Trumpeter's 1/35 LAV-C2
Light Armored Vehicle
Command and Control
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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.
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.
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.
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