By: Treadhead
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I started this project with a SOTW jeep. I'll start at the front and work my way back. The tow rope is a custom piece I made from a heavy string which I tied loops into the ends and painted. The condenser can was made from a water can that came with the Hasbro B-17 crewman. The headlight covers were made from painted masking tape. I added the hood overhang from a piece of sheet plastic and modeling putty. The hood hinges are made from plastic rod. All the tie downs were made from plastic rod and plastic sheet. The Jerry can holders behind each fender are also from plastic sheet.
The twin Lewis guns were made from a pair of William brothers kits. While the kits are of Lewis Mk1's, I converted them over to try and resemble the later Mk4's that the SAS used. While not perfect by any means, they were the best I could come up with. There seems to be a lack of information on these guns. I researched the web and all the local hobby shops trying to find decent pictures so I could make them accurate. But I had no luck and the result is what you see. The mount for them is a custom piece made of plastic tubing and sheet and brass tubing. The seats were upholstered with an old T-shirt and then painted. The .50 cal mount was completely scratch built from brass tubing and sheet plastic. The main part of the .50 cal is 21st while the air cooled barrel is scratch built from plastic tubing. The Jerry can racks on the rear decks are also made from plastic sheets as are the tire mounts and the sand channels. The jeep has a mixture of Dragon and SOTW Jerry cans. All of the tie down straps are made from leather strips and painted buckles from Rio Rondo. The camo net is something I picked up at a craft store and the packs, helmets, canteens and Bren gun are the better part of 2 21st 8th Army sets. The jeep is overall painted with Floquil Mud and washed with windsor Newton artist oils. It was then drybrushed with light coats of khaki and sand and a final dry brush of pastel chalks. When it came time for the figures, I figured I put a lot of time and effort into this piece so I'd spend the extra cash and went with a couple of Dragon figures. I spent the better part of an hour at the "Store on 44" one day, trying to decide which figures would look the most British. I ended up going with a Scott and a Nigel (who I think looks a lot like Russell Crow when you add a beard to him). Anyway, my next step was to add the beards. I just couldn't bring myself to put 40 dollar figures into a hot over so I opted to use Milliput. I liked it a lot! I think the beards came out pretty good for never having tried it before. The uniforms are off of a couple SOTW and the head dresses are custom made. If I remember right, the goggles are both Hasbro. The project was a lot of fun but it took me close to 3 months to complete and a good chunk of coin. But I guess it was worth it in the long run and I hope you like it. -- Treadhead. |
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