_GOTOBOTTOM
Armor/AFV: Modern - USA
Modern Armor, AFVs, and Support vehicles.
Hosted by Darren Baker
AFV Club M1132 Stryker ESV w/SMP
sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Friday, September 17, 2010 - 06:29 PM UTC
This will be a build log of the AFV Club M1132 Stryker Engineer Squad Vehicle w/ Surface Mine Plow.









This kit is incredible. The box is busting at the seams with parts.There are 19 parts trees, 1 sheet of photo-etch, a length of brass wire, 8 vinyl tires and 1 sheet of decals. I can't even begin to guess how many parts there are. The amount of parts for the SMP alone is staggering.

The instruction sheet is printed in black & white and is formatted 8 inches x 11-3/4 inches. It is 24 pages. Page 1 is the historical background of the M1132. Page 2 is a color equivilent listing referencing the following paint manufacturers: Hobby Color, Mr. Color, Mr. Color Spray, Humbrol, Revell and Life Color. Pages 3 through 21 cover kit construction. Page 21 begins painting/decaling and runs through page 23. Page 24 is the parts list for the kit illustrating the various sprues, tires, wire, etc.

I took a photograph of every page of the directions. You can go to my album
here AFV Club M1132 Stryker ESV w/ SMP and look at each page.

The box top has a sticker on the lower left side that says 'Special Parts First Edition Only'.

Neither the instructions nor the box identify specifically what the special parts are. There is an acetate-like envelope in the box that has artwork on the front and back of German WWII weapons:





Inside of the 'envelope' was this print in 8-1/4 inch x 11-3/4 inch format



I'm not sure what the special parts are. My best guess is that the 'special parts' is either the artwork or the 1 small sheet of photo-etch that comes with the kit.

I will take a photo of all the sprues, tires, photo-etch, etc. over the next day or so.

More to come.
afv_rob
Visit this Community
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: October 09, 2005
KitMaker: 2,556 posts
Armorama: 2,199 posts
Posted: Friday, September 17, 2010 - 09:49 PM UTC
Look forward to following your build Brent!

Usually the special parts sticker meant the kit comes with some additional resin item (aussie tank crew fig in the cent, BFT antenna in the CV stryker etc) so my guess is either the sticker is a mistake, or sadly the only 'special parts' are the artwork sheets.
jwest21
Visit this Community
Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: October 16, 2006
KitMaker: 3,374 posts
Armorama: 3,126 posts
Posted: Saturday, September 18, 2010 - 01:59 AM UTC
MIne was the same way with the special parts. Somewhere a while back I thought I read that this kit would include the Talon EOD robot, but that wasn't the case
The3rdPlacer
Visit this Community
Florida, United States
Joined: July 29, 2008
KitMaker: 430 posts
Armorama: 407 posts
Posted: Saturday, September 18, 2010 - 02:33 AM UTC
I'm on board Brent, git cha ass busy buildin'!

Ryan
Burik
Visit this Community
New Jersey, United States
Joined: March 12, 2002
KitMaker: 1,437 posts
Armorama: 1,303 posts
Posted: Saturday, September 18, 2010 - 04:26 AM UTC
I was hoping based on the the artwork the wheels were able to be turned. But it does not appear to be the case on looking at the instructions.

Looking forward to your build Brent. This is the coolest of the variants, I think.

Bob
sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Saturday, September 18, 2010 - 07:10 PM UTC
I've got shots of all the sprue's in my album now.

AFV Club M1132 Stryker ESV w/SMP

Construction commences on Sunday.

sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 19, 2010 - 05:53 AM UTC
STEP 1:

Step 1 has you remove 4 applique armor mounting bolt heads/washers from the hull sides, install front bottom slope applique armor plates, tie down points and lower rear sponsons.

In this first photo, I am showing you the lower hull wall with the applique armor plate mounting bolts/washers intact.



In this photo, you can see that I've removed two from the side shown. The same thing was repeated for the opposite side of the lower hull.



The next part of Step 1 has you install for round parts on the inside of the lower hull. These parts accomodate suspension supports (A20 & A21) that are installed in Step 5 on page 4 of the instructions.





The last part of Step 1 has you install applique armor plates on the front corners, tie-down point and then lower rear sponsons.











