Monty's Caravan – Leyland Retriever and Scout Car - 1:76 Revell

[Paul A H]

Monty's Caravan Leyland Retriever and Scout Car

1:76 Revell

Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC - unsurprisingly shortened to 'Monty' for most purposes, was the legendary commander of the British Eighth Army in North Africa who masterminded the allied victory over Rommel's Afrika Korps. He went on to command the Eighth Army during the Italian campaign and had overall command of Allied ground forces for the D Day landings. He was also the senior commander for the less successful Operation Market Garden airborne assault. A significant number of artefacts associated with Monty are still extant, including a Leyland Retriever which resides at IWM Duxford.

Anyone who knows their model history will instantly recognise this as one of Matchbox's original 1:76 scale releases. Inside the modern Revell end-opening box are three sprues of dark green coloured plastic which hold a total of 142 parts. You get rather more than a caravan though included is the Leyland Retriever itself, a Daimler Dingo scout car, three figures (including, of course, the aforementioned Monty) and a diorama base.

The instructions kick off with the Leyland Retriever caravan. Despite being the same age as me, the kit is surprisingly complex. The ladder chassis forms the basis of the model, onto which the drive shaft, axles, suspension, exhaust, steering rods and other running gear have to be fixed. The wheels themselves are pretty nicely moulded and feature nice, chunky tyres. The cab is reasonably well detailed, with gear levers, an instrument panel and steering wheel all included.

The caravan body is a separate sub-assembly, meaning you can convert the basic vehicle into a range of different variants if desired. The internal structure is very basic, even though the rear door is designed to be posed in the open position. A nice canvas awning structure and ladder is provided if you want to finish the model in the parked position with the included diorama base. The canvas roof is pretty good and should look convincing enough once painted.

The Daimler Dingo Scout Car is surprisingly well detailed for such a tiny model. Seats for the crew are included, along with a steering wheel for the driver. The angular box structure is split logically into bottom, front, rear and side pieces and the wheel arches are moulded separately. The suspension units fit into the sides of the hull beneath the wheel arches, with the tiny wheels being added last of all. Small details such as headlights, various stowage bins and the optional bren gun are added last of all. The roof hatch can be posed in the open or closed position.

The diorama base is comprised of two base plates, a couple of barricades and some oil drums arranged into a rudimentary table. It's fairly basic stuff, but as with all diorama bases you can add as much or as little extra detail as your spares box will allow.

Two decal options are provided for each of the vehicles. The Caravan can be finished as it appeared in North Africa in 1942, or Germany in 1945 when Monty accepted the German surrender from Admiral Doenitz. The Dingo can be finished as a vehicle of the 2 Troop, B-Squadron, Household Cavalry (in dark green) or HQ Squadron, 10th Royal Hussars (in a desert scheme).

Conclusion

Whilst this set is neither perfect nor state of the art, for those who were weaned on kits from Airfix and Matchbox it is a welcome trip down memory lane. The kits themselves are actually pretty good and contain enough detail for this diminutive scale and the inclusion of the scout car and diorama base adds significant value to the overall package. Recommended.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

[Alpha Delta 210]

Thanks for the review Paul. I think it has stood the test of time well.

I'm surprised that Revell have re-released this kit so quickly, as I have a couple of copies of the kit in identical packaging from a few years ago because my father was on Dingos in the Household Cavalry in the '50s.

[Test Graham]

I suspect one reason for the continuing success of this kit is because the chassis and cab can be used for so many purposes with specialist bodies - Matador Models do offer a number of these together with conversions to other manufacturers lorries with the same standard military cab.