Build Log – Tamiya Steyr 1500A : Part 1

I decided it was time to start something new, and I wanted something simple, something I could build right out of the box. Well that was the plan at least, I always say that when I start something new, it never works out that way. So this time around it’s the Tamiya Steyr 1500A. This is a much under-represented model, perhaps as people see it as some kind of staff car more than a small truck. It’s bigger than an Sd.Kfz.250, as long as, but wider than, an Sd.Kfz.251 and almost as big as the U.S. M2/M3 series armoured halftracks.

So the plan with this one took shape overnight. The plan is to depict a vehicle in France in 1944, somewhere around Caen, unit to be decided but leaning toward 12th S.S. Hitlerjugend. We’ll see. The intention is to have this on a diorama, the story being that as the vehicle began to cross a bridge they have come under fire, the driver is hit and the vehicle slams into the left hand stone bridge wall crumpling the fender. The crew have then dismounted and taken cover. One will be pulling the badly wounded driver free, the officer will be wounded on the bridge and the others giving covering fire whilst another attempts to reach him.

A lot of tweaking will take place as the diorama comes together and the figure poses are finalised, but for now I’ve started on the build by replacing the front left fender with one built from foil so that I can crush it into the wall when done. For this purpose the vehicle will be painted as normal then the fender crunched and the damage painted in before the final weathering with pigments.

For part one I’ll just cover the fender and then over the next few days cover the chassis, body, engine and modifications. I’m up to the point where the vehicle is finished and primed but I don’t want to overload this post with the whole build up to this point so I’ll break it down into several parts.

So this is the fenders with the left one rebuilt from foil, then coated with Mr.Surfacer and primed. The undercoat at this point is just to help make sure the remade fender is as smooth as possible. The finished result is a lot cleaner than the last photo shows but you’ll see that in tomorrow’s update.

Continue on to Part Two …