All parts fit great with the exception of both parts F19 (tie down points). The molded locating points on the parts don't line up correctly with the locating points molded into the hull. To overcome this, I shaved off the locating points on the parts and 'guesstimated' proper placement on the hull which isn't difficult.

I already lost a part to the carpet monster in this step. I lost one of the F19 parts when I was trying to get the incorrectly molded locating points to match up with the locating points on the hull.

Fortunately, I had a M1130 Stryker in the basement that I use for parts. I pulled a part from it.

I hope to post Step 2 this afternoon.
seb43
Visit this Community
Paris, France
Joined: August 30, 2005
KitMaker: 2,315 posts
Armorama: 2,158 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 19, 2010 - 06:31 AM UTC
Brent
i gonna follow your build for sure
Good luck
Cheers
Seb
sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Sunday, September 19, 2010 - 06:39 PM UTC
STEP 2: Step 2 has 6 'sub-steps' within it. Before you proceed through the 'sub-steps' be sure to study the directions very carefully. If you don't follow the 'sub-steps' in the proper order you could have a difficult time going back and correcting anything that you skipped.

Let me take a brief moment and make a recommendation.....Buy 'Stryker In Detail'. It is published by Wings & Wheels Publications and is No. 17 in their 'Present Vehicle Line. The author is Ralph Zwilling who also contributed to development of the kit. As a matter of fact, 3 of the vehicles photographed in this book, have markings provided in this kit.

Now, back to regularly scheduled programming.......

Sub-step 1: This sub-step has you attaching part O18 to applique armor panel part O30 and attaching part O26. This sub-step threw up a flag for me right off the bat. If you look at my photo below, you will see part O18 only has a small tab for it be glued to. This concerned me because I was concerned with getting part O18 at the right depth, etc. with part O30. If you followed the kit instructions to the 'T', you would assemble all sub-steps to part O30 and then attach it to the hull. After studying the sub-steps, I decided to attache part O30 to the hull immediately. That way, I can ensure all parts that get attached to it will have proper alignment, depth, etc. As I progressed through Step 2, I was very happy I made this choice. I highly recommend you do the same.



There is some flash to be removed on the back of part O30 before you attach it to the lower hull as seen in the picture below.




Sub-Step 2: This sub-step has you assembling what looks to me to be part of the motorization for the lifting device for the SMP.



The thing of importance that I want to emphasize here is getting the proper installation and spacing of assemblies O20/O28 and O19/O27. The directions didn't make the proper spacing between the assemblies obvious but referencing the 'Stryker In Detail' book clarified for me what I needed to do.



Here are a couple of photo's emphasizing the spacing of the assemblies.





Side view:




Sub-Step 3: This sub-step has you installing parts O31, O32 and O33. You need to be very careful on this step. Do a lot of test fitting and alignment before you glue parts down. Two of the parts overlap or interlock with parts from sub-step 2 so you must get the fit right.



You will notice when you remove these parts from the sprue that they have small 'pins' protruding from the back of them. DO NOT remove those pins. The three parts being installed in this step have to 'stand-off' from the applique armor panel. Here is a photo of the 'pins' that I'm referring to. I apologize for the picture quality but you get the idea. I realized the picture was bad too late to shot another picture.



Here is a picture after the parts were installed that shows the 'stand-off' distance from the armor plate.



Sub-Step 4: In this sub-step you assemble a mounting bar. I made the mistake of cutting a 'pin' off of part O2 that I thought was flash. It needs to be there. It is the round part sticking up on both O1 and O2 in the picture below.



Sub-Step 5: This sub-step has you installing the mounting bar and a straight piece (O17) to the armor plate.



Sub-Step 6: If you followed the kit directions, this sub-step has you installing the applique armor panel assembly to the lower front hull, attaching parts F26 and F-29.



I was going to skip installing the tie-down clevis (F29) in this step and install them later. But, you have to install them before F26 is glued down. The reason is that the tie-down clevis (F29) partially goes under part O31 from sub-step 3. If you try to put the clevis on later, you won't be able to get it to partially fit under O31 after F26 has already been glued into place.

Here is a photo that shows how the clevis on the right of the screen partially goes under part O31.



