Support For The Scouts

Historical Background

The Associated Equipment Company (AEC) of Southall, Middlesex was set up in 1912 and became well-known for its trucks and buses, especially the famous London double-deckers. With the outbreak of World War 2 in 1939, the company was geared for war, producing the 10-ton, 4-wheeled Matador artillery tractor (a 6x6 version was also produced, named the Marshall but was always referred to as a Matador). In 1941, a private-venture move was made by AEC to produce a multi-mission armoured car for the British Army using the 4x4 Matador chassis. The prototype was shown to officials at the Horse Guards Parade in London 1941. Winston Churchill was impressed and ordered the vehicle into production.

The AEC Armoured Car was fairly large as the designers intended it to be a 'wheeled tank', being cheaper and thus being able to be produced in larger quantities than the real tank. The vehicle utilised the Matador chassis, including its engine and transmission and thus able to carry heavier armament than its contemporaries. Size-wise, it's impressive, having a long and tall structure and a narrow, lozenge-shaped armoured body. The driver sits at the front with the fighting compartment in the middle. Despite the rather narrow aspect of the body, the fighting compartment was roomier than the one of the Valentine tank. Large stowage boxes were placed between the mudguards, also creating a step for the crew to mount their vehicle. The frontal armour was 65mm thick but sloped angle increased the effective thickness to 90mm, with side armour being 13mm thick. This protection came at the cost however with the vehicle weighing 11 tons. However production vehicles were powered by the AEC 190 diesel engine rated at 105hp and giving a power-to-weight ratio of 9.5hp per ton for the Mark I. This in turn gave the armoured car a speed of 65 km/h and range of 400km, sufficient for most long-range reconnaissance missions.

The first production version, the Mark I was armed with a 2-pounder gun and a co-axial BESA 7.92mm machinegun. The turret the same as those fitted on Valentine Mark I/III infantry tank. The Mark II had a different turret and were armed with a Ordnance QF 6-pounder gun and the BESA machinegun. This version was heavier, at 12.7 tons. To cope with the heavier weight, the engine was changed to AEC 195 (158hp). The final Mark III was armed with a Ordnance QF 75-mm gun. An AA variant armed with a Crusader AA turret was built but was not ordered into production. Tactically, the AEC was used to support other armoured cars in the reconnaissance regiment. It saw first action during the North African campaign in 1942 by the British and the Indian Armies. They later saw service in Italy and North-West Europe, where they were supplemented by the American-built Staghounds. The AEC gave good service, which was reflected in its usage by the British Army well into the 1950s when it was eventually replaced by the Saladin. The AEC was also bought by Lebanon, who used them until 1976.

The Kit

Miniart came up with the kit of the AEC in 2013, releasing all three versions in the same year. The Mark III kit was comprised of 534 light gray parts, 50 brass PE parts and eight clear plastic parts. There is a substantial number of parts related to the interior. They are definitely needed if you want to pose all the hatches in the open position. Of particular note are the 75-mm rounds as they need to be shortened to allow fitment into the ammo racks - a rather tedious job as there are around 40 of them! Again the steps in the instructions can be skipped if you chose to have your model buttoned up. Also included is a pair of Vickers K machineguns, to be mounted on the turret roof (although all the pics I have seen show that the AEC was not equipped with them). Also, be aware of tiny parts - both PE and plastic - there are lots of them! A driver figure in driving pose is also included. The decal sheet provide markings for three vehicles:

1. F 88886, Royal Armoured Corps Gunnery School, Lulworth Camp, Dorset 1944

2. F 88707, Heavy Troop, D Squadron, 2nd Household Regiment, VIII Corps, Normandy June 1944

3. F 89007, 1st King's Dragoon Guards, XII Corps, 2nd British Army, North-West Europe, Spring 1945

Construction

After browsing the instruction sheet, I believe I can skipped about 1/3 of the assembly process as I intended to have my AEC buttoned up (except for the turret).I totally skipped Steps 1-4 and only added the external parts to the side walls in steps 6 and 10. The engine bulkhead was also left bare. Although Miniart included a driver's figure, I decided not to use him for this model and therefore the driver's compartment was also left bare.The side walls, bulkhead and the driver and fighting compartment floors were then cemented together. Steps 16-21 are concerned with the undercarriage. I am of the opinion that the basic chassis is a bit over-engineered as the 'thingies' that hold the leaf spring suspensions should be moulded together with the frame, rather than separately. Also the front leaf springs are not symmetrical but the actual placement was not shown in the diagram...so I made a guess and hope that I was right. Part Ba5 is also not symmetrical and the assembly sheet should be looked at closely.

The rear suspension however have ends corresponding with their mountings so it wasn't a problem here. The gear box was assembled and cemented in its location. However while the position was quite clearly marked in the instructions, it wasn't really so on the plastic. The engine was then assembled but I only use the larger parts only. Anyway when dry-fitting the engine, I found that the connection between the engine and the gear box fell short. I guess it was my mistake rather than Miniart's. However, since the engine and the gear box is mainly out of general view, I left them as they were. Up next were the axles, there were no problems here except that if you put Part Ba5 (mentioned earlier) incorrectly, you will find that the front axle won't fit properly into the suspension. The front brakes however are loose and need to be glued to the axles.

