Last week, James mentioned that the Coopercraft AEC kit might have been based on a 1934 Albion lorry, or at least a mashup between this and the AEC.
I recalled that inspired by a plan used to illustrate an advert in an old model railway magazine, I produced something not unlike that Albion, although I thought it was a Foden.
Anyway, the cab was cut ahead of the doors and angled inwards. The central bar was removed from the radiator, although replacement would probably have been better as it's still too wide. While I was at it, the chassis was cut down as I like the look of short wheelbase lorries.
The fuel tank should be round but I couldn't tell this from the advert and the work took place pre-Interweb so finding a photo required digging through books, where you discover that lorry buffs take the same 3/4 views as train fans and you can't see the detail anyway.
6 comments:
I blogged about these kits on that there RMweb a few years back, here's a link: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/428/entry-9196-coopercraft-aec-lorries/
There's some usefull info. in the comments.
My view is that the kit is based on an early (1930s) AEC.
Hmmm. Interesting. The trouble is it's a nice kit but obvioulsy pretty rubbish as far as accuracy goes. Nowadays, it's pretty obvious that the ONLY way to do vehicles on layouts is to use diecast RTR models - everything else is just as rubbish or scary expensive.
I guess this is the future for everything in the hobby but it still seems a shame.
I can resist most RTR models, but Oxford's new Austin 7 is lovely! And a steal at £4.75. I'd still rather build one from a kit though, but where are the kits? I haven't seen any whitemetal vehicle kits on any trade stands for ages now, apart from on s/h stalls. And they're usually rubbish, like the one piece bodied Morris Minor that I saw recently.
That's the problem. There used to be plenty of whitemetal kits that were unbuildable. The Coopercraft model appeals because it goes together OK.
I'm fairly certain that you are right to think that is a Foden, though the cab should probably be a bit deeper at the back. And we should see the kit as a useful starting point to model a number of specific makes of lorry. The option you've not mentioned as an alternative is 3d printing.
3D printing is interesting but unless you spend serious money, the prints aren't nearly as good as injection moulded plastic or diecasting - I'm facinated by it but not convinced it's the solution. Yet.
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