Thread started by StevenVD
Steven Van Dyckadded a new photoalbum.
40 18 July, 10:35
Steven Van Dyck AuthorI threw the box right from the hands of the mailman to the review table. Some strange decisions were seen, like the sandy plastic color and a correct Michelin brand name but the obligatory error in the tyre type (should be Trelleborg). One large PE fret, one bag of poly caps and some turned metal parts. I might replace the large clearparts because of their lense distortion at the edges. The .50 seems okay but with cast cooling sleeve, so that might be replaced too. I think tomorrow the build will start.
2 18 July, 10:41
Steven Van Dyck AuthorAll are välkomna, the build was started with the front part. The fit was mostly good apart form one exhaust pipe that needed a cutout. There are a lot of hidden ejector marks but these at the ceiling I removed all. The steering is prohibited by two unarticulated actuators. I intend to work on these so I can choose the steering angle. The cabin has some warping that will hopefully be negated when clamping on the rear wall. The braking system parts were not mirrored but the differences in the sides are minimal.
3 21 July, 14:05
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe interior is painted, using a spare mesh for spraying texture on the seats. The decals are added to the dashboard and a Tamiya wash is used. For the floor a pencil can cause a metallic shine. The cabin is closed up with tight fitting window panels. These are so thick that a sliver of brown plastic will remain visible.
2 28 July, 23:53
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe cabin is glued to the chassis. The wheel wells had to be cut loose and rearranged, it would have been better to assemble these after this step. The handrails are replaced with 1mm thickness wire that was on one location anchored in the plastic. The steps are visually interesting, but the right lower step seems to be added in emergency time by Hobbyboss. These 2 small parts were added on another sprue than the rest of the steps and they were not mirror parts, so I had to cut it apart and reverse it.
2 30 July, 11:57
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe Archer is almost ready to paint. I made some small adjustments to the model, to correct critical errors. The most important of these are:
- the barrel does not fit in the turret unless you increase the diameter of the hole by 1 mm. I found this a strange error as it makes assembly of the gun impossible, and I saw some promotion pictures of a model with the gun assembled so they know this problem. I hope some kind of patch is made for this by Hobbyboss.
- the stabilisators at the rear have an interference with their telescopic shaft of 0.2mm, but over the entire sliding length. One side needs to be machined for a good fit.
- the movable suspension yokes have part of the unmovable frame molded on. I created a separation between these. Reference for this is a picture of a Volvo A30D chassis. Strangely, both of these yokes had tension cracks after assembly.
- two PE-parts for the antenna-bases are named wrongly.
- I presume the transport mode of the gun is possible, but this is not indicated by Hobbyboss and the barrel cover is mounted shut before the gun is assembled.
I also improved the CROWS with an Aber set and replaced the clearparts for the rearview mirrors with Earth Metal polished steel fret parts, creating a mirror effect.
Should still be added: hydraulic lines for the stabilisator. I had expected more PE anti-skid parts for the steps, some finer parts are in plastic while larger ones are in PE.
3 1 August, 22:33
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThanks. I now added a chute to the CROWS, it's not in the kit so I used one from a Huey set. Two remaining parts on the A-sprue are the tow eyes, but they are not named in the instructions. Holes were cast in the wheel wells for the hood, but it's not used on the right side. This will be closed up. Then, another important error at the stabiliser prevents the hydraulic lines to follow the stabilising angle. The axle was blocked in the transport position, but that is not supported in the Hobbyboss manual because you are supposed to shut down the barrel protection channel before the gun is mounted. I had a miserable time removing the plugs from the stabiliser, some CA glue had got into the axle. Eventually, I had to saw out the hinge and knock the plug out. On the pictures you can see the axle blocking notch, this should be removed if you want the gun to be engaged. A way to get the axle aligned with the stabiliser is to drill through both while they are dry-fitted in the correct position. Then a pin can be inserted. I've almost restored the damaged parts now and I can finish the hydraulic lines then. I have also found some towing eyes are missing in the stabiliser frame, it seems completely omitted by Hobbyboss.
1 3 August, 12:24
Tom B.Intriguing project, I´m taking a seat 👍 The Volvo-based Archer is a really interesting platform and obviously makes for a great subject for us modellers!
