the result. The flat paint is very forgiving of my ham-handedness. I assembled the hull and and started the detailing. So here is what it looks like now:
I still have to: Attach the driver’s hatch cover; apply the decals; re-attach the HF antenna; stretch, paint, and attach the whip antennae; and perhaps some weathering (something basic as I have never done it before and don’t want to screw up a build that has turned out fairly good for me).
Well, it’s finally done. My very first try at weathering, and I do like the result. I made the mud by mixing brown, black, and red enamel paint with some thinner. The paint clumped and I was very pleased with the chunks in the tires. The dust over the rest was from powder sticks I got at AC Moore, again a mix of brown, red, and black. I had never used them before and I like the way it turned out.
I’m not happy with the antennae. I heated and streched some sprue, but I haven’t done that in a while and I think they are a little too thin. Overall, I don’t think it detracts too much, but I’m going to have to work at it for the next time.
