Land Rovers

[Mick Bonwick]

A short while ago I commented on a thread with several followers, that I had an interest in Land Rovers. I backed up this claim with an account of the weathering of an Oxford Diecast example.

 

Imagine my surprise when one of those followers walked into my workshop yesterday holding a box that he then proceeded to empty onto my layout (which currently has lots of empty space) a good few examples of how other folks weather these iconic vehicles. It transpires that some mischievious soul had organised the followers into an army of Land Rover weatherers whose sole aim was to show me how it should be done.

 

I was totally overwhelmed when I was finally capable of looking at them in detail. The level of ingenuity and the skills applied to produce such a variety of realistic-looking working vehicles has astounded me and, with the agreement of the modellers involved (well, most of them, anyway) I show them below. I don't have much scenery in place at the moment, so you'll have to excuse them all appearing to exist in the same 8" sqare of unfinished diorama.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm inviting the perpetrators to offer explanations for their actions. I'm sure that there's a lot to be learned!

 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2021 by Mick Bonwick
Finger trouble, unusually.

[PhilJ W]

I fitted a breakdown crane to the Oxford Land Rover 108. I used the crane from the Cararama Chevrolet wrecker truck.

[Stubby47]

Guilty as charged.

 

The blue landie is obviously the ECC liveried example, de-logo'd, slightly weathered and with an added tow bar ( bent wire).

The open, off-roader's landie is based on an example spotted online, most of the paint was removed with acetone and then splodges of colour added. 

The trailer is scratch built, the wheels are off a Huskey Jaguar Fire Chief toy car, the rest is just plastic strip and a 3D printed motor.

 

All three probably need the master's touch to really improve the weathering.

Edited June 22, 2021 by Stubby47

[modelldoc]

I had made the former JB, now Airfix Land Rover in some decorations:

 

 

 

 

modelldoc

[Alister_G]

I used the JB Models / Airfix kit (as above) as the basis of my SWB model, replacing the awful front end with a new more representative one made of layers  of styrene 10thou sheet cut to shape using a silhouette cutter, replacing the roof with a better version with a gutter and shortening the body and chassis by 7mm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Al.

Edited June 22, 2021 by Alister_G

[Mikkel]

The Canopy Nudging Detection Vehicle was inspired by Mick's Canopy Nudging thread. The detection device was made from soldered up bits from the spares box.

 

 

 

Of course the real purpose is to surreptitiously introduce some "proper" GWR items on Mick's layout, e.g. Dean buffers and window grilles 

 

 

 

The roof rack is a 3D print from Scale Model Scenery. Thanks to Stu for the tip. It's a nice print,  if a little thick compared to the brass bits.

 

 

 

A quick test on the layout. Slight period issue!

 

 

 

I'm afraid the only weathering done was to dull down the Oxford shine and add a black wash, I continue to marvel at how Mick and others on here manage to transform a vehicle with their weathering. Must practice more.

 

[37114]

Some great modelling here, I especially like Stubby47's Series 1 on a trailer, there is a very similar vehicle/trailer in this months Classic Land Rover.

 

Also a good prompt for me to finish the 12" to 1ft scale Series 3 I have in the garage, I have been saying this year for the last 3 years although I did start it up a few weeks ago for the first time in 6 years....

[KNP]

When mine arrived it was all nice and clean

 

 

However after a day down on the farm playing in the fields......

 

 

It got rather muddy so before handing it over to Mick I went down to out local car wash but they wouldn't allow it to go through so rather embarrassingly I had to transfer ownership to it's current owner in that state.

 

Looking a right old mess

 

 

How to do mud.

Very old Military Modelling trick and that is to add flour to the paint, in this case Vallejo Dark and Light Mud, mix it to a paste and then 'splodge' in on and work around mainly to the chassis and lower edges.

I would say up to 4 layers added in random places to get the build up I wanted, left to dry thoroughly and then some matt varnish applied to seal.

 

Prior to that the vehicle had Vallejo roof dirt applied that had been thinly mixed into the matt varnish which was then painted on in streaks, again a few coats to get the random effect.

Dry brushed mud colours also added to get a further grubby look, bit of work with a G/F brush to scratch and dull even more.

Light mud flicked on from a brush.

Whole lot, except windows given a another coat of matt varnish before packing into it's crate - luckily this one arrived and was able to be offloaded....

[Stubby47]

18 minutes ago, 37114 said:

Stubby47's Series 1 on a trailer, there is a very similar vehicle/trailer in this months Classic Land Rover.

Inspired by this:

[chuffinghell]

Stu’s idea of weathering Land Rovers for Mick was a great idea and a chance to do something that I ordinarily wouldn’t have done

 

Due to the limited models available and the one I’d ordered having been ordered by someone else

 

 

I decided to respray my first victim in the only green I had to hand

 

 

followed by weathering as best as I could using Tamiya weathering powders and loading it up with various items and soldered up a roof rack….

