Stalwart & Saracen: Firing Line vs Accurate Armour?

[Kingsman]

These are both vehicles that have long interested me.  The Stalwart was just such a remarkable thing that fascinated me since I first saw it at an Army open day in the 70's.  I briefly commanded one of a pair of Saracens in 1993 before their replacements with Sultans.  Yes, 1993.  TA RE airfield damage repair squadrons still had them as troop CVs and post-strike recce vehs.  Ours were 603C's with no heating: really useful in North Yorkshire!

 

Does anyone out there have any thoughts or experience on whether Accurate Armour or Firing Line would be the better bets?  Firing Line are somewhat cheaper than AA, especially the Saracen, and I believe they use more white metal parts.

[rayprit]

Having built both Firing Line(Dartmoor Models origonally) and Accurate armour I can vouch for Firing Line for the very reason you quote, more white metal parts.  Since Accurate Armour ditched white metal for resin parts I have stopped buying them.  The accessories molded in resin are so brittle they break easily and a lot of detail on these miniscule parts is obliterated, I had problems with their Antars and chieftain bridgelayer, I ended up using the resin parts as masters to cast in white metal, very demoralising.  Go for the Firing Line.  Only problem I found during building is that the suspension sits way to low, (which I corrected)check your photos and reference material thoroughly.

I drove the Stalwarts from new with zero mileage on the clocks and modeled a couple that I drove.  Majority of AFV kits sold by Firing Line were origonally made by Dartmoor Military Models and Firing Line now make those models................here is a view of the Firing Line/Dartmoor Stalwart that I used to drive

 

 

 

[Kingsman]

Thanks for the insight.  What did you do to raise the ride height?  I like the characteristic toe-in of the wheels here, which always seemed more apparent on the Stalwart than its brethren - not forgetting the Salamander crash truck.  Are the wheels pose-able steered?

 

Do you get individual windows or cutting templates, or just a flat sheet of glazing to do your own thing with?

 

Were any of yours FFR?  Larkspur or Clansman? I recall a question on a forum somewhere asking where the radio components were fitted.  I would have thought Stalwart barely made it into the Clansman era.

 

I can't help thinking that we should have considered refitting and re-lifing some of the Stollies with diesels as Budge did after he bought the surplus ones.  OK, engine under the load bed is still a maintenance nightmare and I'm sure there were other age-related issues.  But for the likes of Commando Logistic Regiment it would seem invaluable.  Nothing else has the terrain accessibility it had, never mind the amphibious capability.  Nearest would be the vastly more complex and tracked Viking and Warthog, the latter without swimming ability and also about to leave service.

[ivan-o]

We still had them mid 80's, so clansman was in service but in reality our Stollies  were never fitted with radio's.

[MADMUSKY]

I've had a few Firing line kits - not bad, not the greatest detail, some had dubious shape issues.

I've had Accurate Armour kits - nice kits highly detailled, the resin can be brittle, but pricey.

I'd prefer the AA kits but its a personal chioce.

We still had Stollies in the late 80's no radio's fitted either.

 

Darren