ONTOS Academy 1/35

[iambrb]

So i thought I'd hop right in there with this one, OK?

Yep it's the ultimate marine Crops Monstrosity, the Ontos!

Here is the proof-it-no-started pics:

here is the aftermarket - a full set of aluminum barrels from Lion Marc:

And I am (at least at the moment) going to go with the kit figure:

So here is where we start.....let's Roll!!

Here are a few pics of it in theater, just for kicks:

 

[errains]

mmmm...yes...

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Cool! Such a weird and unique vehicle. I need to go grab this kit...

 

[moon puppy]

 

[iambrb]

O so here we are with about 6 hours in:

I bought this kit at the last AMSP show in Columbia SC, pre Covid. When I looked in it, I noticed that
1-It had the Lion Marc Barrels , big plus!
2-the upper and lower hulls wee glued together...big minus!

What's more, this bad-boy appeared to be super-glued, so after some struggle, I just decided to work with it. The basic issue was that this model is really made to be have the lower suspension and all that built up first, then attached to the upper. Also, the upper was on there incorrectly, in that it is skewed.
Wow it took some tedious work, but I manage to get it looking pretty good. Note that the rear doors overhang more than I'd prefer, but overall, not too bad. Also in some of the pics I'd seen this is not too bad of an issue, especially as the red clay of Vietnam caked up there anyhow

because of the upper and lower being together, I am not going to do too much with the suspension, at least not yet. Note how little room there is in the drive sprocket/front fender area!

Lastly is the last look at what I have done so far. The barrel rest linkages need correcting, and note that there is no driver hatch. I have an idea I want to try, but going to have to see how my figure work comes (or doesn't come) out first.

OK well, 'till then!!!

 

[moon puppy]

If it's CA then it should be able to pop right open. Give it a wedge or two then you can clean up the seams and put it back right.

 

[SdAufKla]

Awesome subject! Following with much interest!

 

[Skinny_Mike]

Looking good so far!

 

[errains]

Wow that kinda of messed up. I remember when you got this kit and I don't recall the guy you bought it from say anything about it having been started. That aside your doing a great job salvaging it.

 

[iambrb]

Whelp, work continues on this. I actually tried to build this once before, and i hosed up the barrel assembly so badly that model went to the 'shelf of shame'. I decided before I did anything else with the suspension and tracks that i would concentrate instead on the the turret and guns. I I can get that right, I can then proceed.

OK so first up are the barrel assemblies. Here is the Lion Marc package, and no that card in there does not contain instructions (as I had dared to hope)

The other thing is that the instructions are not that great, they don't give you any clue about how the parts are 'keyed together.

So you really have to go slow and work with things prior to gluing to get it all there. Note that the Lion Mar barrels do not have this 'keying' system to line things up, as they are spun from aluminum on a lathe.

note also to take the 'pin' portion and scrub it on your emery board to remove burrs, else you'll have to tap it together with a hammer

Next up is one of the reasons this kit gets flack. This is one of the barrel support assemblies. Note that it has two pins, but only one hole in its mating part! You can see how it won't sit flush unless you remove and sand down that dang pin. here you can see how if looks pressed together, followed by the pin you have to remove

The next thing is that there is 'slop' in the fit of the barrel cradles to the turret, you can easily have the two sets of barrels with one set facing up higher than the other set. so I had to improvise a base and use a small level to check that i got them correct

Once you get it there, it looks pretty good. You would never know that this more than 6 hours work to get the barrels completed as shown, but I think it came out very nice.

I'm not really a guy given to drink, but wow I felt like polishing off a frosty one after this! Th biggest issue if that the directions have you put some rather fragile items on the model too soon. I already broke the folding barrel support assembly, so I have not completed the Recoilless Rifles yet for fear of more potential fumble-finger breakage. After this it's back to the suspension...wish me luck!

 

[errains]

That's quit the assembly process. But you did do a good jab and the barrels look real nice. Like you noted watch out for them small parts.
Keep up the great work there Bruce!

 

[moon puppy]

Looks challenging

 

[MrT]

Looking good!

 

[sharkman]

These were a cool machine, very strange indeed!

I really like the addition of the metal barrels, looks like you tackled the pre-glued hull nicely!

 

[iambrb]

Well dee-cided to do some work on this, and I learned why reviews of this tank say the engineering and build are "challenging"

Getting al the bits on the suspension to fit is a daunting task! I managed it though, and now I just have to convince the tracks to 'sag.' CA/Sooper-Glue didn't stick to these tracks? I'll try a hair dryer later I guess, but getting all the little pins and all that to properly align was much like herding cats.

Also the Lion Marc aluminum barrels. As you can see, one barrel is without paint. That one broke where the spotting rifle attaches and basically would not reattach itself. this is because the alignment pin for the Lion Marc barrels is so very shallow, there is basically nothing for it to 'grip' to. I had to use acetone to soften the CA, then pull it apart, and build back up using the kit barrel. The end result was that the kit barrel is a full 1/8 inch (3.1mm) too long in comparison tot he aluminum barrels! So I had to break out the saw, cut a bit off, then drill holes, and make a pin to give the barrel grip. it was still not a good joint where the back part of the aluminum barrel met, so I had to build up a shoulder for the barrel to attach to using CA. What a job!

What I thought would take about an hour turned into 4 hours work, so I am stopping here at the moment. My ego is a tad delated, but I am not defeated....and will push on with this soon!

 

[moon puppy]

Pretty dang good getting all those barrels lined up. Watch your glue on the rear door

 

[Barney]

You're a better man than I am...

I'll stick to my WW2 aircraft with less than 50 pieces...

 

[MrT]

 

[Paulw]

I really don't care much for targets but this thing has my interests piqued. Looking forward to this build.

 

[paddy]

Really interesting and a new vehicle for me over here. Just read the Wiki page to see how they loaded it and it appears they had to stop and get out !!!