1/48 Tamiya 1942 Ford Fordor Sedans

Gallery Article by Jerry Hawhee (Old Blind Dog) on Feb 27 2012

 

It’s not every day a subject like the ‘42 Fordor gets kitted in any scale, and when it’s done up right by a mainstream manufacturer, I’m not one to quibble about size. So it was that I picked up a couple copies of this little gem from Tamiya’s 1/48 Military Miniatures Series a few years back.  

Following the US entry into World War II, domestic auto production ceased at the beginning of February, 1942. Most of the vehicles produced in that two month period were reserved for use by the US government and military. Very few examples of civilian cars from those months are still extant, and for good reason, as stock parts became increasingly scarce. By the end, chrome bumpers were being replaced with 2x4s, and most bright work was left off altogether.   

These two builds represent a “pre-Pearl Harbor” civilian Fordor, and an example of a US Army staff car most commonly seen during the war. Tamiya supplies decals and painting instructions for both versions.  

 

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The civilian version:
The exterior color was a custom mix of Tamiya TS colors decanted from their respective rattle cans and sprayed through my Badger 360. I mixed 2 parts TS Dark Green into 5 parts TS French Blue, going for a kind of light turquoise. I used Alclad II Chrome for the wheel inserts, grill, bumpers and license plates, and Bare Metal Foil for the bright work—beautifully molded by Tamiya, and a sheer pleasure to foil. 

The head lamps were the trickiest bit, as the bezels and lenses were molded together in one piece. I masked off the lenses with Bare Metal Foil, and sprayed the bezels with Alclad II Chrome. I applied a dollop of Polly Scale Reefer White to the backside of the headlamp lenses after removing the BMF masking. Bare Metal Foil was used on the windshield center brace and side vent window frames. 

The overall interior color was Polly Scale Panzer Red Brown. I scratch-built a rudimentary firewall to block sunlight coming through the wheel wells. The dashboard was sprayed with Alclad II Chrome, after which details were applied with a small brush, including the cream center console insert. 

Tires and under-frame were sprayed Polly Scale Engine Black. I fought back the temptation to do wide white sidewalls, as very few of these cars would have been ordered with them, and hand-brushing the sidewalls would have been extremely taxing given the way Tamiya molded the tires. 

The staff car:
All bright work except for door handles was “blacked out” on the military version, which made painting quite easy. Everything was sprayed as a unit with Polly Scale US Olive Drab, followed by a couple coats of PS Clear Gloss. I then applied the star decals and ID numbers, sealed with an additional coat of PS Clear Gloss and finished with several light coats of PS Clear Flat. 

I used the same procedure for the head lamps as on the civilian version, except that the bezels were sprayed Olive Drab. Polly Scale Engine Black was used for the windshield center brace and side vent window frames. 

As per kit instructions, the interior was painted a combination of Polly Scale khaki and Panzer Red Brown. 

This was a fun build. I can only hope Tamiya will someday get around to releasing this kit in 1/35 scale, as it would look fantastic next to my collection of old Pyro Table Top Classics (one day to be the subject of another article here, I hope). 

Cheers

Jerry Hawhee (Old Blind Dog)

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Photos and text © by Jerry Hawhee (Old Blind Dog)