04JAN2021 - Stryker Interior Detailing! A decade of WIP...

 So, my most recent posting about my 1:35 AFV Club TACP Stryker build was all the way back in June of 2009...  That is 10.5 years ago, but lets round up...  errr...  Okay, maybe not...  OUCH!

Well, during that time, I am glad it sat on shelves and in boxes, not touched.  I discovered some much needed details I wanted to add from the start 12 years ago when I bought the kit in the first place.  Namely, interior details by Black Dog models out of the Czech Republic on Amazon.  I am going to modify the M1126 interior detail kit to suit my memory and reference photos of the M1130 I lived in for a time.  Sure, not all of the details are going to be present, but that is fine with me (and Operations Security [OPSEC]).  90% of what I remember is there, albeit in a slightly different location.  Not a problem what so ever really.  I'm not going for 100% gnats arse accuracy, just general shapes on the inside.  Most of my issues are going to be covered up by aramid (Kevlar as a brand name of the ballistic cloth) blankets on the floor of the Stryker anyway.

After some grinding, and forgive me for not getting dimensions from starting to finish... I forget how long ago I found the Black Dog interior kit (years, like five or so...) and I started the process with my rotary tool way back then...  I finished with a rasp and some rough sand paper last night.

As you can see, not everything fits perfectly.  This is my fault alone as I am taking an M1126 detail kit to a completely different kit and modifying it.  Such a gap, as shown with my calipers, is going to be largely out of view.  Sure, I intend to make the top and bottom mate with magnets to show details; but like I said, we used A LOT of Kevlar blankets on the floor of the Strykers when we rolled out.  Such gaps are easily hidden with legitimate stacks of rations, ammo cans, and Kevlar blankets, even near the escape hatch.  There is a reason Stryker Brigades kept soldiers alive more than other units until other mine resistant vehicles came online.  

Wow, I haven't worked on this since 2009?!

I just picked up an interior detail kit from Black Dog studios out of the Czech Republic for the M1126 ICV kit from AFV Club for my AFV Club 1:35th Scale TACP Stryker

Obviously, some modification is necessary (if you look at the 2005 Air Force news article I linked in that earlier post) to make it work for a CV/TACP variant, but it is manageable.   Besides, there are so many ways to fix things that might not fit just right...  We had so much crap in those vehicles, it wasn't funny...  Such is mechanized warfare, why pack light when you stick ammo cans full of ammo in every crevice not filled with MRE's, AT-4 rockets, a set of cots, or someones assault pack?!

Speaking of MREs, I think Black Dog Studios is the first aftermarket kit, or mass produced kit for that matter, with a modern US forces in Iraq or Afghanistan NOT to have a set of MRE's in the kit...  Amazing! I never realized there were so many MREs just laying about...

The Workbench, picking up where I left off 7 years ago.

Test fitting the Drivers Compartment with poster putty (blue tac)

09JUN09 AFV Club's M1130 CV TACP Stryker in 1:35th scale!

A recent trip to my local hobby shop, Models Enterprises in Fairbanks, surprised me immensely. I found a 1:35th scale M1130 CV Stryker by AFV Club. That in and of itself is no surprise. What did surprise me however was the fact that they included parts to turn the CV into the TACP Stryker! I was one of the first Airmen in the Air Force to work out of one of those variants, my squadron at the time, the 3rd ASOS, and our brigade the 172nd Stryker Brigade were the first to receive this particular variant! Here is the AF.mil article dated 05MAY2005!

USAF Photo

Personal Photo

Let me give you some of the details about the TACP variant rollout that the AF.mil article, and the Pentagon News Channel didn't go over. Or actually, the fallout from the rollout footage and article...


USAF Photo


Personal Photo

As you can see by the camera man on the left side of the photo in between Strykers, the Pentagon News Channel filmed the event also! However, that lead to CMSgt of the Air Force (at the time) Murray seeing his Airmen wearing 'a damn Army uniform'. This resulted in a phone call to the 354th Operations Group Commander bitching about "What the hell are my Airmen doing wearing a damned Army uniform" (rumor... call is true however) which resulted in our squadron being informed NOT to wear ACU's and get DCU uniforms ready for the deployment. Fun, my DCU's were from 2002 and still had my Airman First Class stripes on them along with my Ft. Riley 1st Armor Division (3rd BDE was there in 2002 until recently when the 1st Infantry Division returned to Ft. Riley). I remember running around on Eielson AFB in DCU's for a couple weeks until a call came down informing us that we could wear the ACU's that were issued to us for this deployment!


Personal Photo

Now, on to the kit!

The four shock absorber covers on the lower hull, parts P-10 and P-11. Somehow, I managed to fold them correctly...


I assembled the photo etched parts (P-10 and P-11 respectively) that go over the shock absorbers pretty easily. The highlighted part is P-7, the photo etched bolt and washer. As long as you cut them out carefully, on a piece of wood and use your finger nail to hold them in place, they don't go flying. I managed to use moisture on my finger tip to pick them up and place them roughly in the right spot, then used my hobby knife to get them right where I wanted them before the CA glue dried up.


Here are some styrene bolt/washers that came attached to the side of the parts sprue A. These were the worst to attempt to work with mainly because I had to carefully shave them off without losing them! After that, aligning them was the hardest part. However, as you can see here, the results were rather rewarding!


This is as far as I am right now, I do have a large portion of the lower hull completed as far as drive train and axles in place, that will be another article here shortly.