I think armoured cars are my favourite vehicles to build. Or maybe trucks. No armoured cars are….. I dont know but I love armoured cars. The Staghound is a great looking vehicle, and surprisingly hard to find plastic kits that recreate it. This one is from a company called RPM who do a range of Staghound variants. I found this one on eBay as usual, and did not have to look too far.

The kit was really nice to build, it reminded me of an IBG kit, with the excellent detail, a decent challenge, and not with really annoying tiny parts. I would have to say this model kit was one of my favourites up there with the IBG Otter that I built not too long ago. Turret hatches can be left open, which I did to maximise the use of an AB figures commander in the top. I added my own aerial and a little bit of stowage on the back. Overall olive drab paint job as normal. The decals are excellent and I think a choice of two different markings from what I remember. The big chunky wheels are a highlight, and there is no problem getting them aligned and level. The turret interior, and even the engines, are detailed if you can be bothered. I wasnt bothered as you will never get to see them anyway, but someone doing some kind of display might. You could also leave the side doors open and see the interior if you wanted to.

If you want to build a Staghound then go and get one of these. I loved it.

Another kit that screams my childhood at me. I spent a while hunting for this on eBay, and finally found one with a cheap freight all the way from Canada, which is a little bizarre. This version comes without the plastic base, even though the plastic base is very visible on the front of the box. The box smelt of old cardboard, which i love.

The kit has not changed. You get a small ruined house and a heap of extras. I decided to build my own base in the same style as the original. So out came a sheet of MDF on top of which i did a cobblestone pattern into clay for a road. I also made a pavement section with Metcalfe paving stones glued onto foamboard and sealed with plaster. I switched out the supplied sandbags and used my own sections from Value Gear which are much better. I added heaps of home made bricks and rubble, and created the same kind of lean-to with the corrugated iron sheets as you can see in the box art. Oh I had an old resin car that was added too round the back, plus i made some balsa wood shutters to add some depth. Painting was done with a black and grey undercoat and then various acrylics. I used loads of powders and dirt to weather the whole thing, plus some charcoal for the blast holes. I so enjoyed making this kit again after 40 years, the first time it was unpainted and manhandled around my ping pong table in every game i played. This time i will be more careful with it!