NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 8 MARCH 2010

Hello and welcome to this week’s newsletter and what’s new this week on Miliblog.

Well Spring is well on its way now having seen the first daffodils in the garden over the weekend. So our thoughts turn towards the forthcoming show season in the military vehicle area and to the new releases from the kit manufaturers in the world of model making. In fact we’ll start off with model making, as I read this week that Airfix are planning to bring out a model in 1:76 scale of two Bedford QL’s, a basic QLD 3 Ton GS and the longer bodied QLT Trooper, or Drooper as they were called. There are models in this scale of QL’s by a specialist firm called IBG, who also make a range of Canadian Chevrolet C15 15cwt, but they are very finely detailed indeed and probably not for the novice modeller. Also I heard that having had a success with their Austin Tilly in 1:48 scale, Tamiya have now tooled up for the Tilly in 1:35 scale as well. Knowing Tamiya models for many years, I’m sure this will be an absolute dream to assemble when it arrives. Getting one though may not be that easy. When I used to make models some years ago, it was pretty easy to find a local toy or model shop that stocked them, but for some reason these shops seem to have disappeared and we have to rely upon mail order service companies. Anyone remember the Beatties of London national chain of model shops at all ? There used to be a great one in central Birmingham !

So this week we’ve been adding some more military vehicle photos for your delight, and from a variety of countries and eras ! As usual to tempt you to visit the various galleries we have, I’m showing 10 samples below. To start the ball rolling we have a Foden 8×6 Drops; just look at the size of those wheels !

Back to the wartime era now to two similar gun tractors used by the British Army, and very popular with recovery and timber companies after the war and even still to this day. The first is an American FWD SU-COE being used by a funfair, which has a Stafford registration number. Secondly is an AEC Matador used by a company in Rochdale to tow in a broken down Ford D Series lorry. The Matador very familiar to us all who used to make Airfix kits in our youth. Recently the Matador is winning new friends after the publication of a new book all about them. If you’re a fan of Matadors, visit our Britsh WW2 Gun Tractors gallery, where there are over 130 photos of them ! 

British Army 1960′s/1970′s are the next area to visit starting off with a nice Alvis Stalwart showing the different angles of steering on the two front axles, very useful to our modelling friends amongst us. Next we have a purposeful looking Alvis Saladin armoured car, based in fact on the same running gear as the Stalwart. I wonder if the visability for the driver is amy better than a Daimler Ferret ?  And to complete the trio is another Alvis built on the same running gear as both the Stalwart and the Saladin and that is a Saladin armoured personnel carrier. This version is the taller GPO (Gun Position Officer) Armoured Command vehicle, used as the name suggests to direct artillery fire onto enemy positions, or often used just for a local armoured command post with tents attached.    

We move over to Japan now and feature an Isuzu TW540/TWD 20 2.5Ton 6×6 Cargo, modelled very much on the wartime American GMC 353 Cargo but with a postwar design of cab.  Used in the early 1950′s by the Japanese Self-Defence Force, it was also available with a winch on the front.

Our next port of call is the jeep or small 4×4 field car section. We have many photos of everyones favourite military vehicle, the Willys MB/Ford GPW Jeep and here is another example that’s just been added to the Jeeps gallery. From a different country and different age comes a Gaz 69a 4×4 Field Car, this example having what looks like some excellent winter weather protection and looking a very rugged vehicle indeed. See if you can spot one in the next James Bond film you watch !

Lastly, not only do we have photos of military vehicles and aircraft here on Miliblog, but also a huge collection of military cloth badges from a variety of countries, both WW2 and for post-war. This example shows the Canadian WW2 2nd Corps badge, a unit raised in 1942 and was part of the Canadian 1st Army that landed in Normandy and took part in the campaign along the coastal route through Dieppe and northwards along the Channel coast towards the Scheldt Estuary.

So there we are for this week. We will be attending the West Midland Military Show at Aldersley Stadium in Wolverhampton next Sunday, so if you’re there and see our logo, then come and say hello.

Cheerio !

Simon

Foden 8x6 IMMLC Drops (AG 21 AA)

FWD SU-COE 5Ton 4x4 Gun Tractor (PRE 17)

AEC 0853 Matador Gun Tractor (981 BN)

Alvis Stalwart Amphibious Truck (91 ET 45)

Alvis Saladin Armoured Car (07 BB 40)

Alvis Saracen GPO (Gun Position Officer) Armoured Command

Isuzu TW540-TWD20 2.5Ton 6x6 Cargo (23-0117)

Willys MB - Ford GPW Jeep (676 WU)

GAZ 69a 4x4 Field Car (LSU 344)

Canadian 2 Corps Badge