Land Rover Series III Commercial

[iamsuperdan]

I love old Land Rovers. I have a couple of the passenger versions, but when I was visiting the UK back in October, I saw this in a hobby shop and had to grab it. Hadn't seen this version before, and still haven't seen it locally, although I know it is technically available here.

 

Anyway, here's my review and a bunch of pics. Flaws and all.

 

I knew from the start how I wanted to build this one. As a child of British parents, and as a bit of an Anglophile, I knew this would be built as a UK-spec model with right hand drive. I also know that I wanted something similar to the classic Keswick Green colour, with the off white trim. Plan set, time to build.

Being a new tool, the molds in this are perfect. Absolutely no flash, and no sink marks or flaws of any kind. In fact, other than smoothing out the sprue mounting points, there was no cleanup required at all on any of the parts. Even the body was free from mold lines. There are two very extensive decal sheets included. There are a lot of parts (174) in this one, and a lot of detail.

 In typical RoG fashion, the instruction are clear and well laid out. Just pay attention to the version you’re building, as some steps change depending on whether you’re going LHD or RHD.

In fact, this was probably one of the most uneventful builds I’ve ever done. I experienced no issues at all, with no questioning the instructions or second-guessing myself on placement of parts. Which is a rarity!

After removing parts from the sprues, everything was primed with Tamiya’s white primer. Larger pieces were sanded smooth and primed again. The roof and wheels were painted with Tamiya
TS-7 Racing White. This is a nice off-white that I think is a pretty close match to the creamy colour Land Rover used to use. Tamiya’s AS-29 Gray Green looks really close to Land Rover’s Keswick Green, so the body and interior got a coat of that.

The real truck features aluminum trim along the body and throughout the interior. RoG provides decals for most of this, but I felt paint would be better, so most of the trim is Tamiya XF-16 Flat Aluminum.

Speaking of decals, Revell provides decals for just about everything. Every underhood sticker or label on a real truck is represented here. On the interior, Revell include decals for the 4WD instructions, as well as the shift pattern on the shift knob. Some of these decals are very small, and I’[m actually quite impressed that I was able to place them right side up!

After finishing this one, there are a couple of things I would change. First, I would have left off the headlight covers. These grilles are quite bulky, and once installed, you cannot see the headlights at all. Second, I’d re-position the mirrors. I placed them in the same spot as seen on a reference photo I have, but I think I’d prefer them mounted on the door hinge, which seems to be more common.

There are only two things on this kit that I feel R0G could improve on. First, one of the spare tire mounts on the hood. This is 100% accurate, but once mounted, the spare tire prevents the hood from fully opening. Second, I would have made the wheels a multi-part item. I’d rather see the hubs and possibly wheel lugs as separate items. This would make painting easier.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic kit. Definitely excited to build my other ones.

 

Tip: do NOT attached the exhaust to the engine before attaching the interior tub. You will have issues.

[kelson]

Very nice.?

[espo]

Great looking finishes. The setting for the photography really works with this build. Very realistic looking engine detailing. 

[ChrisR]

Looks great.

[Jim B]

Very nice looking Land Rover. Well done. 

[ncbuckeye67]

That is an amazing build! 

[stavanzer]

Always Nice to see another Landy!

You did a great job on yours!

 

Good Show.

[TarheelRick]

On 6/17/2024 at 12:36 PM, iamsuperdan said:

the instruction are clear and well laid out.

What are these instructions you speak of? Very nice Land Rover and I do think you came very close to the factory colors.  Nice detail overall. Also agree with you on the headlight screens. There are a bunch of levers protruding through the floorboards, what are they for. I know one is the shifter, another is four-wheel drive, and another possibly emergency brake, can't figure out the other two.

[iamsuperdan]

Gearshift for the transmission.

Red is low to high range shifter

Yellow is to shift from 2WD to 4WD

The smaller black one is the overdrive.

 

And of course, the e-brake.

 

[PappyD340]

Super nice Land Rover!

[Volzfan59]

Beautiful build! Thanks for sharing it. I'm m an old school Land Rover fan too. Everyone talks about a muscle car being their dream car. Mine is a '60's era Defender.

[Funkychiken]

Lovely looking landie