Tamiya 1/35
Daimler Mk.II

History

Comparative tests, between the B.S.A. prototype and the Alvis “Dingo” were made at the end of 1938 until January of 1939. The former was officially designated Car Scout Mk. I and the first mass production order for 52 was placed with B.S.A. Subsequently, B.S.A. was merged with Daimler and the official designation was changed to Car Scout Daimler Mk. I. After the decision of the mass production, it was decided that the Scout Car should be used not only in the reconnaissance role, but also as a vehicle for communication. As a result, further equipment was added and the weight of the mass production vehicle reached three tons, nearly two times the weight of the prototype. The increase in weight had an evil effect on performance and especially the rear steering became very difficult to control.

At the beginning of 1940, the first mass production vehicle was completed in April of that year. The Daimler Scout Car was delivered to the 50th Motorcar Division and first saw battle in France. Having excellent speed and satisfactory cross-country ability, the Scout Car was very favorably accepted by fighting units. Two other manufacturers than Daimler: i.e. Humber Motor and Canada Ford, also manufactured their own Scout Cars. The Daimler Scout Car developed into the Mk. II (subject of this kit) and the Mk. III. The Scout Car was recognized as a really effective vehicle for reconnaissance and communication on the battlefield.

As mentioned above, the addition of equipment made it very difficult to control the rear steering of the Daimler Scout Car. In about 1941, it joined battle in North Africa deserts, where the rear steering mechanism was not much needed and was not employed in the Mk. II. The Mk. III, which appeared at the beginning of 1945, had a commander seat called a “Jury Seat”, at the rear of the fighting compartment and the roof was made of canvas. The Mk. III was made water proof for the first time and screws fastening the front sand channel were replaced with larger ones. The later Mk. III was equipped with smoke shell dischargers.

The Daimler Scout Cars Mk. I to Mk. III were used by all corps, including engineer, artillery, as well as infantry and tank corps. They showed activity also after WWII and were used as the really indispensible “eye” of the corps in all fields of British operations, such as Korea, Malaya, Germany and Egypt. The total production of the Mk. I to Mk. III, during WWII, reached 6,626.

The Kit

Tamiya is a prolific model company based in Shizouka City, Japan.

This kit was first released in 1972. It comes in a tray and lid type box. The boxart shows a Daimler Scout Car posed against an all white background (this is Tamiya’s signature way of doing boxarts, with an all white background). The car has a driver wearing a beret and an officer standing inside of it. The officer is shading his eyes with his right hand and hugging a mapboard with his left arm. A third figure of a infantryman is standing next to the car. He is wearing a steel helmet, web gear, shorts, a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, knee high socks and has an Enfield rifle slung over his right shoulder. The car is overall
sand color and carries the 7th Armoured Brigade long-tailed rat insignia on both sides of the front bumper. A side panel shows the boxarts of 3 other AFV kits that Tamiya markets: a German 88 mm gun, Flak 36/37 with crew, a Pz.Kpfw. II with infantrymen and a U.S. Willys Jeep with 4 man crew. The kit numbers for these is not given.

Inside the box:

The kit comes in a tray and lid type box. Inside, are 2 large light tan parts trees, 1 medium sized light tan tree, the decal sheet and the instructions. The larger trees fit the box tightly. All the trees are in a stapled shut cello bag.

The instructions consist of a single sheet that is 23 ¼” x 8 ¼”. It is accordion folded, 3 times, in it’s length to fit the box.

The face side of the sheet begins with a black and white photo of the actual Daimler Scout Car that is featured on the box art. It shows it leading a Stuart tank behind it. This is followed by the history of the vehicle in English. Below that, are illustrations of the 3 crewmen in the kit, shown in standing poses. The driver figure is saluting and standing. The officer is standing with his arms folded. The infantryman is in the same pose as the boxart. Color labels are on each illustration. Next, is a lengthy explanation of British painting practices for the Daimler Scout car and illustrations of various division markings. The bottom of the page has a 4 view drawing of the Daimler in sand with a dark green wave pattern. All the various markings in the kit are shown next to these illustrations with arrows of where you can alternately place them. It is a little unclear as to what combinations these would be placed on the car.

The reverse side of the instruction sheet has 9 assembly drawings on it. Down a left hand column of this is the parts tree illustrations and assembly instructions for the 3 crew figures.

Part trees are not alphabetized. They do have part numbers next to the parts. You will have to find these numbers on the part trees illustrations and then look for them on the pictured trees. Bad move Tamiya. This will make for extra work to find the part you need.

The first large light tan parts tree holds: the chassis sides, bottom, nose, rear, shock absorbers, axle, steering linkage, engine roof, batteries, etc. (27 parts)

The second large light tan parts tree holds: the wheels, steering wheel, seats, fenders, exhaust pipe, rear view mirror, sand channel etc. (46 parts)

The medium sized light tan parts tree holds: the crew figures. The standing officer is divided into separate body and arms, He is standing, wearing shorts, knee high socks, shirt with sleeves rolled up and a peaked officer’s hat. The seated driver figure is similarly dressed, but wears a beret on his head. He is divided into separate torso, lower body and arms. The standing infantryman is dressed as the other two figures, but has a steel helmet on his head. He is divided into separate body and arms. There are two steel helmets in the kit, a bayonet in scabbard, an Enfield rifle, a canteen, a canvas back-pack and a couple of ammo pouches, a pistol in holster and a map-board (both of the last items for the officer).(20 parts)

The decal sheet holds markings for: the 1st , 2nd , 6th , 7th , and the 8th Armoured Divisions, bridge classification signs and vehicle serial numbers. How to combine these appropriately to an individual vehicle is not all that clear from the illustration on the instructions.

Conclusions

I highly recommend this kit to modelers of WWII allied soft-skin vehicles. The detail is very good, inside and out, for a 36 year old kit. It can hold it’s own with today’s state of the art kits. The front wheels can be assembled so they are steerable too.

I purchased my kit, back in the early 70’s, at my local hobby shop. Tamiya USA still lists the kit. Prop Shop Hobbies Inc. in Warren, Michigan (on the net) and Red Frog Hobbies (also on the net) both list the kit in stock. Eduard makes a PE set for the model as set no. EDU3143 (available at Greatmodels). Accurate Armor manufactures a 1/35th scale resin kit of the turreted armored car version of the Daimler as kit no. ATK58, for a whopping $118.52 (at Greatmodels). GHQ Miniatures makes a real small 1/285th scale “Dingo” Scout Car version (kit no. GHQUK50) and the armored car version (GHQUK46). These are also at Greatmodels.