The tiny FV432 Mk.2/1, British APC is a popular vehicle with the British and international forces, the modellers of the world seem to like it aslo, which kind of say why Takom would want to make a newly tooled kit of this tiny APC. Clayton is making his, and we thought we would show you his progress before he paints the exterior of the kit
Build Guide: FV432 Mk.2/1, w/Interior
From Takom
1/35th scale
Injection moulded plastic plus photo-etched details
four decal choices included
Price:¥4,320/ $39.45 USD/ €36.10
Product Link at Hobbylink Japan
Kit review FV432 Mk.2/1, British APC, Takom
Today - build guide of the FV432 Mk.2/1, British APC, Takom
Today - build guide of the FV432 Mk.2/1, British APC, Takom
After inspecting the parts, and undertaking the exciting initial steps of research in the hunt for inspiration for the build, I finally got around to getting some glue to plastic.
I am the first to admit, my knowledge of the FV is extremely limited, and this kit was my introduction to the vehicle, but the more I looked into it, the more I started liking the subject. The FV was (and is) so widely used and so common in the World, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t crossed paths with it earlier. I even spotted one in the first Captain America movie wearing the Hydra badge. Could be some inspiration there for a future build.
So on to the build I went.
Whilst the model has a detailed and extensive interior, I was mindful of my current workload and build schedule, so from the outset, I had made the decision to not get too caught up on the details of the interior. The plan was to have the basic colours down, close the hatches and focus on the exterior. Simple, right?
Before I started the build, I went through the instruction sheet and noted the colours of the individual parts and loosely planned the painting and assembly order. I would not follow the build order in the instructions as it was pretty clear there would need to be a lot of painting done before the assembly. (It’s about here you are supposed to say…’but you weren’t going to worry about the interior right!’)
A few basic sub-assemblies were completed, and the floor of the model was sprayed in Aluminum from the AK Extreme Metal Range. I love this range too by the way! Beautiful finish and very easy to use.
Some of the internal parts were sprayed with Ammo colour, Cremeweiss, but I have a few issues with getting a clean finish with this colour. This image was more to represent the first of many ejector pin marks on a lot of the interior surfaces. Due to the fact I was intending to close it up, I removed them as best I could, but didn’t patch and sand.
The side walls are now painted with the Cremeweiss lighter colour and masked and sprayed with British Sand Yellow for the darker sections. Also, note the ejector pin marks again… they are everywhere.
The radios, seats and various other ‘bits’ were loosely painted and assembled now. Without getting too bogged down in the detail, it was still important to have reasonably sharp lines with the paintwork.
As I had chosen to paint the model in the Berlin Brigade Urban Camouflage scheme, the underside and the wheels are all painted in NATO Black. The wheels were all sprayed whilst attached to the sprues. They would need to be patched up later, but the bulk of the painting is done here.
The Link and length track section now receive the same treatment only this time we use Ammo’s Dark Tracks colour. Again, this isn’t about perfection, just getting the bulk of the colour down.
Skipping steps now, here you see step 11. Attaching the suspension and running gear to the hull. There are no pins or rods here to fix them in position, only the kit supplied jig. The parts do have a curved moulding in order to line them, but it is pretty sloppy. The jig is supplied in order to align them correctly. I just feel this could have been engineered better.
The sprockets and wheels all attached now. Everything seemed to sit correctly on the flat surface, so the jig has worked in this respect.
Now back to the jig. With the idler and drive wheel removed, they are fitted over the jig, and the link and length tracks are worked around the shape. Everything started beautifully, but by the time the pieces came to meet, something just wasn’t sitting correctly. From memory, I even had to delete one of the link pieces in order to get it to look somewhat correct. Even then, the track just didn’t feel coherent to me. I am really not impressed with this jig system. I would have preferred individual links and worked around the gear in the traditional way.
Given my time again, I would probably have stretched for after-market tracks (if I could find them).
