LRDG Chevrolet 30 ctw with Breda 20 mm AA gun Tamiya 1/35

[AlexChristian]

From Time to Time, Tamiya give to enthousiast modellers of LRDG Chevy 30 CTW, the opportunity to build this greta model.

Few month ago, Tamiya has decided to please us with a limited edition of a LRDG Chevy with a Breda AA 20 mm gun from Italari.

Unfortunatelly, it is not possible to make a scorpion conversation out of the box. For this reason , I decided to purchase an outstanding conversion kit from RESICAST.

This LRDG belongs to the "R" patrol, operated by Kiwi during the campaign of Lybia.

The vehicles of each patrol adopted their own markings. The New Zealand 'R' Patrol used a green Hei-tiki with a red tongue painted on the right side of the bonnet of the vehicle and on the left they put a Māori place name beginning with the letter 'R', this LRDG N° L4618846 is named 'Rotorura'.

Unfortunately, despite important research efforts on internet I did not succed to find the real registration number and name of the "R" patrol Scorpion during the lybia campaign.

[AlexChristian]

In the meantime, I used the very nice Etch Parts from EDUARD ED 35251.

[Nick Belbin]

Nice job - got one of these on the go myself at the moment.

Nick

[AlexChristian]

Furthermore, in oder to mount the 20 mm AA Breda gun in the truck bed, I proceed on some modifications. Kindly notice the mounting plate with four threaded rods and bolts, and also, the extended frame with a double "U" interlocking into one another.

Moreover, no doubt, you'll notice the realism of the chain on the tailgate of the truck bed. I often noticed that modellers do not find the proper chain or the proper scale for this chain. In fact they maybe forget that they will find the right chain ....with a Naval specialist like the french website "L'arsenal"http://www.larsenal.com/. or with WEM in UK. the ref of the tailgat chain is : CH 250 ( 16 links per cm) and for the towing front chain : CH 252 (11 links per cm).

Edited February 3, 2015 by AlexChristian

[AlexChristian]

Regarding weapons, I equipped my LRDG with a BREN MK 1, however, british army encountered some difficulties to supply units involved in the Libyan desert with this weapon. However, despite a rate of fire "reduced" to 500 rounds per minute, it was very reliable weapon and has met a great success among soldiers.

Nevertheless, this weapon was only for defense, because the main use of the Scorpion LRDG was as a support with the 20 mm gun.

[AlexChristian]

[AlexChristian]

The vehicle is not too damaged, given the fact that his life was not very long and therefore rarely allows to have very damaged vehicles. Moreover, these unitits were highly mobile and constantly adapted vehicule camouflage to the ground on which they would evolve. The stowage and loading was important and quite characteristic of the LRDG patrols, as they always operated constantly behind the Axis lines, in a desert that could be a harsh environement. Some dust, even at the beginnig of the patrol, seems to me, welcome on these vehicles ... some flying rocks, also leave paint chips.

Moreover, the flimsies were rather made ​​with tin which was not really suitable for reuse. For this reason, I do not have much insite on the weathering of this type of equipment. Tarpaulins are all drill khaki colors .... none khaki (green).

[AlexChristian]

Moreover, access to the gun must remain the priority in this model, so that the crew can use this weapon properly. Therefore, this LRDG carries only the bare minimum ...as shown, the other vehicles of patrol carry the other part of its equipment.

[AlexChristian]

However, if you do not use the kit Resicast conversion, and you prefer to make the convertion from scratch, it is very important not to forget to plug the hole of the location of the radio and also remove the mat and materials provided for the radio, which is in fact for a LRDG Command Car. A LRDG Scorpio is never a Command car. So there is no radio.

Meanwhile, in a LRDG Patrol you have only one Command Car.

Meantime, you can use the radio mat to produce your own swabs for the 20 mm AA gun cleaning, then you can fix this cleaning material inside the left or right side of the truck bed.

[Killingholme]

Super model! Even better for all the information you have given us about the LRDG. Must have a go at this conversion myself one time, I have already built the Tamiya 'command car' version, so it wouldn't be realistic to build two and display them together would it?!

[AlexChristian]

Hello, further to your message,I think that you can display in a Patrol, only one command car and one scorpion, but it is easy to build a standart patrol vehicule, on the basis of the Tamiya command car..I invite you to have a look on pictures of LRDG during WWII, kindly notice the very light weathering on these vehicules ....some of them look like brand new. It should be interesting to find some pictures from patrol return after a couple of weeks.

Cheers

[AlexChristian]

Super model! Even better for all the information you have given us about the LRDG. Must have a go at this conversion myself one time, I have already built the Tamiya 'command car' version, so it wouldn't be realistic to build two and display them together would it?!

Edited February 3, 2015 by AlexChristian

[10btaff]

Great models and thanks for the background info. I have 3 on the go at the moment and Resicast do a fitters version if I remember right which I must try and get.

One thing I would check on (and this is not meant as a criticism) is whether the lrdg (and the sas for that matter) used the bren in the middle east - see http://lrdg.hegewisch.net/and other sites. Lloyd Owen - the LRDG commander from 1943 to 1945 says the bren wasn't used by them until the balkans campaign.

[AlexChristian]

Great models and thanks for the background info. I have 3 on the go at the moment and Resicast do a fitters version if I remember right which I must try and get.

One thing I would check on (and this is not meant as a criticism) is whether the lrdg (and the sas for that matter) used the bren in the middle east - see http://lrdg.hegewisch.net/and other sites. Lloyd Owen - the LRDG commander from 1943 to 1945 says the bren wasn't used by them until the balkans campaign.

In my opinion, and based on my knowledges LRDG patrols tended to arm their trucks with everything they could lay their hands on, armament including anything from infantry weapons to scavenged aircraft machine guns. The Bren was not very common because the priority was given to the british infantery from 1941 to 1943. Moreover, I found an evidence in the book: LRDG Patrolman, the western desert 1940-1943 : Page 28 " Although, some Bren guns were used by LRDG Patrols as the desert war was progressed..:". In the other hand you will find some LRDG with italian or german machine guns but then the crew would face more problems to find ammunitions because they were not supplied by the british army logistic. It also doen't mean that a parallel market did not exist in this period of troubles and Kiwis are always very resourceful people. Furthermore, we can assume that the mission will mostly drive the weapons that LRDG crew will choose but also the period of the war....Regarding this specific LRDG with Breda AA gun, we have a fire support with a long range caliber, very effective against infantery and also in order to destroy planes on an airfield, Nevertheless, the front weapon is for defense purpose, indeed a secondary weapon. Moreover, maybe we will not find a single picture in order to illustrate that the Bren was on a LRDG, but it also doesn't mean that it was not....Maybe some modelers will think that I took some freedoms with the historical true, I should assume it, but it looks great on the left side of a LRDG. Isn't it ? In the meantime, we should not forget that no one has ever completely right or wrong, a stopped clock shows the correct time twice a day.

For your kind information: http://www.myetymology.com/encyclopedia/Long_Range_Desert_Group.html

"Bren Mk. There are few tests that it was used, although can be given a few units. It seems that, of to have used, it was used with circular shippers of 100 firings."

Edited February 5, 2015 by AlexChristian