PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scale

Millitary miscellany; Tanks, AFV, Trucks and other Soft-Skin vehicles etc.
LarryH57
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PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scale

Post by LarryH57 »

The PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scale has recently been released and might lend itself to a bit of extra detailing by modellers longing for an Allied truck for a change!

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In the photos you will see from the sprues, it is a fairly simple model made for wargamers but will lend itself to a bit of an upgrade from forum members. My first impressions are that the radiator has been a bit overdone and perhaps would have been better to have been moulded flat. As it is, it shows a GMC badge but a Ford badge might be more appropriate, as the axles are more like Ford split axles rather than the GMC banjo type. Actually the axles are not really representative of either, especially as the transmission section of the axle is on the wrong side; it should be nearer the driver’s side. Because part number 10 is a simplification of the real thing it’s quite possible for the parts between the wheel stubs to be cut out and replaced by a section of axle from the bits box or made up from scrap. A bit of extra detail could also be added such as the steering linkage.

In side the cab its a bit basic with no seats or gear levers etc, and if you want glazing you need to find some from the spares box!

In addition to the axles the other problem is the wheels and tyres are oversized. This seems to be a problem for every injection moulded CMP but they are better than the IBG kits. One solution is to use the wheels from the Oxford diecast CMP Bofors gun tractor, as they are more to scale for a 15cwt whereas the Oxford diecast CMP won’t look too out of place with the PSC wheels fitted! You can see the Oxford diecast wheel in the photos below. I’m sure it would be possible to mould a set of these Oxford diecast wheels at home, for personal use only? After all there are three kits to build per box, so wheels will be in demand for sure.

The rear tub to this vehicle is moulded as if it’s in wood and although some were, I would have preferred a steel body version as this type was used in the Desert, Italy and NW Europe so would have been of more use. There is moulded tilt for the truck but many of you may prefer to model it with tilt hoops, as the tilt is not open at the back. However it could have the canvas area over the tailgate removed.

Interestingly the kit contains two sets of driver and passenger per vehicle, one marked as DR and another as BEF; the BEF crew appear to have early steel helmets but of course this vehicle is far too late to have been in France in 1940 with the BEF. Together with these crewmen there are two steering wheels per vehicle with arms attached, which is fine by me as I intend to use one set in the PSC M5 halftrack that has no steering wheel or dash board.

There is no decals but PSC are starting to sell sets separately.

I look forward to your comments

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jssel
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by jssel »

Very nice work
Besting 60 years of mediocre building of average kits in the stand off scale
ShaunW
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by ShaunW »

It is so good to see an allied truck such as this as these vehicles can be criminally overlooked by both manufacturers and modellers in favour of AFVs, but the importance of softskins like the CMP to the war effort cannot be overstated. You have a greater knowledge of the subject than I and your description of the kit and what can be done to improve it is most welcome. Certainly those wheels are an improvement and no doubt replicas could be made at home using moulding compounds and what have you, but that is something I have yet to try!
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LarryH57
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by LarryH57 »

Incidentally I think PSC should be given credit for getting the basic cab to look right, even though it needs a bit of extra detailing.

I also bought their CMP Field Artillery Tractor & gun set in 1/72 scale so I will build that soon.

Luckily it seems the wheels for the FAT are the correct size and if anyone decides to use this as a basis for a 3 tonner then they are OK for that too but I'm hoping PSC will issue a version of the Chevrolet C60 3 tonner before I get round to thinking how to do the conversion of a 15 cwt truck.

An earlier Number 11 or 12 Cab version of any of these from PSC would be nice, plus a few Morris & Bedford types please!
LarryH57
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by LarryH57 »

The Ford axles on a CMP should typically be like this;

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Chevr ... lG2KvRSdIM;:

And the CMP Chevrolet axles should typically be like this as in the old Airfix kit from 1970s

http://scaleworld.forenworld.net/viewto ... e_enable=1;

I say typically as for the purist they were interchangable
celt
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by celt »

Well tidy,I like these PSC kits very much,it's only the lack of decals that stops me from buying a whole stack of them.
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ntrocket88
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by ntrocket88 »

Nicely done!
Neil

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LarryH57
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by LarryH57 »

I've just found this link for replacement wheels

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/112745- ... -firestone;
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JohnRatzenberger
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

celt wrote:Well tidy,I like these PSC kits very much,it's only the lack of decals that stops me from buying a whole stack of them.
Aleran and Archer have a number of multi-vehicle sheets that can go a long way.

I only did the one PSC kit, 3 Univ Carriers from Secret Santa, but I found it quite interesting and I had fun. These builds make me think I should go back and look at them again.
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by iggie »

As with the PSC Quad, I may have to aquire one or two of these! Nice work!
Best wishes

Jim
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LarryH57
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by LarryH57 »

On reflection a better link for resin wheels is via CMK in Poland

http://www.cmkkits.com/en/detail-sets-a ... 6&fMaker=0;

Click top left for details in English
LarryH57
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by LarryH57 »

Having started work on another of these PSC kits which will have smaller replacement wheels, I noticed that the cab roof in the box art shows a roof hatch but the kit doesn't have one. However in building the PSC CMP Quad Field Artillery Tractor the roof does have the hatch, and as there is a choice, that leaves one for the spares box! Luckily, if the front of the spare part is cut off, it provides a nice alternative on the CMP Truck cab. The cutting line is marked where the roof line rises and after the tabs on the underside have been removed it fits very well. Photos to follow!
LarryH57
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by LarryH57 »

I finally got round to completing one of these PSC kits with replacement wheels from CMK. As you will see the cab had a hatch and this was taken from the CMP FAT kit which offers two roof options. Strangely the CMP 15cwt truck box top shows the vehicles with a hatch but the kit has none and instead offers a simple flat roof, which is quite rare. However this flat roof could have a later type round shaped hatch added as an alternative

I opened up the canvas at the back as it looked more lifelike but then remembered that PSC have not included the box shaped wheel 'arches' inside the body so these need to be added if the rear cargo area is visible.

Marking will be added when I find some more to scale, as PSC ones are enormous. Wartime photos show Div and AoS markings to be much smaller, so perhaps some 1/76 scale will suit.

Despite the need for new wheels PSC have got the cab shape correct and the next one I build will have the side windows cut out and perhaps just the tilt hoops without canvas.

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ShaunW
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by ShaunW »

Nice one Larry, that is a great build. These subjects are often overlooked by modellers in favour of AFVs, which is a shame considering the vital role vehicles such as this played.
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LarryH57
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Re: PSC British & Commonwealth CMP 15 cwt Truck in 1/72 scal

Post by LarryH57 »

Apparently PSC are planning a CMP 3 ton truck but as no one seems able to reproduce the correct size wheels and tyre pattern in 1/72 scale I bet this new release will present the same problems!. So that means involving the after market resin producers like CMK.
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