Chevrolet Radio Van conversion - Part 5

Got up early this morning and did some work on my Chevy radio van. I have finished off the work on the van bodywork at the rear of the vehicle...

I originally had grand designs for things like external radio antennas and roof rack storage and what not, but what reference I have found indicates a far simpler configuration for what was - after all - just a converted commercial delivery van. (The extending antennae being stored inside until needed, then erected outside.)

Here are some reference photos from the excellent SA-Kuva history archive...

Source: SA Kuva [Pic 4483]

Source: SA Kuva [Pic 99641]

The above photo illustrated the sort of ad hoc van conversion that I'm trying to model. As you can see its a bit of a primitive expedient, but despite this the Finns were excellent radio technicians. Part of their success against the Soviets was due to their skill at radio interception, decoding and 'radio warfare' - they were known to fool the Russians into dropping resupplies onto Finnish units by usurping the Red Army's radio frequencies!

Here's another shot (left) showing the external deployment of radio equipment - this time in the summer of 1942. A pole cut from readily available trees serves as a mast.

So I decided to ditch my plans for a lot of additional external detailing on the van as the Finns were clearly not ones of over-complicating things.

Next I will turn my attention to the front of my van. The original resin model was a Ford light truck so I will have to modify it slightly to look like a Chevrolet instead. This isn't a big deal, it just means I will have to tweak the grill on the front of the bonnet to give it a Chevy grill.

But it's all coming on nicely (I think).