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I was going to do one of two other builds but I needed to avoid another rabbit hole. (Lets just say I'm now following the Royal Army Pay Corps on Twitter 🙄) The Vickers Machine Gun was great but I need a nice quick build next. I enjoyed the Gecko MWC so much I thought this would be a good choice. It's the earlier Airo screen version and simpler with a simple rear cargo deck. Plus I know what to expect. Seems simple enough 😁 Gecko do a lot of small sprus, D1, D2, D2a etcThey can get very confusing however they generally are a logical sequence. One thing I noticed is there is one aeroscreen missing. It's nowhere to be seen. Funny enough I am planning on having only one anyway with the other just the bare frame. Ah serendipity is a sweet fruit. So the inspiration is this very famous classic picture of an MWD in North Africa 1942. I've never done a desert scheme, ever so this will be interesting. What I'm aiming for is a build which has the confidence and Joie de vivre of the driver 😎 Maybe a set of driving gloves and goggles resting on the seat? Keep it simple. I've just done some looking into this picture and it turns out they are Rhodesian troops of the 60th King's Royal Rifles. Specifically; Brown (Sgt), Deakin (Sgt), Jordan (Sgt), No 1 Army Film & Photographic Unit, Slade (Sgt), Travis (Sgt). Doesn't say who is who but this guy looks like a Deakin to me . If you do a search on IWM these guys come up with a nice selection of their photographic work. So it looks like they were tearing around the desert with gear in the back snapping the action. Oh dear...... oh deary me...... I think I've just looked down a rabbit hole 😳 Andrew

or The original 'White van man' of the desert 😎 My second Gecko MW build and equally frustrating and rewarding. Gecko make amazingly detailed kits but they do have their quirks to say the least. Anyway this build was inspired by the classic photo of a Rhodesian photographic unit in North Africa.In particular the driver who does have a certain air of smugness about him. So on to the build. This is an early version with the aeroscreens and is depicted somewhere in North Africa around 1941 and is complete with the Caunter scheme. The driver is a keen fan and amateur driver in the Voiturette class. (This is the rabbit hole for this build, thankfully not too deep!) This was a popular class pre and post war, similar to formula 3 where drivers cut their teeth. He's a driver and takes the opportunity when whizzing around the desert to relive his sporting days back home complete with flying helmet, goggles and white scarf. This is depicted between deliveries and he is reading a few old copies (1939 to be precise) of Motor Sport sent to him from home. You will notice on the bonnet front that he has replaced the Bedford logo with an ERA badge as he is a big fan of the mark who were one of the top teams pre war. If you want to know more about Voiturette racing theres a few sites including Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiturette Here's the build. Forgive the figure, it's my first since I was a nipper and you can see why I don't do them 🙄 The caunter Scheme isn't quite right on the back. There is actually a diagonal paint line up the side of the rear deck however the differences in the AK paints is very minor and disappears once weathered. The engine has pretty much disappeared as well which is a shame. I added a couple of Brass plates which were on the bulkhead. Scratch built aeroscreens as one was missing in the kit and they are way to thick anyway Ooooh! I've just noticed how that '3' decal edge stands out!!! Grrrrrrrrr Slightly startled expression! I left the wires from the broken off side light dangling out the bracket 😁 I laso hand turned the horn which our driver has added God he's awful 🤬 You can only see the difference in paints on the bonnet. Enjoyed this one as well as it was a nice change from SCC15 etc. WIP is here: As always thanks for looking and on to the next one 🤓 Andrew

Normally I'd be submitting to the Aircraft forum, this is a bit of a first to post here amongst the mud movers... My attempt at a vehicle below, the Airfix Bedford MWD completed as the late version option in the kit in RAF colours. The model is straight from the box. Black and white images and colour ones further down. The model was built as prop for photographing along side my aeroplane builds. The kit is typical 'new' Airfix. Gernally good, but with lots of seam lines to clean up and parts fit that needs keeping an eye on. And a couple in colour...

This is my first year of retirement and have very much enjoyed being able to put time into my hobby. I was able to complete a model every month for the first half of the year and have been working on a single, more involved project since then. I have a room dedicated to modelling and this plus the extra time has seen my turnover skyrocket. If I keep up this pace, I should be able to clear the stash in around 40 years assuming I buy no more kits (fat chance of that)! Some of you other retirees may be aware of U3A, but if not do find out about your local one and see if it has something of interest to you. U3A are a voluntary organisation that run activity groups. I started one on plastic scale modelling and local modellers get together fortnightly during daylight hours to build models and coach each other on techniques. I have profited by being shown how to weather military vehicles and the vehicles this year are my first ones. It is all good fun. Here is my output for this year.... Airfix Bedford MWD 1/48.... Le Cimier Hussar 1807 180mm resin & white metal..... IBG Chevrolet 1/72.... Eduard Bf109E-1 1/32.... Tamiya GMC CCKW 1/35..... Tamiya & Ultracast RAF Pilots 1/32.... Here is the current work in progress..... Ark Royal built from Airfix Revenge 1/144. Thanks for looking and best wishes for 2020 ! Pat

Can anyone shed light on why The Airfix Bedford MWD shows a paint scheme with RED & WHITE wheels nuts - as seen here... It is probably a daft question - but vehicles are not my normal area of work. Thanks in advance for any pertinent information - Steve

An impulse purchase a few weeks ago, inspired by, amoungst others, a build by @BIG X. Finished in brushpainted Tamiya acrylics. Lots of fun to build. Build thread can be found here. Thanks for looking