7 August, 09:29
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe legs of the stabiliser are repaired and placed back. They can still be elevated a bit but the height is set. I added some kind of heavy hose in a sling between the cab and the frame. This is thick bendable aluminum wire. Then, the entire vehicle minus the CROWS is painted NATO Green. I have found one picture where a sand yellow CROWS was installed so I will use that.
1 7 August, 09:29
Steven Van Dyck AuthorI modulated the green paint and replaced the recuperators with steel rods, so I don't have to paint them. I painted the CROWS in light brown. I discovered another glaring error in the kit. The tyres are all identical. The diameter from the rim was made larger on one side, to ease mounting I suppose. But the pattern is not reversed on the three tyres that go on the right of the vehicle. This means that you get an ugly seam at the rim if you mount the tyres as they should be according to the turn order. The errrors keep on coming, and this one is impossible to correct... This might mean that a replacement resin kit is mandatory, but when will this arrive?
1 8 August, 23:40
AlexanderLooks like quite a few challenges to make this kit seem accurate - a shame that we still have these mistakes in 2025, for a kit that costs almost 100 € no less..
Regardless, your progress looks really nice and I look forward to the rest of the build! 👍
10 August, 09:37
Pär KälviusLooks spectacular!!! Excellent work! That is a kit that just zoomed it's way to the top spot of my wishlist! Great pictures by the way!
10 August, 14:35
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThanks, I was hoping some people would get interested in the kit. Today the rubber is painted and the CROWS got some detail painting. I noticed that the moving parts under the turret strip their paint right off. The movement is necessary to apply the turret to the base.
1 11 August, 09:21
Steven Van Dyck AuthorI had to move 2 PE rails on the turret, that I had placed upside-down. I wanted to make the vehicle on image 163, so I had to scratch license plates from different spare decal sets. Some of the heavy transport decals seem made for a Swedish version, though the Hobbyboss kit looks like the vehicles built for UK. They should bear translations in stead. I also found some extra details that could be scratched, like hydraulic ducting to the elevation cylinder. I also noticed some obvious danger symbols on the cabin hatches, these were scratched out of spare decals.
12 August, 22:10
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe Archer now got a filter from AK for allied green vehicles (I guess it works as fine for modeln vehicles) and then I added Mig's Dark Wash on the lower surfaces to make it muddy. The exhaust was brush-painted Vallejo gunmetal and then washed with very dark brown.
1 20 September, 00:20
Steven Van Dyck AuthorAfter the wash the vehicle is sprayed matt with Vallejo varnish. Still looking for a different base, this one's too long.
23 September, 18:38
Pär KälviusIt is such beautiful work, the attention to detail is fabulous. I will not purchase this kit anytime soon but when I do I have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to reference material. It looks stunning!
25 September, 06:42
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThanks Pär, at the moment I'm preparing the base components, I have a phototoframe of 50x20 cm and some plastic profiles. I also provided Mig acrylic mud paste.
1 25 September, 07:44
Steven Van Dyck AuthorI built a base for the dio out of a photo frame and some plywood. I will paint it grey and then cover it with some plaster and some mudpaste.
27 September, 01:09
bazinator_201Great job building, detailing and painting this model and documenting the process for us, Steven. Your effort is greatly appreciated and the conclusions are valuable for anyone building this, which will include myself. 😁
1 1 October, 17:06
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThanks a lot, Bazinator. Today I uploaded the base pictures before painting will start. I cast a road and a wall with some mirrors and PVC profiles as a mold.
1 5 October, 01:57
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe mud paste is applied and a wash of black and red paint is used while it dried. This wash will probably dry up matt and will have to be painted with Stillwater.
6 October, 02:15
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThe mud has been moistened with UV resin. The concrete wall got some graffiti and Mininatur ivy. Then I added some border plants. I still want to apply some moss pigment.
7 October, 15:35
Steven Van Dyck AuthorThis project is finished, after adding some green pigment for moss. I was a fun build, the strange errors in the production notwithstanding. Tomorrow it will star in the IPMS Plastic and Steel contest.
10 October, 12:55
RandoSteven, you not only have such astonishingly great builds, but the range and variety of what you do is amazing as well.
10 October, 16:17
