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A Canadian MG Carrier, built by Autocar, as it would have looked in early autumn of 1918 after several months of hard use. The kit is, of course, by Copper State Models. My take on it is influenced by the beautiful box art and the references photos provided in the manual. It was painted with my own mix of Vallejo primer, an inter-shade of greens and ochres, hairspray, and Model Air BS Dark Green. After chipping and scrubbing, weathering continued with oil-paint rendering (OPR) including oil-pigment mixes, and finished with multiple blends of pigment speckling, wet effects, grease, etc. The base was made with balsa and painted entirely with Vallejo washes in many layers. It’s usable as a real (albeit very small) box. The hint of groundwork used sea grass, pigments, leaves by Green Stuff World, and Value Gear boxes with added rope handles. The lights were painted with oils. All markings (apart from the small “ARI” marking) were masked (cut with a Cricut) and painted. The hairspray chipping included all of the wood surfaces, including this storage box. The tyres have no tread, so I replicated it with a rivet wheel (a handy benefit of also making aircraft). The MGs were painted with Vallejo Metal Color and oils. The pull-throughs are plastic and have to be bent; it’s pity that there was no photo-etch for them, but they may be replaced with metal strips one day. The metal coolant hoses are made with lead wire. Over all, I’m pretty happy with the result. My construction and weathering could always be a bit more refined, but I was at least able to work back from a clear mental picture of what I wanted. The base was a fun idea which came about as I was struggling to think of some alternative to the norm, while the two little crates were staring me in the face from my desk. I intended it to have full groundwork on top, but a trial run looked laughably bad. It was serendipitous, I guess, because I really like this minimal version and it shows off the box much better. If you have any questions about how, or why, I did something, you are more than welcome to ask. I think that's better than going into too much detail right away.

I have been away from the hobby for a while for the usual reasons of family etc. Also, in the time I have been away, I have moved to Australia, but I have recently picked up the MENG kit of the Whippet medium tank. Construction has started, and I will try and keep this thread up to date with my progress. You can also follow the build on my website. Ross

HMS Timbertown was an internment camp in Holland during the first world war for 1500 sailors of the Royal Naval Division There is a television programme still available, and for a while yet, on the BBC iPlayer (27/02/2015). http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04kg1q1 The programme is in Gaelic, but don't worry there are English sub-titles. It's rather interesting and describes some of what happened to these sailors. Little known facts such as how sailors had UK leave but had to return to their Dutch prison are dealt with. If you don't normally watch the BBC Alba service, (and I can't say as I do), have a look.