Desert desserts.

Dang, I have been ill, some kind of flu. Not the regular influenza though, where you get to stay home from work but can still paint lots of figures and watch all those war movies that SWMBO doesn't like, but man flu. The kind that leaves you whishing you were dead, too knackered to even think straight. But as Nietsche said: That which doesn't kill you hurts like hell.

Anyway, I've recovered somewhat and was able to finish building my LRDG radio truck today.

The main parts assembled.

After I had glued the bed of the truck, the driving seat and the back of the driver's cabin to the chassis I noticed that the chassis was ever so slightly bent. It made the truck look like it had a "swank", but the glue had already hardened. That's the downside with resin kits, you have to use superglue and some things are not fixable after glueing.

The work continues. Phew, there are a gazillion parts.

The bottom of the truck. Lots parts here too.

The kit itself was very good, but the instructions were quite horrible. There were no numbers on the parts and you had to guess from the very simple drawing what some of the parts were. I made a lot of mistakes, like gluing what was probably supposed to be the radio antenna under the truck, thinking it was supposed to be the drive shaft. In the instructions the drive shaft was only a thin line, while the parts for the drive shaft had details on them which was why I thought they were for something else.

The finished truck with crew from SHQ pack DG2.

Nevertheless, the kit was fun to build and I think the result is quite good. The bent frame doesn't show up as much in the finished model with all the kit on. Overall the details were good, the only parts I found lacking were the Lewis guns, which really could have benefited from some better detailing. I ordered some crew from SHQ and they fit quite nicely.

Notice the varied gear of the crew: hats, pullovers, shorts, long trousers, berets, etc.

The only problem is the standing chap who is apparently firing a Browning. I'm not sure if I will fit a Browning or maybe a Vickers for him to use, or if I'm going to use him for another vehicle. I didn't want to put too many weapons on the truck as their positions will be decided by what crew figures I use in the end. As I mentioned earlier I plan to get the Matchbox/Revell LRDG set and maybe a jeep or another truck from SHQ and perhaps be able to switch around some of the figures and equipment between the different vehicles.

But who will manage the radio?

SHQ Pack DG1, LRDG Roadwatch

I also ordered some italians and another pack of LRDG to check out. I'm not sure how many dismounted figures we need for the game but I wanted to have a look at them anyway. I must say they look awefully nice, and I will probably order a pack of each code in the future.

Wee Friends "WWII Axis North Africa" -- really?

Earlier I ordered a pack of WWII axis north africa figures from Wee Friends. They had alternative heads so could be built as either germans or italians, wearing generic gear and clothing. However, I noticed one that looked decidedly british, so I will be using him for LRDG instead. 

All in all a successful project, now I just have to figure out how to paint the truck...  oh dear.