Had a very nice surprise in the mail today..Two parcels..
In one is a 35th Trumpeter M1A2 Abrams MBT..now this is the weird part..the model is a Trumpeter..marking inside the hull say Trumpeter but the box doesn't..it's some Chinese dudes called MSN ..the parts are crisp and clean ..comes with 2 plastic main guns..2 sets of tracks ..pretty good score this was.

Now parcel 2 is a goodin..scored these from Flyer over in OZ land 
1 x Revell 48th Stearman
1 x Academy 48th F-111
And a AMT 48th X-wing       
The F-111 will be wiffied for sure and so will the X-wing ..upgraded X-wing 

From Kingkit, Aoshima 1/72nd JGSDF Material Carrier Vehicle (2 vehicle set):



One or both of these will probably end up in the Antarctic eventually. I'm thinking one in standard crane+tipper layout and with one some sort of cabin on the back, and maybe a comms or science mast in between the cabs.

The only trouble is that the fabric side doors are moulded one-piece in clear plastic, so it'll be an interesting task to make replacement solid ones. I have ideas, however...

Couple of nice arrivals this week while I was away for work.

From SprueBrothers thanks to one of their sales;

HobbyBoss 1/48 A-6E

From the eBay Fairy at a great price, I assume because of the missing decals;

1/48 Eduard BAC Lightning F.1A/F.2.  Really a steal at the price as it has Airfix styrene, a few resin bits (mainly the seat) and the Eduard PE detail set along with a canopy mask.  I have plenty of Lightning decals in the stash, but I think this one might be a bit more Whiffy with a backstory that sees Mr Lockheed's bribes being less successfull.

Quote from: Weaver on January 28, 2023, 06:47:13 AMFrom Kingkit, Aoshima 1/72nd JGSDF Material Carrier Vehicle (2 vehicle set):



One or both of these will probably end up in the Antarctic eventually. I'm thinking one in standard crane+tipper layout and with one some sort of cabin on the back, and maybe a comms or science mast in between the cabs.

The only trouble is that the fabric side doors are moulded one-piece in clear plastic, so it'll be an interesting task to make replacement solid ones. I have ideas, however...

Nice little kits.  I've built one.  I was thinking of arming the second one.  Mobile flak for airfield defence.

Quote from: zenrat on January 29, 2023, 03:59:38 AM

Quote from: Weaver on January 28, 2023, 06:47:13 AMFrom Kingkit, Aoshima 1/72nd JGSDF Material Carrier Vehicle (2 vehicle set):



One or both of these will probably end up in the Antarctic eventually. I'm thinking one in standard crane+tipper layout and with one some sort of cabin on the back, and maybe a comms or science mast in between the cabs.

The only trouble is that the fabric side doors are moulded one-piece in clear plastic, so it'll be an interesting task to make replacement solid ones. I have ideas, however...

Nice little kits.  I've built one.  I was thinking of arming the second one.  Mobile flak for airfield defence.

Some other ideas I've had, all Antarctic:

Mini-DROPS carrier. DROPS is a system whereby a truck can on/offload a palletised load with handling gear. Military ones tend to be big, but smaller civilian ones have been developed:



Aircraft refuelling bowser.

Aircraft tug & snow plow/dozer.

DROPS Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup System.
I want the italeri HEMTT one ..just cause   
And why don't they make that little swampy in 35th scale..ive spent many many hours with my butt inside swampys and this would make a cool kit.

Quote from: AeroplaneDriver on January 28, 2023, 09:21:25 PM1/48 Eduard BAC Lightning F.1A/F.2.  I think this one might be a bit more Whiffy with a backstory that sees Mr Lockheed's bribes being less successfull.

My idea was as USAF interceptors along the Gulf of Mexico coast in 1962, but the idea of Lockheed being caught out  regarding the Starfighter is a backstory I'd much enjoy reading!

Quote from: Weaver on January 29, 2023, 06:32:02 AM

Quote from: zenrat on January 29, 2023, 03:59:38 AMSome other ideas I've had, all Antarctic:

Mini-DROPS carrier. DROPS is a system whereby a truck can on/offload a palletised load with handling gear. Military ones tend to be big, but smaller civilian ones have been developed:

Also called PLS (Palletized Loading System) in DoD.  Probably be useful for Quad/Tri/Bi-Cons and 436Ls

Quote from: scooter on January 29, 2023, 11:07:33 AMAlso called PLS (Palletized Loading System) in DoD.  Probably be useful for Quad/Tri/Bi-Cons and 436Ls

The follow-on to DROPS in UK service is called EPLS. Main difference is that it's based on a current MAN chassis instead of the Leyland/DAF and Scammel(?) chassis used for DROPS, and it can pick up and drop a standard shipping container without it having to be loaded onto a system-specific pallet first.