Here are a few shots of the completed step 2. I'm not sure why the light processing changed between shots. Sorry about that.





sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Monday, September 20, 2010 - 08:36 AM UTC
Well, my build is going to take a bit of a detour. Steps 3 through 10 are assembly of the undercarriage/suspension and installation of the wheels. I don't want to do this till later in the build due to priming and painting requirements.

So, I moved on to Step 11.

STEP 11: Construction of the right left side applique armor panel and installation of the BII (shovel, pick, axe, etc). This step is broke down into two sub-steps.

Sub-step 1 is the installation of some foot/hand holds parts F5, B19 and BII tools C11, C8 and C20. I am skipping the installation of the BII until toward the end of the build due to painting requirements.

Sub-Step 2 is the installation of the mattock handle and the shovel. Both also part of the BII. They are being skipped till later due to painting requirements.

Here are a couple of pictures of the Step 11.








STEP 12- This step has you assembling and installing the left side stowage basket. There are two sub-steps. Sub-step 1 has you assembling the stowage basket. Sub-step 2 has you installing the stowage basket.



There is supposed to be a center 'channel' on part E22 to assist you in placement of part E9. That center 'channel' was not on my part E22. It had been molded onto part E20 instead. The left side stowage basket went together with no difficulty.







STEP 13- This step is identical to Step 12 in that you are installing foot/hand holds and the right side stowage basket. Additionally, you are supposed to be installing a tow bar on the right front side. I'm leaving the tow bar off until later in the build. There are two sub-steps to Step 13. Sub-step 1 is assembly and installation of the turret basket and installation of the foot/hand holds.



Sub-step 2 is the assembly and installation of the tow bar. It is being skipped as mentioned above.




STEP 14- Step 14 has you installing the top upper hull bulkhead onto the upper hull and installing 4 parts on the back corner of the upper hull.



Part S1 has significant flash spots on the backside. These flash spots, if not removed conflict with the fit of S1 to the upper hull (part L).



Here are a couple of photos of Step 14 completed.



sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Thursday, October 14, 2010 - 06:32 PM UTC
I worked on the Stryker ESV a little more tonight. It will be my focus over the next few days.

STEP 15:

Here you install the left/right side applique armor assemblies and install a couple of hatches (parts C4 and C5). Due to the fragile nature of part B10 (exterior hatch handle), I left it off in this step and will come back toward the end of construction to install this part.

Here is the left side after armor panel install:



Here is the right side after armor panel installation:

seb43
Visit this Community
Paris, France
Joined: August 30, 2005
KitMaker: 2,315 posts
Armorama: 2,158 posts
Posted: Friday, October 15, 2010 - 12:46 AM UTC
Look Good Brent
No work on the blade so fare ??
Cheers
Seb
sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Friday, October 15, 2010 - 06:50 PM UTC
Got some more work done tonight. I had to rethink my 'presentation' concept for this build. As a result of the instruction sheet being so crowded, it isn't possible for me to lay out the parts on the instruction sheet like I like to do. There just isn't enough room on the sheet for all the parts that get put on in each step for the next several steps.

STEP 16: This step has you installing the engine cover and several applique armor sections.



Front- Of special note here is the need to remove a few armor mounting bolts from parts C9 (engine cover) and D20 (applique armor panel). The instructions show which bolt heads are removed.



Left Side-


Rear-


Right Side-


Additionally, I glued the upper hull to the lower hull in this step. Per the instructions, the upper and lower hull don't get connected until Step 33. I wanted to do it now to facilitate the handling of the vehicle while I add small parts to the model in the remaining steps.

If you decide to attach the hull sections here as I did, be sure to have a back-up plan for installing your vehicle periscopes as they are supposed to be installed with the upper hull still disconnected from the lower hull. I'm using a small pair of needle nose pliers to put the periscopes in.

burgesse
Visit this Community
Kansas, United States
Joined: November 09, 2007
KitMaker: 21 posts
Armorama: 17 posts
Posted: Saturday, October 16, 2010 - 11:01 AM UTC
Looking good so far, Brent. I did a Realmodel conversion which used photoetch for most of the applique armor. Not sure if that was worth it for appearance, though it was fun bending it all up.

