Hello all

First time out on this site. Seemed like the best one to go on.

For my own reasons I decided to get on and build a 1/35 diorama based on the Belgian Brigade Piron. Got my Dingo, got my Bren Carrier and then discovered that Italeri did a Staghound with Belgian markings. Built it and love it. Until.....

I had all the pics I could find of the Belgians from 1944/45 and then looked closely at the available Staghound shots. It ain't the same. My own fault for being so keen and kinda trusting the description but I am guessing I really wanted an EARLY version Mk1 and not the version I have which must have been referenced from a working model from the Belgian army museum.

Does anyone know of early version Staghounds, I am guessing that is what I really want, or am I gonna have to go back and do some serious conversion work to end up with the right vehicle?

Just want to finish by saying that I stopped modelling military vehicles years ago as Motorsport took over but because of sites like this my past passion has been rekindled.

Thank you in advance for any help here.

Check out Bronco in the Reviews forum. They make 3 or 4 versions of the Staghound IIRC.

OK Folks

Guess something you guys would know all about is that you must research, research, research.

Everything I had found on the Brigade Piron stated that their HQ squad used Staghounds. All very true. Well they used one that I can see..... The bulk of the Brigade did in fact use Daimler Mk1s. The harder I looked at the pictures the more I realised the back was more like a Daimler Mk2 Dingo......

I ccan only find shots of a HQ Staghound from the day they drove into Brussells to liberate the capital. the very vehicle that can be made from the kit by Italeri.

So now to track down a 1/35 Daimler MK1....... My diorama will be based on their movements through Normandy.

Hey man,

Miniart do alot of variations of the "Dingo", including both the Mk 1a and 1b.

Cheers
Tristan

While I don't know what your sources are, the RAC six-monthly returns show no Staghounds on the strength of the Belgian A/c squadron at 30/06/44 or 31/12/44 - just Daimler a/c and (in June) Daimler s/c. One or more may have been acquired but it would tend to create logistical problems to have too many different vehicle types in a unit so getting spares for unauthorised types could be difficult through official channels.

There is unfortunately still no Daimler a/c kit in plastic so your best bet is probably Accurate Armour's resin example. I have a nice photo of a Belgian Mk. 1 in a Canadian book so they definitely had those. For Dingos, MiniArt does several, as mentioned. I'd gues that a Mk. II or Mk. III would be most likley but have not seen photos of any in Belgian service. Remember to remove the moulded on cables for the post-war smoke dischargers though.

Robert

Thank you.

That is so very helpful. Being a little cynical I wonder if the Belgian Brigade were given a Staghound for the drive into Brussels on the day of its liberation. Plenty of pictures taken of it on the Brigade Piron website.

Turning up in a few Dingos and Bren Carriers might have looked a bit odd given the Belgian populace had firsthand knowledge of what the Germans possessed in their arsenal......