Bolt Action! Need a Fast Transport?
Without the Jimmy, the workhorse of World War 2, the Allied advance from Normandy all the way into Germany would have not happened.
This truck, used all over in Europe, was used as transport, cargo and tow vehicle and no less then 800.000 were built. In the game of Bolt Action, this truck counts as a transport and can run at double speed on roads with a squad inside. Very powerful tactically! Check out this build.
The official name is GMC CCKW, which soldiers promptly renamed as the Deuce and a half, a 6×6 truck, that was designed in 1941.
My model, a 1/48 scale version from Tamiya, features the open top version with canvas roof, that was designed late in the war. This is also the long wheel base version, which gave the cargo hold a lot more space.
I painted the model with the usual greens and browns and weathered it moderately. I changed the driver’s torso to a Bolt Action model, since the 1/48 scale would be too small and this worked out just fine. I did use the smaller leg part.
Early in the war, the cargo floor was made of steel, but in mid war it was changed to wood, due to shortages of steel. In the end of the war, the period that I am modeling, spring of 45, the cargo floor was made of steel composite. So when you model one of these, make sure to figure out what period and materials apply to your version.
You can see in the photo below that transport of troops in late war was key using these trucks. Unfortunately the Tamiya model doesn’t supply benches for the back, but I would be a cool project to create a group of soldiers for the back, that you could use during movement in Bolt Action but take out and swap with fighting models, once they have deployed
Here are the side views of my model. Despite the Testors matte finish, there is still some gloss, mostly on the tires.
Below you can see I tried to have the gas stains show a bit on the fuel tanks.
A scene in France in late war. It’s a great image and pretty much looks made for a Verlinden diorama. Of course I would st have to find a Willys jeep from Tamiya in 1/48 scale and they are hard to come by.
Painting the window frame took me ages, making sure to be super patient and not dropping paint on the glass part. In the end it worked out well.
SC Mike