 

 

 

…I later scratch built a winch and finished it off with some rope

 

 

The second was just a bit of fun loosely inspired by something Mick posted on his thread

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/151137-easton-isle-of-portland/&do=findComment&comment=4430487

 

using bits removed from a hot wheels hotrod with scratch built exhausts and roll bar

 

 

I had to remove most of the material from the rear to fit the oversized wheels and scratch build something to mount them too….and of course a roof chop!

 

 

 

No hotrod/dragster would be complete without a ‘flame job’ and racing sponsor

 

 

Using waterslide print paper I thought it would be a nice touch to personalise the last one and used the canvas cover left over from the dragster build

 

I used the Tamiya weathering powders and also flicked watered down paint on it using a stiff brush to represent mud splashes

 

 

 

 

I really enjoyed this little project and it was an honour and a pleasure to take part

 

 

 

 

 

I thought a dragster would look right at home in a rural setting

 

 

 

 

Edited June 23, 2021 by chuffinghell

[PhilJ W]

I have a couple of the Classix horseboxes. They come with a selection of towing hooks designed to fit the Classix car and van range. Has anyone fitted these hooks to the Oxford Land Rover? There are several different hooks so there's plenty of options depending on which Oxford Land Rover you wish to fit a hook to.

[Oldddudders]

I had to dip out of this due to the complexities of getting goods from and to the UK post-Brexit, but am delighted to see the innovations and imaginative finishes the contributors managed. Well done chaps!

 

OTOH, I have owned three Landies in my time. On their day they are great vehicles, but on lots of other days.......

[MrWolf]

As another conspirator in the Easton Land Rover Gathering, I based mine on one still earning a living in sunny Wales.

It also tapped into my belief of - why would I buy coal and logs when firewood is free? 

I sent a message to one of our happy band with a picture of the Land rover which had just arrived and he said: "Damn, I have just clicked buy it now on that one, I'll just repaint it!"

I repainted the roof and wheels in cream, which was a popular way of updating ageing Landys when I was a kid. I followed up with the mandatory moss on the roof and around the window channels. (Moss stops the glass rattling and should not be removed, I found that out the hard way.) A little rust around the screen vents and door hinges, rust and oil leaks around the hubs and a little bit of off road grot.

The load bed was repainted to represent a working vehicle with bark chippings, random roadside logs and those bits of packing timber that have fallen off lorries on A roads - they make riding a motorcycle at night so much fun...

Add a rather second hand looking bow saw and I think we're done!

 

I've really enjoyed being a part of this project as I have had free rein to build something that I like but would be out of place on my prewar layout.

 

 

I couldn't pose it on my layout as yet, but we do have a scruffy shed and a Bus Deterrent Device in the background.

 

 

To be honest, it was a welcome change from swearing at signalboxes.

I thought that this one would be useful for clearing up all that undergrowth!

[ian]

Mick had already posted a blog on weathering a 1/43rd scale Land Rover which I inrended to use as my recipe however @Stubby47 managed to con Mick into a 1/76th scale show and tell:

 

As far better modellers than I would be using the same formula I looked for ways to add character.

 

The chassis rivets were drilled out - but I used too small a drill and whilst I could prise the chassis out this came back to bite me later.

 

The interior was removed, the seats painted and a suitable HO scale seated figure underwent surgery to fit in the cab.

 

As the vehicle would not be speeding along the road the driver needed something to do so, as mine was sign-written for an agricultural machinery concern I gave him a copy of Farmers' Weekly to read. This involved s search of the internet for suitable 1960s pages from the paper and a bit of computer jiggery pokery.

 

A VED disk was added from acrylic paint on the end of the cocktail stick. In my excitement I put it on the outside of the windscreen and it dried with far more colour to it than I had hoped - it should be far more pastel.

 

 

On the offside (around the 'vic' of service) I scraped some of the paint to show where the Landy had got up close and personal with a gatepost.

 

 

Like most parked vehicles (especially those without power steering) the front wheels are at an angle (albeit not at the correct Ackerman angles). This was achieved by tweaking with needlenose pliers and then fixing firmly in place to stop them rotating and ending up at all angles.

 

A Modelscene dog was finished as a collie and added to the rear after the enamel weathering washes but before spraying with Dullcote and adding pigments - this gave it a suitably dull coat.

 

I had to cut large lumps out of the chassis to get it back in but the final result looked like this:

 

William Pearce was born near Easton and learnt his trade as a mechanic in the army. Known as Portland Bill, or just Portland, he ended up in Stockport working on argricultural machinery. The love of his life is Jess, his collie, who was a poor sheepdog - being enthusiastic and energetic but lacking in precision - a charge many would level at Portland's driving as the Landy will attest.

 

 

Still, the Landy is game enough for a journey back home so he can see his family. (And anyway, a job advert in the area in the Farmers' Weekly has caught his attention.)

