Built this for the 1WkGB over on What If Modellers. My intention is to put it onto a Diorama base with the BAS Skyvan that I built last year.
I'm afraid I don't have a fancy back story worked out for it. Weldon are a fictional British company who make industrial vehicles, including snow cats, and the BAS use them. The yellow crane is based on a pic of a real BAS Nodwell 110c with one just like it. In my head, the explanation is that it was ordered in a hurry from the nearest supplier in Chile, or taken from a yellow machine at Rothera, to replace a broken one and yellow was the only option. They got the spotlight at the same time...
Regrettably, the Minitanks crane, which is a lovely bit of plastic engineering, is no longer as fully articulated as it once was, since paint has closed some of the clearances up too much. I may have a go at fixing this, but I didn't want to risk breaking it right now.
The decals were a last-minute thing: it struck me that if the black roof was to ID the vehicle in the snow, then a number would be a good idea too.
Model details:
Cab, engine bay, fuel tank, crane jacks : 1/72nd Academy M977 truck
Running gear and lower body : 1/76th Revellobox T-34/76
Tracks : 1/76th Matchbox Panther
Crane : 1/87th Roco Minitanks
Spotlight : unknown 1/35th tank kit
Chassis and load bed : scratchbuilt from Evergreen strip and textured deck plating (unknown manufacturer)
Fuel tank guard and handrail : scratchbuilt from brass rod
Transmission guard : scratchbuilt from Eduard PE mesh
Paints : Humbrol Hu.174 Satin Red, Halfords satin black, Humbrol Hu.24 Trainer Yellow
Decals : Fantasy Printshop Luftwaffe and USAF serials sheets
There's a full build thread over on What If (
http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,40415.45.html ) but here are some highlights:
Inspiration:
Donor kits:
Major sub-assemblies:
There are 60 pieces of Evergreen in the loadbed:
Ballast, to make the thing sit properly on it's tracks:
