I am still chugging away on this. I got a chance to take some pics of the progress. I have completed the M870A1 trailer by Trumpeter. It went together well, straight out of the box; no issues. It is a really nice kit.
Here is the die-cast excavator that will go on the trailer. It was listed as 1/40 scale, but when I measured it, it was closer to 1/36 and fits perfectly on the trailer.
So far I have it all disassembled and have added some details and filled in some attachment screw holes.
Well there you go. I couldn’t think of a better choice of load than that. In the realm of the Gods because it’ll kill at shows and is so much better than something with a gun. Thats what military transport does. If I ever see another Panther G model on a truck, I’d puke.
I figured an engineer vehicle was more appropriate since the truck/trailer are used by engineer units pretty much exclusively. I had also seen quite a few w/M9 Aces on them and wanted something more interesting. When I saw the excavator, it looked like it would fit the bill perfectly.
The excavator is done, except for weathering. I rerouted the hydraulic lines so they would be more accurate than they were. I added a few pieces of tubing to complete them as well. I made all the markings and decals for it myself by copying images off the net and printing them on computer decal paper. I think it came out nicely.
I fully detailed the cabin as well with extra levers and a small instrument panel, placards, etc. It is hard to see, but it is all there.
I found a CAT image on the net that replaced the “A” with a girl bending over. Knowing soldiers, that is exactly what one would put on his vehicle. So I added some overspray around it and tagged the excavator.
The truck and trailer also have been base coated. I need to camo them and they will be ready for decals and weathering as well. More to come soon since I plan on working on it a lot and finishing it up soon during the Covid-19 Apocalypse lock-down.
Gino, you have the decals perfect. I’m looking forward to seeing the tractor, trailer and excavator all together. I’m fortunate too to have a room to work on projects and a wife who is understanding during this time at home.
First, I changed the bumper numbers on the excavator since they really couldn’t be read well being black on dark green. I added a sand surround so they would be more visible, just like the Army does. I also weathered it with a wash of a dirt brown color and some selective rust and bare metal.
For the truck, I painted it in NATO camo and marked it as a vehicle in IFOR (UN Implementation FORce, Bosnia-Herzegovina in '95-'96). I also added the yellow RAWS (Rotating Amber Warning Signal) on the roof and red/yellow reflectors as per European regulations on the rear mud flaps. I added the airlines and brake wiring cable from thin wire and strapped the spare wheel to the frame in front of the 5th wheel. I weathered it in a similar way as the excavator, just a little lighter handed. I wanted some weathering to show details, but not to cover them up.
Some close-up details.
For some contrast, I painted the trailer in overall medium green and weathered it similar to the excavator, just a little heavier to represent a very well used trailer.
Here it is all hooked up together. I have the correct chain binders to tie-down the excavator, but am waiting on some chain to arrive. So it will have to be tied down later. It is quite large when all hooked up.
This was a very rewarding build to me. I really enjoyed the scratch work on the truck and was pleasantly surprised with the excavator. I really like how it turned out. Now to make room on the shelves for it.
I finally got to properly tying down the excavator. For the chain binders, I used 3D printed ones designed by Matt Leese (mdlbldrmatt135). You can get them at his Down Range Productions Shapeways store. They look really nice. I chained it down on all four corners and chained down the bucket. I folded the boom as far down as it would go without cutting it up and redesigning the whole thing. I did have to replace and lengthen the upper piston to make it go as far as it is.
