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converting civilian truck into military versions


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The easiest conversion would be the Chevy long bed K20 into a CUCV.  The Chevy Blazer might be tougher as I haven't seen the correct body style in plastic.  After that, it gets tough.  Possible a Jeep Gladiator into a M718 (Not sure of the exact number).  While the Dodge Powerwagons were close cousins of the M37, the bodies were largely different.  I was looking for a M37 for years in 1/35(or any other scale) and Roden finaly made one a couple of years ago.  I have a 1:1 M37 and have a pretty good idea of which parts are interchangable with the Powerwagon.

Support vehicles used by the military were often close to their civi counterparts, so it would be on a case by case basis.

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Warren is right about the CUCV, it's probably the easiest to do. Get the Deserter kit that's out now and a resin long bed from Kris Morgan, there are great threads on military model forums about some of the changes that need to be made. If you're feeling more ambitious you could use the soon to be reissued Jeep J10 and snowmobile kit to make an M715. For heavy trucks, if you can find a Freightliner FLD 120 kit you can make a military style prime mover.

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2 hours ago, Warren D said:

Support vehicles used by the military were often close to their civi counterparts, so it would be on a case by case basis.

IMG_1088.thumb.JPG.a74cce71c2d0596680839988911dcdc2.JPG

This is just a mock up at this point.  I used to work near Earle Naval Depot and these little pickups were all over town.  I understood they used the little ones because they loaded them onto the ships.  There are a lot of small trucks, sedans and such that were in military service, just low trim lines and painted military colors.  Take them to IPMS events and the military guys will say, "That's nice but it's the wrong scale."  Doesn't that sound familiar? :D

Jeep-FC-M-677.jpg.3c3af378b82bcc0652510765e790f0e1.jpg

Do a Google search and you'll find images like this one.    That would make a very cool model!

arthurs office2

And here's an oldie.  US Army Ford van.  I grew up on  US Army posts. I took this image from a photo of my father's office in 1969. This was his unit's van.  They also had a AMC Ambassador sedan that was replaced with a Ford Falcon (Torino body style) sedan.

 

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