Apologies in advance for the 'orrible photos - I've borrowed the use of the camera and haven't gotten used to the gubbins...

Nevertheless, here is my PPA jeep almost finished


Ugh! camera shake! Scratchbuilt Jerrycan racks all round (thin plastic strip and plasticard). .50 & .30 cal Brownings from Acadamy 'U.S Machine Gun' set, as are ammo boxes. Rucksacks by Tamiya.




Spare wheels moved to left to make way for Jerrycan/oil can rack. The PPA cut the R/H bumper off the chassis and welded it to the L/H bumper as a support for the spare wheels.


Other things added have been the small boltheads and rivets which secured various components , (like handles) to the bodywork - these from slices of stretched sprue -, tyre valves -again stretched sprue - and, most importantly, the foot pedals and bonnet latches which Tamiya have left out altogether!

Next to be added are the Bren Gun magazine boxes the PPA attached to both front mudguards as tool/ spare equipment boxes, and the bonnet stowage...


PPA Jeep somewhere in Italy.


PPA Jeep in Venice


PPA jeep equipment.

Interesting conversion Jeff.
Looking good so far.

Hey Jeff,
Great looking Jeep, I am in the middle of reading Roy Farrans "Winged Dagger" (Cheers ACAV ) Excellent for info on Jeep operations in Italy and France, there is a few references to the PPA.

Thanks Dave and Andrew; it's an enjoyable project. Plus I have some better photos...

This give a better look at added detail and weathering. I chose to portray the Jerrycans as captured German examples, hence the Dunkelgelb


Behind the .50 cal ammo box can be seen the 4 Mills grenades in a 'ready use' bin that the PPA added to the floor - there was also a set for the driver. Scratch built foot pedals and rear gun post.


Instruments painted then glazed with Johnson's 'Klear'. According to Steve Zaloga the .50 and .30 cal Brownings were Parkarised rathered than Blued during WW 2, hence the dull grey finish.


Scratch built 'Billy' cans - for cups o' char, naturally! I deliberately left a rough patch on the bumper below the spare wheel to show where the PPA had removed this from the other side.


Lots of ammo cans for .30 cal - tack glued in place with small amount of PVA; more detailing, painting and weathering required.


Back to the front.

One thing Jeff.....
you missed a pin mounting hole on the right side of the rear. It's where the rear piece of the folded top tubes fit in. Either toss a small rag over it to hide it or fill it. Maybe a strap to hold down those loose ammo cans also.

Oops! I only noticed it in the viewfinder while I was fiddling round taking the first set of photos. It'll be gone by this time next week...

Very nice so far.

Very nice jeep. I really enjoy seeing the pictures. Great work.

Great build. The extra work you put into this one really paid off in the end.

Those photos are a lot better Jeff, You have done a great Job, Have you thought about doing some figures and putting it on a small base?

Nice work, Jeff. I really like the extra touch with those billy cans. But wouldn't they collect a lot of dust when stowed there on the outside?

Coming together great Jeff,
One thing I have noticed, comparing the height of the .50cal mount to the pic of operations in Italy, the model's mount looks too tall. If you imagine a figure sitting in the seat, the gun would be above eye level, whereas in the pic it's nearer upper chest/throat level. It's hard to tell with no figure behind the gun, or is the soldier in the pic sitting on something?
Tom

Hi Tom
The first photo shows the front mounted .30 cal (the guns could be swapped around) is elevated, with the body of the gun concealing the mount - the 2nd photo is a more reliable indication of the height of the post ; compare with the seated driver, which shows that the .50 cal is above eye level. In action the gunner either stood or walked at the side of the jeep or perched himself on the bodywork and seatback, as can be seen in the 2nd photo.
Gidday David, the billys are dangling on an improvised hook just so I can show them off .

Nice converstion and I will be following your build. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

Darryl

Originally i was going to build the Jeep as an LRDG vehicle, until I came across the book 'Popski's Private Army' by Vladamir Peniakoff (Lt-Col 'Popski') and this site [url]http://users.pandora.be/ppa/index1.html/url]
which changed my mind.

Very nice conversion.