Armour for the People

Managed to pick up a couple of extra Airfix Scorpions on ebay. These little beauts are destined to join my rebel forces.

Citizen Smith (Tank Commander)

'The Glorious Day' episode

One will be the armoured contingent from  the Tooting Popular Front ("One word from me and the hills will be alive with the sound of Marxists!"). Need to find an appropriate tank commander figure to give a Donkey Jacket and Tooting FC scarfe.

The other will join a union backed militia armoured column of improvised armoured vehicles similar to the types that appeared during the early stages of the Spanish Civil War (based on commercially available OO scale vehicles). There is still a strong link to the Spanish Civil War in modern day trade union movements and I suspect the influences would have been stronger in 1979 as many of the veterans were in prominent positions within the trade union movement - a prime example being Jack Jones, but also too let's not forget those at the local regional and branch level.

With this theme in mind, Nigel at The Square has a set of modern 20mm Anarchist flags/posters and various revolutionary plus 'national' UK flags to bedeck your forces with displays of revolutionary zeal!



Cheers
Mark
 

Recce Land Rover from The Hobby Den

Just popped over The Hobby Den and found they have just released a Series III, Land Rover Recce. Perfect, yes perfect, for Winter of '79; reporting enemy movements then tearing down country lanes, guns blazing and shooting up opposition outposts.

Hobby Den, Land Rover Recce; 6.50 Euros

(photo The Hobby Den)

This models represent the stripped down Series 3 Land Rover as used by the Patrols Company of the Parachute Regiment. The windscreen was taken off to lower the profile and doors removed to aid debussing. Several army units operating in Northern Ireland in the early days similarly converted their Land Rovers in rural areas.

The Recce Rovers were generally seen coverered end to end in hessian and camouflage scrim, but it seems a shame to hide the noble profile of this Landy on the tabletop. Might just stick to a suggestion of camo with rolled hessian nets along the side and some scrim netting on the bonnet.

Weapons and crew can be obtained from Rolf Hedges:

WEA18:      GPMG ON BRITISH VEHICLE MOUNT - USE FOR LANDROVER - £0.50P
WEA18A:    2 GPMG ON PINTLE JEEP MOUNT £1.00P 
FALKDRIV: DRIVER FIGURE IN HELMET £0.50
   
Lovely looking model - which should beef up nicely with the addition of Rolf's weapons. Maff will probably be eyeing up at least one for his Free Taff raiding force.

If you want some oideas of decking out a Recce Land Rover, take a look at the ACE MOBILE Living History Group's Recce & Patrols Troop page.

Cheers
Mark

Free Taff Recce

.

The Free Taff Army get some improvised armour!

Maff couldn't resist this Minimi Miniatures Dingo Scout Car for his Free Taff motorpool. A couple of simple figure conversions make up the crew  - done!

Cheers
Mark
 

S&S Models Bedford RL 4x4 GS Lorry

   
A dull wet day in the 'Shire today was lightened by the postie bringing an order from S&S Models that included Shaun's new Bedford RL 4x4 GS Lorry at £10 including p&p (UK).

 S&S Models Bedford RL 4x4 GS

Here it is straight out of the pack. A good solid one-piece body and cab with well defined detail such as the rigging that holds the tarp down. The kit also comes with four separate metal cast wheels and spare with the rear wheels having the mud guards mould on. I find the quality of the wheels and tyre tread detail on S&S Models particularly good and the RL is no exception.

I found the RL's dimensions to be spot on when placed against 1:76 plans in The Modern British Army by Terry Gander (1980 edition). The whole kit fits together very easily to produce a sturdy wargame model that looks the part.

Quality wise this is a fine wargames model. There are a few small bubble holes but these are mitigated by only a thin cast seam round the bottom of the model that a quick run over with wet and dry will remove.

Assembled as above, you can feel the misery of  30 cold squaddies in the back on the way up to the Beacons with the rain whipping up under the tailgate. Or 80 boozy squaddies in T-shirts and Jeans crammed in and holding onto the tarp rails for dear life after a trip to the local Bierkellar!

The RL GS saw action with British forces in Malaya, Kenya, Cyprus, Congo, Operation Banner amongst others. It also served with Commonwealth & UN forces in the 1950's-70's throughout the world. I've included a family snap above of an RL GS in the Libyian Desert around 1965. I'm thinking that a diorama of an RL and MK2 Land Rover will make a perfect personalised gift for my father-in-law's 80 blah blah birthday.

Despite being 'officially' superseded by the Bedord MK, the RL would continue to serve in the British Army until the late 80's - often in a variety of support guises such as signals wagons, REME workshops etc.

Overall, a fine model and recommended for your Winter of '79 vehicle park. Perfect transport for my Bootnecks!

Cheers
Mark

Saxon APC

The SAXON Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) developed by GKN Defence would definitely NOT make it onto Jeremy Clarkson's 'Cool Wall' - you would not want to pick up Kristin Scott Thomas in one of these. However it does have a certain 'Internal Security' look that would make it perfect in Winter of '79.

AT105, later christened SAXON (1982) was manufactured in 1976. It was the successor to the dismal failure of the AT-104, introduced in 1972,  as the first vehicle specifically designed as a response to the urban insurgency in Northern Ireland. The AT104 looked like a bigger version of the FV1611 Humber Pig and was essentially an armoured truck sharing many of the components of the Bedford 4x4.

