The last of my Stage One desert Brits were some tows to go with the 25pdrs. In this case I got a couple of Quads from QRF. I actually have four of these already, all marked up as Denzil Skinner models, and painted for NWE. If I wanted loads I could have got the PSC ones I guess, but the price rather put me off.
They are Quads, nice easy models. Single piece bodies and five wheels. Something has obviously changed over the decades though, as these are my old QRF Quads (below) .
The wheels are completely different on these old ones.
Much more delicate, and much more like the wheels on real Quads.
Anyway, the new style wheels are fine. Slightly crude castings, but they look a lot more like the wheels on the Airfix Quad. Perhaps they are special desert tyres!
The wheels went on easily enough, helped with a bit of Blu Tak. The only slight issue with these is that as the moulds are quite old, some of the window backing was so thin it either wasn't there at all or was full of holes (you can see how the windows used to be solid on my NWE Quads).
It doesn't matter too much, I cleaned out the window frames where the backing was missing or damaged, and fortunately the windscreens were still intact so I could paint them.
Even though the moulds are old, they are still crisp enough to take a drybrush. I did them in Light Stone overall, which looks pretty good on these, and just a light drybrush of Pale Sand to bring out the highlights.
If I've got gun models, I like to use them, and the same goes for prime movers, so these are a useful addition. My only slight disappointment is that QRF seems to be having problems. A recent order never arrived, and all communication with them has ceased, so I ended up raising a credit card dispute with them. I hope they don't fold as they have a great range and I've bought loads of stuff off them over the decades. Fingers crossed it is just a temporary glitch.
I think I have some of the original Denzil Skinner quads. It's a pity no-one makes the Indian pattern in 15mm.
ReplyDeleteQRF are turning orders around at the maximum of 28 days now it seems from discussions on LAF - however failing to communicate at all. As I understand it, the new owner (nephew of one of original owners) has health issues and is about to or just has left the services. I think people wouldn't mind as long as they were told to expect to wait 28 days. What gets me is when you wait a reasonable time (month) then email and ring companies (not referring to QRF here) but get no response, even as a courtesy!
Neil
It is more that they claimed to to have shipped order in January which never arrived, and then deafening silence. I tried to reorder some of the stuff a few weeks ago, but the checkout portion of the shopping cart seems to be disabled. Never a good sign. Anyway, fingers crossed it is a temporary problem.
DeleteLet's hope that QRF can improve their service. I used to pick the stuff up direct from them, but haven't done an order in a while. As an alternative to QRF and Plastic Soldier Co who are getting expensive I see that Old Glory UK have the Command Descion line, but in packs of 3 a lot cheaper than the Skytrx offerings. For example 3 Panzer III's for £19.00 compared to £9.25 for Skytrex. They have the CMP Quads for £18.00 for 3.
ReplyDeleteThe CD vehicles are good but still pricey IMHO. There are dozens of 3D printers who do these sorts of things now, as an alternative.
DeleteI dread doing 4 wheel (or more!) vehicles, at least one tyre always end up wonky …. I will try the Blu-Tak trick.
ReplyDeletethese are nice models, though these days, I prefer vehicle models to be unmounted.
Yes, blu tak is a real boon for assembling metal vehicles. It also seems to make the superglue cure faster. I base all my vehicles for storage purposes and so I can cover the bases in various markers!
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