Introduction
I do believe this is a 100% Testor project, start to finish!
The kit is Testor’s early-1990s repackaging of Italeri’s 1/24 scale
Willys MB Jeep.
There sure seem to be a lot of fiddly little parts in the box,
but the kit goes together exactly as advertised with no hassles
whatsoever. Just take your time and assemble everything according to
the instructions.
It looks like a Jeep when it is finished, too. I don’t ask more
from a kit than that!
Painting and Markings
Nearly everything on the WWII Jeeps was Olive Drab--chassis,
suspension, engine, everything.
I airbrushed my model in Model Master FS34087 Olive Drab. The
assembled chassis and the underside of the body were painted before
the two were mated, just to make sure that Olive Drab got into all
the nooks and crannies.
I airbrushed the painted body with either Testor Glosscote or
Model Master Clear Gloss (I don’t remember which; I use both
extensively), taking care to get a smooth, glossy finish in the
areas where the decals would go. The kit decals were applied and set
with Model Master Decal Set, topped with another layer of clear
gloss to seal them, and then the entire body was shot with Testor
Dullcote.
Just for contrast and some visual interest, I hand-brushed all the
seat padding with a different shade. In this case I used Model
Master Field Green. Instrument faces, dashboard placards, and other
small details in the interior were picked out in Model Master Black
Chrome Trim, as were the radiator hoses. Headlights are Testor
Chrome Silver, and the taillights and side markers are Model Master
Stop Light Red metallic.
I airbrushed the wheels MM Olive Drab, masked them off, and then
painted the tires with my own mix of “tire black” which consists of
MM Flat Black with a healthy dollop of whatever shade of flat gray I
happen to have handy at the moment. The tread area of the mounted
tires was airbrushed with a medium gray, but the spare was left
“tire black” overall to show it hasn’t been used.
Weathering was kept to a minimum to represent a vehicle in light
use, or perhaps a restored Jeep. I put a few drops of Model Master
30219 Dark Tan into a bottle of thinned Testor Dullcote, and
airbrushed this mix on the underside of the model to show a dusty
appearance. This mix is easy to use, and can be applied slowly, in
layers, until you’ve built up just the degree of “use” you want to
show. I also dry-brushed a few bare metal scratches on the
floorboards with Model Master Aluminum.
The M1 Carbine shown in one photo is from the AMT 1/25 ‘78 Dodge
police car (the “Batman Joker Goon Car,” to be specific about the
issue).
Conclusion
The Testor/Italeri Jeep was a fun and easy build, and provides a
perfect bridge in my collection between cars and armor. I recommend
the kit highly, in any of its several boxings.
I have another one that I have considered converting into a
street rod. I do wish that Italeri would get around to kitting a
version with the “Ma Deuce” .50-caliber machine gun--I’d buy that
Jeep in a minute!
Model on!