Meng Wasp Flamethrower Jeep

[Bullbasket]

Nice fix that Andy. I still can't get my head around what it must have been like sitting next to all of that jellyfied petroleum. My rear end would have been going half crown, sixpence all the time!

 

John.

[s.e.charles]

I think if you added a drizzle of pva around the handle they would look more rounderish. as is, they are still a much improved version than kit's.

[Andy Moore]

On 07/12/2019 at 00:13, s.e.charles said:

I think if you added a drizzle of pva around the handle they would look more rounderish

 

Yes, that should work. I'll do that when I've got them all on.

 

It's been a busy weekend, so I've not made as much progress with the Wasp as I was hoping to. The only work that's happened was to add the strengthening plates ahead of the door openings which aren't included with the kit. These were fairly simple additions made from thin (0.25mm) styrene sheet.

 

 

 

 

Getting these fitted will hopefully speed things up now, as it means I can get a coat of paint around the footwell and firewall area, which I want to do before I fit the instrument panel and bonnet. Once they're in place I should be able to get the rest of the body painted.

 

Andy

[pacificmustang]

Fantastic work Andy. You seem to have a knack for adding simple details that add massively to the detail of the kit and make it look far more detailed than it really is

 

All the best for the season

 

Bruce

[Andy Moore]

Apologies for the lack of progress on this build. I've had all sorts of stuff going on over the last couple of months that has eaten into my available modelling time. I have managed to get some bench time in the last few days though, so I'm finally starting to get the build back underway.

 

Firstly, the chassis, which had been base coated back at the start of December, has been finished off with some weathering. I say finished, but I might end up re-spraying parts of it with a lighter shade of OD as the weathering has darkened the finish more than I'd like. At the moment, I still need to keep the chassis separate from the body so I can install the radiator insert after the body is painted which can't be done with the chassis in place.

 

 

 

Moving over to the body, I've started to sort out the flame thrower setup. The two large hoses that connect the large fuel tank in the back with the flame thrower itself are included with the kit, but there are quite a few smaller hoses that aren't supplied, and neither are the connection points for them.

The bonnet mounted tank connects to the large boom hose that's supplied as an injection part with the kit, but there are also two smaller hoses that connect to the end of the tank above the boom hose which can be seen in the photo below.

 

 

To accomodate those two hoses, I've drilled a couple of holes in the end of the tank and inserted two short lengths of aluminium tube. The hoses can then be pushed in to the ali tube after painting.

 

 

The large boom hose that mounts to the semi-circular hole in the bonnet tank runs from the small rear tank that's mounted to the main fuel tank. The first section of that hose is rigid pipe, so the injection moulded part is fine for this. The second section that attaches to the bonnet tank should be flexible hose though, so I've removed that section form the kit part and replaced it with a length of plastic coated wire. That should look a bit more natural, as well as allowing me some leeway when connecting it to the bonnet tank.

 

 

I've also built up the flame thrower head and replaced the nozzle, which was a solid moulded part, with some more ali tube (and a little ring of brass tube). The cover shroud is meant to be built up around the main nozzle, but that would make cleaning the seams on the two-part shroud quite hard, so I've removed the mounting points to allow it to slide over the nozzle after painting.

 

 

So far, so good, but after this point it's all started to get a bit complicated. If you go back to the photo of the real Wasp (or the real replica Wasp to be precise) and look carefully, you can just about see that the forward of the two small hoses goes into a small round valve/regulator type thing that sits between the tank and the mounting frame for the flame thrower. That part's not included in the kit, so I've had to add it myself. What you see in the photo below is currently just a work in progress. It's just a small block of styrene with a hole through it through which the wire I'm using for the hose can run. The block will need detailing up a bit to look more like the real one, although I've not found any clear photos of that area of the Wasp. The rear tank and boom hose are also temporarily in place here and you can see that the yellow wire still needs some tweaking to get it to line up proparly with the pipe on the tank.

 

 

The other small hose that connects to the bonnet tank doesn't go through the valve block and runs straight down into the footwell. The problem now is figuring out where the other ends of these two hoses (and the other small hoses that also need adding) go to.

