IDF Orev 1/35 AFV Club
I have a love/hate relationship with soft skin military vehicle kits. On the plus side, there are some very unique and interesting subjects that aren't seen too often, such as this 1/4 ton IDF anti-tank missile vehicle. On the other hand, the chassis and suspension assemblies are often very fiddly. This little kit is no exception.
Much like the real life vehicle, this kit is a mash-up of AFV Club's M-38A1C 1/4ton 4x4 Jeep and its TOW A1 kit. For a little vehicle, there were a fair number of headaches. Surprisingly, since this had nothing to do with the mash-up, the biggest pain was the difficulty I had seating the main body piece to the chassis. The transmission sat too high to allow the body to set onto the chassis frame. I had to carve out a big piece of the transmission and do a fair amount of sanding on the bottom of the body piece to get things to marry up correctly. The other troubles came from modifications needed to transform the CJ-5 kit into an Orev. The changes weren't difficult but the instructions were often vague and I was constantly referring to reference photos to figure things out. There are almost no locator holes or pins for the add-on pieces like the tools or the TOW launcher. Definitely not for a beginner.
Despite all of this, it built up into a pretty cool representation of a very unusual vehicle. I painted it with AK 3rd Gen IDF colors for the main body and Tamiya and Mission Models paints for everything else. The best part was dusting it up with pigments and oil paints.
Looks great, Dennis. Israeli military stuff is always interesting. At least soft skins don’t have 700 track parts to assemble!
Your last paragraph says it all. The interior is superb particularly where the TOW mount meets the jeep as well as the floor board area under the dash.. The driver’s seat looks realistically well used. You have a great eye for detail. The more I look the more I see. Well done Dennis.
Indeed very unusual, Dennis @dmeyers
It is an amazing build, great paint and weathering.
What an impressive armor it is carrying.
An amazing build, Dennis.
Everything is excellent, love the weathering!
Loving it! I can hear that TOW take off: Pop, Tschaaaaaa...
Your results are great! I could use this vehicle on the I95.
Looks great Dennis! That dusting looks very much like the dust on the trucks that run around in the fields where I live.
Hi Dennis,
I just completed my OREV and I completely agree with two of your comments: putting together the chassis and the main body piece is a nightmare, and this is definitely not a kit for beginners. I am pleased with the result though.
All the best,
Luca
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.