This is a part of my goal to build up a collection of WW2 trucks. The Scammell begged to be one of the first. So far it has been an enjoyable build. Yes instructions are somewhat vague. Aren’t they all? A couple of the sprue had way too many push pins on them. But overall, a nice kit.
A word of caution though for those taking on this kit. I’ve already discovered that the margin for error is very slim. Get everything dry fitted a number of times. I had a lot of trouble getting the chassis square. I still don’t know why but I’m guessing a part or two are too tight thus forcing something somewhere.
This kit begs for extra detail. There is a lot of info and images on the web. So far I’ve just done the fuel lines on the engine. But I hope to follow the kit suggestions and put on the Brake lines etc etc.
The winch looks crooked, and it’s meant to be crooked. Something that took a while to sink in!!! There’s no cable in the kit for the winch. Plus, the winch needs to be painted before final assembly. As do many sub-assemblies. Paint the radiator BEFORE you assemble it. (Note this is all just dry fitted together and looks out of whack).
Oh yeah one more thing. Watch out for parts that DONT need glue. That’s why my front suspension is seized up!! The rear works just fine but only because I wasn’t making the same mistake twice.
This is not a weekend kit but so far it has been an enjoyable build.
Slow going on my part. Health has been an issue, and I lost my mother a couple of weeks back so modeling has taken a back seat.
A couple of caution notes for those considering this kit. See image for arrows.
The yellow arrow. The tie rod on my kit was not formed right and half it was missing. So I built one out of stiff copper wire. Drilled the appropriate holes and got a nice working steering.
The front guards on this truck turn with the wheels. So they attach to the points where the red arrows point to at the point where the blue arrows point to. ie blue pins into right holes. Now the problem that wasn’t obvious until now. Drivers side has no hole where the red arrow points to. So that needs to be drilled out. BUT. But where the blue pins go into the red holes isn’t a part of the turning mechanism. I’ve read the instructions approximately 2 million times, well maybe not that may times, and Im positive its not my mistake. (Said that before hey?).
BUT, again, But if I simply glue the blue pins into the red holes then there’s about a 100% chance that glue will seep down and stick to the parts that steer.
Be aware that this kit needs more work to make the steering “work” apart from following the instructions.
Answer? Well I’m not in the mood to figure out an answer other than gluing everything in the finished position.
Note - the wheels don’t turn on the kits so it’s not an issue for me. But the rear suspension works. I got the steering to work. The front suspension works. Sort of! So despite Thunder producing a great kit it’s half-baked as far as suspension wheels turning and steering goes.
But still a fun kit. Worth it provided you are aware of a few short comings.
