M54 truck

[GCB]

While waiting for the Missouri to arrive and to paint the figures for my latest diorama, decided to do this small kit from AFV Club.
Never built a model from this brand and so far so good. The main noticeable point is that the plastic (??) is very hard...
Anyhow, on going

 

[Jakko]

I have never built this one, but I can only advise you to beware of the small parts and the tight fit. AFV Club kits are not generally easy to build, but the end result is (for most, anyway) among the best you'll find in plastic. As I've been wanting to build a Vietnam gun truck with an M113 in the back, which AFV Club do too, I'm interested in seeing how you put together the basic truck

 

[BarleyBop]

Never built a model from this brand

Me neither, a couple in the stash... They aren't the cheapest either.
Anxious to hear what you think.
And this is a solid soft skin truck; I like to think of them bridging commercial and military from a build point of view.

 

[Edbert]

I have never built this one, but I can only advise you to beware of the small parts and the tight fit. AFV Club kits are not generally easy to build, but the end result is (for most, anyway) among the best you'll find in plastic. As I've been wanting to build a Vietnam gun truck with an M113 in the back, which AFV Club do too, I'm interested in seeing how you put together the basic truck

Ooof! I have a tiny M5 Stuart from AFV and it is a bit of a PITA. I accept that the reason is that the kit is pushing or beyond my skill. But you have understated the case, at least a little bit.

I keep pulling it out in hopes of making progress, let's just say it is slow.

 

[GCB]

I have never built this one, but I can only advise you to beware of the small parts and the tight fit. AFV Club kits are not generally easy to build, but the end result is (for most, anyway) among the best you'll find in plastic. As I've been wanting to build a Vietnam gun truck with an M113 in the back, which AFV Club do too, I'm interested in seeing how you put together the basic truck

Jakko, so far going pretty well. Built also, the rear axles and good fit.

 

[GCB]

Me neither, a couple in the stash... They aren't the cheapest either.
Anxious to hear what you think.
And this is a solid soft skin truck; I like to think of them bridging commercial and military from a build point of view.

Prices vary quite a lot amongst models.. For exemple this one costs (at least in Europe) half price of the M54 Gun trucks

 

[GCB]

Ooof! I have a tiny M5 Stuart from AFV and it is a bit of a PITA. I accept that the reason is that the kit is pushing or beyond my skill. But you have understated the case, at least a little bit.

I keep pulling it out in hopes of making progress, let's just say it is slow.

Keep working on it!!

 

[Jakko]

you have understated the case, at least a little bit.

The problem is probably that it's quite hard to estimate the difficulty of a given task for someone with less skill than you yourself have. Not just in modelling, but in general — this is well-known in psychology, but most people don't realise it. I (think I) am aware of it, and try to compensate, but even that isn't all that easy.

This, anyway, is why I maintain that AFV Club kits are not good choices for novice modellers If all you've ever built is Tamiya kits, don't go straight to an AFV Club one (or one by MiniArt, ICM, Mirror, and various others known for complexity and/or poor fit). Of course, especially novice modellers probably won't realise that not all kits are created equal to Tamiya, and may get disillusioned if they go for one that's quite some way beyond their skills for the moment.

But, of course, if you keep working on your M5 kit, you'll develop your skills to the level where you can build it

Prices vary quite a lot amongst models.. For exemple this one costs (at least in Europe) half price of the M54 Gun trucks

I haven't bought one yet, partly because of them being so expensive, yes Checking a site I order from occasionally, the basic M54 truck costs €45, the gun truck is €62.50 and the M113-carrying one is €91! TBH, for that money I'll probably buy the Gecko PACV first.

 

[GCB]

It depends also on the model. From the same brand, some kits are more difficult than others. Maybe related of when they were created.

 

[ChrisR]

I'm watching this build intently. I have 5 of these kits in the stash. I also have both of the gun trucks which I purchased just to see how much they varied from the resin/pe kits. I have built the M35 A1 and A2 2.5t trucks and yeah, LOTS of small pieces, especially in the suspension. They have a very tight fit, leaving you convinced you are about to break something when POP, the piece suddenly goes on/in. Having opened the box of one of my M54's, they look very similar, just beefier, so I anticipate the same issues. IIRC, they even follow the same build order for the most part…
On a side note, decals have been my downfall . Echelon and Star make some amazing Nam era sets for the gun trucks, of which I've grabbed a few. Before AFV released the King Cobra (M113 mounted) I had already acquired a Tamiya and AFV ACAV M113 to try doing this myself. I just wasn't sure how they were secured into the bed and none of the books I'd purchased had shown that detail. The AFV model shows chains(?) and a ratchet tie down, if that's the right term. But I haven't found a 3D company making one. Does anyone know if one is? I'll have to dig out the photo I have of one from the Grainger catalog(?) for reference and attach it later…

 

[GCB]

Yep, building the suspension and getting complicated...
When you say "decals have been your downfall". Are the orignal ones so bad and better to get others?

 

[BarleyBop]

not all kits are created equal

Haha, too bad I didn't know that as I started collecting kits for my stash 10 years ago!

I had 3 criteria as I started back into this hobby: WW2 North Africa, softskin vehicles, 1:35 scale. Independent of difficulty, which I failed to consider.

So a mixed blessing... some very interesting (sometimes outright eccentric) models, with a range of challenge that continues to push my abilities. And that also forced me to accept that 'as good as I can do' is good enough!

 

[GCB]

Any reason for those criteria?

 

[Jakko]

Are the orignal ones so bad and better to get others?

AFV Club decals are not generally very good, tending to be thin and translucent. Nowhere near as bad as older Academy ones, though.

 

[BarleyBop]

@GCB Fascinated from childhood with the desert theater, my first model back was a 1:35 SAS jeep - gift from my brother, and then I soon got interested in the LRDG and their Chevy and Ford trucks... that got me interested in the other, 'work-a-day vehicles' that were the backbone of the campaigns and depended on by ordinary soldiers on all sides.
I found I got just as interested in reading and researching as building, so probably a good thing to have some boundaries!

 

[ChrisR]

Yep, building the suspension and getting complicated...
When you say "decals have been your downfall". Are the orignal ones so bad and better to get others? Rd

Yep, building the suspension and getting complicated...
When you say "decals have been your downfall". Are the orignal ones so bad and better to get others?

The Original AFV ones aren't great, but they aren't terrible. I've made them work with success. But I'm a sucka when I see something that tickles my fancy! Thank God I have a little self control with women, I couldn't have afford alimony on top child support! lol But when I came across the gun truck decals, I didn't even have an M54 yet! But I was aware of the Real Models stuff and figured after building the 1st one, I could always build others out of styrene or mount the 113's and go from there. Guess you could say I put the wagon ahead of my horse… mind you, I'm actually a ship modeler! I just had a few softskin/AFV's and some planes in the stash…

 

[GCB]

Some progress made... and chassis ready for paint.
Had to do some "adjustments" and modify some parts. Also kept the steering on the front wheels.
The tricky part may be to adjust the cab to the chassis

 

[GCB]

 

[GCB]

And latest pieces for the chassis, including the handles (?) on the side of the main beams.

 

[BarleyBop]

Looking good!

This is the stage I get nervous as I've had a couple seem to do a slight torsion twist overnight leaving one wheel slightly off the ground. Correctable but a pain. And the longer the frame, the dicier.