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Thankfully, the Tankograd book for the Boxer has a 1/35 graphs that provided shapes and measurements for the A1 version.
Design is done in plasticard. These have many angles and the design and the construction of both side bins is a trial and error project taking about 2 days...
The bins overlap the sides and top of the vehicle, many angles.
There is the added complexity of ensuring the hull top can still be opened. So the whole bins cannot be glued together and simply put on the sides. I kept the top loose and that is the section that will be glued to the roof top while the main section is glued to the hull side.
Overview of the tool bins and the roof.
The hull top can be opened for access to the electronics.
continuing on following post.

Parts are provided for the front mud guard.
They need to be provided with a 45 degree angle using a nail file.
Installed.
The front lower hull details have been scratch built. Heng Long Leopard II hooks are used.
With the added weight of the metal gearbox and the extra details being added to the hull one after another, i could see that the eight shock absorbers of the main suspension were starting to struggle. With the cannibalized donor buggies came 4 front and four rear shock absorbers. I have found that that rear shocks are a lot stronger than the front shocks. I therefore ordered a few rear shocks to replace the front ones, plus some spares.

These are oil shocks absorbers but I noticed that they are not filled with oil. There was only a bit of oil put inside to lubricate the piston, but not optimally. I therefore decided to fill them with shock oil for more effective shocks. Keep in mind it’s the spring that still provides all the force.
The container of each shock can be opened and were filled at 3/4 with Traxxas 40 WT (500CST) shock oil. I had the choice of a WT of 10 to 90, the higher the thicker. As i had no idea what was the best for this vehicle, i just picked the middle 40 and will be performing road tests with it soon enough.
Rear shocks also have the ability to hold adjustment rings that can be pulled or added to the cylinder to compress or relax the spring, to firm up the suspension if needed. I put on 3 rings on wheel 2, 3 and 4. With the added oil, they operate like a charm and are much better than before. I kept the front wheel suspension more flexible. Problem solved.
Overview of the model as it stands today.
Now I have the big job of adding all the round add-on armour attachment points (100+ disks...), and the anti slippery rectangular plates (125+).

Regards, Louis

This is a really impressive build. Very nice nice work all round!

lmcq11 wrote:Need to show some ammos in the ammo box and feeder. I was disappointed with past experiences with resin ammo, expensive and in the end, not that great. This time, i am going with the Aber 16-130 kit which provide 30 brass rounds and links to assemble a flexible belt for a realistic display, at about the same cost.

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At first, it is scary, but there is no complexity in it, really. Just need a cool head, good eye glasses, some prayers and hope.

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View of the Aber ammo in 1/16 scale, really nice. And other than the tip, i won't have to paint it either.

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The kit is having us create a jig for the assembly. It seemed very weak when i assembled it and did not have much hope it would work. It didn't. I had to drill the hole bigger to make the ammo enter the jig. Then the whole thing just collapsed at the first round when trying to shape the links.

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I have found that it is much better to use two 1.2mm brass rods and shape the links with them. They are shaped in a size smaller than the ammo itself, which make them hold the ammo better when you slide the ammo inside the overlapping links. Be aware that these are really small as i am at maximum zoom on my Iphone 12 Pro.

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In less time than it took to assemble the jig, i already had 8 ammo fully linked. Now, you can finetune these a lot but at one point, it has to do.

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Overview of the Aber ammo belt, it feeds into the Tamiya browning perfectly. Not too small, not too big, just perfect. Now i have found what i was looking for.

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That's it for now. Next step is to install the FLW-200 on the Boxer, and do some shooting.

Regards, Louis

Hi,
for people who can no longer process such small parts:
https://www.rctank.de/MG-munition-belt- ... -Cal-127mm

Thank you Inger !

Continuing with the build.

The Boxer is equipped with a rear camera fixed above the rear ramp.
Like the rest, the German could not simply do a square box. They had to give it style, custom shapes and even curves to make it the most complicated and expensive to sell.
Ludwig sells a optional fret for the commander's cupola and the rear camera. Sadly, the parts provided do not allow for an even remotely representation of the real camera. The parts are for a shape that is pure fantasy and it is quite annoying making us pay for parts that need to be discarded.
Study of the Tankograd graphs and pictures allowed me to build the camera in about 1 hour with plasticard residue. Close enough.
Moving to the Add-on armour attachment points. These are covering the Boxer on all sides and the top. There are probably about two hundreds of them in 3 different sizes.
The Ludwig optional parts for the Add-on attachment points are a much better investment. Two sets are required to have enough material to do all of them.
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The Tankograd book on the Boxer is an absolute must for this build. The graphs provide accurate dimensions and placement for all the attachment points.
It does not take long to figure out that the pre-drilled location holes on the sides are not correctly positioned. Not sure why Ludwig felt it was required to create trench deep holes all over the hull for the attachment points. If at least they had been accurately positioned. The holes on the side are also too large for the size of the part needed to cover them. Now, all of them on the 2 sides, including other features, need to be filled and sanded smooth. The pre-drilled location point on the glacis, roof and rear are better positioned, although they cover probably half of them. References are needed for an accurate placement. Just when you though you had finished, new ones to add are found all the time. I still do not think i have them all.
Placement for the attachment points need to be calculated all over the vehicle.
Here is the GTK Boxer with all its add-on armour attachment points.
Some compromises are sometime required to fit the Ludwig hull.
Notice the layers of plasticard piling up on the bottom front of the hull, a testimony of the work required to create a more accurate shape for the hull that looks like what i saw on reference pictures. The mud guards were given small Meng bolt heads.
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Next step, the anti-skid pads, there are hundred+ of them. Germans must have a terrible fear of slipping.

Regards, Louis

Louis,

Just Fantastic!!

Barry

Looks great. I really hate having to remove wrong details also. I would rather they left them off and let me make them most of the time.

Thats insane !!
I thought Octopus rings on a king tiger were a tough gig, but this