Airfix Land Rover Series 1 Pickup Starter Set (A55012) 1:43

[Mike]

Land Rover Series 1 Pickup Starter Set (A55012)

1:43 Airfix

 

 

Following WWII, and possibly a little bit jealous of the Americans and their Jeeps, the British armed forces decided that they needed a British designed and built Jeep-alike of their own, although they approached the design from a different angle that led to long-lived series of vehicles that went by the name of Land Rover from 1948 to 1985, many of which are still in operation, and are supported by an ownership base that verges on religious in its devotion to the type.  Built initially by Rover until they were merged into British Leyland, it developed from being based on a butchered Jeep chassis to a newly-designed welded box chassis that used an aluminium alloy for body panels as steel was in short supply at the time.  It had the luxury of doors, and with a hardtop available to give it a more car-like experience, better suited to our British climate.  Production began with the Series I, and evolved via the Series II to the Series III in long (LWB) and short (SWB) wheelbase versions, which had many cosmetic changes as well as those under the skin.  Later improvements saw stiffening of the body, strengthening of the transmission that had been a weak-spot, and optional more comfortable trim levels that broadened its appeal, although the fuel consumption was always an eye-opener, even on those vehicles that had selectable two-wheel drive.  For Landy fans afford to run their motors must now involve privations elsewhere, thanks to the cost of fuel.

 

Well over a million were sold all over the world, and some variants were license-built overseas, although they still followed the original pattern closely, so bore a striking resemblance to their progenitor.  The original intent for the Land Rover was military service, and even though farmers and civilians alike took to it as well, various Land Rover variants saw military service with the British armed services, as well as those in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa amongst others, including the Forward Control that looked more like a truck, but still kept many of the Land Rover’s other design cues.  Although it has been out of production for many years, there is still much love for the Landy out there, and now that Land Rover’s new owners Tata have created a modern replacement, it’s not hard to imagine how much the purists will hate its looks, as well as the price.  Having seen one on the road recently, I’m with the traditionalists.  It’s a bland, up-market pig (IMHO).  With the Electric version coming, that price is likely to soar to near or past £100k.

 

 

The Kit

This is another brand-new tooling in 1:43 from Airfix’s new range that seems to expand every month of late.  The legendary Land Rover pickup arrives in a small end-opening box with a header-hanger for vertical display, and as it is a starter set, it also includes four thumb-pots of acrylic paint, a small tube of plastic cement, and a #2 paintbrush with its man-made bristles protected by a clear cylindrical shroud.  The kit consists of two sprues in grey styrene, following the “no outer runners” maxim for this range, while the clear sprue has runners.  The small decal sheet and instruction booklet printed in colour complete the package, and if you were wondering where the painting guide was, it’s on the back of the box.  We’ve come to expect excellent detail from this range, and this kit is no different, having a ton of it moulded into every part that should result in a highly detailed kerbside model of this almost legendary utility vehicle.  These starter sets also hold the modeller’s hand by including locations for glue in yellow, and providing a sprue diagram at each step that points out the location to the builder, which is a time-saver whether you’re a novice or not.

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the rear bulkhead of the cab, mounting the backs of the three seats that are moulded on a carrier plate, and inserting the rear window from inside, then taking that assembly and fitting it to the floor pan, gluing it to the step between the two sections, and joining it with a stepped cab floor that has the seat bases moulded-in.  The distinctive grille and wing-fronts are moulded as one, and have the light lenses, which are moulded as a single part on a carrier, pressed into the holes from behind.  This again caters for the novice modeller, saving them having to fiddle about putting two small parts into correspondingly small cut-outs, doesn’t affect detail one iota, giving you the option to apply the glue to the carrier to prevent fogging the lenses, which is always nice.  The bonnet has the tops of the wings moulded-in, and both vertical inner panels are moulded into another carrier to help with alignment, but to the detailer, it would be tricky to excavate to install an engine.  Does anyone do that at this scale?  Probably.  Some of our fellow modellers are really good at their hobby, and just a little bit nuts.  The grille and wing fronts are then mated to the bonnet, and the firewall is correctly detailed with right-hand-drive steering wheel and one-piece windscreen that has a groove down the centre to locate the central frame of the screen.  Two dial decals are applied to recesses in the binnacle, and a third decal is applied in the shallow centre console to add a little detail to the interior, then it is joined to the rear of the bonnet and installed on the front of the floor pan.

 

The body sides are full length, including the sides of the load bed, the doors and the outer front wings, which are joined to the floor pan after inserting the side windows from within and painting the door cards, adding the roof and tailgate to complete the Land Rover look.  The model is flipped onto its back to add more of the chassis, and paint those sections that are moulded into the floor, adding a cross-member under the bed, two chassis rail sections with moulded-in leaf-springs in the rear, and the leaf-springs at the front.  The two axles, their differential housings and drive-shafts are each moulded as two parts, and these sit under the centres of the leaf-springs, mating to the moulded-in transfer box.  Two more cross-members are fitted between the chassis rails, then the wheels are made up from two halves each, with different hubs for the front and rear pairs, plus another two-part wheel that mounts on the bonnet to finish the build.  The last step shows the application of the Land Rover badge decals and the number plates, but those are replicated on the back of the box.

 

Markings

Only one example is shown on the back of the box, and it is painted in a primer-like grey, with dark blue/grey chassis and wheel hubs.  From the box you can build this:

 

 

 

Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas.

 

 

Conclusion

One of our members has already bought and built one of these, so we know it builds up well, and with careful painting and decaling, it looks great.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of

 

 

[bootneck]

Hi Mike,

 

a good review and I agree that this kit is highly recommended, for vehicle and diorama modellers.  I have two of these kits already, one started, and I intend to get a few more as funds become available. 

 

cheers,
Mike

[Mike]

1 hour ago, bootneck said:

I have two of these kits already, one started, and I intend to get a few more as funds become available. 

You're a strange fellow

[bootneck]

and I have strange friends.

 

Mike

[Pete in Lincs]

Does this mean a Fatwah on the boss, or will it be Ninja style?

[bootneck]

I'm going Commando!

[Mike]

32 minutes ago, bootneck said:

I'm going Commando!