Historical Background
With the United States getting closer and closer to become involved directly with World War 2, the US Army contacted 135 automobile companies asking for working prototypes of a four-wheel-drive reconnaissance car. Only two companies responded : the American Bantam Company and Willys-Overland. With only a 49-day deadline, the latter asked for more time but was refused. The American Bantam Company had no engineering staff on their payroll and requested the help of a freelance designer, Karl Probst. Initially without salary (as Bantam has gone bankrupt), Probst commenced work on 17 July 1940 and in two days' time, came up with the prototype BRC (Bantam Reconnaissance Car). On 21 September 1940, the car was driven to Camp Holabird, Maryland for testing, where it met all the Army's criteria except for engine torque.
The Army however felt that Bantam was too small to supply the vehicle in the numbers needed. The army therefore supplied the Bantam design to Willys and Ford, who were encouraged to make their own modifications. Using the same Spicer drivetrain components as the BRC, this resulted in the Ford Pygmy and Willys Quad prototypes. A revised weight specification (raised to a maximum of 578 kg) allowed Willys to use its heavy but powerful 'Go Devil' engine. The Army selected the Willys design as Model MB as the winner (the distinctive grille was however a Ford design, but incorporated by the Army into the MB). To allow huge numbers of the vehicle to be manufactured in a relatively short time, Willys granted a non-exclusive license to allow other companies to manufacture the MB. Ford was chosen as the second manufacturer while Bantam was the third, to a lesser extent.
Officially "Truck, 1/4 Ton, 4x4", the vehicle is popularly known as the 'jeep' (which Willys first trademarked in 1943). It was however unclear as to the origin of the popular name. 640,000 was built during the War and was one of the ubiquitous Allied machines during World War 2. It can be found almost everywhere; from the frozen Alaska to the steamy jungles of Burma, from the dry wadis and deserts of North Africa to the palm fringed atolls of the Pacific due to the United States' global commitment during the conflict and also due to the Lend-Lease program during the war. British forces were among the biggest recipient of Lend-Lease material including the jeeps, which entered service with them around March 1941.
In August 1941, a former member of the No. 8 Commando, Lt (later Colonel) David Stirling have the opinion that a small team of highly trained men, around 4 per team, can be more flexible and can cause greater damage to the enemy than a platoon (or a greater number) of commandos. He managed to convince General Claude Auchinleck, CinC Middle East to raise such a unit. The new unit was given a cover name of 'L Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade'. After a disastrous first (airborne) operation, where many of his men were killed, wounded or captured with Stirling himself barely managed to escape, he decided that the future operations in the desert would be executed using land transports and using the cover of night. The vehicle chosen were the Chevrolet 30CWT 3-ton trucks to act as 'tenders' and the Willys jeep as the actual raiding vehicles.
The jeeps were modified as follows:
1. cutting down all but two of the engine grilles to facilitate greater airflow and better cooling efficiency.
2. Adding condenser in order to recycle evaporated radiator coolant.
3. Fit sand guard on the carburettor
4. Take out the windshield to avoid sun reflection
5. Add sun compass to aid navigation
6. Add weaponry - the weapon of choice is the phased-out (from the RAF) Vickers GO @ Vickers K machineguns. The weapons were mounted singly or twinned. There were various permutations of the arrangement of the guns but usually the arrangement allows for both the driver and passenger(s) to shoot the guns from their poisitions. Every 3rd or 4th jeep would be armed with the aircraft-pattern Browning AN-M2 0.5-caliber heavy machinegun. Despite the greater destructive power of this gun, it was not as well received as the Vickers K. There would also be a supply of Lewes bombs. In addition, the crews also brought have their personal weapons usually the Tommy Gun, SMLE rifle, Colt M1911 pistol, Webley .455 revolvers or even the German MP40 sub-machinegun.
The jeeps would also have to carry extra jerrycans containing fuel and water in order to reduce the logistical tail. Thus equipped the SAS conducted swift raids into the enemy's rear with thrashing enemy airfields their specialty. In a raid on German airfields in their second mission, the SAS managed to destroy 60 planes with no loss to themselves. With the end of the North African campaign the SAS (and their Jeeps) went on to other theatres of war such as the Balkans, Italy and North-West Europe.
The Kit
Tamiya's Special Air Service Jeep (kit No. 35033) dates from the 197$ and was based on kit 35015 (Willys MB Jeep). The SAS Jeep kit includes all the SAS mods such as cut-down grills, sun compass, extra jerrycans, condenser, personal kit, two spare tyres and the weapons. Since this kit dates from the 1970s however, many details were either soft, missing or plain wrong (No pedals, just raised details, for example). The AN-M2 0.50-cal machinegun looks more like a weird sci-fi movie prop gun, for another example. There is also no tube from the radiator to the condenser. There were two SAS crew member figures in shirt, shorts, gloves and keffiyeh but, these being 1970s Tamiya figures, they would be Asian- rather than European-sized at full scale.
