Daimler Armoured Car Mk.I - 1/72 - IBG

[vizenz]

Hello,
This is the next project that made it to the workbench.

In addition to this Mk.I, IBG now also has the "Sawn off" (i.e. a Mk.I without a turret) and the Mk.II has also been announced.
This kit comes with a whole bunch of small sprues, including a complete interior for the hull and turret, a small plate with photo-etched parts and a decal sheet for four different vehicles (2x British, 1x Polish, 1x Belgian).

I decided to build the vehicle closed without interior fittings. I would like to build one of the two Brits, although I am still undecided which version.
Best regards,
Andi

 

[vizenz]

As already mentioned, the kit offers four painting options:

F1292727 of the 1st Polish Armored Division, 1943 (I have no information on this).


F207881 "Calamite" of the 1st Belgian Brigade (Brigade Piron), Armored Car Squadron 2nd Troop, Belgium 1944.
The decals for the Belgian seem okay so far. The WD census number comes from a Mk.I of the last production in 1944, IBG suggests painting the vehicle in SCC2. This is possible, but more likely the vehicle was already painted in SCC15. It is apparently not entirely clear whether the number belonged to the vehicle name "Calamite" or not.




F 207934 "Sheila" is a vehicle of the 21st Army Group (HQ), Western Europe 1944/45.
This vehicle was also manufactured in 1944 and was probably painted SCC15 (IBG again suggests SCC2). There are quite a few photos of this vehicle because it was used by Churchill for various visits to troops. For this variant the IBG decals are correct and complete as far as I can see.





F 19931 is described as "Great Britain 1943". The vehicle is the 12th production vehicle produced in early 1941 and bears the markings of RAC Gunnery School Lulworth. Here too, IBG suggests SCC2 again, although I am pretty sure that these very early vehicles were still painted in Khaki Green No.3. With the help of the internet and all the books available to me, I was able to find a total of four different photos of this vehicle which show that the IBG decals are unfortunately not complete. The WD census number is missing from the front and rear of the vehicle and the red-white-red national insignia on the front bumper.






“Sheila” or the very early “F19931” are the two versions that appeal to me. So it will probably be one of the two.

Best regards,
Andreas

 

[A_J_Rimmer]

An excellent choice - I do like the Daimler armoured cars. Looking forward to seeing your build.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Well that’s some of the research for my group build version of this kit sorted then Fantastic resource Andi……I assume you are aware of the Daimler Armoured Car site here….

Home - Daimler Fighting Vehicles

daimler-fighting-vehicle, daimler armoured car, daimler dingo scout car, daimler ferret, dingo scout car, dingo recce car,BSA light tank, tank wheeled,

www.daimler-fighting-vehicles.co.uk

Lots of pictures and info there…….

 

[Jakko]

That looks a lot more involved than the Hasegawa one I built going on ten years ago. It’ll be interesting to see how much better this one is.

 

[vizenz]

@Tim, thank you, I know the Daimler site.

Ok, for everyone who takes it seriously. Two types of tires (with different profiles) were used for the Daimler AC. The “early” one was from Dunlop. The later type was from Avon. If you look closely you can see that both, the Belgian vehicle and "Sheila" in the photos used Avon tires. Unfortunately, the kit only contains Dunlop tires...

 

[scottie3158]

I'm in mate chair pulled up.

 

[vizenz]

Welcome Paul!

I started gluing the first parts together.
If you leave out the interior there aren't very many parts. However, both side parts were slightly warped on me. So it took quite a while to align the whole thing. And the front and rear parts also had to be adjusted a few times until they really fit.
It wasn't all that difficult, I just expected a better fit for a brand new kit.

 

[A_J_Rimmer]

WOW! That is indeed very very small.

 

[vizenz]

WOW! That is indeed very very small.

It is!

The hull cover is on, a little bit of filler was used and the first PE parts were installed.


I also found a photo of the Polish decal variant DAC in an old Ledwoch magazine. Unfortunately it doesn't help much because you can't see anything except the WD number. However, the number is placed different than on the IBG graphics!
Unfortunately, nothing can be derived from the number because the Poles had their own system and no conclusions can be drawn from this about the former British number.
At least I can say that this vehicle really existed. (It wouldn't be the first time that a model manufacturer has invented a painting variant).



In my search for suitable tires, the whole project took an unexpected turn!
I bought the STL files for a kit from "Arvernes Miniatures". This not only contains both tire variants, but also the complete files to print the Mk.I and Mk.II vehicles.
This solved my problem as to which of the two selected variants I would build - I simply printed out another Mk.I and will now build both!

 

[Tim Marlow]

Interesting stuff Andi. The 3D printed parts look spot on. You obviously have done a lot more research and have more references than I, so if I may could I ask a question? What colour were the Inns of Court Daimlers ACs on D Day? I would expect them to be SCC2 brown, but I’ve seen two veteran references to them being black. Seems weird to me, what do you think?

 

[Jakko]

Is the inset captioned F 207934 the Avon tyre? Because then the 3D-printed part doesn’t really look like it at all

 

[vizenz]

Is the inset captioned F 207934 the Avon tyre? Because then the 3D-printed part doesn’t really look like it at all

Yes it is. Oh, the pattern is correct (the tires were used mirrored), but the tread should be a little thicker. But I will have to (and I can) live with that.

 

[vizenz]

Interesting stuff Andi. The 3D printed parts look spot on. You obviously have done a lot more research and have more references than I, so if I may could I ask a question? What colour were the Inns of Court Daimlers ACs on D Day? I would expect them to be SCC2 brown, but I’ve seen two veteran references to them being black. Seems weird to me, what do you think?

Black? Definitely not. At most they were additionally camouflaged with black (SCC15).
But pictures of DAC's with camouflage are very rare.
Do you have any photos of the vehicles?

 

[Jakko]

the pattern is correct

If you look closely, it isn’t On the real tyres, the diagonal parts of the tread seem to be slightly curved, but on the model tyres, those are straight.

 

[Jim R]

There's a lot to such a tiny model. It looks a good kit. You've done a lot of interesting research.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Black? Definitely not. At most they were additionally camouflaged with black (SCC15).
But pictures of DAC's with camouflage are very rare.
Do you have any photos of the vehicles?

No I don’t. As I said, I’d expect them in scc2 but there was a comment in a veteran log where he stated his vehicle was attacked by friendly aircraft because they were painted black and further forward than expected. I suspect it is a memory trick and that they were actually service brown.

 

[SteveT]

Wow, those tyres/wheels are so nice!

 

[Lee Drennen]

Great job so for. The tires look good to me especially in this scale.

 

[vizenz]

No I don’t. As I said, I’d expect them in scc2 but there was a comment in a veteran log where he stated his vehicle was attacked by friendly aircraft because they were painted black and further forward than expected. I suspect it is a memory trick and that they were actually service brown.

Hi Tim,
the Daimler website has an 18-page PDF about the Inns of Court where you can also see a few photos. None of the pictures really show any camouflage or dark tops.
I only recognize two DAC WD Census Numbers in all the photos, these are F208001 (photo taken in September 1944) and F208033 (photo taken in 1946). Both vehicles are from 1944 production and I suspect that they were already painted in SCC15. I conclude this because there are a few color images from this number pad that clearly show "green" vehicles.
Of course, these vehicles may also have been repainted later - this possibility always exists.
The IoC's SOD's were definitely Daimlers from 1942 production, and these were certainly delivered in SCC2.