This was built for the Help for Heroes Charity Group Build over on Britmodeller. The build was inspired by this photo (and many like it):
© Andrew Chittock ( fineartamerica.com/featured/1-a-fv107-scimitar-armoured-andrew-chittock.html ) Used here only for reference.
So my build consists of the AFV Club kit, plus the resin LEP Upgrade set from Castoff Models to get the enhanced Plasan armour, plus scratch built bar armour to complete the upgrades to 2008-ish standard. I backed off bringing it totally up-to-date with all the extra ECM gear as that was just TOO much scratch building!
So may I present the completed model:
Here are a selection of photos during the build:
Fruilmodel tracks and initial atempt at bar armour using a cheap Accurate Armour Challenger upgrade set, but this didn't work as the bar spacings are different and there isn't enough on the Chally to cover the whole Scimitar! I ended up taking a trip to Bovington to measure the "Scimitar" they have in the Afghan section, only to discover that it isn't a Scimitar at all but a Sabre they had lying about and they mocked up the bar armour in the museum!
Anyway after a lot of reworkign I got a plan for the bar armour:
(Click here for the full size scaled diagram)
Using 0.25mm x 1.5mm and 0.5mm x 1.5mm plastic strips for the slats and 0.5mm brass rod for the vertical bars, I was able to build a complete set of the bar armour:
If you only knew the time, patience and anguish that one sentence encompass!! Here is one of the jigs I built to try to drill the holes evenly and accurately:
It failed, along with at least 2 other attempts. In the end each hole was individually measured and drilled (wibble!) I went through at least twice the amount of plastic strip that ended up in the model, just on failed pieces of bar armour! Eventually I had a good set and was able to fix it to the hull - this alone took about a week!
I even added the inter-panel brackets:
and in the finished version you can see the silver spring clips that clamp the bar armour panels to the frame.
Decals came from a Bison set, British AFVs in Iraq, which showed a vehicle of the Queen's Dragoon Guards in Iraq in 2003, so I made an assumotion that when the QDG were posted to Op Herrick in 2008, they'd take the same vehicles, just upgraded
Commander and gunner figures were from Black dog, althought eh gunner's head was replaced with one from Accurate Armour with the scarf and the driver is from Accurate Armour as well. Water bottles, slave leads, stowage, carbon fibre antennae, helmets were all from Accurate Armour.
...and this is what happened two days ago as I was preparing to photograph the finished model after 2 months work when the photo booth slid off the table as I was moving it to get a shot...
Thankfully I was able to rebuild and repair so what you see above is the finished model after repairs.
You Sir are certifiable, no doubt about it 
)
That is absolutely stunning! 