Hope to see you next week.
sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Saturday, October 16, 2010 - 04:44 PM UTC
STEP 17:



This step consists of the installation of 19 parts....3 of which build a winch cable guide subassembly. The parts are a random assortment of surface details ranging from a ventilation fan, squad leader hatch, access hatch handles to 'bumper stops' for access panels.

I had a few challenges on this step and the progress was slow due to the small size of many of the parts.

Again, I had to reference Ralph Zwillings great books on the Stryker family of vehicles, published by Wings & Wheels Publications, several times to clarify vague images in the instructions.

My first challenge was with the rear vent fan guard part D33. First, let me point out that the 'real' vent fan guard has tie-down points welded to it. See the image below from Ralph Zwillings book:



AFV Club has tried to replicate all of the tie-down points on the Stryker by molding them on the appropriate parts. As a result they molded tie-down points on the kit vent fan guard. See photo of the part below:



I did not initially realize that the 'bumps' on the kit vent fan guard were supposed to be tie-down points. I thought they were flash from the molding process and ALMOST shaved them off with my x-acto knife. After referencing one of Ralph's Stryker books and finding the photo of the real guard (shown above) I understood what I was looking at. So......When you go to build your Stryker, be very conscious of what you are identifying as 'flash' as it may in fact be molded on tie-down points.

Here is the kit vent fan and guard installed on the upper hull.



A detail that I want to point out in regards to the vent guard is this:

1. There are two tie-down points on the 'front' and 'rear' sides of the vent guard
2. There is only one tie-down point on the 'left' and 'right' sides of the vent guard

Be sure when you install your kit part, that you orient the sides accordingly. I noticed this detail when studying the image above that is in Ralph Zwillings book.

My next battle was with part D9. Here is a picture of D9 on the sprue:



This part runs almost the entire width of the upper hull. The part is very fragile and needs to be oriented appropriately when being installed. There are eight tie-down points that need to face upward on the left side of the vehicle behind the winch housing. Here is a picture of D9 installed on my kit appropriately.



You can barely make out the tie-down point 'bumps' at the upper right of the photo, behind the winch housing recess. You will hear me say this a bunch....Ralphs book was indispensible in determining proper placement of this part. I could not determine from looking at the kit instructions how to properly install the part.

DANGER...DANGER.....This part is very thin and very fragile. Take great care when removing it from the sprue. I got my part off of the sprue with no problem but it broke on my twice, in two different places, as I was trying clean the part up and install it.

This next photo shows parts B40, B54 and B55 assembled (winch cable guide) and installed on the side of the upper hull. Again, Ralph's book helped me determine proper placement of parts. The instructions are very vague about what position part B55 is in when it is glued to B54. A photo in Ralph's book clarified proper part placement for me.



The next photo shows the placement of parts F6, B34, F18, and B15. Ralphs books show part F18 in two possible different positions (pointing down or pointing right). The instructions indicate that F18 be installed pointing to the right of the vehicle so that is what I did.



The next photo shows parts B33, B8, B5, and B4 in place. I could not determine proper placement of B33. You guessed it, I looked at Ralphs book and found the answer. In the background of this photo, in the winch housing recess, you can see applique armor panel D21 and part of the winch cable guide assembly.



The rest of Step 17 has already been illustrated above with my photos of the vent fan and vent fan guard installed and also with the photo of the winch cable guide assembled and installed.

I hope your enjoying this blog so far.....Now back to the bench for me!!
sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Sunday, October 17, 2010 - 06:25 PM UTC
STEP 18:



This step focuses mainly on front, upper hull details. The most significant assembly in this step is the winch drum and the corresponding winch cable guides. I had problems with many parts being brittle. I had the following parts break on me and had to scavenge them from another AFV Club kit: B16, B32, and D19. You get the choice also of having the winch cable run the full length of the front end or it can hang out just a little bit from the winch cable drum.

