RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Hi, thank you !

The following posts are for the anti-skid pads that are really visible on the Boxer. However, they are quite thin.
AFV-Model of Germany sells sheets of a material to reproduce the anti-skid. I do not know in what material these are made but it feels like some tiny rocks were used, mixed with some black plastic substance. The issue with them is that they are very thick, approx 0.5mm for 1/16 which would translate as 8mm thick anti-skid pads on the real thing. They really cannot be used as is. The alternative is to create the pads in plasticard and then scratch the surface to recreate the feeling. Not sure about that either.
I did purchase the AFV-Model material for the TPZ-1 Fuchs build last year, enough for 4 tanks. These are coming self stick with a paper backing that can be peeled off, and then the material of simply put on the tank. I've found that the created pads can be put on, removed, moved and replaced as required. I managed to make them much thinner by sanding them as much as possible with sanding paper or nail files before cutting. I will try the same here. Worst case, they will be removed and another solution will be found.
The material can be cut with scissors or blades, but it will ruin the blade. No way around it, the various shapes of the pads need to be studied and then created.
I made about 3 standard rectangular shapes of different sizes as seen in references, then a few exceptions were made later. The corners of each pad is rounded with a nail file and cleaned.
Here we are. It takes a couple of hours. Study of the Tankograd graph really helped to be as close as technically possible. The engraved panel lines and the placement of the add-on armour attachment points on the chassis, as pre-shaped by Ludwigs or done by myself, are not very accurately placed and some compromises are required for the positioning of the pads compared to the real thing, sometimes close, sometimes way off but never perfect.
The anti-skid pads are an important visuals on the Boxer that add a lot to the look and feel of the vehicle. The vehicle looks naked without them.
Closeup on the pads
Close up at maximum zoom. They were sanded as thin as can be with the tools i have. Although still too thick to be totally accurate per scale, i think they do loot good. I think they will stay.
continuing on following post.

The model as it stands today.
Next step, the bottom rear of the vehicle.

Regards, Louis

Scratch building is a lot of work... specially when a base kit being used has wrong shapes and dimensions. Quite disappointed. The Boxer is definitely not the best Ludwig base kit. But i did manage to build it and it looks like a Boxer.

The back of the vehicle is now completed but i am far from satisfied. The kit did not provide anything other than the basic ramp exterior, all details need to be scratch built and what is provided is wrong. I did my best to patch things up. Trying to use blue prints to complete the model was complicated as i had to adjust everything telescopically, leading to some issues, compromises and errors. Main issue is with the bottom half, the middle section between the ramp and the exterior was missing. I had to completely erased the pre-drilled holes for the rear reflectors (misplaced and way too large) and i plan to add them later after the painting phase.
The lower bottom of the real Boxer is nebulous, deeper than this and always very dark on all pictures. It is difficult to make up any details other than the hook. The Hobby Boss 1/35 kit was useless as reference for this as well. There is a foot pedal that should be added under the ramp for access to the small door but it is very lightly built in reality and i did not repro it yet. As this is an RC vehicle, the life expectancy of such fragile foot pedal made in brass would be a few minutes at best in the field. Will see what i can do.
The interior picture i had selected was printed on glossy photo paper, glued on a plasticard sheet and installed behind the ramp. The picture is removable.
Small door on the right. I dislike the trench deep panel line, ugly and not helpful.
The scratch built rear mud guards.
I know i am not supposed to scratch built this but most German sellers either refuse to ship to the American continent or charge outrageous extra fees. I did find a Heng Long exterior cross part for it in the spare box so that was useful at least.
The model as it stands today. It is almost finished. I have to do a final walk around to add small details, including the mirrors. Then i will connect all the electronics. It is looking like a Boxer.
I plan to paint the model in the colors of the Bundeswehr Afghanistan deployment in Maz?r-i-Shar?f. . This is more modern and lighter than the usual Nato 3 tone camo that has been in used forever and i am tired of it. I am still waiting for the shipment of Mig Ammo paint for it.
Regards, Louis

Finishing the construction phase.

