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AEC Matador recovery vehicle (AFV Club kit)


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Hi, I bought the AFV Club Matador (early type) at the IPMS nationals in November 2014. I was originally going to make it from the box, but having had a look through a book on wreckers, I changed my mind. I had a look on Google at Matador wreckers, and many variants came up. I liked the bus company ones but most had specialist bodywork. So I decided to base it on a recovery truck belonging to BRS. The one in the pictures had normal size wheels with twins on the rear axle, but no matter as many retained their original military wheels.

The chassis and cab are straight from the box, they go together very well although some parts are a bit fiddly. There is an error in the instructions though. There are some small springs, one each side at the cab front, which support the cab. There is no mention of them in the instructions but the parts are present. I do believe that AFV Club have corrected this on the mid type vehicle kit they have recently released.

All I have added to the chassis are some brake and fuel pipes, and inside the cab a first aid kit and radio telephone.

The body was cut back at the rear in wrecker fashion. The body roof was cut down and some new sides made to cover the workshop area.

The crane is scratch built from Evergreen products, and is based on a Harvey Frost type. The cable drums and rollers are all from the spares box, and were tank wheels. The gears on are from the insides of a small travel alarm clock! (Sorry but needs must at times). The lifting bar at the back is also scratch built. Inside the workshop is a bench with a vice, and some tools including a scratch windy gun and broom. The welding plant is from a field workshop set by Italeri, but with the gas pipes added and a welding torch. The compressor is from the same set, but with an exhaust added. The compressor also had open pulleys and belt, which, even in the 1960's when this vehicle is from and the Elf n Safety brigade did not rule the roost as they do today, I felt that this would have not been acceptable. So I scratch built a guard for it. The figure is modified from the Esci partisans set, holding an air line with a scratch tyre pressure gauge.

It is painted with Humbrol enamels and weathered with powders, washes and artist oils.

The dreaded rubber tyres were coated with Humbrol Clear acrylic varnish before painting, and so far have been OK and not gone back to being sticky like I have experienced before. The decals were from an Emhar Bedford truck and are 1/24th scale but looked OK on this vehicle.

Incidentally, I always used to use Windsor and Newton oils, but as it takes forever to use them, they always dried up before the tube was finished. So I bought a cheapie set of oils (and acrylics) from The Works. The oils are not the same quality but I feel are good enough for what I want to do with them. A full set costs little more that 1 tube of W and N, and they dry a fair bit quicker.

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Thanks Gents. In reply to Roy, I am sorry but I failed to mention in the text that it is 1/35th scale.

As regards the wheels, I always feel that wheels and tyres that have not had the same attention to detail can spoil a model. However I sometimes think I go overboard with the dirt and rust in wheels!

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I like the weathering & the ways its made the body looked aged.

At first look, it looks like you actually rolled the tyres in some dirt from your garden.

How did you do the windows with the clean wipers?

Nice one.

Wayne.

Edited by Deadman Disciple
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Thanks Wayne, and everyone else of course. As regards the wipers, I get some masking tape and stick it onto a hard plastic surface or onto a table mat! Then I scribe a circle with a pair of dividers from an old compass set. The circle is the diameter of the outer edge of the blade from the centre. Then scribe another smaller circle the diameter of which is equal to the inner edge of the blade. then cut out a section equal to what you think is the sweep of the blade and stick it on the screen. Then with the airbrush just give it a mist over, with either a weak mix of say, light earth, or just matt varnish, that works for just rain rather than dirty spray. Before its dry I usually run some smear marks down from the corners of the sweep of the wiper blade with a cocktail stick, to simulate where water has run down and slightly cleaned the screen. It sounds complicated but its not, the most time consuming part of the operation is cleaning the airbrush.

Cheers,

Laurence

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