Moving to the upper hull, the driver's hatch was cemented to the upper hull/roof. It has to be done prior to cementing the roof to the hull as it was easier to do it that way. As I intended to have the driver's hatch in the closed position, none of the details were added underneath the hatch door. The mountings for the windshield is downright tiny and I nearly lost them! For the rear part of the upper hull, Step 51 really had to be done first and the assembled parts put in place. This is in order to avoid misplacing Part F12 which, if placed incorrectly, will create a larger gap so that part E41 cannot be cemented between the forward plate and Part F12. Once this was done, the engine hatch covers can be put in place. The storage boxes on the sides were assembled and cemented into place. Afterwards, things stuck on the front mudguards like the headlight, brush guard and the towing eyes were cemented and the mudguard was then cemented to the hull. The rear mudguards were next. I cemented Parts E4 and E5 to the hull first and the cemented the main mudguard structure to them and the storage boxes as there no positive locating pins for the mudguard.

Next up is the turret. I started at the front face by assembling the internal gun mantlet, the Besa machine gun and the breech end of the main gun. As I intended to have the turret hatches closed, I forego doing the interior. The turret walls was then mated together, along with the bottom. The one-piece roof and the rear wall were next but the one in my kit was a bit warped. I soaked it in hot water, gently 'massaging' it back into shape. It was then cemented to the turret shell without problems. The details on the turret was then attached but certain items, like the lifting eyes on the either the turret sides were left off (the third one at the back was cemented at this time - these eyes were delicate, no need to guess what happened!). Sometimes a compromise had to be taken, such as the mounting for the turret stowage box. I do not own a 'proper' PE bending tool so I have to use a piece of plastic to maintain the spacing between the stowage box and the turret's rear face. The main gun has rather short pins (and the recess is shallow on the turret face) for effective surface mating so I have to use superglue for this part. Care also have to be exercised here as the the pin/recess is not keyed and I have to make sure the muzzle brake is properly aligned. I also decided not to use the roof-mounted twin Vickers K machineguns.

Painting And Decalling

I intended to paint the model using Mike Starmer's mix of SCC15 Olive Drab; however I have run out of 'proper' (so to speak) Olive Drab. I decided to improvise by using 7 portion of the 'wrong' batch of Tamiya XF-62 Olive Drab, 3 portions of XF-3 Flat Yellow and a dash each of XF-64 Red Brown and XF-61 Dark Green plus flat white for scale effect. The test mix look close enough and painting commenced. For markings, I chose the second option, that is, an AEC III of the 2nd Household Regiment. The markings however only provide the Arms of Service and unit markings for the front only. Perhaps Miniart did this to maintain 'photo-accuracy' but I believe the set of markings fo the rear should be included (by the way. the third option only have markings for the rear). The decals received the Mr Mark Softer treatment but the silvering persisted for some of them. Pin wash was then applied to selected areas.

Finishing

Finishing work starts by attaching the more vulnerable parts and/or parts painted mainly in a different colour than the main body. The radio aerial at the back of the turret is a two-part affair, with plastic base and a PE part. Due to its fragility (because it's so thin), the PE part was distorted during assembly and attempts to make it as round as it should be resulted in further distortion, so I have to leave it like that. Also, the lifting eyes of the turret suffered from being knocked around during the handling of the turret. The Bren Gun included in the kit (to be hanged outside the turret) was painted and put in place. I glued a piece of kitchen aluminium foil to act as reflecting surface of the rear-view mirror and then sementing the assembly to the mudguards. However, the mounting is to be glued butt-joint to the mudguard; because of the cylindrical shape of the pole and the mount, it can fit properly. I have to cut a small 'channel' on the mount so that the assembly can be more secure whilst drying.

The outside was pretty bare so I decided to add a 75-mm ammo box from Academy, a rolled tarp from Tamiya and a pair of 4-gallon flimsies from Bronco. However I have gotten tired of this kit (despite all the shortcuts) by this time and decided to let the stowage be put in place by 'magic' (i.e not adding tie-downs and straps)...or perhaps the crew has yet to stow them properly...haha. Finally, Mig Productions European Dust pigment was mixed with water and applied under the mudguards, the lower hull and the tyres. Once dry, the excess was removed using a stiff brush, and in the case of the tyres, were partly removed using enamel thinner. As there are no tabs to secure the turret, a slab of plasticene was placed underneath the turret basket to provide friction and also acting as some sort of 'holder' for the turret. Finally, Miniart provided just two tow cable shackles and the builder has to provide his own cable. The leftover twine from previous kits are too big for the shackles, so I just have to leave this rather essential piece of equipment from the model.

Conclusion

Again, the Eastern European (and the newer Far Eastern companies) are more ambitious than the more established companies in introducing kits previously not available (or having only limited availability). And in the case of the AEC armoured car, not only Miniart produces kits for all the major variants, they also throw basically everything a modeler wish for a basic vehicle - including full interior. This resulted in a rather long build but I believe the end justifies all that work. Sure, I skipped many of the construction steps as I do not intend to build up the interior and having them disappear from view. Even so, it took up some of the longest time I took to build a 1/35 AFV kit. Actually it has more to do with holiday breaks and losing some of my modelling mojo rather than actual difficulty with the kit.