Alabama Slammer

[Wardukw]

Well I looked Ken and yep I'm going to use non-military tyres and wheels on the Alabama Slammers close relative 😆
Those two Aoshima trucks my mate Cam gave me..well the huge pile of parts  anyway has a pile of wheels and tyres all know 32nd scale..they'll work out rather well I think 🤔

That sounds cool. The original Slammer pics showed it with civilian looking tires. The Army was going through tires like mad at that time with all the convoys on the roads. Plus things like uparmored HMMVs wearing out tires super fast. I know in BIAP our people were unloading C-130s full of tires constantly so not surprising some civilian truck stuff got mixed in when the military stuff ran low.
The super bull bars are done. There was a little twist to it when I glued them together but putting it on the desk with a weight on top overnight took that out. Some mounting channel and towing shackles finished that part. Now I've been chopping the front of the M113 hull. I cut away too much on the glacis plate and had to add a piece back and cut more carefully. Floor is looking good. The interior will be very visible so I'll have to make that look as good as the exterior. I think I have some diamond plate sheet plastic for the rear platform. I'll check that out today.

Those bullbars look sweet mate 👌
There going to look good on the Slammer.
Those civilian tyres on convoy escort trucks were also used and common on gun trucks in Vietnam  to.
They are better to drive with on tarseal roads than the military spec one..grip..noise and wear is also a thing too .
Oh and price I'll bet 😏 😉
One thing which is going to be cool is it's different..ive never built a rig like this that didn't use military tyres and wheels .
Bloody tempted to start playing with this now the ideas are flowing 🤔

Oh Ken ..can ya do me a favor..can ya measure the lenght of the front diff on your rig please...that will tell me the difference between yours and mine ..since mine is the Bigfoot..im wondering if there is any differences.

Do you mean the axle, right to left? Or distance from transfer case to differential? I'll take a look it might be hard to reach the differential by now.

Front differential  lenght please mate..hub to hub         

[kerick]

The front is just under 49mm.
Rear axle hub to hub is 41mm.
I added about 1mm spacer to each side of the rears to get the tire a bit farther away from the springs. So 43mm on mine.

[Wardukw]

The front is just under 49mm.
Rear axle hub to hub is 41mm.
I added about 1mm spacer to each side of the rears to get the tire a bit farther away from the springs. So 43mm on mine.

That's exactly what I was looking for matey 
These measurements I'll need as the wheel rims are doing to be quite different to the original kits rims .

[kerick]

The civilian truck rims are a good idea. Looking forward to seeing this!

[zenrat]

Every time I read this thread title I get "Black Betty" on my cerebral jukebox.
The original by Ram Jam, not the lazy donkey cover version by Spiderbait.

Also this.

[kerick]

Ram Jam is the only one true version!

[Wardukw]

Spider bait may be a copy but it's fav of the two..it's faster and harder ..right up my alley     

The civilian truck rims are a good idea. Looking forward to seeing this!

It's gonna be interesting getting them to fit ..the wheel off set will be the bugger for sure ...I'll get around it somehow 

[kerick]

Here's the finished bull bars on steroids.



Here's the whole thing so far with a little silly putty to hold the wheels on.





I'm adding some plastic back above the hood. I got a little carried away. It was late, I was tired........
I'm also adding another hatch made from a road wheel above the passenger side. Why? because I can. The lid is in casting mode tonight.



The pencil lines on the sides are future cut outs for HMMWV side windows. Maybe a second one on each side if this goes well.
The white is boxing in for the missing cab doors. Plenty of busted M113s laying around.



Plenty of room for a platform on the back. I have some diamond plate around here somewhere.


 I'll also box in the space where the tracks were. I'm also casting some storage box covers left over from the M41 builds. If I had something from a Soviet vehicle I'd use that but I've never built one, yet. So that's the latest. I'm going to see if my mold of the hatch cover and tool box covers worked out.

[Wardukw]

That's looking bloody brilliant so far mate...totally enjoying this 😀

The biggest problem I'm going to have with mine is coming up with a name for it 😆

Oh I also remembered..ive got an resin engine for these trucks too 

[PR19_Kit]

That bull bar deserves a Whiffie nomination in its own right, it looks superb! 

[Rick Lowe]

Looking The Business there! 

More hatches are better... easier egress for when (not if) things go pear-shaped...

[Old Wombat]

That's looking pretty damned good there, mate!  

[kerick]

Thanks guys!
The UV castings came out well. I'll make at least one more pair of stowage box doors.

[NARSES2]

That's looking pretty damned good there, mate!  

An understatement for sure 

Terrific work   

[kerick]

Stowage boxes are done and in place. Just a bit of trimming to go. I'm looking at cutting off the rear part of the cargo bed to make the platform on the back. This will leave the tailgate for boarding the vehicle. Unless I cut out a part of the side to hinge down. I'll have to check the hinges on the side. Maybe photos tonight. Right now my wife and I are back at the ER as when she was walking the dog she fell and damaged her ankle and ribs. Back to being chief cook and bottle washer, nurse, laundry, etc.