Here is my recommendation for the order of part installation on this step.
1. Parts C28/C29 (makes a sub-assembly), C27, D18, D19 and P2. You can install these parts in any order.
2. Parts B52/B53/F22 (makes a sub-assembly). Install on the upper hull accordingly.
3.B16 (remember to make the back end of this part not touch the upper hull)
4. C2
5. B30/B29/F22/B31/B38/B32 (front winch cable guide assembly). Be careful with B32 here. I had two of these break on me.
6. Glue thread (winch cable) to part B2
7. Install part C14 on upper hull. Leave part C15 off until the end of this step after you have tightened up the winch cable.
8. Take the loose end (end without part B2 attached) of the winch cable, run it through the front winch cable guide, around the winch cable guide assemblies and then back to the winch drum (C14).
9. Remove slack/excess winch cable by wrapping excess around center post on C14. Super glue 'wrapped' winch cable into place.
10. Install part C15.

This first photo shows you parts D18 and D19 in place. You will see that part D19 is a different color than the rest of the kit. That is a result of it being a replacement part scavenged from another kit. There must be some variance in the color of the plastic from one molding run to the next.

Back by the air intake/exhaust vent you see parts C2 and B16 in place. You must install part B16 before installing part C2. The reason for this is that the install hole for B16 actually sits under C2 after C2 is installed. You don't have enough clearance to get B16 in place under C2 if you try to put it on after C2 is in place. I learned this the hard way. B16 must be installed carefully. It isn't visible in the kit instructions but the end of B16 does not touch the upper hull. The only part of B16 that touches the kit is the end that gets installed under C2. I figured this detail out after studying photos in the Stryker books by Ralph Zwilling again.



The next photo shows part P2 (wire cutter) in place. You have the option of using part P1 (wire cutter folded down) or P2 (wire cutter extended).

To the left of the winch drum, you can see parts C28/C29 and C27 installed. In the background is another angle of parts D18, D19, C2 and B16 installed.



In this next image, you get a close up of B52, B53, F22 (winch cable guide assembly) installed on the upper hull. To the right is another view of C28/C29 and C27 installed on the upper hull. To the left of the screen, you can see part of the front winch cable guide assembly.



I'm going to spend a few minutes sharing some words of wisdom regarding the assembly of the winch drum (parts C14, C15 and thread) and the assembly of the front winch cable guide houseing (parts B2, B29, B30, B31, B32, B38 and F22). The assembly steps listed at the beginning of this Step 18 post were determined as a result of me making some mistakes.

One of the first things I did in this step, per the instructions, was to glue my thread (winch cable) to part C14 (ran the thread up through a hole in the bottom of C14). I then glued C15 to the top of C14 and then glued the winch drum sub-assembly into place on the upper hull. I then ran the loose end of my thread (winch cable) up through the winch cable guides on the hull side up to and through the front winch cable guide housing. After doing this, I realized how much thread (winch cable) was left over.

Here is a photo that shows the length of the 'winch cable' with the way I had it installed.



I quickly realized this wasn't going to work the way I assembled it because it leaves to much excess thread with no way to shorten/tighten it. Well, to fix this problem, I had to cut the thread at the bottom of part C14/C15 so that I could pull all the excess back through the front winch cable guide housing until the tow clevis stopped tight in the front winch cable housing...See pic below.



Once the excess was mostly pulled back, I ran the thread up through another hole in the bottom of C14/C15. After all of the winch guide sub-assemblies have had time to dry, I will pull the remainder of the excess thread tight out of the top of C15 (hence the small end sticking out) and shorten/glue in place accordingly.



I am keeping all of the excess thread tucked into the winch drum until I'm ready to do the final 'pull tight' and glue the thread into place.

If you follow the steps I listed above, you will avoid the problems that I have had to deal with.


sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Saturday, October 23, 2010 - 06:56 PM UTC
STEP 19:



This was a pretty short step for the most part. You must make a decision in this step. You have the option to have an upright wire cutter in place (part N16) or a wire cutter that has been folded down (part N15). I opted to go with the raised wire cutter.

I ran into two points of inconvenient delay that I resolved yet again with Ralph Zwillings Stryker books.

The first problem I ran into was what the proper appearance/shape of part B35 was. There was a mold release point that was attached at the top of part B35 and I had difficulty telling where the mold release point ended and where the proper part shape began. I opened the Stryker book, found a picture of the part and trimmed the kit piece accordingly.

The second issue I encountered was determining the proper placement of part O23. Again, referencing a couple of photos helped resolve this.

