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World War II
Discuss WWII and the era directly before and after the war from 1935-1949.
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REVIEW
US Army Staff Car Model 1942
Merlin
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Posted: Friday, September 05, 2008 - 09:08 PM UTC


Here's a look at Tamiya's recent 1/48 scale US Staff Car.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
alpha_tango
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Posted: Friday, September 05, 2008 - 09:25 PM UTC
Hi Rowan

aging a good review from you.

... does the driver have legs " with separate arms, head and torso."

I know it is not very well liked on Kitmaker to post foreign products in the review threads but I think it fits here to point to Haulers new set for this kit

http://www.hauler.cz/





cheers

Steffen

cheers
Merlin
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Posted: Friday, September 05, 2008 - 09:34 PM UTC
Hi Steffen

Thanks for picking up the typo - it's duly corrected!

That Hauler set looks great and certainly cheers up the kit - but, of course, it'll bump up the price still further. I just wish the basic Staff Car was cheaper in the first place (in the UK, at least).

All the best

Rowan
alpha_tango
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Posted: Friday, September 05, 2008 - 09:44 PM UTC
Hi again

totally agree on the price .. much too expensive if bought here.

Steffen
Grumpyoldman
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Posted: Friday, September 05, 2008 - 11:22 PM UTC
Nice review, mine arrived the other day from LuckyModels.
The price was 21 USD including shipping.
The hauler set, certainly will dress up the vehicle.
Vodnik
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 12:28 AM UTC
Tamiya kit is 1942 Ford Fordor Staff Car in case anyone wondered.

Pawel
Merlin
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 01:00 AM UTC
Cheers Pawel

Good to hear from you. I hope all's well.

Does anyone know Ford's range of factory colours for civilian cars of the period? Tamiya's illustration shows a pale lime green, while the instruction to "paint as you like" isn't the greatest help in world...

All the best

Rowan
jimbrae
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 02:09 AM UTC
Excellent review!

Once again, as a strong supporter of this scale, Tamiya's importers are somewhat shooting themselves in the foot with the high prices (particularly in Europe). That point apart, this is one I definitely plan to get, although, your points are well-noted about the 'vagueness' of the color schemes. As it was used by the Navy as well, it would definitely lend itself to a dockside dio, or in the immediate Post-War it was used by Civilian Affairs`personnel in Germany apart from the obvious staff-car use...

A lot of possibilities which will merit some further research!

As to Civilian color schemes, pretty much the old Ford adage - any color you want, as long as its black?
alpha_tango
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 02:32 AM UTC

Quoted Text

As to Civilian color schemes, pretty much the old Ford adage - any color you want, as long as its black?



Hi Jim

I thought this was the Model T time .. knowing "zilch" on Cars I will not dare to contradict you. IIRC I have seen a creamy-colored civil car in one of the 48 forums or sites (Track48 or ML) .. or was it the Tamiya site (Shizuoka show??)...

Anyway as pointed out in the forums a 41 model would have been nice (British service in North Africa and I think DAK Beute too)

all the best

Steffen
jimbrae
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 02:37 AM UTC

Quoted Text

thought this was the Model T time .. knowing "zilch" on Cars I will not dare to contradict you.



No basis in reality, just a stab in the dark, something more from the movies of the period!

Of course as there was rationing of items like paint during WW2 in the States, I'd imagine that the majority WOULD be black (those few which were made available to the civilian market)

Look at the cars in Godfather (Part 1), i'm damned sure there's at least one Fordor in the wedding sequence...
alpha_tango
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 02:46 AM UTC
Ahh , gangster cars from the movies ...

that is what lead me to paint my Citroën Traction Avant black .. and then I was told it is post war (doh) ... before the war there were appearantly many colours but not black .. my next one will be panzergrau

But the Ford being a war model you may well be right.

all the best

Steffen
Tomcat31
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 04:38 AM UTC

Quoted Text

As to Civilian colour schemes, pretty much the old Ford adage - any color you want, as long as its black?

I was always lead to believe that there was more colour available other than just black and a quick wiki search seem to confirm this


Quoted Text

By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model T's. However, it was a monolithic block; as Ford wrote in his autobiography, "Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black". Until the development of the assembly line, which mandated black because of its quicker drying time, Model T's were available in other colours including red.



Hope this helps (or not)

Allen
Grumpyoldman
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 06:41 AM UTC
1942 color charts:
Ditzler Colors:

Dupont Colors:

Not the best images, but hopefully helpful.
Merlin
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 07:04 AM UTC
Hi Dave

Holy cow! That's stunning!

All the best

Rowan
jimbrae
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 07:09 AM UTC
Incredible... I would have thought that there WOULD have been a (very) limited number of colors available. Seeing those color charts makes you really wonder about the priorities of the automotive industry...
Merlin
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 07:55 AM UTC
Hi Jim

It is a very limited palette - no primary colours. This shot of Headland, Alabama in December 1943 is taken from Jeffrey Ethell's "Wings of War" and shows some of the range that was used by various US manufacturers:



All the best

Rowan
Vodnik
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 09:15 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Good to hear from you. I hope all's well.


As well as can be for a father of four months old girl Not much time for modeling though...

Quoted Text


Does anyone know Ford's range of factory colours for civilian cars of the period?


How about that :

Merlin
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 10:09 AM UTC
Hi again Pawel

Belated congratulations! I hadn't heard.

All the best

Rowan
TedMamere
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 11:29 AM UTC

Quoted Text

As well as can be for a father of four months old girl Not much time for modeling though...



Hi Pawel!

Congratulations! That's great news... I mean that you are a young father... not that you don't have much time for modeling...

Wow, this thread is great and full of informations. Thank you all!

Jean-Luc
Grumpyoldman
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 11:42 AM UTC
Congrats on being a new father Pawel.
A few more for your references:





In case you are up to a conversion or two:




More photos here:

1942 Ford Gallery
Merlin
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Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008 - 11:51 AM UTC
Hi Dave

You know how to tug the heartstrings! I used to drive a claret-coloured Morris Traveller... I want the 1942 Ford Woody!

All the best

Rowan
jimbrae
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Posted: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - 09:48 PM UTC
Here's a look at the finished model on Missing Lynx:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/527528/message/1221080553/Tamiya%27s+Ford+Coupe+Staff+Car+%28In+progress%29.
lampie
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Posted: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - 11:30 PM UTC
This has been winking at me seductively from the stash for a while now, and was one of the main reasons I purchased the Mustang kit..
Now that particular kit I consider very good value, however for the Staff Car alone I wouldnt pay the price Tamiya are asking in the UK. If I needed to have a line of staff cars in a diorama then the stash would be full of spare Mustangs
The Hauler PE set will certainly add to the look, and Im seriously thinking about ordering one. Has anyone ordered from them before?
However, my main question regarding this kit is....
Does anyone have decent references to the interior colours?
Nige
alpha_tango
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Posted: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - 11:44 PM UTC
Hello Nigel

Ordering from Hauler is quite easy. Used the "shop" and wait for an answer from Jan (which may take a day or two) .. I have had only good experiences. This is no real online shop, but it works. Modelimex stock Hauler and Blackdog (another very nice 1/48 line) .. ask Rowan for his experiences with them. And then maybe there is also a shop in GB who stocks the Hauler line ...

greetings

Steffen
thomokiwi
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Posted: Thursday, September 11, 2008 - 10:52 PM UTC
I like the concept of the Kit. It looks a bit bare without the hauler PE set though. The reference material in this forum is incredible.
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