Royal Australian Marines Rapid Airborne Deployment Battalion M1128 MGS

[Old Wombat]

Thanks, Chris & Mr killnoizer!  

Have discovered a rather embarrassing error in the kit - The styrene jacket that fits around the centre section of the gun barrel is 2mm too short! Either that or the barrel is 2mm too long!  

Anyway half-fixed, just waiting for the Apoxy Sculpt to cure then I'll tidy it off - the whitish section just behind the fume extractor is where I've fixed the problem.

[Old Wombat]

Moving forward steadily, if not rapidly;





Not everything is glued on (actually, a lot of it isn't glued on) because "Paint" ;



Completely unnecessary but fun "accuratising" addition;

[NARSES2]

Looking forward to seeing what type of camouflage it gets 

[Old Wombat]

Good man! You've figured it's going to be in camo!

IRL, all of the Stryker family of vehicles came in the same CARC (Chemical Agent Resistant Coating) Green .... Mine won't.

I intend using a RAMs suite of colours in a style generally similar that used on Army ASLAVs.

[NARSES2]

Good man! You've figured it's going to be in camo!

I just couldn't visualise it in anything but 

Must admit I do find these "turetless/unmanned turret" vehicles odd looking, although I suppose I'm simply showing my age 

[Old Wombat]

They do look odd ... But pretty cool, too!


(Well, some of them ... Some look down-right ugly! )

[Weaver]

Nice one: it's certainly got stryking looks (boom...tish).

Nick Moran (The Chieftain) recently did a two-parter on the MGS. Might be useful for details, and certainly interesting:


Part 1 (exterior):

Part 2 (interior):

[Old Wombat]

Thanks, H!

Yes, I mentioned Nick's videos in my blog thread (The Waffling Wombat), as the first was released just a few hours after I pulled the kit out of the stash.

It has been very helpful in construction, given AFV Clubs instructions can leave where & how to place some parts a little open to interpretation.

Certainly saved me having to hunt down a "Walk-Around" site/video.

[zenrat]

I put the transfers on my Staghound today.  Putting it in the service of the Republic of Australia Marine Corp (RAMC).
I'd just like to publicly state here that I blatantly pinched the idea for 'strayan Marines from Womby a while back but there is no connection between our alt histories.  Mine coming from an alternate timeline where the Eureka Stockade uprising led to full blow insurrection ending with the Seven States of Australia ratifying the Republic's independence on Australia Day, 1st January 1901.

[Old Wombat]

Whereas my more Monarchist view has it that the Republic isn't even a topic of conversation, any more, except in an exceptionally small circle of fringe radicals with no political influence.

In small part because both the current princes followed in their father's footsteps & completed some of their education in Australia, & Harry married a sensible Australian lass, rather than an American nutter, having met her whilst on a 12-month secondment from the Royal Marines with the Royal Australian Marines.

In the meantime: I've been working at fixing a minor issue with the Real World M1128 MGS (as pointed out by Nick Moran in one of his videos - the first, I think).

Namely; the gunner has no way of closing the armoured shutter over their sight block optics from within the vehicle &, in order to do so, the gunner needs to open their hatch & lean over, outside the vehicle, to manually close the shutter.

I have added a solenoid-activated bar to open the shutter & a torsion-spring to close it, as a RAMs mod to the system. Thereby saving the gunner from having to potentially expose themselves to enemy fire in order to protect their gun sights.

[buzzbomb]

I have added a solenoid-activated bar to open the shutter & a torsion-spring to close it, as a RAMs mod to the system. Thereby saving the gunner from having to potentially expose themselves to enemy fire in order to protect their gun sights.

Great tweak on an almost missed detail.  

[Old Wombat]

I have added a solenoid-activated bar to open the shutter & a torsion-spring to close it, as a RAMs mod to the system. Thereby saving the gunner from having to potentially expose themselves to enemy fire in order to protect their gun sights.

Great tweak on an almost missed detail.  

The CPV (Commander's Periscope Viewer), to the right rear of the armoured gun housing, is also manually operated on the real vehicles. The RAMs fixed this, too, but I don't have to model that because it's all hidden away inside the box.

[kerick]

I'm just wondering why you would close the sights when under fire? You're going to need them to fire back. Unless they feel the need to protect against say artillery shrapnel? I've no idea as I was never around AFVs just light infantry.

[Old Wombat]

As per elsewhere:

Artillery & surprise attacks or ambushes are my thoughts.

The M1128, as is, has only 18 rounds aboard but has space for 5 dismounts ... Another invisible RAMs mod will be to increase the ammo capacity & nix the dismounts.

Still, I probably can't expect it to carry more than about 24-26 rounds in an expanded carousel.

Therefore, like the real deal, ammunition will be at a premium & only available for suitable targets for the 105mm.

So, unless there are concentrations of enemy foot-mobiles or light vehicles, the big gun is for AFVs, bunkers & loosening up barriers for the ESV. They have the 30mm's on the M1296s for the lighter stuff.


PS: In the Real World, the Stryker teams never had to deal with much in the way of artillery in Iraq or Afghanistan, & there was no real need for serious anti-AFV work, so they could fire off their ammo, retire & re-arm, & return. Something which may not be possible in a peer/near-peer conflict.

[Old Wombat]

Getting very close to commencing painting.

My only issue is that I don't have one of the colour-shift paints I want for the optics.