US Army Staff Car model 1942

[Paul A H]

US Army Staff Car model 1942

1:72 Ace

The military version of the 1942 Ford DeLuxe Fordor sedan was widely used by the US Army during the Second World War as a staff car for transporting officers and aircrew. The Fordor staff car was powered by a 90hp 3.7 litre 6 cylinder engine and was produced from February 1942 until the end of the war. Unlike civilian versions of the Fordor, the military version featured absolutely no chrome whatsoever.

Ukrainian manufacturer Ace will be a familiar name to fans of small-scale armour as they produce a large range of injection moulded military vehicles and artillery pieces. Their catalogue covers subjects ranging from the First World War to the present day and everywhere in between. One of their latest releases is this US Army Staff Car model 1942. The kit arrives in a rather smart top-opening box, with glossy artwork featuring the subject of the kit parked on an airfield in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress.

Inside are two sprues of grey plastic containing 30 parts, a small sheet of decals and a folded A4 instruction sheet. The sprues are cleanly moulded and are free from flash and sink marks. Details are nice and crisp and sprue attachment points are suitably fine. The overall impression is of a high-quality product; certainly a cut above many short run kits.

In common with many vehicle kits, construction begins with the chassis. Onto this are added components for the running gear and exhaust. The interior is next up, and is comprised of two bench seats and a steering wheel and column. The seats look really nice on the sprue, and will benefit from a wash of ink or thinned paint to bring out the detail. No painting instructions are included for the interior, so a little research will be necessary in order to find the correct colours.

The body shell is assembled next. This is comprised of a left and right hand side, plus a roof, bonnet and boot lid (or hood and trunk, if you prefer). The dashboard fits into the bottom of the windscreen frame. The roof is added last. No transparent parts are provided, but the instructions advise the builder to use clear film or plastic to make windows, and templates are provided for these. Construction concludes with the addition of the radiator grille, bumpers, headlights, licence plates and wheels. No tread is moulded into the tyres, but the wheel hubs do feature slightly raised rims to aid painting.

Two colour schemes are provided:

• A US Army Staff Car based in Europe, 1942, painted in overall Olive Drab; and

• A patrol car of the El Cajon Police Department, California, in a smart gloss black and white scheme with chrome details.

No suggestions are made for a particular brand of paint, but this shouldn’t be an issue as colours don’t really get more universal than black, white and Olive Drab.

Conclusion

This is a really smart little kit of an unusual but useful subject. The omission of clear parts is a minor quibble, but overall it should build up into a very nice model and has the potential to form the basis of almost endless diorama possibilities. Modellers of 1:48 scale subjects already have the Tamiya kit to play with, and now modellers of 1:72 kits can join in the fun.

Review sample courtesy of

[Obi-Jiff Kenobi]

Looks like a nice little kit, and one that will make its way onto many a 1/72 airfield.

As an aside, the B-17 in the background appears to be Sally B masquerading as Memphis Belle.

[richellis]

mmmm,

saw one of these at a car show in the US, nice paint, chrome, big engine, mmmmm

[jimbuna]

Gotta be destined for many a diorama.