LRDG Humber

[raafif]

This is the fourth desert vehicle I’ve built – the first two were badly damaged in a house move and haven’t been rebuilt yet.  The third vehicle was the Tamiya LRDG Chev in these pictures which I will finish after the Humber.

The kit is Airfix’s “Monty’s Humber”.  I immediately used other wheels – the Humber ones having gone onto a different model long ago.  For this model I used the wheels off the Tamiya LRDG Chev (which, as you can see, got the wheels from a Tamiya Quad tractor).  These wheel swops have proved great as they are all a very nice fit and fill out the mudguards like the real thing.
The build is straight forward, only the body tub needing gaps around the rear arches filling, tho the 10 door handles were fiddly with one going into the carpet monster’s belly.  I’ve added one of the sand mats (& later one or two other bits) from the Tamiya Chev kit.

[Frank3k]

The Quad tires look good on the Chevrolet - the kit's tires are a bit thin for a desert vehicle.

[Buzzbomb]

Yes indeed, the LRDG did use some lighter cars, so looking on in interest

[Old Wombat]

This is one of the reasons I have so many resin wheel sets floating around. 

[raafif]

Added the front bumper, gun-mounts etc.  Working on several accessories.
Colour scheme will be similar to this pic of a LRDG truck.

[raafif]

the Finishing.
I combined the front bumper with that from a Chev Blitz + water-bag & container.  One headlamp is shot out with the other sporting a black-out hood.  The standard windshield is removed & canvas-covered aero-screens added - between them is a sun-compass.  The driver has his seat at minimum height to avoid flying bullets & their own muzzle-blast above his head - the Commander has a pintle-mounted single Lewis gun & holds a map.  The rear section has twin Lewis guns, the seat is decked out with ammo boxes & a Sten-gun.  The folding hood is down and is a handy place to load up with essentials like sleeping-bags etc.  The boot is also full of stuff with the lowered lid supporting the spare wheel.

[raafif]

The army found the blue-grey "splinter" cammo, often found on Matilda tanks in Nth Africa, good for the coastal routes. However, generally the LRDG vehicles were a plain sand colour relying on cam-nets when parked up, while the SAS found that olive-green & rose-pink stripes was a better scheme for the deep desert behind enemy lines.

The second section of the book "Eastern Approaches" by Brigadier Sir Fitzroy Maclean is a great first-person account of the SAS behind the lines in the desert.  Section three deals with his action in the Middle East (capturing an enemy general) & section four, fighting with Tito in Yugoslavia.
Section one deals with his "combats" evading the NKVD in Russia while a British diplomat on holiday around prohibited parts of the Soviet Union.

[Claymore]

Nicely done! 

[Frank3k]

It came out great! I love the camo.