Ford F15A-Pt2

The kit windows were replaced with items cut from clear sheet and glued in place with thinned white glue. This worked out very well as capillary action drew the glue along the seams without smearing on the outer surface. The oversized kit roof tarp was replaced by a facsimile made from tissue and white glue. The kit mirrors were replaced by scratch built items, using brass rod and Evergreen stock. This section of the body was completed with the addition of some etched brass details.

The back end of the body required the most additional detail. British field artillery, (18 and 25 pounder guns) where mounted on a firing platform when in operation. Up to this point in the war the gun tractors had a carrier assembly mounted on their back deck of the vehicle to store the firing platform during transport. This rig along with the various clamps and retaining clips and levers where scratch built and added to the rear deck. As happens in any army, the gun crews found easier ways to transport this heavy object. First they built rigs for the platform on top of the ammunition limber, and finally on mounts below the gun itself, that could be lowered and raised as needed. The tractor-mounted rig was then used to secure other equipment. Final details added to the back end included the thirteen 2 piece compartment latches, POL can carriers, and wheel well details from the Eduard set, as well as scratch built push plates.

[The barbed wire roll on the front bumper is from an Eduard's Barbed wire set.]

The final phase of the build was to some attach some additional baggage after the body was painted. The barbed wire roll on the front bumper is from an Eduard's Barbed wire set. I soaked it in thinned raw umber to give it a rusted look.

[The final detail, a hook added to the winch cable.]

A camouflage net and support rods where mounted on the platform carrier. The camouflage net was made out of a cheese cloth tack cloth, (the waxy nature of the tack cloth kept the spacing of the netting when soaked in thinned Humbrol paint. The supports are styrene rod with short lengths of aluminum tube to represent the connectors. The final detail, a hook added to the winch cable.

[The model was painted using Humbrol enamels.]

Finish and Markings: In early 1942, British equipment was still painted in Khaki Green G3. As the 1st Canadian Division was in garrison in England undergoing training, their equipment would be well maintained and would not show much wear.

The model was painted using Humbrol enamels. After priming all parts with flat black, the basic body colour was air brushed on using Humbrol 30 Dark Green. Over a seal coat of Future, a wash made from Raw Umber and mineral spits was then applied. Based on comments by Mike Starmer in various references that Humbrol 30 is too blue and too light, the model was dry brushed with a mixture of the base colour tinted with yellow ochre oil paint. The tarp and camo net where painted using Humbrol 116 US Dark Green.

[The markings came from Quartermaster Depot decals.]

As mentioned in the intro to this article, the markings for this subject came from the Quartermaster Depot "Canadians in Britain #2" decal sheet. These sheets are very thin and nicely printed on continuous decal material. They just about suck themselves on to the surface of the model, and conform over small details very well. Because they are so thin, care needs to be taken to ensure they are ready to release from their backing. They also need to be placed very close to the desired position, using a mild setting solution as a lubricant to help adjust the location. The only real problem I've found with these sheets is the white colored serial numbers. The white pigment used does not seem to be able to hold the decal film together and they tend to splinter. To solve this problem, I've started laying a thin coat of Microscale Liquid Decal Film over these types of markings.

Conclusion: This is my 3rd model of a Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) vehicle. While all 3, (this subject plus an Italeri 15 cwt and Chev FAT) have been basically out of the box with commercially available detail sets added. This one pushed me to do some additional scratch built details. The satisfaction and confidence I've achieved has spurred me to look at building other examples of these intriguing vehicles.

References:
1. Decal sheet mentioned above
2. Canadian Vehicle Markings, Vol. 3, Ed. 3, Beldam, Barry
3. Canadian Military Vehicle Series, Vol.2, Gregg, W.A
4. Internet References:
  a) Armoured Acorn; www.armouredacorn.com
  b) Made In Canada - CMP Vehicles; www.geocities/cmpvehicles/
  c) Maple Leaf Up; www.mapleleafup.org
  d) Miniature AFV Association; www.mafva.com