Academy USAAF Ambulance

Yesterday I finished Academy's 1/72nd scale USAAF ambulance. I'd already built the tow tractor a long time ago to pose with an MPM XF-85 Goblin. I don't have any photographs of it right now. I was going to photograph it today, but I became worn out from chemo and didn't feel like going through that cumbersome ritual. Maybe later.

The Academy kit is quite nice, and Academy's engineering solves a major problem I often have with small-scale trucks: how to deal with the windows. Unlike most small-scale trucks, which either feature no window glass at all, or which force you to install the windows prior to closing up the cab and painting, Academy's engineering allows one to install the windows from the outside, after painting. I quite like that feature - a few dabs of white glue to hold the glass in and I was done. (You may gather from this that I don't often spend a lot of time painting or detailing the interiors of small-scale trucks, and you would be right. Other people may see a painted instrument panel in a 1/72nd scale truck, but I certainly can't, and unlike a lot of modelers I don't derive any particular satisfaction from "knowing detail is there even though I can't see it.")

The decals were a little crispy and didn't react all that well to Micro-Sol, and I had to touch up the red with paint where the decal didn't conform to the rooftop vent and broke. But by and large the decals worked well enough to hold up their end of the kit. It's a nice addition to my collection of soft-skinned vehicles.