Mr Ugly, a mail delivery van with a sting
Had an AMT Ford ´40 Delivery van in 1/25 scale lying in my cellar since 2005. The quality wasn´t great and I had lost my heart finishing it right after opening the box more than a decade ago. The good side of this I had a fresh start when I finally decided to do something with it rather than a) chuck it, or b) give it away. So, it became a project based on the Quik ´n Dirty philosophy.
Like many times when I start a build like this I often get a fragment of a thought as an inspiration. This time it was rusty nails that came to my mind. The fragment would quickly evolve into a futuristic vehicle á la Mad Max. Armed to the teeth and heavily armoured it would combine classic soft lines of the 1940s and rough edges signalling utility and a back off-attitude for those with bad intentions.
I quickly discarded all unnecessary parts from the kit and started rummaging around in all my scrap boxes for usable bits. A fair bit of time was consumed to get it right. After building a pile of cool bits and pieces I started to match these to the model. Slowly but surely a clearer picture came to me.
Fat rear wheels came from some american AFV, Italeri´s old fire fighting Jeep contributed with front wheels, pump and tanks for burnable liquids on the turret, Academy´s M3 Stuart provided the main part for the turret. On this turret i grafted a Warhammer turret front and bits from a cannon to get some kind of a flame thrower. A few solder wires became hoses. Scrap bits of plasticard and an assortment of profiles in styrene became armour and the front end plow keeping bad guys out of the way. Due to larger wheels I had to enlarge the wheel houses. Oh, I almost forgot...the nails! It took some time before I actually found the right nails I had in mind. Size and general spikyness had to be right and a box was found in a hard ware store just before all was ready to be painted.
The whole lot was primed using Tamiya´s grey primer on can. Paints come from Vallejo´s Model color and Model Air ranges. Markings was made using brass stencils and a white pencil. Weathering was done by oils and a bit of graphite to get the rough metal edges to stand out a bit.
No putty was sacrificed on this project which took 12 years and a week in total time to finish.
I love it...Cool.
Thanks, Mr Barris!
Good use of an old unloved kit.
Sometimes it just takes a bit of time to match a model to ones visions of how it ought to be done. Thanks for your comment.
Great save, Stellan! Max would be proud!
Thank you, Jeff. Think he would.
A beautiful "Ugly"
Thank you, George.
Give a ring to the producers of The Walking Dead, will you?
Hmm, you got the number?
Either The Walking Dead, or a Mad Maxx movie! This is awesome!
Thank you, Fredrick! Have not seen TWD, maybe I should. Been out in the Aussie desert and wouldn´t have been surprised if one of these had stopped at the petrol station next to our car.
Quite the imaginative creation there, my friend...I like it. 🙂
Thank you, Craig!
I like it too. That is a lot of fire power to scare off the neighbor hood dog. My mail carrier usually carries some biscuits to keep the pooch happy...that has to be one big pooch.
The model cries out Mad Max. A woman mail carrier rebels against a tyrannical ruler in post-apocalyptic Australia...
er England. My bad .
Dogs...or the dogs´ owner. Can´t have the mail man being chased, can we? Thanks for your comment!
Excellent project! Lots to like about it - very creative and well-finished. Merry Christmas.
Thanks, Mr K! Merry Xmas to you too!
Now this is very cool... My wife is a retired letter carrier so this hits home. She probably wishes she had a delivery vehicle like this a few times... 🙂
Definitely reminds me of Mad Max for sure. Merry Christmas
I´m pleased you like it...and possibly your wife too. Merry Christmas to you!
Great kit bashing project.
Thanks, Rob! Had great fun while doing it. More spikes coming up later on.