The project stemmed from a 1914 report that Belgian soldiers were using an armor-plated Minerva sedan car to raid the German Army. Inspired by this knowledge, Rolls-Royce quickly armored an assortment of Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts donated by private citizens. The cars were shielded with 3/8” thick armor plate, fitted with dual rear axles and two machine guns, with 3,000 rounds of ammunition. They carried a crew of three and despite their crudeness (and four ton weight), could reliably maintain 60 mph on dirt roads, thanks to the seven-liter, six-cylinder engine.
Each car had a five-foot steel machine gun turret, with an open wooden platform behind it. The hood was armor-plated and the vulnerable radiator shielded by two armored doors, which could be closed by the driver. The driver sat on the mattress-covered floor, leaning against a canvas sling, looking through a narrow slit. The only other alteration was to install 13 leaf springs in front and 15 leaf springs at the rear, for the added weight.
The armored cars were organized into fifteen squadrons. They weren’t suited for the stalemated Western Front, so were dispatched to Africa and the Middle East. Most went to Egypt, sporting names like “Bull Dog,” “Biter,” “Bloodhound,” and “Blast.”
They were spectacularly reliable—“a triumph of British workmanship”—crowed The Times, but awkward and ungainly. In fact they were mistaken for water trucks by a German spy in West Africa; a costly mistake, one imagines.
Colonel T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) commanded a fleet of nine Rolls-Royce armored cars in Palestine. On one single day, Lawrence took three of the cars and captured two Turkish posts, blew up a bridge, wiped out a Kurdish cavalry regiment, blew up another bridge, and ripped up miles of rails, throwing the whole Turkish supply system into chaos.
After the Armistice, the journalist Lowell Thomas asked Lawrence if there was anything he would like to have. Lawrence answered, “I should like to have a Rolls-Royce car with enough tires and petrol to last me all my life.”
The early passenger car conversions were so effective, the War Office ordered specifically-designed armored cars to be built on the Silver Ghost platform. These cars were assigned chassis numbers WO1–279. Officially phased out in 1922, some served in India during World War II until they were all scrapped in 1944.
Let's See What She's Got!
Wow! This was my first thought upon opening the box; feeling a sense of being somewhat overwhelmed. To begin, I took a glance at the instruction book as this is quite the impressive 40 page publication.
On opening the box and top layer of bubble wrap I found the kit building instructions, 5 small plastic bags and 2 lengths of brass rod, underneath the next layer were 3 further larger bags containing the wheel parts and engine/axel parts and underneath that 1 further bag with fenders and some body parts. Sitting separately were the chassis frame, tilt, turret and panels and a jig to assist in the making of the wheels. Finally on the bottom of the box a large fret of PE containing the spokes for the wheels, inner and outer support brackets, rear step, rear support and front and rear mudguard supports.
Lets begin. Work begins as usual with the chassis and engine. Looking forward in the instructions it appears that consideration is made for displaying the bonnet in either the open or closed position.
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Although the parts count is high, Resicast has done an outstanding job of making the instructions clear and easy to follow. To further aid in construction I was provided a CD that has numerous photographs of the vehicle and certain details.
At this point I have not yet decided whether to display the engine in the final presentation. However, using the supplied extra CD photographs as a guide I have decided to add some basic wiring and detail to the engine and firewall.
After a considerable delay of nearly 3 months I'm back to complete the Rolls Royce. Continuing, attention now turns to the upper body turret. The basic floor structure is provide as a single piece shape, with excellent wood grain scribed into the surface.
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Onto the platform are attached the numerous boxes and lockers that make up the rear cargo bed and stowage areas. The larger parts make for quick assembly, and with the addition of the running boards the vehicle really now begins to take shape.
The installation of the front fenders is perhaps the most delicate construction area of the model. The fenders themselves are nicely cast from resin, with the mounting brackets provided as photo etch. These photo etch brackets must first be shaped and mounted onto the underside of the fender, then bent to the proper angle and attached to the chassis. It is a fairly straightforward process that only requires some patience.
