Land Rover Fire Tender Finished (1/35)

After a very long production time I have now finished the Series 1 Land Rover fire tender. I really have been tested on my build and paint sequence planning on this kit. A true puzzle. Now the little car is ready to deliver sterling service to the Nystrup community.

The local volunteer fire brigade's Land Rover left all by itself in front of Banke's Bakelite factory?

With the kit building finished enough to start painting, the little Land Rover received a layer of primer before I took up the difficult task of choosing an appropriate red colour for the car. I ended up with a choise of Vallejo 'Ferrari Red' chosen over the obvious 'Fire Red' for its lighter tone.

The little car air brushed red. Detail painting next.

Detail painting was mostly a question of painting tires dark grey, seats a nice contrasting medium green and metal parts in varying metal colours. The license plates and writing on the doors came from 'Skilteskoven' and were applied without any fuss as usually. Dials on the instrument panel and pump control panel were made with dry transfers from Archer. After that I glued hose reel, pump assembly, doors, suction hoses and pump control panel in place. I applied a light covering of matt varnish over the entire model.

Detail painting in progress.

I chipped the cab floor and gear box top lightly with brown and gun metal paint and dirtied up the floor a bit as well. The tires were lightly dusted and painted with light earth in the tire treads. I used dark brown oil paint heavily thinned to give the car a light wash to make it look a little worn and enhance details. A little further wear on exposed parts were added with a soft pencil.

Two volunteer firefighters ready for an exercise one early June evening. Perhaps they wait for a pal to show up for the training?

A view from above showing the general layout of the Land Rover.

The last parts to be added was windscreen glazing, steering wheel and the windscreen wiper. A few rolled up fire hoses were placed in the rear. Now I would like to locate some firefighters' helmets in 1:35 of a typical Danish 1950's model. The volunteer fire brigade must be properly equipped.