Truck Month - Airfix Emergency Set Pt5 Final

I probably did the construction of this kit a little quick, now that I am looking at the shots. Again the wheels look terrible.
I could not find any L serials for the truck code, so H will have to do.

This is a nice simple kit that with some work could be made quite a bit tidier than I have, but it will serve its purpose with my British forces, freeing up my GMC fleet a little.

Looking like it wants to go on the prowl. And so just in the nick of time my contribution to truck month is over. Nice to remove some kits from the to do list and all will come in useful.

Truck Month - Airfix Emergency Set Pt4

With the last day of Truck Month here I am burning the oil to finish the K6 Austin Fire Tender from the set. Of course I will be converting the truck into a GS body version for use on the wargame table with my British forces.
Second step in construction, again the wheels do let it down slightly but then again we have a nice driver figure as shown.

Third step we lose the driver as I could not fit him in. General poor fit of parts in the cab may be due to me, rather than the kit.

Construction completed with the addition of the Airfix/Heller deck from the GMC truck kit. I had this lying around spare so it kills two birds with one stone. Some minor conversion was needed to lift the tray up and space the mud guards apart. Missing the front "Bump Guard". Quick paint job right now!

Truck Month - Airfix Emergency Set Pt3

Decaling carried out this morning, and this baby is finished.
I used the Airfix decals provided and they look the part I think.

Not to happy about the rear red cross decal as it covers most of the detail of the door handles.

I left the main red cross off the top of the roof as I am a lazy git and should have applied before the air ducts on the roof. That being said I am happy with the look of it. Even the cook was happy with it!

Truck Month - Airfix Emergency Set Pt2

With construction finished, I gave it a quick primer coat of Matt Black, and left to dry. After a few hours a coat of Olive Drab was applied.
Once the OD is dried, the detail painting comes into play. Driver, steering wheel, tyres etc. I decided to cam up the truck with some mickey mouse adornments. I just did this from memory so it may not be quite right. Decals next, so another posting later.

Truck Month - Airfix Emergency Set

My apologies for the lack of posts over this week as I have been too caught up with the terrible earthquake on the other side of the alps. To all those in Christchurch, we all feel for you and are praying for the best during this tragedy. Phil, Nick, Mark I hope you are still well and your family safe. Get in contact with me if there is something I can do.

On Monday Al popped around with some eagerly awaited trucks that he had kindly been arranging a few weeks ago. Nice one bootneck. Out of a number of items I choose to build the Airfix Emergency Set.

I have always liked the Morris K2 Ambulance, and had been waiting for a chance to construct one.

The most numerous British ambulance during WW2 was the Austin K2/Y 4x2 Heavy Ambulance. Affectionately known as the "Katie", some 13,000 were produced for the Allies. The body was of simple construction, a wood frame covered with leathercloth, well insulated, heated and accommodating four stretcher or eight sitting cases, or combinations of both, plus a medical attendant. The body design was the result of much pre-war development work by the Royal Army Medical Corps. It was produced by Mann Egerton, the specialist luxury car body builders.
The build itself is straight forward with the parts fitting reasonably well, although there is a fair amount of flash.

The wheels are probably the worst part of the kit with the hubs a little to small to fit into the tyres correctly. The axles are a little simple as well.

Bloody nice to have a driver, and the forage cap is a nice touch.

All done construction wise, with a build time of about 90 minutes. It looks the real deal. More to follow.

Truck Month - Airfix 1 Tonne FC Pt 4

I applied the decals on Friday afternoon, but have been tied up with other projects. After application I realized I had missed some other important areas such as the indicators, and windscreen wipers.
So tonight I added those and this model is declared finished. The decals provided are a arse. especially the Flag...Avoid the flag maties, avoid the flag...

Overall a nice hassle free kit that will sit well on the game table, I will being buying a few more of these for sure.

Marks Models Pt 6

Another set from Mark tonight while I sort myself out some decals.

Mark says ' I again used Dragons 'Handshar' figure as the base (all I could get in the small Welsh Border's town I was living in!). Head repositioned, arms scratchbuilt. LW F/D jacket made from miliput, while buckle and Y straps also scratchbuilt. '

Truck Month - Airfix 1 Tonne FC Pt 3

I should have mowed the lawns after work, but I decided instead to carry out the touch up work on the One Tonner.
Wheels and steering wheel painted as well as mudflaps and the canopy disruptive scheme.

I altered the shade of the canopy by using standard Olive Drab, as it is very rare for the body and fabric colour to match exactly.

Unsure about the top pattern of the canopy as the guide did not show it, so I ad libbed here. I could not be arsed searching for photos on the net...just goes to show how lazy I can be, perhaps Monty can help?

Decals tomorrow, after I mow the lawn, perhaps.

Truck Month - Airfix 1 Tonne FC Pt 2

Not much time tonight but a quick update. After bluetacing the windscreen and windows I gave it a flat black base coat.
I then bluetaced the pattern for the scheme over the flat black and again a quick coat of OD2 which looks quite close to the Brit colour.

After drying I removed the bluetac.

Now just some touch up painting required for the canopy, wheels and interior details.

Truck Month - Airfix 1 Tonne FC

With Truck Month in full swing I have started on another vehicle from the hoard, this one being a quick and simple build from Airfix (Ex JB Models). The Landrover 1 Tonne Forward Control served from the early 1970's until the late 1990's in both the UK and Aussie. This kit contains the rag top rather than the hard top used in specialized oles like the Ambulance which can also be found in Airfix's range.
Step one dashboard onto front bonnet. The front is clear so that the windscreen and windows are hassle free assembly (as there is none) however masking is needed for good painting.

Step two is the body frame and sides.

Step four is the front cabin body and seating, steering wheel etc.

Another shot of the interior. Note the blurtac which will be used during the painting stage.

The running gear is next, just 5 parts here.

Add another four parts for the wheels, not shown is the two part rear canopy. So about 30 minutes worth of construction, all of which was hassle free and the parts were well moulded and easy to remove...Nice one. Next up painting

Truck Month Academy M35 Rebuild

After all the hassle with the Roden Blitz I decided the next project for truck month would be something a little less demanding.
I have had this sitting around for a few years in a desert scheme, which is fine but does not get any use.

I decided to repaint into a 1970's - 80's MERDEC scheme which will get some game time.

The M35 is missing its exhaust stack and thats something I will have to fix.

The truck itself is a nice and solid kit that has no vices from what I can see.

Still to add decals and some touch ups and weathering. Nice easy project to get back on track.

Truck Month - Roden Opel Blitz 4

Finished up the Roden Opel Blitz with some decaling and a few touch ups here and there.
Decals were from the Italeri version of ESCI's Opel Blitz which I thought were better than the ones supplied by Roden. Easternfunker had the same problems I did with the number plate being too small for the decal and having raised detail making application next to impossible, http://easternfunker.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/decals-on-the-marder-and-the-opel-blitz/
I solved this by using PVA to bind the decal to the plate.

Paint touch ups included the tarp and towing indicator sign on the cabin roof.

Overall I am happy with the build and painting. The model has it's faults, of which its main one being a little too detailed for the wargamer and the construction of the cab being a little too fiddly. The lack of a driver figure is also a mistake.

The good points about he kit are it's faults namely detail, detail and detail. Options for the rear deck and plenty of decals and good scheme diagrams for painting are also a bonus.

This last photo is for festus, see mate it's towing something! I would like to once again thank Easternfunker for supplying the kit for me to evaluate. He still has five or so of these to build and I wish him luck, maybe with a few beers the construction process will seem easier...