Dingo Mk III, 11th Hussars, 1945 (MiniArt 1:35)

[Howard M]

My finished Dingo Mk III, 1:35 by MiniArt.

 

Kit: this is MiniArt’s Mk II kit built as a Mk III. The Mk III is very difficult to get hold of, but the Mk II contains all the parts needed to build a Mk III except for the canvas roof.

 

Vehicle: A D squadron, 11th Hussars Dingo photographed in Tonning, Germany in 1945. It lacks the armoured roof so is either a Mk III or a Mk II converted to a Mk III. Reference photo at the bottom.

 

The Build: The kit is pretty good out of the box but for this one I wanted to match my reference photo as much as possible, include detail I've discovered while researching, and expand my scratch-building skills. The Vickers K Gun is a spare from the Dragon SAS ETO jeep, the spare magazine drums come from Tamiya’s old desert SAS jeep, and the British Gerry cans, RAC helmets, and some stowage come from MiniArt kits. The wheels are Def Model weighted wheels, which freed up a wheel for the spare at the back. There is considerable scratch building as well. 

 

I'm pleased with the way this one is coming out but may build something larger next to let my eyes recover!

 

 

 

Muddy footprints on the front from the crew climbing in and out. I drilled out the lightening holes in the brackets for the sand channel just below the front storage box as they are solid in the kit. 

 

The fatter roll is from a stowage set, the thinner one is the rolled up canvas roof which I scratch built and is often mounted higher, but from my reference photo I think on this vehicle it was lower.

 

 

Quite a bit of chipping round the engine deck. It's a single metal cover and the examples I have seen are quite battered from being taken on and off all the time. 

 

Hidden now but I added the brake and electrical cables behind each wheel. There is no light on the rear mudguard as that seems to have been a post war feature. There is little mud or dust of the Dingo's wheels in my reference photo, I suspect it spent the last few days running along roads rather than cross-country.

 

I replaced the protective ring round the base of the antennae with one from my stash box as the one provided is very thick. It is not quite square but I left it at a slight angle to represent wear and tear on the vehicle. 

 

Some interior shots. The war has just ended so my crew have got a camera out to take some snaps. The map is a WW2 British military map. I added the tan rectangles on the cabin lip which are the padding used to cushion the armoured roof if it was carried. Mk IIIs still had them in case it was decided to re-fit the roof later on.

 

I have no clear photos of the mounting for a single Vickers K Gun so simply used the one from the Dragon jeep kit. I think in reality the mounting was thinner and simpler, but for practical model building this one works fine. The canvas cover for the rifle breech is scratch built, as are the brackets holding it in place at either end - MiniArt provide the rifle but nothing to secure it in place.

 

You can just make out the scratch built gear pre-selector through the steering wheel on the right.

 

I don’t have a clear photo of the interior of this Dingo so had to use some creative thought on where spare magazines would be kept. Some Dingos were equipped with twin Vickers K Guns and had racks holding half a dozen magazines on the cabin exteriors, but for mine with a single gun I have just stashed them in likely places in the cabin. It is almost impossible to access the interior of the cabin after it has been closed up so you need to plan painting and weathering (such as the colour of muddy footprints) in advance so it matches the exterior. 

 

A 1:35 Dingo is a small model!

 

 

My Dingo collection - this Mk III on the left, a Mk II of the Inns of Court Regiment in the centre, and a Mk Ib from the 1st Armoured Division HQ on the right. 

 

 

 

 

My reference photo - Tonning, May 1945

[robgizlu]

Fab build and I like the collection

Rob

[evilbobthebob]

Pleasure to see this come together and produce a lovely result!

[R T Fishall]

Looks like your research has really paid dividends, superb detail and lots of lovely touches throughout; I really like the rifle breech cover and the map and camera. A fantastic little model.

Collection looks good together.

[Bullbasket]

Excellent job on all three, and the interiors are first class. Great work.

 

John.

[Milan Mynar]

20 hours ago, Howard M said:

My finished Dingo Mk III, 1:35 by MiniArt.

 

Kit: this is MiniArt’s Mk II kit built as a Mk III. The Mk III is very difficult to get hold of, but the Mk II contains all the parts needed to build a Mk III except for the canvas roof.

