1:35 M-ATV Cargo Carrier

An answer to improvised charges

The M-ATV family of vehicles came about when it turned out that heavy armored vehicles of the mine-resistant class do protect a crew, but in mountains and on field tracks they are unusably large and heavy. The result is a machine with a hull in the shape of the letter V, which deflects the blast wave to the sides, with independent suspension of all wheels and with a weight even a helicopter can manage. It reached Afghanistan from 2009 and quickly became one of the most widespread vehicles of its category.

The cargo form adds a load bed behind the armored cab. The vehicle thereby loses some of the places for soldiers, but it can carry material where an ordinary truck would not get, without the crew losing protection.

What to expect from the build

Models of this kind tend to be rich in chassis parts and in small equipment on the bed. The load is meanwhile exactly the place where a model can be set apart from the others.

• Build and paint the chassis before you settle the hull.
• Tires with a coarse tread deserve bringing out with a dry brush.
• Apply the dust from the bottom upward; that copies real soiling.
• Fill the load bed with a load of your own; the model gains a story that way.
• Leave the glass only partly clear; a scratched surface looks more faithful.

The coloring of American equipment of recent years rests on a single desert shade, which however changes in daylight. Layering close tones and lightly lightening the horizontal surfaces will therefore do more for the result than any extra part. The model will thus find a place in a display case and on a show table alike.