The AT105 differed to the earlier AT104. in that the armoured hull gave the same level of protection to the radiator, engine and transmission as to the crew; eg it could withstand small arms up to and including 7.62mm armour piercing rounds and 155mm shell fragments; redesigned hull floor to give increased protection against damage from mines; more powerful diesel engine and a shorter wheelbase for improved mobility and turning. Able to carry 10 men and all their gear, "big as a house" inside it was considered by those who were hapless enough to ride in it - "better than shankies pony". The AT105 is still used in Afganistan and appears to be able to stop AK47 rounds.

In all fairness to the SAXON, it was not designed to serve as an armoured personnel carrier in the forward edge of the battlefield, but rather as an armoured transport to move reinforcements - mostly from the UK to their BAOR area of operations in relative safety from ambush and air attack.

Whilst the first production run was in 1975 the AT105 would not see service with the British Army till 1984, I think we can safely assume that a national emergency of the magnitude of Winter of '79, would see SAXONS moving troops to hotspots and patrolling the country lanes.

Kingfisher Miniatures produce a wide range of SAXON variants including:

Saxon, 4 x 4, Armoured Personnel Carrier, MAC-18 £11.50
Saxon, 4 x 4, Northern Ireland Patrol with photo etched grilles, MAC-48 £15.70
Saxon, 4 x 4, with L37 Turret.  MAC-54  £12.80

Amongst others, BW Models produce the Saxon APC, BW35 £12.00 and NI patrol vehicle (bull bars, no screens), BW75 also £12.00.

RH Models produce a resin Saxon 4x4 APC, BAFV-6 for £6.99.

In all likelihood the Saxon would be far more common  than an FV432 on British streets. For a one-off model I may well go Kingfisher but for two or more, RH Models will be the order of the day.

Cheers
Mark

New Cold War British Vehicles from S&S Models

Shaun at S&S Models has released a whole batch of new Cold War era British Army vehicles and AFVs suitable for Winter of '79.

Prices include postage and packing. For more details visit S&S Models or email Shaun direct for a full set of pricelists at Sales@sandsmodels.com.

Cheers
Mark

Fastest 'Arvester in the West (Country)

Picked up two useful toy tractor sets today from a discount store in Aberdeen for £1.99 each.

The red tractor with mechanical farming gazzubins will become cover on the farm or maybe a roadblock in a country lane. Who knows, might even be a game objective in it's own right. The green tractor, will become an improvised armoured vehicle with the aid of plastikard, similar to those found in former Yugoslavia.

 PanzerkampfWurzel

Hoped to have made a start on this fun little project this evening, but I'm exhausted to be homest due to extra early starts and intense days in the office this week. Anyhoo...the bales were a find on Ebay for a couple of pence and waiting for me when I got home. Notionally they are Britains 1/32nd scale Farmyard products. Hay bales can be large and these don't look too out of scale for the overall effect I'm trying to achieve. Eg, a pile of farm clutter and cover. Conversely OO scale ones can look too small. Incidentally, the figure is a kneeling 20mm 'Charlie G' No.1 from Tony at Platoon 20.

Cheers
Mark

BW Models: Land Rover Series 3 Lightweight VPK Armoured

BW200 in the BW Models range represents the Land Rover Series 3 1/2 ton Lightweight  'locally' uparmoured with the GRP, Vehicle Protection Kit (VPK) and used by the British Army in Northern Ireland from early '70's until 1994.

The model comes in 26 parts including a piece of clear acetate for glazing. Accompanying the kit is a short history of the vehicle, a step by step guide to construction, a list of parts (very useful) and a basic exploded diagram of the model.

First thing I noticed on all three kits was the amount of cleaning up that had taken place prior to shipping. You can clearly see the marks on the body of the vehicle in this photograph.

The filing was so rough that the rear left hand wheel arch has been filed almost all the way up to the side armour - and exposes the vehicle floor when it's attached. The casting finish on this side is poor and will require filling. Especially over the front wheel arch. The door and back of the armoured passenger compartment will require sanding as both have a peeled blister appearance. Take a look at the opposite side of the body below for comparison.

I read on the MAFVA forum that you need to do a couple of dry runs with the parts on the BW Models to make sure they fit correctly before gluing anything place. Believe me, no amount of dry runs will make the back panel of this kit fit. Filing, filling and sanding are the order of the day. REME were probably able to bolt the extra armour onto the real vehicle quicker than it will take me to finish this model!

Now I could live with all that extra but completely unecessary work above. I could even forget about some of it as this is armoured Lightweight is destined to be a hands on wargame model, not a proud display piece. But with the wire mesh windscreen protector (shown above)? All I can think is, your havin' a laugh!

I contacted Barry about these issues. He noted the comments and mentioned that it was a popular kit with 100 being sold and this is the first negative comment received. A full refund upon return of the kit has been offered.

BW200: L/Rover Series 3 L/weight VPK Armoured (N Ireland) £9.50

Cheers

Mark
 

4x4 Wheels On My Wagon

.

Discussing vehicles we need for Winter of '79 last night, Maff made a very good point. His argument ran that every army base and TA centre the length and breadth of the country would have at least a Land Rover or two and maybe some Bedford 4 tonners on hand.

The way I see it, 2 Land Rovers and a 4 tonner are a convoy to be ambushed, a supply depot to be raided, a vehicle park to be liberated,  HQ captured, or a QRF platoon coming to the rescue. Add an armoured Land Rover or Saracen APC to escort this lot in 'bandit country' and we have a perfect starter force.


Cheers
Mark