Thursday, January 26, 2017

Happy Australia Day

I'm an Australian, if you hadn't already picked that up from my accent in my YouTube videos.  And today, January 26th, is Australia Day. So I wanted to share with you my Australian models.


But you know what? When I thought about it, I don't have a single model of an Australian subject.

Isn't that terrible?

The closest I have is a model that I made in about 1989. It is the venerable Tamiya LRDG 30cwt Chevrolet Truck, painted to represent a New Zealand vehicle with a Kiwi on the front and the Maori word "Te Taniwha".  New Zealanders are pretty much Aussies (and every Kiwi reading that is now utterly outraged).

Pfft, call myself an Australian...

The model itself is a pleasure to build, I remember, and it still has functioning steering. The back tailgate still works too.  What a beautifully engineered kit from Tamiya, especially when you consider it was first released in 1976. My building and painting of it don't bear close scrutiny in 2017 though!  To be fair, I was about 15 when I built this, and I remember being immensely proud of it as my best model so far back then.  I look at it now, and all I see are untrimmed mould seams, sloppy paintwork, and messy globs of glue!!! Look at the camouflage tunic on the driver - ghastly.  But it is nice to still have that little time machine, to be able to see how far you have come and to realise how much joy the hobby has given you over the years.

Anyway, happy Australia Day people. Get out there, enjoy a beer and think of Oz.

Cheers,

Dave

1/35 model Tamiya LRDG Chevrolet truck
Front bumper missing in action after 30 years.

1/35 model Tamiya LRDG Chevrolet truck
The driver figure and posable front wheels still give a great sense of motion even now.

1/35 model Tamiya LRDG Chevrolet truck
I remember trying to weather this with REAL dirt and mud. You can still see it on the wheels!

1/35 model Tamiya LRDG Chevrolet truck
Oooh, that's some sloppy camouflage on the driver...







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