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Modeller Build Logs
SAS Land Rover 110 DPV |
| By James Wechsler | | Started: | Sep 26, 2007 | | Updated: | Feb 9, 2008 |
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When Paul asked if any one was interested in writing a blog, I offered but my requirement was no more Shermans! Instead I proposed this project because I thought it would be an interesting subject and I haven’t seen a blog of a wheeled vehicle for some time.
The Land Rover 110 DPV is the most current version of the famous SAS Land Rovers that include the more well known ‘Pink Panther’. This version is based on the Defender 110 commercial Land Rover. It is still in service with the SAS seeing action in both Afghanistan and Iraq along with other not named place around the world.
The build will use the following kits:
Accurate Armour LR009 SAS Land Rover 110 DPV
Accurate Armour FS11 SAS 110 DPV Crew Set #1
For reference, I’ve found a few photos on the internet and in some publications but the main source is this new book:
Military Land Rover, Development and in Service, Pat Ware, ISBN 0711031894, from Ian Allan Publishing
This is a new book that covers all of the Land Rovers in military service and is quite detailed and well written. A must for all Land Rover enthusiasts.
In addition, I spent some time in a commercial version of the Defender 110 this summer and took a lot of notes on some of the details. It may not seem it, but it’s a pretty large vehicle, bigger than most SUVs but a bit smaller than a HUMVEE. |
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| Roll Cage and Weapon Mount | Nov 11, 2007 |
At this point I started to think about how I was going to paint this model. It seemed to me that it would be nearly impossible to paint the inside of the truck bed and the parts in it if I mounted the roll cage and weapon mount. So I set out to assemble the roll cage and weapon mount as a separate assembly that I’ll attach after painting.
Unfortunately, all three of the pieces of the roll cage were badly warped and there was some mold shift as well. So I first cleaned up the parts as best as possible. Fortunately, most of the roll cage is covered by stowage anyway so I can hide many of the mold shift problems. Once cleaned up and removed from the pour block, I dropped the pieces in some hot water. I’ve found that when you need to heat an entire part, hot water works better than a hair dryer. This time was no exception and the parts returned to their intended shape with only a little extra bending on my part.
Assembly of the main roll cage and weapon mount platform was tough. There aren’t any distinct mounting locations for most of the connections so I had to make a best guess. Most notable is that the location of the weapon mount platform has no clear mounting position. All of this makes it a real challenge to get everything to line up perfectly straight. Of course having to do all of this with Krazy Glue doesn’t help much. But after about an hour of testing and adjusting, I think I’ve got it. There were still some gaps that I had to fill with putty but not too bad.
If I did it again, I’d add some small mounting pins and holes to make this easier.
With the main parts assembled, I then added the small photoetch tie downs, screen and the fire extinguishers, thus completing the basic assembly of this item. I’ll cover the rest of the parts, including the weapon and stowage in a later chapter.
Yet another tough series of steps. But not as bad as the last ones. |
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