Introduction

The use of trucks in World War 2 was important for the movement of supplies and equipment. In Canada, Ford and Chevrolet teamed up for the design and building of the Canadian Military Pattern trucks, in several variants. The Chevrolet C60L was a 3 ton general service truck with a 4x4 wheel base of 158 inches.

Contents

Inside the box you will find the following:

13 – plastic sprues
1 – sprue of clear plastic
1 – vacuum formed Part
2 - Frets of Photo-Etched
1 – Resin Part
5 – Rubber Tires
Bits and Length of Wire
Small sheet of Decals
Instruction Sheets

Review

The CMP C60L GS Truck kit from Mirror Models comes in a thick box, and it is packed with sprues and parts. The kit is molded in plastic, with most sprues in grey, and one sprue, the frame, molded in white. The moldings are the usual well done molding Mirror Models is known for, as there is little to no flash, no sink marks, and well done detail. It should be noted there are lots of small detail parts.

The truck bed is molded with wooden planks, with no wood grain detail. To me this is not a bad thing, as I have found from some manufacturers the molded wood grain is overdone and out of scale. The tarp tie downs are molded on as well as the tarp cover braces. The tarp cover bracing is represented with wire provided in the kit that will need to be cut and formed, and should provide great looking scale bracing.

The kit does include a clear vacuum formed part to be used for the cover. Unfortunately the instructions for its use are a little vague, and there is no texture. The texture could be added using painting techniques or other methods. Also without fitting the part, it does not look to match the bracing. If you wish to install the cover, my suggestion would be to scratch build it from a thin tissue or similar material soaked in white glue.

The CMP frame, like previous CMP kits from Mirror Models is very well done, including photo-etched details. The details in the drive components have been done in plastic, as opposed to resin in previous kits, but retain the great detail. Included in the kit is a detailed winch system that is mounted below the truck bed. The use of bits of wire and photo-etched parts really adds to the detail on the bottom of this truck.

The tires included are a rubber vinyl material and do include flash around the outside. The tires are well molded, and very useful when cleaned up. For those who prefer resin or plastic, there are a number of aftermarket choices, including resin sets from L.Z. Models.

The kit does include a well detailed molded engine, and with a little scratch building, could produce a great engine compartment for leaving the bonnet open.

The cab of the kit is also very well detailed on the interior. A photo-etched floor with good looking texture is included to add to the detail. One issue with the interior is the lack of decals to represent the gauges, but these could be sourced from an aftermarket supplier.

The small decal sheet provides marking options for a Canadian, British, and German vehicle. For the Canadian and British, only basic markings and War Numbers are included, so a little research and aftermarket decals would be required to produce specific unit vehicles with AOS and tac-signs.

The instructions included in the kit are moving away from the usual photos of the built component to now include some wire diagrams of some of the assembly steps. These will still require some studying and a little modeling skill to complete the kit.

Conclusion

Overall this is another great kit from Mirror Models, a great unique subject and well detailed model. I will say, the kit is not for beginners, and will require some intermediate skills to build, but will create a great model of the CMP C60. The kit includes great looking detail all around, and will produce a model to be proud of. While there are a few shortcomings, the canvas top and lack of full decals, the decals would be available from aftermarket suppliers, and allows the builder to choose how they wish to finish the model. I would definitely recommend this kit.