History

The Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) truck was a military truck designed by Ford Motor Company of Canada and General Motors of Canada. The basic design was create based on the British War Office request for standard truck for military use. Just over 400,000 CMP trucks were manufactured in differing variants with production starting in 1939. These trucks served many Commonwealth countries during and after the war. The C15A was a 4x4 15cwt with a 101” wheel base, and was a basic utility truck. The truck was manufactured with 3 types of cabs and several different body types, with Cab 11 being the early model, and Cab 12 and 13 to follow.

It should be noted that the Mirror Model kit represents the Chevrolet Cab 11 with the 2B1 body(welded steel box) , and from what information I could find, there were not very many of these built, as it looks like Ford built most of the Cab 11’s. The Cab12 and Cab 13 were the more prevalent version of the vehicle.

Model

This is the second model from Mirror Models. Like the first offering from Mirror Models, the C15TA, this is also a multi-media type kit, consisting of plastic, resin, photo-etched, and bits of wire. Again I will state this is not a kit for beginners, as it will require some modeling skills.

Opening the box, again a smaller box, but packed with goodies. The kit contains 5 sprues of greyish plastic, 1 sprue of clear plastic, 3 frets of photo-etched parts, 4 resin wheels, a bag full of small resin parts, some bits of wire, sheet of decals, and a 12-page printed color instruction sheet.

On first inspection, the plastic is very well molded with clean details on the surfaces. I found very little flash, but there are several ejector marks that will need to be cleaned up prior to assembly. A lot of these ejector marks will show upon completion, especially in the cab and truck bed. Like the first kit, the C15TA from Mirror Models, there is lots of resin detail. The resin detail is very well cast, with great looking detail. There is some flash that will need to be cleaned prior to assembly. Some of these parts are small and care will need to be taken when removing from bag and handling. The four wheels have great looking tread pattern with good bolt detailing on the hubs.

Also included in the kit are 3 frets of PE parts, one large sheet with the larger parts, like cab floor, steps, and stowage boxes. There are also two smaller frets, which look to be hinge detail and brackets. The PE parts are well done, and will be a great compliment to the completed model.

The kit contains clear plastic parts for the wind screens and side windows, and strangely the front hood (or bonnet for those on the other side of the pond). The clear plastic is clear with no fogging in my samples.

There are two decal sheets included, one with the markings for the vehicle, and a small sheet with the dash instruments. The vehicle markings are for three variants, both minimal markings for a Canadian and British version, as well as a German version that could have been captured at Dunkirk or in Africa. The decals are well printed, sharp, and in register. It should be noted that the marking guide is not included in the kit, and will have to be downloaded from the Mirror Models website in PDF format, a link for the marking guide is included on the printed sheets, and there is also a hi-resolution PDF copy of the instructions available from the Mirror Models website.

Instructions

Like the first model from Mirror Models, they instructions are not your standard instruction diagrams, but rather color images of the completed model in stages. They do include some descriptions of the step with pointers to the fit to help guide the assembly. Again this is not a model for beginners, some model building knowledge will be needed, especially in the use of working with PE, resin, and CA glue.

Summary

From looking at the parts and instructions, the Mirror Models kit will build a great representation of the early C15A. The kit is well engineered as a multi-media kit, and a great second model from Mirror Models. The only drawback I see with this kit is the number of ejector marks that will have to be dealt with during construction. As this is the second model from Mirror Models, I can see improvements, already, and with a little work, this looks to be a great model, and subject, when built to add to your collection.