"We're going to need a bigger truck"

I was just clearing away some photographs the other day when I realised that I hadn't really give this little aside its just deserts, here at '28mm Victorian Warfare'.  Another one of those projects that was dreamt up an eon ago but never got anywhere until the incentive that was the 'The 3rd Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge' came to pass.  I 'won' this Matchbox Models of Yesteryear  Y41 - 1932 Mercedes Benz L5 - Howaldtswerke Kiel truck on eBay at the same time that I was looking for suitable vehicles for my 'Conundrum Carriage'; a real bargain for a couple of pounds, but it was then banished to a little visited corner of the lead pile, often referred to as 'the forgotten project zone'.

I envisaged this being used for the dinosaur hunting scenarios that have still to be played and its base included some 'Copplestone Castings' fossils to reinforce that idea; I quite like the idea of the bumbling Palaeontologist parking up exactly on top of the very objects that he was hoping to find!

I really enjoy working on these vehicles as they are such a wonderful opportunity to let the imagination run riot and try out all sorts of modelling techniques.  This particular experience was relatively straightforward, the bizarre engine block was removed along with the transfers and the whole thing given a black undercoat.

Optional extras included a spade, attached with tiny strips of paper, a tarpaulin crafted from a kitchen cloth and bits of string, a chain winch added to the front and an 'Ainsty Castings' packing crate to suggest supplies in the back leaving enough room to place a miniature if needed. 

As for painting, the colour scheme was based heavily on the Mercedes trucks used in the wonderful chase scene in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', suitably distressed and liberal application of 'Modelmates' rust effect.  

"We're going to need a bigger truck"