Introduction

Following on (or complimenting) the recent release of the new Resicast LRDG Troopers, Resicast have issued a cab detail set for the Tamiya LRDG Chevrolet 30cwt Truck.

The LRDG is a popular subject amongst modellers and recently announced is a re-release of the Tamiya Kit No 89785 - 1/35 British L.R.D.G. Command Car & Breda 20mm AA Gun that had a limited release last year. Exactly why Tamiya can’t just leave this kit on the market can only be to generate higher prices each time it gets released, but that, as they say, is another matter.

The Tamiya kit is the only game in town at present, originally released in the 70's it will benefit from some updates and TLC but still builds into a decent model.

Resicast have released a very useful update set to enhance your build and replace those Tamiya tires that seem to crumble over time and many of the other small parts that were poor in the original kit.

The set

The set comes packed in the standard Resicast small sturdy box and contains an A5 four page set of instructions and five small plastic zip bags of parts. All the parts are wrapped in bubble wrap for extra protection, no rattle boxes here. The box art shows a picture of the completed replacement parts and details of the manufacturer. Instructions are of the picture type style as is common with Resicast kits.

The set provides replacement parts as follows:

Bumper, Dashboard, clutch, break and accelerator pedals, handbrake, bumper stays, windows screens (covered) canvas doors, sun compass, front hook, SMLE stowed, rifle brackets and fixation brackets, stowed POW cans and Battery box plus 2 sand mats. Also included in the set are 5 replacement wheels.

The parts are expertly cast with fine sharp detail. The SMLE have magazine and bolt covers which is an appropriate touch.

The wheels are very nicely done with fine sharp detail, included are 4 road wheels (two front and two rear) and one spare wheel.

The POW cans have good detail and the sand mats look very appropriate in shape and detail. The sun compass is also a very fine item.

Conclusion

Given the age of the Tamiya kit and the often talked about short comings, this should be a very welcome set to many. It replaces many of the basic flaws in and around the drivers cab and should prove a cost effective option to producing a decent build.

Casting and detail is as one would expect, excellent and the resin parts should be easier to work with than some of the replacement PE parts I’ve tried.

It is worth mentioning here that further update sets are in the making. There will be 5 sets in total, The first will be for the Tamiya kit as it is: a radio truck. This will be an early version with typical UK items of that time (Lewis Guns,Flimsies etc). The second stowage set will be for the Breda gun truck (gun on cargo bed, not towed). After that there will be three more stowage sets: a late version of the radio truck with late stowage (US /UK jerrycan, .50 guns and so forth, and an early (UK stowage) and late (US stowage) for the basic vehicle.

I saw a test example when I was down at Duxford last week of the radio fix, and this will hopefully finally cure the radio/radio box issue that has long haunted the old Tamiya kit.

On the figure front expect some more LRDG troopers and some head sets to be coming along this year.

All of this is very good news as the Tamiya kit is just being re-released, so if you've been meaning to do an LRDG truck and never quite got around to it now could be an excellent time to start planning and assembling the bits you need.