IPMS WEST DES MOINES CHAPTER
Trumpeter's 1/35 LAV-C2
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LAV-C2
The USMC's Light Armored Vehicle Command and Control [LAV-C2] functions as the backbone of the Marine's LAR reconnaissance battalion. The C2 provides voice and data support for intelligence and air support in the form of various UHF, VHF, and advanced radio and data uplinks. The C2 is built from the Marine's LAV-25 Piranha platform, replacing the weapons turret with a raised roof to allow for increased electronics. The C2 is lightly armed, carrying only a 7.26mm M240 E1/G light machine gun. The C2 is built by General Electric Land Systems out of Canada. The C2 entered service in the mid 1980's, with 50 C2's currently in service, and a planned upgrade program beginning in 2009.
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The Kit
Trumpeter's 1/35 LAV-C2 is based of the company's successful line of LAV- models. The kit features the same chassis and drive-train components as previous kits, with newly tooled, raised roof upper hull. The hull features all of the vehicles antennae as well as various tools and smoke dispensers. The kit also features and finely tooled M240 machine gun. Rubber tires and a set of photo-etched parts rounding out a well researched kit. For sprue details, check out Kent Kirkpatrick's in-box review.
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Construction
Construction of the C2 is very straight
forward, and I encountered no trouble spots. The instructions start off
with the kits chassis and suspension components. During this phase, I
decided to modify the kit slightly by changing the angle of the drive
wheels. Trumpeter doesn't offer this option, but it can easily be
accomplished with a little effort and patience. To do this, I cut apart
the kit's two steering linkage rods at the joints. After repositioning
the front spindles at an angle, the linkages were reassembled to match
the angle of the wheels. Make sure to glue the steering rods back
together in the same spots, noting that the angles of the joints are now
changed. The rest of the chassis was assembled as directed. NOTE- the
kit does contain the old wheel hubs from the LAV-25 kit. The -25 wheels
are narrower than the -C2 model. I assembled both sets of hubs before I
realized this. Use the wider hubs, and attach them to the chassis at
this point. The rubber wheels can be slipped onto the hubs after
painting.
The upper hull assembly was very easy. The kit features PE parts to
replace the visors on the driver's vision blocks, headlight frames, wire
cutters, jerry can mounts, and the engine and exhaust grills. I used
silver solder and flux, with a 15 wt soldering iron for all the PE
assembly. Make sure to heat the exhaust grills before bending them to
shape. Aerials were made from stretched sprue, and attached to the three
bases at the rear of the roof, and the two front corners. The antenna in
the center of the roof is a high gain UHF antenna and should not have an
aerial. The box indicates that the front left aerial should be tied off
to the hand hold in the lower engine grill. This was done with invisible
thread. After final assembly, the model was primed with flat gray
enamel.
After priming, the model received a base coat of Model Master's Olive
Drab. This was shot from a rattle can. Tamiya's NATO brown and NATO
black were used freehand to airbrush the Woodland camo scheme. Once the
camo was dry, the model was sealed with future. Trumpeter includes an
extensive decal sheet, and not all were used. The model was then sealed
again with future, and then with Model Master's Lusterless. Weathering
was done with oils, Bragden powder, and Tamiya weathering kits 1-4.
Details such as the road lights and tools were then painted. The exhaust
muffler was painted in camo with the rest of the model. Tamiya light
rust and dark rust were then rubbed on to create a rusted camo look,
prototypical to the real C2. The wheels were sealed with dull coat, and
then weathered using Bragden powders. The raised portions of the tread
were then wiped off.
Conclusion
Trumpeter's LAV-C2 is an excellent representation of the Marine's Command and Control vehicle. The detail is crisp and accurate, and the construction is very easy, with excellent fit. The addition of PE and rubber wheels adds to the quality of the kit. The C2 makes a perfect addition to any modern armor collection, as well as any LAV collection. Trumpeter currently offers the LAV-25, LAV-R, LAV-C2, and the LAV-AT. I would like to thank Stevens International for the review kit.
©2006 West Des Moines Plastic Surgeons