Bedford QLD Refuler

[DavidJ]

There is a very similar b&w photo of an early petrol-engined Matador 0854 refuelling another Stirling, perhaps Steve Richards was confusing the two. It's in Les Freathy's British Military Trucks of WW2.

It is an early petrol engined 854. I didn't notice the autovac tank below the LHS windscreen.

[Test Graham]

It's the first Mk.1 I've seen with an upright radiator rather than the angled larger one. Yet another variation - does this mean that it is a very early one, before the problems with overheating were found? if so, that's another pointer to an early colour scheme.

Interiors: I've seen one photo, in more than one source, which shows very light walls - white likely, and the large pumps on floor at the rear seem to be in the outside camouflage colour. The other pipework and valvework seems to be much the same but it is difficult to judge. Possibly the valve controls would be colour-coded?

It is possible to add the booms from the QL kit to produce a postwar Mk.IV.

The easiest thing to do is the standard kit as a Mk.2 late-war bowser with Bomber Command. I don't think there is anything wrong with the basic kit, but there are a surprisingly large number of small variations. (Well, I'm surprised. I thought trucks were much more standardised than aircraft.)

Edited May 24, 2013 by Graham Boak

[Selwyn]

So for a post war model what are the colours of the cabin interior and the pump control compartment interior at the rear of the vehicle?

Peter

From my experience with RAF vehicles the interior colour would not change. Repainting was about camoflage not about looking pretty.

When I was in the RAF (left in 1991) we had quite a few old IRR green SWB land rovers that were all still in the original RAF blue scheme inside.

Selwyn