In this photo, you can see part N16, B35, P21 and O23 installed.


Here are parts N16, B35, P21 and O23 from another angle.


Here is a direct view of parts P21 and O23.


This photo shows you the proper placement and alignment of part B14. The directions are very vague on proper placement of this part. Can you guess how I figured it out????? You guessed it...Ralphs books.


You are also supposed to install part C21 in this step. C21 is the cover for the winch drum and its recessed hull area. I'm leaving this part off until preliminary painting. Otherwise, I won't be able to paint the inside of the winch drum area thoroughly.
sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Sunday, October 24, 2010 - 05:34 PM UTC
STEP 20:

This step has you assembling the drivers hatch. I don't think I have ever seen a drivers hatch with so many parts. Based off of photos, AFV Club didn't miss a surface detail.



I did not use part B23. That is an internal hatch piece. I won't have my hatch open so that part isn't going to be visible.

One thing about AFV Club is the beautiful clear periscope parts they are providing in this kit. Here is a picture of the periscope parts after I have taped off the area that I want to remain clear after painting.



The periscopes were glued in place from the bottom side using Elmers white glue since it dries clear. Here is a picture of the periscopes installed.



Overall assembly was pretty trouble free. However, I had to go into my extra M1130 kit and scavenge a replacement part for the exterior locking handle B10. My first part shot off into the abyss when I was removing it from the sprue. I was successful with the second part.

The position of part B10 had me perplexed. Although I was perfectly clear as to where the part was to be placed, I disagree with AFV Clubs orientation of the part.

AFV Club wants you to install part B10 so that it is parallel to the front edge of the hatch. Here is a photo of the instructions from the next step (Step 21) that shows you how AFV Club intended B10 to be placed.



However, Ralph Zwillings Stryker books do not show a single photograph with the hatch handle part B10 in the 'parallel' position as shown in instruction step 21.

Here are two photos, just as an example, of what is shown extensively throughout both volumes of Ralphs 'Stryker In Detail' books.





The 'parallel' position (as I have named it) may be an 'unlocked' position and the position shown in Mr. Zwillings photos may be a 'locked' position. I'm speculating on the 'locked' position as it aligns two holes (one on the hatch hasp and one on the handle) for a padlock shackle to go through it.

Anyway, I have tried to heat and bend part B10 to more closely represent what I was seeing through the Stryker In Detail books. Here is the final result.









I'm not extremely satisfied with the appearance of part B10 but I think it looks somewhat more accurate compared to what AFV Club wanted done. I may work with it a bit more.
seb43
Visit this Community
Paris, France
Joined: August 30, 2005
KitMaker: 2,315 posts
Armorama: 2,158 posts
Posted: Sunday, October 24, 2010 - 05:55 PM UTC
Outstanding job Brent
It is great build.
Good luck and what about the blade ???

Cheers
Seb
sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Sunday, October 24, 2010 - 06:35 PM UTC
Seb...Your just dying for me to get to the blade aren't you?

The blade assembly gets started on step 40. Only 20 more steps to go and you will start to see the blade come together.
Burik
Visit this Community
New Jersey, United States
Joined: March 12, 2002
KitMaker: 1,437 posts
Armorama: 1,303 posts
Posted: Monday, October 25, 2010 - 02:43 AM UTC
Brent, this is a great build blog. Thanks for doing this. It is very detailed and will make it much easier for us to do our own.

Bob
sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Saturday, November 27, 2010 - 07:08 PM UTC
Well, it has been several weeks since I posted an update for this kit. My military career has had me very busy with a trip to Japan and then spending time with the family during the holidays. But, I'm back.

STEP 21:

Step 21 is split into two sub-steps.



In the first sub-step, you install the drivers hatch, parts B41/B42 and a vinyl part(K) that is supposed to replicate a canvas cover that goes over the drivers hatch hinges. In my opinion, the vinyl part appears overly thick when compared to the photos in Ralphs book.

The second sub-step has you assembling and installing the DVE (Drivers Vision Enhancer). I will tell you this was certainly a challenging step.

This is a photo showing the drivers hatch after it was installed.


Then next challenge was assembling/installing the DVE.

