SAS desert raider Willys jeep

Lets see if I can build a «proper» SAS Willys.  

Let the build begin! 

The frame of the jeep is more or less done. The kit itself is the usual Tamiya «Shake and Bake», the PE is fiddly as PE should but the Black Dog conversion kit is so far a disapointment. I have used several of their 1/72 kits and those are awesome, but this one has bad moldings and details witch are mediocre at most. 

Organized chaos… Some progress in the build, but I´m working slow, this build is going to be in several «sections». 

I have startet to mock up the vehicle to have an idea about what the finished model will look like. You might notice it is painted OD. This will be the base for chipping when I paint the desert tan color. 

Nothing is glued except the chassi to the Main body. 

I like the way the instruments «pop out» with the film from Eduard. I painted the original dashboard white to get a good effect. 

The Black Dog conversion set holds enough parts for two vehicles, but a lot of the parts are either damaged or badly casted. 

The first of many Vickers machineguns. The Black Dog molding is far from Impressive.  

Damn, forgot a mold Line there. 

I have finished the machine guns. It was a fiddly job and I guess I used around four hours to complete them. I detailed them a bit with some wing nuts and chain to hold the mounting pins. 

All guns are just tacked in so they might seem a bit more crocked than they actually are… 

Most of the weapons and stowage ready for some primer. I was not looking forward to glue the handles to the jerry cans but this job turned out to be easy peasy. 

Most of the stowage is just tacked on to give an impression how it will look. 

I tried some chipping using the salt methode. I think i will stick to sponge and paintbrush. 

It starts to look like a Desert Raider. There is still a lot of work and painting to do. 

I´m not a great figure painter so it is a waste to buy resin figures. However, these figures have very good details. I´m looking forward to paint them. 

I «liberated» the crew from the Tamiya LRDG set. They are Made by MD and of good quality. 

The jeep needs a crew. 

The figures general fit is very good, but a wee bit of filler is needed. 

I have started to glue some of the stowage to the jeep. I made a rope from fly tying thread and superglued it to the cans on the front bumper to give an impression that they are secured to what is left of the grill. 

Things are moving forward. Still a lot of detailing to do. 

Weapons and more stowage. 

Paintjob is far from finished.  

Sand channels will be mounted on the spare tyres. 

Need to make a camo net to fill out some empty space. 

I made a camo net from Kleenex, tea leafs and diluted white glue. When painted I think it will look good. As of now at least it smells good 🙂 

The right wingnut caught some battle damage. 

Sand channels and some more stowage. The wingnuts was a pain 

I painted the camo net in several colors of khaki, tan, browns and greens. I also used some heavily diluted Black oil paint to add some depth. We will see if it worked when it dries 

A bit of chipping on the drivers helmet. 

There is still room for some stowage. 

Straps, personal weapons and more stowage in the making. 

The drivers Thompson SMG with a homemade sling made from masking tape. 

Same SMG from a different angle. 

Disaster strikes! I managed to break the rear mounted Vickers in several places. It happened while I was installing some stowage. I got pissed once again over the poor quality of the resin and cut it clean off and disposed it in the garbage. Luckily I got the Dragon anniversery SAS Desert Raider kit and it has plenty of Vickers-Ks. They are both better looking and easier to build than the BD crap.  

One thing that the BD kit does not have is the famous sun compass used by SAS and LRDG on patrol. Well, it might be a part of the kit but it is not possible to identify due to bad castings. I scratchbuilt one using a tiny piece of styrene, a round piece of spare PE, a copper wire and a wingnut. I think it turned out good. 

Some pictures of the current status before the final painting 

I guess it will end up as a small vignette 

I like how these jeeps are «busy» with all the weapons and stowage. 

As mentioned before I´m a crappy figure painter but I will give it my best 

Not much work done today, I got sertified as an IPSC Handgun instructor instead… However, I managed to do some work on the Jeep (detail painting and clear coate…) and made a British web gear to stow some where on the vehicle. I made it from some spare parts, masking tape and some extra PE bits. I´m quiet happy with it, even though my SAS operator obviously expected something more «Gucci» 

Finished the Jeep. 

I guess I will say it turned out okay, despite the terrible BD kit. 

Still need som crew 

…and base. 

Work in progress. As mentioned earlier, I´m not a great figure painter, but so far I´m pretty happy with the result so far. 

I still have to improve my figure skills, but I´m slowly getting there… They are not finished, but they are getting better than I hoper for 

Figures are finished. 

Finished!