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| In the early 1980s, General Dynamics Land Systems Canada began developing a Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) to meet the special needs US Marine Corps. This eight-wheeled amphibious reconnaissance vehicle was based on the Swiss MOWAG Piranha. |
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The LAV-25 entered service with the Marine Corp in 1983 and went to combat for the first time during the Invasion of Panama 1989. LAVs served in combat throughout the Gulf War, Iraq War, and the War in Afghanistan.
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| A Detroit Diesel 6V53T turbo-charged 275 hp (205 kW) engine gives the LAV a top speed 62 mph (100 km/h) and a maximum range 410 miles. The LAV can "swim" on non-surf bodies of water (no oceans) at maximum speed of 7.5 mph (12 km/h) driven by propellers at the rear of the vehicle. |
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The LAV-25 is armed with a M242 Bushmaster 25 mm chain gun with 420 rounds of 25 mm ammunition, both Sabot and Heat. A coaxial M240C machine gun is mounted alongside the M242, and a pintle mounted M240 G/B machine gun mounted on the turret roof. |
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| I spent two decades waiting to see if anyone would produce an injection molded 1:72 scale LAV and Trumpeter came through with not one, but four different variants including the LAV-25, LAV-AT (Anti-tank), LAV-R (Recovery) and LAV-C2 (command and Control). |
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Trumpeter provides six gas/water cans for external kit, the rest of the tarps and boxes are from my spares box. |
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| Trumpeter did a good job overall representing the LAV without making any glaring mistakes. The only item suspect to me is the thickness of the vinyl tires, although well detailed, they seem a bit skinny veiwed from front or back. I didn't notice the Bushmaster barrel had gotten bent at some point but I'm too lazy to retake the photos so try not to notice too much. |
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I inserted tiny bits of transparent sequins into the periscope openings with white glue, this technique can be a headache with parts this small but worth the effort I think.
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Although the instructions make no mention of it, two wire cutters are included in the kit (parts 14). My research photos seem to suggest many of the Marines drivers prefer to keep their cutter in the down position so I played along.
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| My LAV is painted with Tamiya Acrylic NATO GREEN XF-67, NATO BROWN XF-68 and NATO BLACK XF-69 pretty much straight out of the bottles. |
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| Weathing was done with AK Interactive AK-076 Filter for NATO Tanks, AK-075 Enamel Wash for NATO camo vehicles, and AK-074 Rainmarks for NATO Tanks. |
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| Here's my LAV on the workbench (alongside my M997 HMMWV) in the base coat of NATO Green. Overall it's a very good kit that builds into a very convincing LAV, I look forward to building the other three Trumpeter LAV kits (R, AT, and C2) soon. |
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Kit: Trumpeter #07268 |
Scale: 1/72 |
Value:
Retail price is around $16.00 (US) at time of writing (2013) which is on par with other IFV kits in this scale. |
Assembly:
The kit consists of two sprues with approximately 74 plastic parts molded in light gray, 8 soft vinyl tires, 8-page black and white instruction sheet, and 1 decal sheet.
Molding is very sharp with minimal cleanup required. Fit is very good overall with little filler required.
Assembly is fairly simple with the undercarriage parts making up most of the kit. Some of the suspention parts are a bit thick so I thinned them down (although you really can't tell unless you flip the kit over). The headlight/mirror parts are complex and very well done. The propelers can be assembled facing forward or aft. Two sets of plastic wheel hubs are provided, one set is for the Marine LAV and the other set appears (to me) to be for an Aussie ASLAV?! (one can only hope). Vinyl tires are provided which fit really well onto the hubs, they are well detailed with nice tread pattern and react well to paint, however they appear to be a bit too skinny to me. All hatches are molded in closed position and no internal details are included.
Turret rotates 360 degrees and gun can elevate. Six gas/water cans are provided for external kit.
Painting was done with Tamiya Acrylic: XF-67 NATO Green, XF-68 NATO Brown, and XF-69 NATO Black. Weathering was done with AK Interactive: AK 076 Filter for NATO Tanks, AK 075 Wash for NATO Tanks, and AK 074 Rainmarks for NATO Tanks. Testors Dullcoat Laquer was also used.
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Customizations:
I used bits of transparent sequins to make vision blocks and optic glass. Stretched sprue was used to make aerials. Various resin stores (tarps, packs, boxes) were were left over parts from Black Box detail sets. |
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Decals:
Markings and instructions are provided to make one unidentified US Marine vehicle. SFOR and UN markings are provided but no instructions on how to apply.
Decals were printed well, opaque and on a thin carrier. |
Recommendation:
This kit is well priced, easy to build and reasonably accurate. I recomend it for any small scale armor enthusiast.
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