Well the Jeep and trailer are finished and I know I said that was thinking of NOT doing the trailer, but, in the end, I couldn't resist and of course I did add extras to the whole project. This model is based on the WillysMB-T / Bantam T-3. The trailer is really not a difficult build, as long as you watch the angles and the direction those angles need to take. The tub (main trailer box) is straight forward construction. The tub in the original trailer was a full weld box since the government had some initial thoughts that it might be used in amphibious operations. There exists another version, the M-416. The primary difference are the fenders, the handbrake design, and the operating tail gate. This model has a rounded fender and a hand brake on the front right. The M-416 had angular fabricated fenders and an opening tail gate. (yeah. . . .I know. WAAAAAAAAAAY too much information. :-)
So, the build was straight forward and weathered like the Jeep and used the same Army Reg to position the markings on the body. Techniques used are described in Parts 1 & 2 for the Jeep.
BUT, never one to let well enough alone, I decided that if I had a trailer, I should sure as hell have something to haul in it. Sooooo I started to search for WWII shipping crates and there are scads of them out there so, off I went. I also found a scale formula site and once I had the size of the actual containers, I could scale them to the 1:10 or 1:12 scale I think this model is. Here is the batch I made;
There are 3 different ammo crates ( .45, .30, and 12 gauge). I also thought since it was WWII, I should probably include some comfort items for the troops and so Lucky Strike won. My father in law was an Army sniper coming on shore on June 7, 1944, and my dad was a B-29 airframe mechanic in USAAF and both smoked Luckies. . .
The crates are made from 1/8" basswood and engraved and cut on the laser. Once made into a box, they are painted, weathered, and with the use of soft pastel sticks, the stencils are brought out. Here are some process photos for this:
Pre-finish. This is the front and back panel of the crate. The Ordinance Corps medallion and the Bursting Bomb were easy finds. This panel is approximately 2.75" x 1". the sides are 1.125 x 1". This is an actual crate so the Lot # and other info is authentic. The same is true of all the other ammo crates.. The .30 Cal crates are the only ones with rope handles.
Here are two crates painted up in OD and some weathering. The boxes are then sealed with an acrylic matt rattle can spray.
After the acrylic dries, its time to use the soft pastel to bring out the engraving Gently wipe off the excess with a q-tip and an old tooth brush, being careful to now remove the pastel from the engraving. There isn't a way to keep some of it from not being removed but keep as much as you can. Here is the result. Seal the box with matt lacquer and VOILA!!! You have a shipping crate for 360 12 gauge No 8 Shot shotgun shells
The same process was followed for all the other crates. The Lucky Strike crate image was found on line and so doing an image trace provided the basis of the crate. This one had a bit more detail since there was a whole verbiage on the side panels. This one measures about 1.75" x 1.125"
One last detail I was able to find was the placard that was on the front left of the trailer. It was the ID placard and would be for either Willy's or Bantam. I chose the Willy's placard. I made a screen print and then reduced the outcome so that it was the correct scale. I then used white "sticker paper" and printed a sheet of the placards. I only needed 1 but then again I know how quickly they can get screwed up. Here is the final result:
So the T&J Jeep and Trailer now go into the "Finished Project" book. As usual, the extra details added a lot of time and energy to the finished project but then again, I really have a great time doing them. I also made a couple of tarps for the Jeep. They can be seen on the initial photo for this post. Anyway, thanks for hanging in there on this project. Have a terrific day.
