Steyr RSO

1/35 scale Dragon kit #6640

This is one of some (many!) kits I wanted for a while, but never bought ... When I saw it in a local shop I couldn't resist, and here we are!

- At first, lots of details were added in the driving compartment, like some hydraulic tank, details on the battery, motor panels, gear stick, backrest and new seats ...
Because they are not a lot of pictures of the driving compartment, and all from restored vehicles, some details are supposed.
But there is a detail seen on many WWII images, the front small hatches are always opened! As they are molded on the hull, that was a scary moment with my drill bit and files! I believe that small details like this one, who can't be spotted at first sight once the model is complete, who gives it a very realistic appearance!

- Then, I added a lot of details on the kit's photoetched hatches, like new handles on both sides, locking mechanism, spacer in between to simulate hinges ...

- I've also remade the axles, because the original ones look too flimsy (and I broke one ...), using 1.2mm styrene rod. It's always a little stressful to irreversibly modify unique pieces of the kit, but it worth it!

- The drop sides latches are provided in photoetched parts, which is nice but looks flat... So, I remade them with 0.5mm square and 0.5mm rod styrene, based on the kit parts.

- I remade the foldable back seat because I think the plastic part is too fragile to clean the mold line. I assume the seating part is in metal and not fabric, that's why I made it in styrene.

- To conclude this endless modification list, I added an Rb Model turned barrel because .. well, why not! I was lucky enough so that there is one in stock when I bought the kit.

Here are my main reference material, combined with a walkaround frome Prime Portal and Terry Ashley's review on PMMS (who also include some tutorials to improve the model).