Construction
I actually bought and built the kit a number of years ago. Obediently I followed the instructions to the letter and basic construction was completed in just one day! Tamiya gave two finishing options - one with a single Vickers K aft of the front passenger seat and a twin Vickers K in front of it; the other with the twin Vickers K in the rear passenger/cargo compartment with the M2 HMG to the passenger's front. I actually wanted to build the latter option but since the M2 is useless, I had to build the first option. I also decided to add an M1 Thompson and an MP40 SMG, a Bren LMG and a shovel. I also added straps to the kit bags using Tamiya tape. The jeep and the jerrycans was painted Tamiya XF-60 Dark Yellow, the ammo boxes XF-62 Olive Drab, ration boxes XF-64 Red Brown, the guns X-10 Gun Metal (wooden parts XF-64) and the bags were painted XF-49 Khaki. Weathering consisted of an overall wash of XF-57 Buff. And that was it until I came across a background and a build articles in Model Military International last month. Even though the author used kit 35219 and a pricey conversion set, the articles inspired me to revisit my SAS Jeep.
By this time, I already have Academy's US Machine Gun Set which includes a nice aircraft pattern M2 Browning HMG and also Tamiya's Allied Vehicle Accessory Set which have better-detailed US- and British-pattern jerrycans. So this time I intended to build the Browning HMG-equipped jeep. Thankfully I originally assembled the kit by using UHU glue which makes it easier for me to pry loose the cargo and weapons. The paint were then stripped using window cleaner fluid. Afterwards I proceeded to scratchbuild a framework for the vehicle's jerrycans using plastic strips from my spares box. Then I added a new mounting from the Academy set for the Browning M2, add a small extension to the driver side mudguard in order to place the driver's Vickers K and adding a pole for mounting the twin Vickers K using a cut-down Panzerfaust 30 (!) from the spares box. using artistic license, the twin Vickers mounting was placed at the end of the rear passenger compartment since I do not have anything to support the pole if it was to be mounted in the middle of the said compartment.
Painting (and no decalling)
I have come across a painting technique called 'hairspray method' where hairspray is used over the base paint layer and a second paint layer laid over it. The second layer would then be 'chipped' by using brush and water. So I painted XF-62 Olive Drab as base layer (I should have used XF-49 Khaki instead of Olive Drab because of its lighter tone). A generous layer of hairspray was then laid and when dry I painted XF-59 Desert Yellow. Once dry I proceeded to chip the second layer, using a stiff brush wetted with warm water with the front of the vehicle receiving a fairly heavy treatment. The 15 Jerry cans received different treatments. Some were painted just XF-62 Olive Drab while the others were painted the same colour but were subjected to the hairspray treatment. Since the British prefer the German jerrycans to their own original 'flimsies' (and later on unashamedly copied the German design), I disguised two of the British-pattern jerrycans by painting them XF-63 German Grey and filling the 'W/D' markings with putty. Three, plus the two 'German' cans were marked with white crosses to denote water containers. (There were actually 8 'water' cans but I left the other 3 unmarked)
Finishing
A length of 0.5-cal ammo belt was sourced from Tamiya's US Weapons Set and was painted with Gunze Sangyo Gold ( I don't have Brass colour) and XF-1 Flat Black. Since the SAS Raiders also armed themselves with SMLE rifle, I 'hijacked' the only gun from my Masterbox 'Commonwealth AFV Crew' set. Slings were added to the SMLE, MP40 and the Tommy Gun using Tamiya tapes and I decided to remove the Bren from the model. I also added a tube from the radiator the condensor using a leftover vinyl tube. The sand channels also received the hairspray treatment using a 50/50 mixture of Flat Black and Red Brown as base. The model was then liberally covered with a thinned XF-57 Buff to simulate dust. I also used a bit of Tamiya Weathering Powder to further simulate dust and also abit of rust. Certain parts of the model received an application of graphite powder to simulate bare steel.
The cargo can now be attached to the model. The 'water' jerrycans were placed on the bonnet (5), sides (2) and the right-hand cargo frame (1). The 'fuel' jerrycans were placed in the remaining space in the cargo area. The ration and Vickers ammo box, rolled tarp and the shovel were placed in the rear passenger compartment. The personal weapons were placed on the bonnet, front passenger seat and the rear compartment while their packs were placed on the vehicle sides.
Conclusion
Make no mistake, this Tamiya kit is old. However apart from the equally old Italeri 'Commando Car' kit, this is the only way one can make an SAS Jeep from out of the box in 1/35 scale. The newer kit 35219 eclipsed its own cousin for the base vehicle alone while the various conversion kits, especially the latest from Swash Design are light years ahead in terms of detail. However if one do not suffer from AMS, this kit is sufficient enough to satisfy a beginner/average modeller, just throw away the M2 HMG and replace it with something better!
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