I recommend installing the kit parts in the the following order:
1. P20
2. B13/B12
3. Assemble P18/P19/N7

Part P20 will not sit correctly unless you eliminate applique armor bolt head/washer that sits in the middle of part P21. Here is the area where part P20 gets installed BEFORE surface detail modification:



Here is how the DVE assembly is supposed to sit on the real vehicle.




Here is the area where part P20/DVE gets installed after removing the applique armor mounting bolt/washer to get proper positioning.


After you remove the bolt head/washer detail on part P21, then you install part P20.

One interesting thing I noticed while studying photographs in Ralph Zwillings books is the difference in the appearance of DVE's in his photos (rectangular in shape) compared to the DVE provided in the kit (round in shape). As it turns out, there are two types manufactured. One type is labeled as a 'Combat Vehicle Sensor' and the second type is labeled as a 'Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Sensor'. Here is a photo I found on the manufacturers website for the real DVE's.


Interestingly, both types are found on Strykers.

Now, back to construction.

After you have installed part P20, then install parts B13 and B12 BEFORE installing the DVE on P20. I learned this the hard way. I installed the P20/DVE assembly onto the hull first and then had to install parts B13/B12 under the DVE. It was exceptionally difficult and very frustrating. Don't repeat my mistake. Parts B13/B12 are incredibly tiny. Here is a picture of both parts next to an Xacto blade.


A flaw in AFV Club's instructions is that it shows you installing assembly B13/B12 at a downward angle through an opening in part P20.



This positioning is incorrect and will not work. You must install parts B13/B12 horizontal in the the opening in part P20. That positioning is how it is shown in photos.

Next assemble the DVE. Parts P18/P19 were very difficult to glue due to the small contact surface between both parts.




Here are some photos of all parts installed for Step 21.



Take notice here how my part P20/DVE assembly sits compared to the real item in the photo further up in this post.


Take note here how parts B12/B13 sit horizontal in the opening of part P20 under the DVE.


Thats all for step 21.
Oddball007
Visit this Community
Queensland, Australia
Joined: July 17, 2009
KitMaker: 76 posts
Armorama: 70 posts
Posted: Monday, November 29, 2010 - 01:02 PM UTC
Brent,

Great work I'm enjoying this build,

sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Wednesday, December 01, 2010 - 03:18 PM UTC
STEP 22:

Step 22 has you installing the clear periscope parts for the TC station, the TC hatch, a couple of antennae mounts, 3 photo-etch screens and a few other parts.



Step 22 is broken down into two sub-steps.

Sub-step 1 has you installing the clear periscope parts and some hatch internal parts.



Here are the clear periscopes prior to installation.


Periscopes after installation and being taped off for painting. All periscopes were installed with regular Elmers white glue.


Sub-step 2 has you installing 3 PE engine screens, some antennae mounts, TC's hatch, base ring for the RWS (Remote Weapon Station) and few other parts.









Overall, I didn't have any troubles on this step.


sgtsauer
#065
Visit this Community
Missouri, United States
Joined: March 30, 2002
KitMaker: 2,605 posts
Armorama: 1,814 posts
Posted: Friday, December 03, 2010 - 05:13 PM UTC
STEP 23:

Step 23 has you installing the side view mirrors.



I thumbed through 2 books on the Stryker and could only find pictures of one Stryker with the mirrors extended. Normally, the mirrors are folded back against the hull.

I wanted this Stryker to be even more 'different' than it already is so I decided to install the mirrors extended.



I had a very hard time understanding the orientation of the mirror parts when I was looking at the instruction sheet. I had to look at a lot of photographs to completely understand exactly how the mirror supports/brackets were installed on the vehicle.

I used liquid cement for the main mirror shaft(C18/C19)coming off of the hull. I brushed a little liquid cement on the hull mounting point and on the main mirror shaft. I let the glue sit for about a minute before trying to mount C19 on the hull. Letting it sit increased its ability to 'stick' to the hull when I installed the part on the hull.

I used super glue to attach the 'C' shaped mount(F20) for the mirror to the main mirror shaft(C18/C19). I additionally used super glue to attach the mirror body(F30) itself to the 'C' shaped mount(F20).

Here is my final result..









 _GOTOTOP