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The turret assembly provides for the armored window to be placed in the open, or closed position as does the rear entry hatches. The finesse of the kits' casting is very apparent as even the hinges have interlocking flanges providing for an excellent overall appearance.
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Those spoke wheels! I have to say that I was a little apprehensive about approaching these as they looked incredibly delicate and very complicated. Upon reviewing the instructions, however, I was relieved to see that Resicast has done an outstanding job in both engineering and instruction. The kit provides a mould, onto which the photo etch spokes are laid in between to two halves. By simply pressing the mould together a perfectly formed spoke wheel is shaped. At this point assembly is simply a matter of placing alternate spokes and spacers within the tire. A little care must be taken to recognize the differing width of the spacers and to the order in which they are place, but overall this is a very simple process.
Grey Ghost
I realized from the start of this project that when it came time for the painting and finishing I would need to break from some of my usual traditions. I did not feel that this vehicle would lend itself to the heavy weathering, chipping and wear that have grown routine in my work. In fact, this provided me the perfect opportunity to try some different ideas and to break out of my doldrums.
To begin, I sprayed a primer layer of Mr. Surfacer 1000 to unify the underlying construction and provide a solid base onto which I could begin the painting. I decided to tackle the wooded planking of the flooring first. Taking a cue from our friends who model WWI aircraft, I tried my hand at simulating the wooded tones and grain using a combination of acrylic and artists oil paints. I first spayed a base color using Vallejo Model Color Iraqi Sand, over which I applied very thin streaks of MIG Productions 502 Abteilung Wash Brown and Shadow Brown artist’s oils. A satisfactory first attempt, but I am anxious to practice this technique more as I have seen the excellent results achieved by others. The wooden area was then masked to protect it from the upcoming paintwork.
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Pick a color! Looking at the available black & white period photographs it is difficult to determine the color of these vehicles. Information suggests that the RNAS cars were either painted an army green or a grey color. I did, however, have a very nice photograph of the marking as provided to me by a fellow modeler which proved very helpful. Finally, I decided that a classic Grey Ghost would be my choice for the vehicle’s color; I was ready to start.
Breaking from my usual weathering traditions I skipped from adding chips or scuffs to the paintwork, rather wishing to preserve a kept appearance to the vehicle. I began the weathering process by applying dot filters of MIG Productions artist’s oils of Faded Navy Blue, Faded Grey, and Buff to the moistened surface. I followed this with numerous light pin wash applications into the panel lines and around the surface details. Again the colors that I used include the same grey and blue tones as I used before as I wished to accentuate the depth and create shadows to the overall grey colored body.
By this point I wanted to see how much of the weathering I could do using only the artist’s oils and filters; resisting the use of pigments. To dirty the vehicle I added MIG Productions Basic Earth to my color mix and applied this to the underside of the chassis, and inside the wheel wells. This same color, mixed with Light Mud was then used in areas over the upper surfaces to show accumulations of mud and grime. I varied the color mix from time to time, adding more or less Light Mud and by also adding small amounts of the Faded Navy Blue, Faded Grey, and Shadow Brown. Each application was done with a very light touch, and excess removed if necessary. To the left of the vehicle I chose leave off the spare tire, thus added a dirt ring where the tire might have been. A light touch using MIG Productions Filters helped to unify the weathering and added extra depth to the finish. Finally, I gave into the pigments and applied just a few light touches of MIG Productions pigments to the areas most prone to accumulate dirt and grime such as the running boards and around the wheels and tires.
Hit the Road
Nearing the end of the project, I decided that a small base was in order. The basic shape was created from a poured block of plaster. The raised sidewalk was created by gluing a piece of balsa wood then overlaying it with plastic styrene sheet. The cobble stone street was laid by cutting small shapes of plastic strip and then gluing each cobble stone to the street individually. The base was first sprayed with Krylon flat black, the color was added using a combination of Tamiya and Vallejo acrylic paints. Final weathering was done using MIG productions pigments and 502 Abteilung artists’ oils. The street lamp is also a MIG Productions item complete with photo etch brackets and a clear resin lamp.
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