British Scammell Pioneer - Artillery tractor 2025-05

[BarleyBop]

Guess I'll be taking a break from the Italians for a while.
Then @urumomo goes and posts that vid about a Scammell! By the time I'd finished watching it, the Scammel was on the bench!
So here we go! There are a couple of schemes, but I'm opting for Operation Torch: combined British and American amphibious landing in Morocco and Algeria.

Don't recall when I purchased the kit, but I know that at the time I thought I needed more basic training! Let's see how it goes.

I must've still been working, because I $plurged on aftermarket accessories, as well as eventually the Howitzer!

 

[BarleyBop]

The kit came with it's own 48 page book!
So now I need to get familiar with the kit instructions, the vids posted by Momo, lots of Googling, reading this book and figuring out the build order with A/M part substitutions and painting!

Check out the booklet:

 

[Airborne01!]

Been ogling one of these brutes for some time but was reluctant to splash out on a (to me) unknown manufacturer. Will follow with interest!
Steve

 

[Jakko]

a (to me) unknown manufacturer.

Thunder Models is closely related to Mirror Models, which in turn is operated by the same person who runs LZ Models, Libor ZsomethingIcanneverremember.

 

[Rimmer]

A great choice of subject - something definitely on my to do list at some point.

 

[Edbert]

Gotta love it when companies put effort into the instructions to a point where they are booklets or manuals!

 

[BarleyBop]

Mirror Models,

Yup. Back when I started reading up on the North African campaigns, I was looking for trucks used by the Long Range Desert Group... and that led me to Libor. They had a variety of CMPs on offer, and more recently, some dedicated LRDG kits in collaboration with the LRDG Preservation Society and Thunder Models.

 

[Jakko]

Quick tip here: don't build an LZ kit as your first-ever fully resin-and-etched-brass model.

 

[BarleyBop]

Quick tip

Yup, good advice.

 

[PatW]

I've built a few kits, but I've also seen them on the road (Huge) as we had both RAF and Army bases round here!

 

[BarleyBop]

seen them on the road

Wow, if I saw one on the road, you'd see me in the ditch!
In the video it sounded quite loud, how about in person?

 

[Airborne01!]

Very loud, and a challenge to drive!
Steve

 

[PatW]

Very loud and due to it's size pretty slow. One I saw had a trailer with a tank on! As you can imagine every one kept well clear of it! Sometimes they have leader and follower Army trucks with flashing lights!

 

[BarleyBop]

Sounds like I've got a couple of SMEs (subject matter experts)! Hope your consulting fees aren't too steep!

 

[Airborne01!]

They could pull a mountain, but as you say - very slow with a crash gearbox and double de-clutching!
Steve

 

[Rimmer]

I'd really like to build the recovery version of this kit as a tribute to my grandfather, who was a Recovery Driver with the Royal Engineers out in Hong Kong/China in the early 1950s. I don't know if it's the exact version, all I know is he said that he 'drove a Scammell', but there's a good chance it was a Pioneer and I think it'd be a worthy tribute anyway.

Looking forward to seeing how your build goes.

 

[Jakko]

I don't know if it's the exact version

You could probably find out reasonably well if you can discover which unit he was in.

 

[blakeh1]

Nice subject

 

[GCB]

Very nice model! Looks a monster.
What is on the front of the engine / hood and above front bumper??

 

[BarleyBop]

Very nice model! Looks a monster.
What is on the front of the engine / hood and above front bumper??

Ballast weights, used on heavy breakdown tractor. These won't feature on my build, an artillery tractor.

I do plan on a wrecker, but it will be, you guessed it, a CMP!