I just finished a Roden 1920 Rolls Royce. The idea was to depict a late RAF mark1a pattern deployed in the Middle East in the late thirties.
The kit is rather nice but needs some improvement and as the large tyre is not available yet (may be from Hussard some day?) the closest I've found is the desert tyre from the Resicast Morris CS9. Both Vickers and Lewis come from Resicast too and have a wonderful detail.
The model is now ready to paint, I hope you like it.
Roden offer the 1920 Pattern kit with "sand tyres', which look similar to those you have fitted. It seems to have the top Lewis mounting you have added, plus a similar mounting for the Vickers.
Very nice RAF modified RR Mark IA. Nice solution, using a Resiscast resin wheel set, to replace the questionable Roden vinyl sand tires. A correction to the first reply to this post. The RR Mark IA is a disctinct version from the Roden British Armoured Car (Pattern 1920 w/sand tyres) kit No 802. The Mark IA Vickers MG mount is different from the one in the kit, it is identical to the ball mount version on the 1924 Pattern RR AC. Since this version has not be produce in kit form, the scratch built one in the model is very impressive.
Like all of the long lived RR AC's the ten Mark IA's come in a surprising number of versions. Whether as intially build, from subsequent rework or both is not known. The only close up picture that I have, a still from a movie, of a RAF modified Mark IA with a scarf mounted Lewis MG has a turret with a view slit to the left of the Vickers mount and a square shielded view port to the right. But, this is apparenty a rare Mark IA modification (as is the use of the 1924 Pattern split front visor) or just very difficult to discern from grainy distant shots. There are Mark 1A turrets without these additional turret view slots, so not disputing that this is a possible valid configuration.
To answer TinCanTadpole, the second Roden 1920 box get sand tyres and top Lewis mounting, but the provided tyres look very bad with heavy moulded lines difficult to sand on soft plastic. I don't like this kit very much. The last 1914 kit is much more interesting to me and as I have this old 1920 in my stock I turn to it.
To answer Neal, Those R&R are my favorite AC before I decided to built ŕ mark1a, I didn't know what kind of jungle it could be! My first idea was to built a upgraded standard 1924 because of i nice pic collection about the 2 RAF squadron but I noticed too late that the car on my reference pic was a modernised 1914! Then I turned to a mark1A pattern from same unit, but there was this view port you noticed and it was dangerous to open a square hole on the completed turret and I delated, just as the possible ball mount in the turret door. As you said : I hope the actual configuration is valid enough.
I'm building 3 cars same time : a 1924 pattern from 11 Hussard in Palestine wis original turret, radio set and Stone/brown camo. A 1914 body on Fordson base in Syria 1941 with caunter scheme and this Mar1a pattern, I would like to paint it plain green. Do you agree with this specific color on this car? many pics show very dark vehicles.
A little confused by your use of a "standard 1924 with a 1914 AC body" vs the the 1924 Pattern RR AC with its disctintive all new armoured body and turret. I am quessing that the "standard 1924 with the 1914 Pattern AC body" is one rechassised with a new 1920 Pattern chassis, sand tires and further modifications by the RAF. Please post pictures of how you are doing a 1924 Pattern RR AC and the 1914 Pattern rechassised with a Fordson chassis.
A clarification to my original post. When viewed from the front of the AC; a view slit to the left of the Vickers mount and a square shielded view port to the right.
Hum, I think my words wasn't very clear about this pic. I will said a modernised AC on 1914 base. About the vision port on the turret, I didn't add it because there is an internal flap and is was too late to sand the turret. Too sad! Regarding the 2 others, I will post pic as soon as possible. Thanks a lot Gilles