View under the fenders of the vehicles. There are 5 main areas from the front to the rear of the vehicle that need some attention and some study. Four of them need to be closed. No parts are provided by the kit and it all need to be scratch built from 1mm plasticard.
The rear LEDS are connected before closing the area.
Closing the areas under the fenders is an exercise in experimental geometry with many angles to consider. I just eyeballed and cut approximative parts, then slowly worked them by reducing length of each facets until they fit the area. As the model will be raised and held using the fenders, they need to be made solid.
Views of the completed under fenders. Notice that the second hub must not be closed. It has no bins or structure under it like the others, it is just some armor plate between the wheel 1 and 2 and need to be left as is.
Lots of small details were added to the hull and roof during the walk around. The Ludwig 3D printed mirrors were used. The second row needed modifications.
Rooftop.
Last walk around before painting.

Next step, painting.

Regards, Louis

Hi everyone watching.

This is a WIP post on the painting and weathering job.

The model is sprayed with 2 cans of Tamiya TS-46 Light sand enamel as primer, with some putty and sanding required between the two coats to correct some issues with scratches and gaps that became visible with paint. I do not think i ever put so much enamel primer on a model before.
Acrylic paint is provided by the Mig Ammo Bundeswehr Afghanistan color set purchased from Sprue Brothers, a three tone beige camo that looks modern and cool. I hope these guys did their analysis correctly because there seems to be another camo schemes used during the whole Bundeswehr Afghanistan deployment, the other camo is using a light green color instead of the Grey Beige.
Overall coat of RAL1039 F9 German Sand Beige.
Preparing for the camo. The core of the scheme is done using masking tape and the airbrush. Finetuning is done with a small paint brush.
Second camo color is RAL8031 F9 Sand Brown.
Third camo color is RAL7050 F7 German Grey Beige.
I did find some markings for a Bundeswehr Boxer in Afghanistan on theweb. However, the German seller was asking for 50eu for shipping to Canada through courier, which is outrageous for a sheet of decals. After emailing that i would take the loss if the decals never arrive through a regular mail envelope, the vendor did not respond, preferring not to take the risk of a sale of a 14Eu decal sheet to a Canadian customer... So, I applied only some basic German markings for now. The right decals for Afghan Boxer will be applied once the German Covid embargo on selling to the American continent is over...
The model is applied with some black pigments.
This is it for now. WIP on the painting continue.

Regards, Louis

Holy s@&%! Yet another model worthy of a major motion picture prop! You leave us mere mortals in the dust when it comes to absolute realism. Hats off to you!

Thanks Jimster,

I’m halfway on the painting and weathering with the simple technique that works for me. More to come for the detailing.

But the real challenges of this build are;
1- Plan and design the 8x8 drive train, find wheels and tires.
2- Design a motorisation that works
3- Build the vehicle. I said before that this specific Ludwig basic kit is sadly quite poor, including the 3D printed parts. I am used to more accurate dimensions, features and parts on Ludwig kits, not something so vaguely inspired and rough. Most of the few details provided were discarded.
4- Keep budget under control.

The Boxer will probably gather more interest once it fully enters UK and Australian Army service. More builders might be tempted to build it, many versions. It’s doable but warn that building this basic kit to a somewhat accurate representation should be for Die Hard scratch builders. Might actually be simpler to start new with accurate blue prints.

Great looking vehicle.

tankme wrote:Great looking vehicle.

Thanks, its a nice military sport car.

I received the Master 12.7mm ammo cartridges from Poland for the spent ammo basket just in time for completion of the model.
Superb quality for 1/16 scale.
The cartridges were glued to a cellophane plastic that will be deposited on the rear spend ammo basket of the FLW-200.
With this, the construction is finished. The following posts are a walk around of the completed RC 1/16 GTK Boxer, a rare sight.