1:35 USMC Stryker M1126 ICV (For AFV 35126)

Stryker M1126 ICV 1:35 — photo-etched set from Voyager Model

An aftermarket detail set from Voyager Model in 1:35 scale, prepared for the AFV Club 35126 plastic kit. It replaces selected plastic parts with photo-etched brass sheet and adds detail that an injection mold cannot produce at a thickness true to scale. The set is not a kit of the vehicle.

The real subject

The M1126 ICV is the carrier version of the American Stryker family of wheeled armored vehicles in an 8x8 layout. The vehicle is designed as an infantry carrier with a remote controlled weapon station, and the emphasis is on strategic air transportability and on high road speed. Typical external features are stowage baskets, covers, ladders and non-skid surfaces on the upper part of the hull.

Non-skid surfaces and surface texture

Modern wheeled vehicles have a large part of their upper surface covered with a non-skid finish, and plastic as a rule only suggests it with a shallow pattern. Photo-etched plates with a texture of their own solve that shortcoming, but they make demands on the builder: the surface beneath them has to be genuinely flat, because any unevenness will show through thin sheet. So sand the molding pips and part numbers off the plastic carefully and check the surface with a finger. As for painting, the texture of photo-etched parts fills in faster than any other detail, so spray with heavily thinned paint. Dust and boot marks on a non-skid surface can then be suggested by dry-brushing, which brings the individual grains out.

Who the set is for

• Builders of modern wheeled armor in 1:35 scale
• Modelers who want a faithful texture on the non-skid surfaces and thin covers
• More experienced builders with tweezers, a bending tool and cyanoacrylate
• Display and competition models of present-day subjects

The set is an accessory for a plastic kit and is not a standalone model. The kit, glue, paints and tools are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.