JB Models 1/76 Land Rover

Land Rover is an all-terrain vehicle and Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) manufacturer, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom, now operated as part of the Jaguar Land Rover business.

Originally the term Land Rover referred to one specific vehicle, a pioneering civilian all-terrain utility vehicle launched on April 30, 1948, at the Amsterdam Motor Show, but was later used as a brand for several distinct models, all capable of four-wheel drive.

Starting out as a model in the Rover Company's product range, the Land Rover brand developed, first as a marque, then as a separate company, developing a range of four-wheel drive capable vehicles under a succession of owners, including British Leyland, British Aerospace and BMW. In 2000, the company was sold by BMW to the Ford Motor Company, becoming part of their Premier Automotive Group. On March 26, 2008 Ford and Tata Motors announced an agreement that Ford would sell its Jaguar Land Rover operations to Tata. On June 2, 2008, the sale to Tata was completed by both parties.

Land Rover is one of the longest lived Four-wheel drive (4WD) brands (the only brand which is older is Jeep). Like the Jeep, the Land Rover has been widely used by both British and foreign militaries.

When one opens up the small box, out tumbles three sprues (one clear) that have a decidedly Matchbox look to them. By this, I mean the nearly square sprues that were so common with this British kit maker.

No date is visible anywhere on the box or instructions, but I'd have to guess that this kit is not of recent development. Detail is sparce and what panel lines exist are of the raised variety, and this includes the doors. Because it is a slab sided vehicle, I'm not surprised that all of the sections of the body are separate. The kit does show some sink areas and some ejector marks, though only the one in the bed will be visible on the completed model.

Seats are molded to the floor of the interior. The steering wheel and column glue to the firewall section and that is it. No gear shift and no pedals, though how much will be visible through the somewhat thick clear bits is conjecture. The chassis is a single piece which fits to the bottom of the body. Single piece tire/wheels then glue to the ends of the axles. A canvas top is part of the kit, though one could leave it off is so desired.

This kit also includes a small trailer. It is also built of a floor, four side panels and a canvas top. This fits atop a separate frame to which a rudimentary chassis is attached.

Instructions are well drawn and provide easy to follow construction steps. Color informatino is given with generic and Humbrol references. Three different vehicles are in the markings options. One in gloss dark gree, one in matte dark green and the other in matte dark green with black camouflage sections. Decals look to be well printed and provide your license plates and registration codes.

If I understand things correctly, once out of business, JB Models has been purchased by Hornby so I would expect to see these back on the market, perhaps in Airfix boxes. It will be interesting to see how much the price has increased.

Regardless, these look like nice kits that should assemble with a minimum of fuss or fiddly parts. Though in a somewhat off scale for most modelers, 1/76 doesn't look out of place amongst the 1/72 collection.

http://en.wikipedia.org

August 2008

Thanks to me and my fondness for anything different from the norm for this one.

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