After building the Italeri Dodge WC-56/57 I decided it needed a driver figure so I got an Alpine Miniatures one, all well and good…however after recently getting an AFV Club Dodge WC-51 I thought that could do with a driver figure too as I don’t have any US figure sets that have drivers so I found a couple via Ebay made by The Bodi, again all well and good. At this point, 1/35 Willys Jeeps kept popping up on Ebay, one of which was by Takom and that’s where a memory lit up as I had actually got a Takom Jeep up to the primer stage about four years ago, not only that it came with a driver figure ..read more

It may look like a lot of random bits but basically construction is done; All the parts will be left to set for a couple of days as I return to work but on my next days off I can start cleaning them all up, paint the cockpit and assemble the model, after which I will write it up as part one of the build review for The Modelling News. When that’s done I can start painting it. A completely vice-free build with no issues whatsoever, the only thing I have done is add pins to the top of the main undercarriage legs to give them a bit of strength and more positive locating points. I’ll add seat belt ..read more

With the Italeri Dodge WC-56/57 built my attention will focus on this; The kit will feature on The Modelling News as a full build review so stay tuned ..read more

After adding yet more bits and making improvements I’ve finally finished building it; I thoroughly enjoyed that and for an almost 50 year old kit it scrubs up pretty well. All the improvements were made from scratch as there is no etch set for this unless Eduard release one, the only aftermarket parts available are a set of resin wheels by DEF Model. Skybow did a new tool family of the Dodge WC vehicles which were then boxed by AFV Club but I believe these are out of production so if you want to build the WC-56/57 then the Italeri kit is the only one currently available. Hopefully my model wi ..read more

I’ve almost finished building this one; If I stopped adding or improving stuff I would have had it built yesterday…..anyway so far I’ve rebuilt the back of the front seat as the kit part doesn’t resemble the one on the real vehicle, added the metal framing inside the canvas roof, improved the dashboard and re-modelled the kit supplied jerry cans. I’ve also made a new bracket for the radio aerial from brass sheet as the kit part is very chunky. I ‘was’ thinking of turning the front wheels but I really should have done it before gluing the front axle in place so I’ll leave it, hopefully I can g ..read more

I recently saw a post on Facebook about the new Italeri 1/72 AMX Ghibli single seater and this sparked a memory of the aviation enthusiasts day at RAF Coltishall in June 2000. I found the pics I had taken on that day and the aircraft that was specially marked (MM7165/51-32) actually features on the decal sheet (so a good enough reason to buy the kit I guess); One thing I noticed after looking at the kit instructions is that Italeri show the external fuel tanks painted red, however I was there that day and as you can see all the fuel tanks were grey on this airframe as well as the other AMX th ..read more

The model is finally taking shape now that the bodywork has been virtually built; The fit of parts for such an old kit has been really good so far with only a small amount of Mr. White Putty used on the rear wheel arches where they join the body and underneath. Good stuff ..read more

Before I moved onto the body, I found photos of the real vehicle here; https://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/ Toadmans’ site has been invaluable for adding some extra details that the kit is missing so I’ve reworked the front grill, added some detail to the steering rod and added the hydraulic dampers for the axles; This has all been done using plastic strip, rod and heat stretched sprue so definitely ‘old school’ stuff as at time of writing there are no aftermarket goodies available apart from DEF Model wheels and whatever etch you find is made for the Skybow/ AFV Club kits. So far quite enjo ..read more

That’s the chassis built; Mould-pin marks, flash, heavy seam lines and a rear prop shaft that was about 2-3mm too short….loved it! Considering the age of the kit, the fit of parts up until now has been pretty good. The wheels still need cleaning up but otherwise so far so good and I feel this is going to be an enjoyable build ..read more

I received this kit and the Italeri 1/35 M8 Greyhound for review recently so I thought I would do the Dodge WC-56/57 as a full build review for Model Military Int’l magazine; I would have got further with the chassis but I spent an hour or so cleaning the crap from under my laptop keys (ugh). As to the kit I’m travelling back in time as it was originally released in 1975 under the Peerless/Max label so lots of mould-pin marks, flash and overly thick parts to deal with but the sort of stuff I love doing. Skybow actually made a new kit of the WC-56/57 command vehicle back in 2002 and you may wo ..read more