1/50 Basque armored truck 1936

[rockpaperscissor]

This model is a recolor and enlargement of Sr. Jesus M Lopez Bea's 1/72 "Iron Belt Armored Truck" which can be freely downloaded at the Landships II site. Unlike some other models of Spanish Civil War vehicles, this one is not based on period photographs. Instead, it is representative of the kind of armor modifications made by both sides to civilian trucks and buses to turn them into machines of war.

I eliminated at least 75% of the rivets that were present on the original model. The new ones are less numerous, but are larger. I wanted to recognize the Basque Nationalist involvement in the conflict, so I ringed the turret with the Basque flag. Photos of vehicles during the SCW are covered with slogans, and this one is no exception. To drive home the independent nature of the Basque people, they are written in the native language (Euskera) rather than Spanish. My personal thank you to AgaPablo for his invaluable help in selecting appropriate slogans. On the left side we have "Beti Aurera!" which is found on some Basque battle flags. It translates to "Let's Go Forward!". On the right side is "Sartu Euzkadic Iraingarritzat". "Join the Basque Offensive". On the back of the truck are initials in Euskera (EAJ) and Spanish (PNV) announcing allegiance to the Basque Nationalist Party. The 1930s style truck wheels are a resized internet image. I finished the model off with a flowing Basque flag on the left side of the truck. I'm imagining the truck in use as a recruitment tool rather than an active combat vehicle, so I didn't install the turret machine gun.

I've built 3 of Sr. Bea's SCW models so far and have enjoyed every one. The fit of the parts is excellent. There are no instructions or glue tabs, which can be challenging to newer modelers. With a resolution of only 72 DPI, diagonal lines are often choppy, but this drawback can be overcome with careful cutting.

On to the fun part...the pics!

[Texman]

Very well done Don!

[Vinalssergio155]

Spectacular, beautiful work Don, I will have to make a place for these models of Landships, they look excellent.

[Don Boose]

Really super model, Don!

Don too

[Mike1158]

It works ver well, nicely done, Sir.

[rockpaperscissor]

Thanks for your kind comments, gents. I'll be bringing this one to the IPMC tomorrow, so some of you will see it first hand. The photos are a bit "contrasty" - the shadowed areas around the hatches, etc aren't nearly as dark as they appear here.

[AgaPablo]

Greatly done Don!
It really captures the enthusiasm of those mad summer '36 days!

[Rata]

Wonderful stuff Don. Something different and real atmospheric.