Snowdrops in Iraq (1st Diorama)

[RAFP8911]

Hi

 

My very first effort, I haven’t made (or finished) a model kit since I was a kid. This is the Snatch Land Rover from the 1/48 Airfix British Forces Land Rover Patrol kit.

The scene depicts an RAF Police (nicknamed Snowdrops due to their white caps) vehicle in front of the Basrah International Airport sign, which was just adjacent to the main Permanent Vehicle Checkpoint (PVCP) to the Airport.

The photo which inspired the diorama can be found on the RAF Police page of the UKemergency vehicle website.

 

The Snatch has been built straight from the box, the only addition is the RAF Police plate on the front (from Kingfisher Decals). I quite enjoyed the build and went together easily despite some hamfistedness from me!

The scenic base is cobbled together with some odds and ends lying around and bits borrowed from the model railway bits box. Luckily from one of my own stints in Basrah, I had a photo of the sign virtually face-on and one with me stood in front of the sign so was able to guesstimate the dimensions, then scaled it down and printed the photo off and stuck it onto an off cut from an old picture frame backing.

the sand is from a model railway shop but is a bit darker than I would have liked but hey, it’s an ‘inspired by’ rather than a recreation of the real thing.

 

Anyhoo, onto the pics:

 

 

 

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by RAFP8911

[Matt P]

Nice diorama 👍 also very nice to have another ex snowdrop on the forum 😊