But something came along that made me put them up on the shelf and take on something new. It all started when a local modeler was thinning his stash and asked me to help pass the word. I looked at the list, but promised myself to hold back. But then I said, I will just look at taking a few things, just to help out a fellow modeler. And it may have just stopped there if I had sent the list in to him and he produced JUST THAT. But no, I decided to drop over and pick up the stuff I wanted.
Now this stash had a little bit of WWIII and A LOT of modern armor. From what you have seen here on this blog, you know I am not a modern guy.
Well, that all changed when I saw the Real Model RM35125 LAV III Resin Conversion Kit. This guy had ALL the things needed to take an AFV Stryker (any one will do) and turn it into a Canadian LAV III from the 2000-2007 period.
I was interested in the Afghan conflict, since a friend of mine from my army days in the early 80s was a platoon warrant in 1 PPCLI Battle Group in Afghanistan from Jan-Aug 2006, when things really heated up. I also have a nephew who did two tours there later. The LAV, as a military vehicle, was an interesting modeling subject, one that I had considered before, but was concerned that there were no ready-to-go kits available, without putting a lot more work into it that I didn’t think I could accomplish.
So when I saw this: the AFV Stryker kit, the Real Model conversion kit, and a load of accessories (Gas cans, stretcher, ration boxes, equipment, etc - I said, yeah I can do this. So in addition to the things on the list, and for a few more bucks, I took it home.
I spent about two weeks researching pictures and other builds. I was concerned about making sure that the configuration of the kit, upgrades and accessories accurately depicted a LAVIII that could have existed at a specific time. I won’t go into a history of the evolution of the LAV III operating in Afghanistan with Canadian Forces, but there was a steady stream of modifications (armor/electronic upgrades, storage, etc) that it would not be hard to build a vehicle that had never existed. Through the pictures and model build logs and some help from Anthony Sewards on the Canadian Armor forum, I landed on a vehicle from the late 2007/early 2008 period. The most significant differences would be the rear air sentry blast shields are in place, and the antennae use the rear T mounts. It would also have the armored gas tank covers.
I am ready to start…………….