 

 

I've gone through the various photos of the replica Wasp I've found online and started to colour code the hoses, although this still doesn't really help to identify what actually connects to what. In the photo below, the hose that goes through the valve block is coloured red. The second hose that attaches to the bonnet tank is in blue. The green one runs down from the flame thrower head into the footwell. The two pink ones run from the flame thrower head, through two holes in the mount, and finally disappear under the shroud around the nozzle.

 

 

The front view below shows the pink hoses that connect to the nozzles a bit better. These will both need adding, although Meng at least did add the two holes to the mount that they run through. I wonder if they did at one stage think of including the extra hoses but then abandon the idea.

 

 

In the next photo you can see the yellow hose that runs from the top of the large black gas cylinder into the top of the valve bar that's mounted on the front of the support frame for the cylinder. That one should be simple enough to add. The one that's causing me problems at the moment is the one I've coloured red that runs from the valve at the top of the support frame and down between the seats. I've no idea if that's the other end of one of the hoses that run from the bonnet tank, or the one that runs down from the flame thrower (green in the earlier photo) or a different one all together.

 

 

What I'm starting to believe is that there may well be some kind of valve assembly mounted to the floor of the jeep between the seats that all these hoses connect to. If you look closely at the bottom end of the red hose in the photo above, you can see a small section of pipe between the seats that I'm fairly sure is not part of the seat frame.

There's also the matter of the rigid pipe that runs down from the valve bar that the yellow hose connects to. That's definitely a plumbed pipe and not just a support frame. On the kit, the end of that pipe simply drops into a hole in the floor but I doubt that would be the case on the real thing.

My assumpion then is that all these pipes and hoses connect into whatever is sitting on the floor between the seats but, as yet, I've not been able to find any photos of either the original or the replica that show this area. If anyone knows of any better images of the Wasp, or has any info on how these hoses were connected, I'd love to know.

 

More soon

 

Andy

 

 

[Vaastav]

Looks very good. Your attention to detail is fascinating.

[Portaler]

Nice little add ons. That's what makes it even more amazing !!!

[Army_Air_Force]

On 08/12/2019 at 19:37, Andy Moore said:

 

......

 

 

Andy

It's a fascinating build and a version I hadn't seen before.

Are you modelling the original wartime Jeep or the modern reproduction? The reason I ask is that the modern reproduction isn't a wartime Willys or a Ford Jeep, but a post war Hotchkiss M201 Jeep. There were several differences between the wartime Willys and Ford Jeeps, but on the post war Hotchkiss, there are over 60 that I've found so far, and one of those is this 'door pillar' that you have recreated. Some are obvious changes while others are quite subtle. Even some Jeep owners don't know what they own isn't a genuine wartime vehicle!!

As it is, it is fine for the post war Hotchkiss copy, but the wartime Jeeps didn't have the sharp angle in the rear section, it was a curve. It looks a bit too late in the build to fix it now unfortunately.

 

Part of my M201 Jeep website shows many of the differences between all three Jeeps, details of which can be found here - http://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/jeep/m201mb/m201mb1.htm

@s.e.charles
I've also rebuilt a 1943 Ford GPW and there are lots of detail pictures which may be of use for modellers here - http://www.sacarr.co.uk/vmvr/vmvr.htm

Some years ago, I modified an Italeri 1/35 Jeep to look like my Jeep which included a number of changes to the engine bay ( more differences! ). Looking forwards to seeing this unusual Jeep completed.

[Army_Air_Force]

Looking more closely at the kit parts, I think the kit is based on the Hotchkiss reproduction! They have Ford foot rests in the rear passenger compartment and an indicator, button or light on the dash that wasn't there on wartime vehicles, but is there on the reproduction. On the Hotchkiss, this is often the repositioned starter button. The handbrake drum is either late war or post war and I think the cylinder head is post war.

It seems like quite an odd vehicle to kit being a one off and no service use, but I guess as standard Jeeps have already been kitted, they were looking for something that would stand out. There are lots of great airfield Jeep conversions, with wooden and metal enclosures over the driving compartment to keep out the English weather. One great conversion had a B-17 bomber cockpit roof grafted onto the Jeep.

