Academy 1/35 Warrior MCV

[Mr Bowcat]

Hi guys,

Started on this the other day. Fairly simple kit so most of the building was completed in short order.

Not a bad fit, bit of filler here and there. No flash but quite a lot of seams, and EPM's is some stupid places (like right in the middle of vision blocks).

Comes with quite a few accessories for filling up the turret basket and hull bins, including (bizarrely) two folding chairs??

Also included were two L85a2's which are very nicely moulded.

 

[Mickc1440]

this kit brought me back to modelling, nice work on yours Bob

 

[scottie3158]

Bob looking very good, a nice selection of stowage. Is the turret basket broken is seems to be hanging down a touch in the rear view

 

[MikeC]

Bob,
Fast work there. One suggestion is replace the plastic mesh in the turret basket if you can, ebay etc should be a source.
Cheers, Mike.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers gents.

Paul, the mesh isn't fully glued in at the ends yet, and the basket does angle up at the bottom, but it's installed correctly. Maybe the angle the photos taken at?

Mike, might look for some metal mesh for future builds as the nylon/plastic mesh than came with the kit was a pain. For this one I will live with it as there are several boxes and spools to be attached to the rear of the basket, and lots of goodies to go in it so the mesh will mostly be hidden.

 

[Jakko]

Not a bad fit, bit of filler here and there.

Did they correct the hull front add-on armour blocks? I built this kit when it was fairly new (so not the 2003 but the 1991 Gulf War version) and there were problems with the dimensions and/or fit of that bit.

including (bizarrely) two folding chairs??

Those are somewhat common on modern AFVs, simply to give the crew somewhere to sit I suppose. Not sure of the British did this too, but you could cut a hole in the seat of one (or both) of them.

Also included were two L85a2's which are very nicely moulded.

That’s more praise than is usually applied to that rifle

 

[Jim R]

Hi Bob
Looks nicely detailed and the "extras" are certainly worth having. Quick, clean build. Do you have plans to put it on a base?
Jim

 

[Si Benson]

Nice build Bob

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers guys.

Jakko, the front armour went on ok. Needed some clamping while the glue dried, but no filler required.

Jim, eventually yes. I've previously built the Challenger and Bradley in desert colours, and I have an Abrams in the stash so might do a large base/Dio incorporating all 4.

 

[Jim R]

I've previously built the Challenger and Bradley in desert colours, and I have an Abrams in the stash so might do a large base/Dio incorporating all 4.

Now that would be worth seeing. Need a big shelf though!
Jim

 

[col68]

Nice work Bob I built this last year and it's not a bad kit to build. To answer jakkos question about the frontal armour it is still wrong unfortunately.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Colin.

 

[Jon Heptonstall]

Accurate armour do a resin replacement for the front armour package if it's an issue.
Jon.

 

[PaulTRose]

this one ive always wanted to get.....i did the Bradley and really enjoyed it

That’s more praise than is usually applied to that rifle

i must have been one of the lucky ones.......i got issued with a brand new one and the only times it let me down was when i did something wrong.........but then i looked after it

 

[col68]

this one ive always wanted to get.....i did the Bradley and really enjoyed it



i must have been one of the lucky ones.......i got issued with a brand new one and the only times it let me down was when i did something wrong.........but then i looked after it

Must admit I never had a problem with L85a1 just hated having to clean it to many parts to loose

 

[Jakko]

the front armour went on ok. Needed some clamping while the glue dried, but no filler required.

I don’t remember offhand what the problem was, but I think dimensional inaccuracies. As I recall, I fixed mine by cutting it and repositioning one of the side plates.

i must have been one of the lucky ones.......i got issued with a brand new [L85 rifle] and the only times it let me down was when i did something wrong.........but then i looked after it

Must admit I never had a problem with L85a1 just hated having to clean it to many parts to loose

That contrasts with a former RMP I used to know about 20 years ago, who had no good word to say about the L85.

You might find this video entertaining, though. This is part 4, I think, and the others in the series are also well worth watching if you’re interested in the L85 and its variants and development — they do a very good job explaining why the weapon has so many quirks (TL;DR version: designed by non-gun-designers and put into production too soon).

 

[Steve Jones]

A wonderful subject to build Bob. What are the tracks like?? Good luck with the wet stuff

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Pretty naff rubber band type Steve, but mostly going to be hidden.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Did a little bit today. I'd primed everything black during the week and put the top coat on the hull this evening. I'm using the black basing technique to try and get some tonal variation.

 

[Steve Jones]

Nice update Bob. Shading has come out well