Airfix Matador Conversions

[Brailledave]

Haven't been on the site for a while- these are my latest efforts.

In Official Parlance a 'Tender, General Service, 5ton, AEC Matador.

As you can see, I've thinned down the front mudguards, rescribed the body to remove the guncrew access doors and added new rear mudguards, out of thin plasticard.

Added some gear out of the spares box

Changed the wheels to my favourite Friendships Models examples.

This is a Tender, Float, 5ton AEC Matador. Officially a flatbed, they were still fitted with drawbar gear and winches, and consequently, were still used as tractors.

Done the whole mudguard thing, and added thin plasticard across the roof to represent the double roof some Matadors had.

The body was simply the airfix one with the sides left off, planking scribed onto the base, and thin plastic strip added on the sides.

Colour for the float was the standard mid-war scheme SCC2 (brown) with SCC1A (dark brown) disruptive. The GS tender was in the modified SCC2 with SCC14 (blue-black) scheme.

Both were livered for 2 Tactical Air Force, 85 Base Support Group, the overall command for ground units in Northern France I've been reading up a lot about the RAF units that landed in France, some on D-Day itself.So I've painted these to represent an Airfield Construction Service examples. Did mean I could dirty them up more than my usual.

[bzn20]

Nice collection! The cab doesn't look to "confortable" to sit in! Our coal man had one of these flatbeds in the late 50's

I knew a guy who drove these in convoys supplying the front lines during WW2 on the main drag from Egypt to Benghazi for hours/days on end ,all he could see at night was the tail board of the truck in front. Get to the end and just to turn 'round and do it again and again every day for months . They drove in solitary,nobody to talk to, Sadly he died in June aged 92 RIP.

Well done,thanks for showing!