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!
Comments
56 22 December 2022, 15:24
Erik TorpI built the Tamiya SAS jeep while serving in Lebanon in 1989. It was glued and brush painted while sitting in an OP in the midle of nowhere and I remember being pretty proud of it when finished. This time it will be a bit more advanced…
22 December 2022, 15:35
Erik TorpI´m enjoying the build so far. The Black Dog conversion kit seams to have enough parts for two vehicles, but due to some bad moldings I guess I can save enough parts for one.
5 January 2023, 21:54
Michael KohlI loved Tamiyas Jeep with some PE (although I'd prefer the one from Aber). I am anxious what you make out of this. Keep the pics coming.
7 January 2023, 18:18
Erik TorpHaving fun building this small kit I ordered the Dragon desert raider kit as well. It should give me some figures and weapons which is needed. I guess there will be some more SAS jeeps in the future…
SAS Desert Raiders (Dragon 6931, 1:35)
11 January 2023, 16:04
Michael KohlAllow me to suggest to bend the front wheels at least a little bit, as this looks much more dynamic.
13 January 2023, 09:04
Pietro De AngelisI also bought a Black Dog accessory kit for the Willys, I found 2 front bumpers because one was cast badly, also the wheels with snow/sand chains are a bit coarse, I also have the ones from the Panzer Art and the Def Model , nothing to see, a whole other subtlety.
15 January 2023, 15:31
Erik TorpI got the Dragon SAS Desert Raiders kit in the mail today, and it looks very good. The jeeps are more detailed than the Tamiya jeep I´m using for this project and the guns are way better than what you get in the Black Dog kit. Only thing missing in the Dragon kit is personal stowage like boxes, satchels etc, but there are lots of AM products to fix this issue.
18 January 2023, 17:51
Jean-Louis DurandWow, that's bad !!! Did you buy directly from their website ? Did you try to communicate with theeir customers service ? I am really surprised by the very poor quality of this set... I have 15 Black Dog kits in my stash (conversion sets, accessories and figs) and they are all well casted. In one set (T35032 Pz.Kpfw. II Ausf C), handles of the jerrycans were missing. I sent them an email and 10 days later, I received the missing parts + one complete same set...
20 January 2023, 23:32
Erik Torp@Jean-Louis, I have also several other Black Dog kits and they have all been great. And no, I did not contact customer support, I´m more of a «If you buy it, you build it guy». The result will be okay unless you really start to study it, and it is a modelling challenge to make something ok out of rubbish 😁
20 January 2023, 23:49
Erik TorpThe build and basic paint is finished. Now to the fun part (and figures…😖)
21 January 2023, 19:56
Erik TorpI have finished the Jeep. Still got some crew and the base left to do.
23 January 2023, 20:06
Erik TorpFinished! I made a simple base from a box of dried figs with a thin layer of DAS clay and a bit of sand and rocks. Fuel barrel and Jerry can from Tamiya.
28 January 2023, 23:16
Erik TorpThank you for all the nice comments guys. This was a fun build and for once it did not take me years to finish a 1/35 kit. 😁
29 January 2023, 14:10