Quote from: zenrat on January 29, 2023, 03:59:38 AMNice little kits.  I've built one.  I was thinking of arming the second one.  Mobile flak for airfield defence.

Dummy tank version seen at a JGSDF open day. Presumably used as OPFOR for training:



I thought I might be able to identify the civilian vehicle these things are based on, but it turns out the 'distinctive' running gear components are used in mix'n'match fashion by several different  construction equipment manufacturers under a dozen different brand names, and there's no one vehicle you can point at and say "definitely that one". The most uniquely military thing about the JGSDF version is the twin cab, which almost none of the civvie versions have, since they don't need to travel long distances under their own power carrying extra crew. Unfortunately the cab is the main styling feature which distiguishes one civvie brand from another.

The size and lenght looks a ton like a Kobelco 7.5 ton swampy..the Takeuchi TCR50 range have completely different road wheels so that counts those out ..the tracks are universal so their out too.
So I did some hunting and found out exactly what this is ....it's a Morooka MST800 dump carrier modified for the army with the second cab.
Morooka do a large range of tracked carriers and it's quite impressive...this model could be turned into over a dozen different variants if someone was that frame of mind 😁

Quote from: Wardukw-NZ on January 29, 2023, 11:54:21 PM... I did some hunting and found out exactly what this is ....it's a Morooka MST800 dump carrier modified for the army with the second cab.
Morooka do a large range of tracked carriers and it's quite impressive...this model could be turned into over a dozen different variants if someone was that frame of mind 😁

Interesting.  Some of the other models have the body on a swivel like an excavator.  Thanks mate.

Quote from: Wardukw-NZ on January 29, 2023, 11:54:21 PMThe size and lenght looks a ton like a Kobelco 7.5 ton swampy..the Takeuchi TCR50 range have completely different road wheels so that counts those out ..the tracks are universal so their out too.
So I did some hunting and found out exactly what this is ....it's a Morooka MST800 dump carrier modified for the army with the second cab.
Morooka do a large range of tracked carriers and it's quite impressive...this model could be turned into over a dozen different variants if someone was that frame of mind 😁

Confirmed as a Marooka product (no designation though) on the Corporate History page on the company's website:
https://www.morooka.com/our-company/history

Damn - I had a whole trail of detective work posted here and I did the very bloody obvious thing last...

At a guess, I'd say the military ones are MST600VD chassis fitted with the shorter tipper body from the MST300 to make space for the crane and the fuel tanks displaced by the second cab. The cab is a bespoke military item, but it uses a distinctive older pattern of headlight (first military delivery: 1990) with round lights being mounted in square boxes high up on the body. Current commercial models have had a facelift and now sport rectangular headlights recessed into the bumper bar, but the military pattern remains the same (probably because the JGSDF has a huge spares holding for them).

Also, they have indeed supplied vehicles for Antarctic work, although they were four-bogie, single cab MST800VDs, not the military pattern.

Quote from: zenrat on January 30, 2023, 02:07:13 AM

Quote from: Wardukw-NZ on January 29, 2023, 11:54:21 PM... I did some hunting and found out exactly what this is ....it's a Morooka MST800 dump carrier modified for the army with the second cab.
Morooka do a large range of tracked carriers and it's quite impressive...this model could be turned into over a dozen different variants if someone was that frame of mind 😁

Interesting.  Some of the other models have the body on a swivel like an excavator.  Thanks mate.

Yep they do Fred..360° rotation and sideways dumping as well as rear dump.
I drove the Kebelco version which did exactly the same thing..the size was the difference..it's was a bigger machine with wider tracks..spend 2 months on that ..then spent a month on a 10ton Mitsubishi and then 3 months on a 35ton Maggott...heaps of fun driving those 

Weaver mate the Japanese military don't have thousands of these and they'll use them for work when it gets nasty but also for humanitarian work ..so very nasty ..so upgrades like head lights are not really all that important..that little tray with crane is a standard Morooka part as I've seen them here in NZ but of course ..single cab and the crane is only a little one..think 2 ton or so .
It works on the principle of if it works why change it   
 

First purchase for 2023: an Italeri 1:72 RF-18 Hornet kit, for just EUR 10,-. Not certain if I will actually build it - I have a Monogram F-19 that needs a proper landing gear (and an F-18 donor is rumored to be a great chpice), and the camera fairing might end up under something else's nose...?