This conversion set
has been released by Pro Art Models (PAM) in October 2011 and is designed to convert the
Trumpeter LMTV kit #01004 into the Special Forces War Pig truck.
Basically the War Pig is a LMTV truck equipped with extra
communication gear, new and more comfortable seats for the team members, weapon
brackets for a M2 HMG (or a Mk19 AGL) and a M240 MG.
The cabin is open top and a special rack for extra jerry cans
or water cans has been attached to the front of the chassis.
The content
The conversion set comes in the usual PAM blue thin cardboard box with a photo of a completed and painted model on top of it. Inside you get one plastic bag with 86 resin parts, one bag with additional 5 resin parts for the M240 and a third bag with two PE frets, a thick one for the frame of the cargo bay and a thin one for the various details. The instructions come in two double-sided A4 sheets with line drawings.
The review
The carving is excellent and the detail is very sharp. The
resin parts are nicely cast with virtually no air bubbles. No flash and no
molding lines were present on my sample. No damage or broken parts were noticed.
The pouring lugs are a bit large and will require some work to get the parts
ready for use and a good razor saw should help.
The resin parts are not numbered so your first job will be to
thoroughly read the instructions to find out which part is which and goes where.
This will take you some time as there a lot of tiny parts.
The 4-page instructions are made of neat drawings. There is
no build sequence like in the injection kits instructions. So you will have to
check the Trumpeter kit instructions during the build to avoid any mistake in
the conversion.
In some areas the instructions are not clear enough to find
out the right location of some parts. Again reference pictures will be helpful.
Labeled as a conversion set for the SF War Pig, the set also
gives you some parts to detail the undercarriage or replace some plastic parts
of the donor kit. So you get a new fuel tank and parts to detail the brake
system. The various pipes are shown where they connect on the resin parts but
PAM do not show where they connect at the other end.
So as the instructions are not really clear, it is advised to
refer to your documentation. PAM give a WWP book as a reference to help.
Concerning the conversion per se, you get the parts to make
the modified driver compartment. The replacement dashboard is very nicely
detailed. Except the floor main part, nearly all the rest is built from resin
parts or PE. The major parts are new doors, new seats, storage bins and the
radio rack. The seat belts can be added as you get all the parts unless the
belts themselves.
For the space behind the driver, you get a resin air intake
and air cleaner as well as parts to detail the spare wheel support of which a PE
ratchet strap in 6 parts plus the 5 rods to make from styrene.
For the cargo bay or team members compartment you only use
the floor and the rear wall from the Trumpeter kit. The other parts are a mix of
PE parts for the slat frames and resin parts for the seats and the front and
rear walls. One of the seats is carved with the body armor over it.
Unlike what the picture on the box could make us guess, there is
no extra equipment in the set. You have the basic conversion parts for the cabin
and the cargo bay. The radio rack is present on the PE fret but you don't have
any radio set. Even the aerials are absent and PAM suggest you buy their extra
radio sets for the War Pig.
Likewise the M2 HMG and its pedestal mount are not in the set
and you only get the M240 and its Platt mount for the vehicle commander. However
the M240 is really nice and crisp.
As a conclusion, I must admit this set is a very nice base to
model a SF War Pig thanks to the quality of the parts. But this can not be built
straight from the box into a fully detailed model.
Instead of giving the brake lines details that will not be
visible in the end, I would have preferred that PAM add at least some radio sets
and the M2 HMG.
However I recommend this conversion to those who like original models.
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