In 2008, the Hobby Boss company released a model of the M706 armored car. In 2020, the same company also the open-top M706E2 version used by the US Air Force (USAF) to protect air bases.
I bought the first set hoping to build it right away, but the model had a few places that seemed suspicious right after opening the box - mainly the interior of the vehicle. Then I bought the M706E2 variant hoping that it would have an improved interior, clearly visible through the open roof. And it partly did, but by then I also had other documentation and problems with the car's chassis also became apparent. I wondered how to fix it and for some time it seemed that the solution might be the MMK set, which I eventually bought, but it turned out that there were still a lot of problems to solve.
Finally, I came across some photos online taken by the owner of a restored M706 and I decided to design the entire bottom of the hull in the form of a 3D drawing, which then allowed me to make the appropriate part on a 3D printer. Below is a comparison of the factory part from the Hobby Boss kit and the part I designed:
And one more comparison, from the left my part, the MMK chassis and the Hobby Boss factory part:
Right after I started working on it also turned out that I needed new axles, because the kit ones basically looked nothing like anything. Below are photos of the axles of my project, also printed with a 3D printer.
Rear axle:
Front axle:
In both axles I designed a through hole enabling their reinforcement with steel or brass wire to avoid bending of the axle, e.g. under the influence of load and temperature. Additionally, the front axle has the option of positioning the wheels steered to either side (the Hobby Boss set does not have this option).
Then I started working on the vehicle's interior:
I'm using parts from the MMK set. After applying the primer:
After applying the final interior color (APC Interior Light Green from AK Interactive):
The crash pads are made of black painted masking tape.
I had to build the instrument panels from scratch. I started with a plastic plate, the gauge bezels are made out of thin wire:
After attaching the gaude printouts from the back and painting, the instrument panel looks like the photo below:
After adding the fire extinguishers, radio and other details, the bottom of the hull is basically done:
The upper part of the hull remained to be equipped. The factory part from the Hobby Boss set was equipped with gun ports and visors made of thin polystyrene board, wire handles, a flashlight holder made of sheet metal and also resin parts from the MMK set:
Additionally I have fitted the intercom with wiring (made of thin soldering wire), a first aid kit, a flashlight, etc.
The folded benches on the sides of the fuselage awaiting their installation:
Now the assembly of the hull can be started:
I cut off a piece of the fuselage at the back because it was getting in the way of mounting the radio, now I have to glue it back:
The joints between both parts of the hull can now be filled smooth:
The primer allows to assess whether everything is already properly filled and sanded:
Now I coud start working on the suspension. The first in line are the springs. The parts from the kit look like this:
And after my modifications:
Below you can see the results of my work on the rear suspension:
The resin wheels come from the MMK set, they require some work because they have large pour blocks to remove. The axle is my 3D print, already with a through hole for a reinforcing brass wire so that it doesn't bend under load. And the shock absorbers are of my own design.
The entire sub-assembly fits into the chassis like this:
Further work focused on the front suspension:
The axle is my 3D printed design, the springs from the kit were reworked and the shock absorbers were built from scratch. The wires on them still need to be cut.
I have also built the power steering actuator and a steering gear lever. The wheels will be shown steered to one side to make it more interesting. I also added the rest of the steering system, including a sheet metal actuator cover:
After completing the suspension work, I was able to temporarily place the model on its wheels:
The front wheels had cracked rims, so I repaired them with copper wire. And from the bottom, the chassis looks like this:
It turned out that I needed a new grille over the exhaust outlet at the rear of the fuselage. So I designed my own part, which, when printed on a 3D printer, it looks like this:
And after mounting it in the hull like this:
By the way, you can also see the modified upper hatch of the radio operator - showing it as open requires a lot of work. In the MMK door set, this hatch is the only one that is not suitable for use, due to the incorrect shape, so I decided to modify the part from the Hobby Boss set (this part will also be equipped with photo-etched handles), it was also necessary to move and enlarge the opening in the ceiling and make ridges on both surfaces (hull and hatch - from 0.5 mm copper wire). One more photo:
The photo above also shows mounts for the the rear lights made from polystyrene plate. The next photo shows the lower door opening stops, made from wire - the set ones have the wrong shape anyway:
I also made the front light guards out of wire (dry fitted for now):
The doors for the M706 are a separate set from MMK: www.mmk.cz/en/models/category/detailni-a-konverzni-sady And it is like that for good reason, they are quite a lot of work, but I think that this particular set has a very good price-quality ratio:
After completing all the parts and painting the inside, the doors looks like this:
I added a few welds to the hull where they were missing - I made them from a stretched sprue:
I also added welds to the lifting eyes. I also installed PE meshes on the front light covers - I decided to solder them:
The photo below shows the photo etched parts from the Hobby Boss kit that are used to build the weapon mounts on the upper armor. These parts are simplified compared to the original, but still very nice:
After installing the upper armor and weapon mounts, I started painting the model. After applying the first color - which was sand (Hataka Orange C210 Sand Brown) I masked the target areas with Patafix rolls and masking tape and applied the second color - green (Hataka Orange C021 Medium Green):
Then I put on more masks and a third color - olive drab (Humbrol 66). When everything dried and I removed the masks, the following view met my eyes:
After applying the decals, I sprayed on a layer of glossy Gunze Top Coat and then put some oil paint dots on top:
These dots were smudged with a brush soaked in solvent, which gave a good effect:
And the chassis looks like this:
A layer of matt clearcoat helped to "kill" the shine. The wheels are dry fitted, as are the lights, which is why they look crooked in the photo. The lights from the Hobby Boss set are made entirely of transparent plastic, which allows for interesting painting:
On the sides of the upper hatch are two foldable weapon mounts. I made the locking levers for them and I showed one mount deployed:
And the other one folded:
I also added chains securing the fuel filler caps - the third chain is mounted on the trailer hitch in the rear:
I also worked on weapons:
The M60 machine guns come from Dragon (middle) and AFV Club (right) kits, their mounts from TAKOM (M247 Sgt. York). The "invention" on the left is an XM174 automatic grenade launcher that was tested in Vietnam by the USAF - it's a 3D print of my design.
As for equipment, I started with ammunition boxes. Some of them were painted white by the crew - they held 40mm illumination rounds.
The rest of the equipment is shown in the photo below:
It shows (from the left, from the top) a radio antenna, an M16 rifle with an underslung XM148 grenade launcher (another experimental design tested by the USAF in Vietnam), spare magazines with 40mm grenades for the XM174 automatic grenade launcher and, underneath, the grenade launcher itself, M60 machine guns, a radio tape recorder and a drink cooler with ice or cold drinks.
After installing the additional equipment, the model was ready.
In retrospect, it would be worth reconsidering the installation of grenade boxes inside the vehicle (it seems that USAF vehicles did not have them) and also radios (on air bases, "walkie talkies" were sufficient). Therefore, there should be no radio antennas outside either.