Here's my 'Follow Me' Jeep, copied from my 1/1 scale version. I could fancy making more airfield conversions.

Edited February 25, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Andy Moore]

22 hours ago, Army_Air_Force said:

As it is, it is fine for the post war Hotchkiss copy, but the wartime Jeeps didn't have the sharp angle in the rear section, it was a curve. It looks a bit too late in the build to fix it now unfortunately.

Thanks for the info Stephen. I'd seen both the curved and angled ribs in reference photos, but I didn't realise it was a difference between wartime and post war models. Funnily enough, I'd been using your Jeep website when I started the kit to figure out whether Meng were trying to represent a Willys or a Ford.

I guess they ended up inadvertantly modelling the Hotchkiss.

I won't bother making any changes to the ribs now, since I've started getting paint on. They shouldn't be that noticable down in the footwell and, to be honest, there are probably going to be plenty of other errors on the finished build, both from Meng and me 😀.

 

21 hours ago, Army_Air_Force said:

It seems like quite an odd vehicle to kit being a one off and no service use, but I guess as standard Jeeps have already been kitted, they were looking for something that would stand out

Yes, I think that was the main reason for the subject choice - something that would catch peoples attention (it worked on me). They have followed it up with a regular service model now, although, from what I've seen, the new Takom kit is a better option for a standard Jeep. I don't know if Takom have made any similar errors regarding detail differences, but it looks to be a better base kit from a modelling perspective.

 

Andy

[stevehnz]

Hi Andy, not sure how I'cve come to be missing this, maybe just a bit too obscure for my usual skim search of whats new, but I'm pleased I've found it now, being a fan of jeeps in general & Popski's Private Army in particular. I don't recall much about this from the book, maybe a way of saying I should read it again & from the point of view of end user, just as well it never made it into action but a fascinating little beasty & best of all you've still got a ways to go.  Some really interesting detail work going on here, not something I'd ever be bothered with I think but a voyeuristic streak in me enjoys watching others efforts to do so.  

Steve

[Andy Moore]

On 27/02/2020 at 03:28, stevehnz said:

Hi Andy, not sure how I'cve come to be missing this, maybe just a bit too obscure for my usual skim search of whats new, but I'm pleased I've found it now, being a fan of jeeps in general & Popski's Private Army in particular. I don't recall much about this from the book, maybe a way of saying I should read it again & from the point of view of end user, just as well it never made it into action but a fascinating little beasty & best of all you've still got a ways to go.  Some really interesting detail work going on here, not something I'd ever be bothered with I think but a voyeuristic streak in me enjoys watching others efforts to do so.  

Cheers Steve. I'd never actually come across the Wasp jeep before Meng anounced the kit. There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of info out there about it, not too surprising given its one off and short lived nature. Apparently the flame thrower gear was taken (purloined?) from a Canadian Wasp universal carrier.

 

 

So, as I mentioned earlier, I'm working on the premise that there must be an additional tank or valve assembly between the seats, as there's no other explanation as to where the various hoses are connected. On that basis, I've built a little tank with a valve tap on top that will be mounted next to the driver's seat. This is entirely made up, and the chances of whatever resided there on the original Wasp (if, indeed, there was anything) being in anyway similar to this are a millon to one. The main idea was simply to create something that looked vaguely plausible, and allow me to fit the additional hoses without them flapping around with nowhere to go.

 

 

With that taken care of, I wanted to get some momentum back into the build so I've started getting some paint on the body (actually, pretty much finished getting paint on it in fact). AK Real Color olive drab as a base followed by Real Color faded olive drab to generally lighten the tone. After that I patchily sprayed some Gunze hay to break up the finish more. Since the flame thrower gear originally came from a different vehicle I've used a slightly different shade for the bonnet tank which will hopefully stop the finished build looking too monotone.

 

 

I mixed a little black and red into the remaining olive drab paint, and used to to spray some shading here and there, particularly under the wheel arches. I also got some initial weathering underway by spraying some patchy stains on the cargo floor and on the bonnet where the flame thrower head will be mounted. I let the airbrush spit some of the paint to add to the effect.