 

Vehicle: A D squadron, 11th Hussars Dingo photographed in Tonning, Germany in 1945. It lacks the armoured roof so is either a Mk III or a Mk II converted to a Mk III. Reference photo at the bottom.

 

The Build: The kit is pretty good out of the box but for this one I wanted to match my reference photo as much as possible, include detail I've discovered while researching, and expand my scratch-building skills. The Vickers K Gun is a spare from the Dragon SAS ETO jeep, the spare magazine drums come from Tamiya’s old desert SAS jeep, and the British Gerry cans, RAC helmets, and some stowage come from MiniArt kits. The wheels are Def Model weighted wheels, which freed up a wheel for the spare at the back. There is considerable scratch building as well. 

 

I'm pleased with the way this one is coming out but may build something larger next to let my eyes recover!

 

 

 

Muddy footprints on the front from the crew climbing in and out. I drilled out the lightening holes in the brackets for the sand channel just below the front storage box as they are solid in the kit. 

 

The fatter roll is from a stowage set, the thinner one is the rolled up canvas roof which I scratch built and is often mounted higher, but from my reference photo I think on this vehicle it was lower.

 

 

Quite a bit of chipping round the engine deck. It's a single metal cover and the examples I have seen are quite battered from being taken on and off all the time. 

 

Hidden now but I added the brake and electrical cables behind each wheel. There is no light on the rear mudguard as that seems to have been a post war feature. There is little mud or dust of the Dingo's wheels in my reference photo, I suspect it spent the last few days running along roads rather than cross-country.

 

I replaced the protective ring round the base of the antennae with one from my stash box as the one provided is very thick. It is not quite square but I left it at a slight angle to represent wear and tear on the vehicle. 

 

Some interior shots. The war has just ended so my crew have got a camera out to take some snaps. The map is a WW2 British military map. I added the tan rectangles on the cabin lip which are the padding used to cushion the armoured roof if it was carried. Mk IIIs still had them in case it was decided to re-fit the roof later on.

 

I have no clear photos of the mounting for a single Vickers K Gun so simply used the one from the Dragon jeep kit. I think in reality the mounting was thinner and simpler, but for practical model building this one works fine. The canvas cover for the rifle breech is scratch built, as are the brackets holding it in place at either end - MiniArt provide the rifle but nothing to secure it in place.

 

You can just make out the scratch built gear pre-selector through the steering wheel on the right.

 

I don’t have a clear photo of the interior of this Dingo so had to use some creative thought on where spare magazines would be kept. Some Dingos were equipped with twin Vickers K Guns and had racks holding half a dozen magazines on the cabin exteriors, but for mine with a single gun I have just stashed them in likely places in the cabin. It is almost impossible to access the interior of the cabin after it has been closed up so you need to plan painting and weathering (such as the colour of muddy footprints) in advance so it matches the exterior. 

 

A 1:35 Dingo is a small model!

 

 

My Dingo collection - this Mk III on the left, a Mk II of the Inns of Court Regiment in the centre, and a Mk Ib from the 1st Armoured Division HQ on the right. 

 

 

 

 

My reference photo - Tonning, May 1945

 

Nice collection you built.

[P-3s rule]

Great builds of this very small and highly detailed little beastie. I built one not so long ago and struggled with the fiddly and complex suspension. And mine wasn't a quick build either!

 

This is a typically overengineered mini art kit - and with your additions I don't know how you kept your sanity during the build  process! I guess most bronco and gecko kits are similar in this respect. 

 

Absolutely brilliant and inspiring work! 

[StuartH]

Excellent work and a lovely collection. The map and camera are real standouts for me 👏

[Andy H]

Nice one! I'm very taken with the interior detail. 😎👍

[Howard M]

2 hours ago, P-3s rule said:

Great builds of this very small and highly detailed little beastie. I built one not so long ago and struggled with the fiddly and complex suspension. And mine wasn't a quick build either!

 

This is a typically overengineered mini art kit - and with your additions I don't know how you kept your sanity during the build  process! I guess most bronco and gecko kits are similar in this respect. 

 

Absolutely brilliant and inspiring work! 

Thank you! I must admit after this one I'm going to lie down in a dark room for a while, and then look through my stash for something simpler and with bigger parts to do next!