The AMX 10 RCR is the upgraded version of the reconnaissance vehicle entered in service with the French army in 1982. The upgrade program started just after the first Gulf War. It concerned the whole vehicle. The hull is better protected, the gear box is improved as well as the suspension. The amphibious capacity has been deleted. On the turret a large bustle bin has been added, an infrared jammer (LIRE) has been fitted, Galix grenade launchers have replaced the original launchers, the protection has been improved too and a battle management system has been integrated.

The IED threat being more and more present on the theaters of operation generated the development of the SEPAR protection system. It comprises side and belly armor plates protecting the combat compartment. Headlights guards have been added in which an IR light is installed. A search IR light can be mounted either coaxial of the main gun or on top of the commander panoramic sight. A pack of jammers has been integrated. It is installed in a bin at the rear of the bustle bin and the aerials are fitted either side of the turret front and on the jammers bin.

The interior has also been modified to improve the protection of the crew particularly against the blast.

The AMX 10 RCR is a rapid and well armed vehicle with a 105 mm gun capable of firing APDSFS rounds up to 2500 m by daylight or at night thanks to its thermal camera. Its secondary armament consists in a coaxial 7.62 mm AA-NF1 MG and another one on the turret top. The 8 Galix launchers can be loaded with smoke rounds or fragmentation grenades. The AMX 10 RCR is protected against NBC agents.

The crew includes a driver in the center, a vehicle commander, a gunner and a radio-operator-loader.

The AMX 10 RCR is in service in the armored regiments of the light armored and light brigades. It has seen action in all the theaters of operation where the French have deployed including Afghanistan where the SEPAR version first saw action and Mali.

Approximately 250 AMX 10 RCR have been delivered and they will remain in service until their replacement by the Jaguar. The AMX 10 RC has been exported to Morocco and Qatar.

The kit

Issued in 2015 by Tiger Model, it reuses some sprues of the 2014 original model. The box includes 6 light beige plastic sprues with 1 specific to the SEPAR version, 1 clear parts sprue, 2 hull halves, 2 turret halves, 6 vinyl tires, 6 polycaps, 2 photoetched parts sheet, 2 decals sheet, 1 length of metal cable, 1 instructions booklet and 1 color plate for the decorations.

The carving is nice and the level of detail satisfactory. Some parts attachments to the sprue are ill designed and make the cleaning of the part complicated. The carving of the tires is very good and the mold line is easy to remove. The both PE sheets include few parts. Only the panoramic sight protection is hard to shape. Except from the belly armor plate, Tiger Model has well represented the SEPAR elements. The instructions are clear and are not complicated. However there is a numbering mistake for 1 PE part and 3 parts are omitted in the last step. The fit of the hull lets to be desired. Some putty is mandatory. The gaps between the turret parts are hidden by the add-on armor plates.

Tiger Model allows to present the hatches in the open or closed positions. Having chosen the Blast resin hatches I had to keep the plastic hinges. However to depict the vehicle with the lowered suspension you will have to modify some parts. Likewise the exhaust is represent with the cover shut which requires more work to represent it open.

The additional decal plate includes 3 sets of registration number and 2 bridge class discs. No unit indications are given.

The stowage set by Blast Models includes many items of which 2 fill the side bins at the turret rear. The installation of those items is a bit tricky because they are all nested. The carving is nice but the cast presents some flash that you must clean to get a perfect fit. The 3D printed IR searchlight is superb.

The build

At step 3 I thinned the exhaust flap B19. On B9 I deleted the exhaust and replaced it by a bit of styrene tubing. I finally glued the flap in the open position. stated. At the both rear angles you need to fill the gaps. All the tools latches are thinned. On the shackles C23 the chain is added to the handle.

At step 5 I added the small IR light under the headlight guard PD5 and PD6. I also added two plastic discs beside part A25 to depict the heater outlet.

At step 6 the handle under part A31 was modified and installed vertically. The extinguishers nozzles have been hollowed as well as the two round covers on the hull right side upper edge.

At step 7 the tow cable is secured with CA glue because the brackets on the hull are hardly present. Then I applied some black to the lower hull and the wheels before installing them.

At step 8 the side armor panels are glued beginning by the front part. The shackles are also detailed with the chains.

At step 10 the gap between parts B22 and B23 must be filled. You need to clean the seam between the both parts of the gun as well as on the muzzle brake.

At step 12 you need to bend the panoramic visor protection. Tiger Model gives a flat jig which allows to bend two of the four legs at a time. So you need to do it again trying not to damage the first ones. A 3D jig would have been more useful and not too difficult to design. Since I use the Blast stowage set parts PD2 and PD4 are not used.

At step 14 the AA-NF1 MG presents some mold lines requiring a thorough cleaning. PE part PA5 is strangely numbered PB2 on the instructions. The Galix launchers are replaced by the Blast resin ones. The tubes being loaded you need to add the securing cable of the caps. A thin electric wire is used to make the cables. Tiger Model tells you to use antennas C13 whereas antennas C16 as shown on the drawing. C16 are the right ones.

At step 15 the large bustle bin is assembled without problem. To glue it to the turret it is advised to first put the turret onto the hull to prevent the bottom of the bin from scraping the engine deck. The jammers bin assembly is a no-brainer. The fit of the large PE part is perfect. The support of the decontamination bottle B21 is hollowed t oshow it without the bottle. The missing details are added with electric wire and styrene rod.

At step 16 we can spot under the turret right side bin part F13 which has been omitted by Tiger Model. Opposite you have to glue part F15. Those are the jammers power cables protections. Tiger Model also omitted to mention the antenna C14 on the turret left side front platform.

The decoration

Before starting to paint, you need to make the anti-slip coat on the hull and the turret using reference pictures (see the section Walkarounds). The anti-slip coat is done with Mr Surfacer 500 applied with a brush and tapped with a flat brush to create the coarse look.

The camouflage is done according to the instructions. The shades are as follows: XF-1 Flat Black, a green mix of XF-5 Flat Green and X-24 Park Green and a brown mix of XF-10 Flat Brown, XF-52 Flat Earth and XF-3 Flat Yellow. A coat of gloss varnish is applied before applying the decals. Another coat seals the decals before the weathering. Tiger Model provides the markings for the fire extinguishers and the driver's hatch but no instruction are included. Those are available in the instructions for the AMX 10 RCR kit.

For the weathering I applied some oil dots on the whole vehicle to fade the base colors. Then I made different mixes of oil paint and pigments very diluted which were applied around the details to create a dust effect. I enhanced this effect with pure pigments which I applied with a large brush. The vinyl tires only got pigments.

The crew was painted with XF-57 Buff as a base coat. Then the brown and sand are painted with XF-64 Red Brown and XF-52 Flat Earth. The webbing is painted with a mix of XF-52 and XF-60 Dark Yellow.

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