 

 

The main rear tank was sprayed in the same green tone used for the bonnet tank. This is only loosely attached at the moment, and I'll take it off for the rest of the detail painting and weathering.

 

 

 

Andy

 

 

[Andy Moore]

I've got a little more work done on the Wasp over the last few days, mainly weathering the rear cargo bed ready for installing the main fuel tank, although the rest of the body has had some initial weathering too including more staining on the bonnet under the flame thrower head. The mounting frame for the flame thrower has been added along with the little valve tank I built to sit on the floor. Still a little more detail painting painting and weathering and the dashboard decals to add before I can permanently attach the main tank in the back, but it's a step closer to final assembly.

 

 

 

 

 

The rear tank has also had some detail painting and weathering as most of it is going to be hard, or at least fiddly, to access once it's mounted in the back of the jeep. I just need to make sure I don't forget to glue the two rubber hoses to the outlets on the bottom of the tank before I install it.

 

 

 

Andy

[vaoinas]

This looks just fantastic!

Gotta love all the weathering you've done with this model.

[Bullbasket]

Excellent weathering Andy. It's really standing out.

 

John.

[Carius]

Excellent work so far Andy

[Andy Moore]

Thanks guys,

 

Only a small update, as not much has changed. I've installed the main tank in the back, along with it's associated plumbing, which in turn has allowed me to glue the chassis in place. I've also started to add the jerry cans which I'd painted separately so I could vary the colour on them slightly.

Somewhere along the way the top mounting point on the front left suspension shock has disappeared. Shouldn't be a difficult detail to replace, but I'll need to remember to do it as it will be very noticeable with the front left wheel turned out.

 

 

 

 

I've also added the hoses that run from the bonnet tank down to the small tank I built to sit on the floor. These, together with the two main hoses that run from the rear tank to the flamethrower head, will sit under the passenger seat when it's installed.

 

 

Andy

[JeroenS]

I love this thing, your paintwork (artwork, more like) really brings it to life. However, I wouldn't want to be the driver of this lighter on wheels 🙂 

[Portaler]

When the weathering starts the magic begins !

[Ilan]

Fantastic work so far! 

[Bullbasket]

I never thought that a Jeep could be made to look so interesting. Nice one Andy.

 

John.

[Army_Air_Force]

That's why I turned my 1/1 scale Jeep into a Follow Me vehicle. When you turn up at events and so many of the Jeeps are standard olive drab, with a baseball bat, catcher's mit, camo net and .30 cal gun and more 101st AB Jeeps than existed in the war, they become much less interesting. Fortunately there are a few on the circuit around here that are a little different, but even though I've travelled up and down the country, I've not seen the 1/1 scale flame thrower version. The model will be a lovely talking point once finished.

[Andy Moore]

Thanks guys,

 

So, most of the small details are in place now. The large gas cylinder has beed installed and plumbed in, and the driver's seat and the wooden stowage box in the back have been added. The long hose that's coming around the bottom of the cylinder and poking up in the air will connect to the flame thrower head, which still needs some detail painting before it can be attached.

 

 

The wheel wells and chassis have had some splattery weathering with various pigment and wash mixes and are more or less ready for the wheels to be fitted. I'm probably going to leave them off until the end though, as the axle stubs make handy holding points while I'm finishing off the rest of the assembly and weathering.

 

 

 

 

 

Andy

[Army_Air_Force]

The Jeep should probably have a noticable lean to the left when complete. Jeeps tend to lean left anyway due to driver and fuel tank weight, plus the engine is a little offset left too. With this modification, there's now two spare wheels on the left, rather than one on the right. I wonder if the spare was moved to allow access to the rear Jerry cans from inside the vehicle? The big tank is offset left, and the small tank on the hood is also on the left. There's some Jerry cans on the right, but they won't always be full and there's much more weight on the left side than a standard Jeep. Not sure whether a lean could be replicated at this stage in the build. The post war Hotchkiss Jeeps had an extra leaf in each spring, so the wartime version would have softer suspension and a much heavier loading than normal.

[vaoinas]

It looks absolutely stunning. The weathering is top notch.