July issue: Diecast Model of the Month - Land Rover Series I RAF

Vanguards Commercials
Land Rover Series I RAF
PRICE: £15.99 LIMIT: 2,000 SCALE: 1:42

Our military has relied up on the venerable Land Rover since its launch in 1948, and here we have a classic armed forces example. Vanguards has decked out this Series 1 machine in an attractive RAF blue-grey, the colour of many RAF airfield and support vehicles before the vogue for olive green covered everything that moved, and almost everything that didn’t.

Accurate white service number plates and vehicle code, and an RAF roundel, lend a colour contrast, as does the metal trim, bumpers, rear footholds and a very fine photo-etched grille. A thoughtful touch is that the matt-painted fabric roof can be removed to display the just-as-smart cab with its green seats. There’s also detail underneath, too, with a well-rendered black chassis and metallic exhaust, and a good attempt has been made to recreate the canvas roof’s attachment points above the windscreen and around the frame and body. A spare wheel sits squarely on the bonnet, and to top things off Vanguards has placed its model in a snazzy box with a collector’s card, on which is printed a potted history of the RAF Land Rover, type statistics and the limitation number within the total run.

As Rovers go, this is a beauty and a welcome addition to the many civilian versions already on the market. And at just £15.99, it’s great value and sure to pass inspection!