 

Edited June 23, 2021 by ian

[chuffinghell]

22 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

.....I sent a message to one of our happy band with a picture of the Land rover which had just arrived and he said: "Damn, I have just clicked buy it now on that one, I'll just repaint it!"

 

In hindsight I could have just changed the number plate 

 

 

Edited June 23, 2021 by chuffinghell

[MrWolf]

I'm not sure which of those two options is the better example of overthinking? 

[chuffinghell]

23 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

I'm not sure which of those two options is the better example of overthinking? 

 

There's the easy way, the hard way and the daft my way 

 

Edited June 23, 2021 by chuffinghell

[Mick Bonwick]

59 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

I couldn't pose it on my layout as yet, but we do have a scruffy shed and a Bus Deterrent Device in the background.

 

 

 

 

Splendid!

 

 

[chuffinghell]

15 hours ago, Mick Bonwick said:

.............to produce such a variety of realistic-looking working vehicles...........

 

 

 

 

Maybe not that one though 

[divibandit]

Afternoon everyone,

Some fine examples of Land Rovery on display here!

Does anyone know of a model of a 130 in 1/76? I'd imagine a JB/Airfix lengthened would be the best way to go.

I was inspired by the limber used for Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

 

Steve

[Mick Bonwick]

While we're on the subject of Land Rovers, I thought I'd mention this:

 

 

I wonder if I've got a model of this around anywhere . . . . . . . .

[Stubby47]

That picture reminds me of the day I went out for a employee's trip around the various China Clay works that surround St Austell.

We all piled into the long land rover and Ivor Bowditch, the PR bloke, took us around.  First stop was over looking one of the larger pits, probably Littlejohns.  We stopped at the top of the pit and Ivor pointed out various bits of clay washing machinery.  He moved the landie a bit further round and pointed out some tiny Volvo trucks and the conveyors.

He moved again and this time instead of stopping at the edge, he drove straight over !  Of course , no one was strapped in and there was a certain amount of swearing as we bounced down the obvious (now !)  clay road to the pit floor.
Where upon the tiny Volvo trucks became these huge behemoths that we were warned never to get in the way of !
Later we travelled through the old railway tunnel to Fowey Docks.  Again, there was a warning that once the light went green, enter and keep moving above 30mph, as the lights were timed and the artic clay trucks would be coming the other way, at the same speed, so you needed to make sure you got out in time. 

[37114]

3 hours ago, divibandit said:

Afternoon everyone,

Some fine examples of Land Rovery on display here!

Does anyone know of a model of a 130 in 1/76? I'd imagine a JB/Airfix lengthened would be the best way to go.

I was inspired by the limber used for Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

 

Steve

Hi, I suggest cut and shutting a couple of Oxford Diecast 110s, a 130 is quite niche but I would expect them to do a Prince Philip variant in the fullness of time.

[simonmcp]

2 hours ago, Stubby47 said:

That picture reminds me of the day I went out for a employee's trip around the various China Clay works that surround St Austell.

We all piled into the long land rover and Ivor Bowditch, the PR bloke, took us around.  First stop was over looking one of the larger pits, probably Littlejohns.  We stopped at the top of the pit and Ivor pointed out various bits of clay washing machinery.  He moved the landie a bit further round and pointed out some tiny Volvo trucks and the conveyors.

He moved again and this time instead of stopping at the edge, he drove straight over !  Of course , no one was strapped in and there was a certain amount of swearing as we bounced down the obvious (now !)  clay road to the pit floor.
Where upon the tiny Volvo trucks became these huge behemoths that we were warned never to get in the way of !
Later we travelled through the old railway tunnel to Fowey Docks.  Again, there was a warning that once the light went green, enter and keep moving above 30mph, as the lights were timed and the artic clay trucks would be coming the other way, at the same speed, so you needed to make sure you got out in time. 

I went on a Cornwall Railway Society trip with Ivor Bowditch as our guide, we went in a 52 seater coach down a clay pit. Also stopped for a Guinness and Pasty lunch, handsome. Were not allowed to photograph the loaders at Carn Point due to the dust, they were a bit touchy on that subject.

[RJS1977]

4 hours ago, divibandit said:

Afternoon everyone,

Some fine examples of Land Rovery on display here!

Does anyone know of a model of a 130 in 1/76? I'd imagine a JB/Airfix lengthened would be the best way to go.

I was inspired by the limber used for Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.

 

Steve

 

I'm currently working on a 009 Land Rover railcar (based on the one at Statfold), also based on the JB kit - I'll post photos in a bit.

 

However, like you I was tempted to stretch the kit for a model of HRH's hearse, especially when I realised it had the correct scale wheelbase to fit a Minic Motorways chassis!

 

I don't think 130 was ever a production length of LR, so I doubt there will be any 1/76 versions available.