The tracks are removed from the jig and fitted to the model. If you look closely you will notice they are anything but perfect. I also had some alignment issues with how the track came off the idler wheel. I thought I may get away with it, but it would come back to haunt me later.
So, here’s the thinner, I should have known what I am like, and I can’t just leave something. The plan was always to throw the interior together and focus on the exterior…. But that was never going to happen.
The more I started to get this together, the more apparent how stunning the interior of this model was. There is a huge hatch on the top of the vehicle and also the door on the rear, so getting a good look at it all was very possible.
So making life difficult for myself, I started to pick out details with acrylics and carry on with the painting of the internals.
Once the basic structure was together, line washes were set using Nato Camo wash and Modern Vehicles from Ammo. The horizontal surfaces were also lightly treated with Europe Earth pigment from Ammo. Just applied dry with an old brush.
The PE mud flaps are now fitted to the rear of the vehicle. This is seen at Step 18. Be warned, however. The way the instructions are shown is misleading and I have seen a few of these kits with the guards fitted incorrectly. Your guards must sit in a natural fashion as shown here.
It was at the point for fitting the rear guards, I realized how crooked the tracks at the rear end of the model were. It became more obvious when the rear guards were fitted as there was no clearance from the guard to the track.
The issue as I saw it was the position of the rear idler wheel. It stuck out too far and wasn’t in line with the other wheels. Why did this happen? I have no idea, but it affected both sides. Maybe I missed something in those early steps. It had to be corrected though. I broke some of the tracks away and cut the wheel down and repositioned it. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was better.
With a few final touch ups, my ‘basic interior’ was now at a point where I was reasonably happy with it. For me, it was a matter of where I should stop. If you wanted to you could really go to town on this model and run wiring, add stowage, netting or even a crew.
I wish now I had spent a little more time removing ejector marks and cleaning up some of the interior parts, and painting it a little more carefully, but in reality, most of these blemishes won’t be seen through the open hatches.
The kit supplied dial decals are a nice too, and worth noting.
Nearly time to hide all that work away.
The rear entry door/hatch is worth highlighting. With the way the colours sit, it is quite awkward to paint, and requires a steady hand.
The top section is now fitted. I am keeping any small or protruding parts of the build until I have the shapes of the urban camouflage scheme down and defined. I guess I can’t claim this as a complete build review, but it is close enough to call.
The fit was reasonable however a small amount of filler was required.
As with most of my builds, the model is now treated to an undercoat with Alclad White Primer. The underside, tracks and wheels were masked using Tamiya tape.
Conclusion
I have a couple of issues with this kit. Firstly, as highlighted, the issues with the tracks and running gear. I found the whole process to be sloppy. Perhaps it was me and something I missed, but I just feel that could have been engineered better. The link and length tracks and the jig just didn’t work for me.
Secondly, if you were really going to focus on the interior, there is a lot of cleaning up, filling and sanding if you wanted to present it in a flawless way. There are ejection marks everywhere on my kit that I really should have addressed, but tried to overlook due to keeping the build in motion.
Despite my complaints, I actually really like the kit. There is no denying that the interior is the hero of the kit, and really worth investing time into. From starting out intending to breeze over it, it really has the power to suck you into it. The fact of the matter is you CAN see a lot of it if you choose to open the model up, so it does warrant spending time on.
There is an opportunity here for the after-market guys to deck this one out with stowage and the internal bits and pieces you might see in a vehicle like this.
The other appealing thing about this kit is the diverse nature of the subject and the vast array of schemes available for it.
My complaints are really just observations and not deal breakers. Most modellers will work their way around any issues I came across, and if you are aware of them prior to construction, then you will be able to keep an eye out for them.
Now on to the paint. If all goes to plan, I will be developing a paint mask set for this one to compliment the set I made for the Chieftain.
Clayton Ockerby
Thanks to Takom for sending us this kit to make up for you all, Check out their kits on the Takom Facebook Page
See more of Clayton’s work at his website “Workbench Hobbies” or join him on his Facebook page
