M37 Vietnam Gun Truck "Malfunction"

[Warren D]

I have decals for Malfunction, Mr. Nice and Otto but decided on Malfunction.  Hobby Link made a complete kit in 3D resin so I picked one up.  I've built up several Hobby Link conversions and they generally aren't worth the high prices they charge.  This one is no exception.  I found a Roden M-37 in my stash and it's far better so I decided to use the Hobby Link armor box and windshield armor with the Roden kit.  First up are a couple of pics of the quality issues with the Hobby Link "kit".  Note the depressions in the side of the bed, the hole in the inner fender well and the bad fit of the hood (this is after mods to even get it to sit flat).  The corners of the hood stick out and that's not something easily fixed with the compound curves.

[Warren D]

The next photo shows the comparison of the 2 beds.  The upper one in the photo is the Roden bed with the Hobby Link gun box fitted to it.  Items to note are the difference in size and location of the wheel well.  A quick trip to the garage with a tape measure and calculator proves the Roden bed is the proper size and configuration.  It's also better quality.

[Warren D]

This next pic shows that the Hobby Link gun box didn't fit the Roden bed.  It was too narrow which required that I remove the back wall and fab from sheet.  The sides of the gunbox had to be adjusted to fit the wheel wells. 

[ksnow]

Wow, lots of work to make those parts work. I am sure it will turn out great. You are really cranking out these gun trucks.

It'd be neat to see them all in a "parade" shot.

[Warren D]

A quick update, I'm glad I went with the Roden kit as a base.  There are tons of microscopic parts but I like the way it's progressing.  I had read some not-too-kind reviews of Roden kits many years ago (about the time this one came out) and maybe compared to Tamiya, Dragon and Hasegawa it comes up short but I'm not finding any major fitment issues.  Could also be it looks good compared to the Hobby Link junk I've been dealing with!  Anyway, progress is a bit slow, with the small parts I find myself taking more breaks.  I'll need to fab the door armor as the Hobby Link doors are too small and couldn't be used.  The Roden kit doors look much better and have a slot in the top for the windows which will make it easy to drop in the armor panel just like they did on the full-sized ones.

 

[Warren D]

Update to the update.  I didn't like what I saw in the update photo of the side of the armor box.  After some inspection followed by a dose of curse words, I decided to remove the Hobby Link armor box parts and fab my own.  Removal was difficult as they were well-attached with super glue and they didn't survive.  There was enough left to use as a pattern and I have just finished installing the new, smooth side box.  I'll need to fab the radio stand but that should go quickly.  The one on the Hobby Link box wasn't fully formed anyway and was deformed with an odd twist.  So, call the step back a win.

[Warren D]

After a few hours work, I'm back to where I was yesterday.  It was worth it.

 

[ksnow]

Looks like great work. 

[Warren D]

This one is just about ready for paint, went for a bath earlier and it should be dry tomorrow to shoot primer.  To avoid issues I seem to have shooting color on from the same bottle on different panels at different times, I'll be shooting the yellow nose first and wait until it's dry and masked off and then shoot everything at the same time.  Malfunction was black.

 

[Warren D]

What's this?  Looks like another M37 with armor.........hmmm.......

 

[Warren D]

Pollyscale acrylic primer is on and covered with Tamiya flat black.  Glosscoat for decals is next.

 

[mustang1989]

I've heard a lot of good things about the detail in Roden kits. It's their instructions that get a lot of negative attention. This one is shaping up nicely with the addition of the Hobby Link parts Warren. LOTS of detail work going into this. 

[Warren D]

1 hour ago, mustang1989 said:

I've heard a lot of good things about the detail in Roden kits. It's their instructions that get a lot of negative attention. This one is shaping up nicely with the addition of the Hobby Link parts Warren. LOTS of detail work going into this. 

I really didn't have that much trouble with the Roden instructions.  Could be I'm used to the less than stellar AMT instructions, or the errors I've found with AFV Club or maybe I've been burned so many times I look and think well ahead of where I'm working.  I usually dry-run the instructions before the build to identify how I'll proceed so that I can get the maximum number of parts assembled before paint.  

[Warren D]

Calling it done, minus a couple of repairs....